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A dozen new cases here

The Crawford County Health Department reported 12 new coronavirus cases here Friday.  The latest cases include a young boy, a teenage boy and girl, one woman in her 20s, two men and a woman …

COVID-19 Update: New guidance on indoor dining, vaccination plan, new virus strain, sports

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced revisions to his COVID-19 mitigation tiers Friday that would allow earlier indoor dining, but no regions have thus far met the requirements.

LTC plans spring show

Despite the continuing pandemic and the Theater Renaissance Project construction now underway, the department is moving ahead with a spring show.

County seeks approval of local sales tax

Crawford County voters will decide whether a local sales tax will be added to purchases here.

Flat Rock still collecting funds to finish playground project

The Flat Rock Playground that began in December of 2019 is well underway and has raised around $112,000 to date.

CCHD preps for Phase 1B vaccine distribution

Crawford County could be ready to move to Phase 1B of the coronavirus vaccine distribution plan next week, provided it has sufficient vaccine.

Welch makes history as first Black Illinois House speaker

SPRINGFIELD – Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch made history Wednesday by becoming the first Black person elected speaker of the Illinois House, succeeding Rep. Michael Madigan, who leaves the job after serving for 36 of the past 38 years.

Criminal justice reform package will head to governor

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate passed a criminal justice omnibus bill early Wednesday morning after a grueling 20 hours of politicking during Tuesday’s lame duck session. The House followed suit Wednesday morning, clearing the way for the bill to head to the governor.

Another COVID death here

Another Crawford County resident has died of the coronavirus. The latest death, reported Monday by the Crawford County Health Department Monday, brings to 17 the number of local deaths. The …

Madigan suspends speaker campaign: ‘This is not a withdrawal’

SPRINGFIELD – House Speaker Michael Madigan announced he would suspend his campaign for House Speaker of the 102nd General Assembly on Monday, but his statement made clear he was not withdrawing from the race.

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Obituaries

More obituaries

Schools
RHS announces 2nd quarter honor roll

Robinson High School announced the students who made honor roll this past quarter.

OHS announces honor roll students for second quarter

School menus week of 1-18

OCC names honor students

School menus week of 1-11

E-edition
Announcements
Girl Scouts kick off cookie sales

Girl Scouts across Southern Illinois kicked off the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie season.

Ag quality loss assistance available

County SWCD election Jan. 27

Senior menus week of 1-11

COVID may stop tax help

Local news

Driver Services to close for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that all offices and Driver Services facilities, that operate on a Monday through Friday schedule will be closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Council approves bid for police car maintenance

The Robinson City Council made quick work of a light agenda at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Hutsonville making plans to fix store drainage problem

The Hutsonville Village Board met Tuesday evening and discussed a drainage issue that arises at Kraemart whenever it rains.

More wheat planted in state

Illinois farmers planted more fields in winter wheat in the fall than a year earlier.According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state growers seeded area for harvest this year is estimated at …

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Sports

Sports: A look back

1 year ago — 2020 Jan. 13: Robinson High School’s boys’ basketball team rolled over Flora, 51-28, in Little Illini Conference play for the 1,500th win in program history. Ethan Shidler led the Maroons with 14 points, five rebounds, one steal and one assist, while Brayden Childress posted 12 points – including a slam dunk just before halftime that gave the Maroons a lead following a sluggish start – along with five rebounds and five steals.

IHSA activities still “paused”; board to meet again later this month

While high school and junior high sports remain “paused” in Illinois, there is a bit of optimism that things are trending in the right direction and some sort of sports schedule for the remainder of the school year can be announced in the near future. The Illinois High School Association Board of Directors held their most recent meeting on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing saga that is the state of youth sports in Illinois ...

Robinson JV loses to Casey, 55-27

It was another rough night on the court for Robinson’s junior varsity basketball team Tuesday night, as they dropped a 55-27 decision to Casey at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute.

