The parents of a 26-year-old Sandoval man described to the Sandoval