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Snapshots
Statehouse News

Chicago, IDPH confirm first Illinois case of the COVID variant

Pritzker activates National Guard as FBI warns of state capitol protests

Statewide COVID-19 positivity rate continues to drop

Republican leaders react as lame duck session nears end

Permanent vote-by-mail expansion moves to House floor

Black Caucus puts Welch forth as speaker candidate

Legislation backed by Raoul would reform police certification

Small business grant program ends, paying out more than $275 million

Bipartisan Illinois politicians condemn rioters, Trump

Statewide COVID-19 cases surpass 1 million

Administration still ‘in a pause’ when considering mitigation rollbacks

GOP lawmakers introduce ‘fair maps’ legislation

Pandemic response, budget, Black Caucus agenda on table for 'lame duck' session

State Sen. Manar resigns to become senior advisor to Pritzker

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Life

FCC honors announced

Frontier Community College has announced its academic honor recipients for the fall 2020 semester.

Florkowski, Weber make dean’s list

The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences announced that more than 2,100 undergraduate students qualified for its fall …

Department of labor issues minimum wage hike reminder

Illinois’ minimum wage is set to increase to $11 an hour on January 1. The Illinois Department of Labor is encouraging employees to …

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Faith

Christian or Republican: politics in the pews

Q: Dear Pastor, What’s the difference between a Christian and a Republican?

Church news 1-17

Pearl Chapel United MethodistServices at Pearl Chapel begin with Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. followed by worship service at 10:30.The …

Bug! Bug! Where’s the bug?

As far back as I can remember, every time I would leave the house, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage would say, “Be careful. …
Opinion

Carrol Eugene McCord

Carrol Eugene McCord, 78, Kansas, Ill., passed away at 8:35 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, at his residence. He was retired after many …

Fixing the Electoral College

Editor, I actually agree with Phil Montgomery’s last letter on January 6th. Rather than go to all the trouble to abolish the …

January 7, after the epiphany, 2021

Gloves off; it’s past the time to play nice about this. If you mount an armed insurrection against the government of the United …
VIDEOS
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Agriculture
A dramatic decline in bees and other pollinating insects presents a threat to the global food supply, yet it’s getting little attention in mainstream news.
Half the Illinois winter wheat crop is doing well, but a quarter of it has problems.
The University of Illinois 2021 Crop Management Conference has gone virtual with CropFlix providing binge-worthy online sessions with valuable updates for Midwestern corn and soybean producers.
In a year of uncertainty, Illinois Farm Bureau remained certain of its commitment to environmental stewardship in Illinois agriculture.The organization kept a steady stride in its ongoing efforts in …
Crawford County’s winter wheat production dropped by 187,000 bushels this year.Local farmers produced an estimated 270,000 bushels of wheat this year, according to the U.S. Department of …
Crime

Police reports 1-16

Crawford County Sheriff’s OfficeJanuary 9Trista Brannon, 21, Robinson, was driving a 2011 GMC Acadia when she collided with a deer Route 1 near 1900N in Hutsonville Township causing more than …

Police reports 1-13

Crawford County Sheriff’s OfficeJan. 6Marvin Mehler, West Union, reported damage to a building about 4:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of 1550E. Someone had damaged the door to a building at that …

More crime reports

Court News
Crawford County State’s Attorney, Cole Shaner, announces that Wayne E. Belford, 41, Robinson, was sentenced on Jan. 11 to two years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Kevin Wampler and Christina D. Davis to Mason J. Hurst and Kiley R. Rariden in Highland View Addition Dec. 31.Daniel R. Cox to Aaron A. McKinley in John Hills Addition Dec. 30.Kala Lynn and Alex John …
DissolutionsCaitlyn J.K. Lopes. 24, Robinson, and Kimberly N. Lopes, 28, Robinson, on Caitlyn Lopes’ petition of irreconcilable differences Dec. 30. The couple married Nov. 17, …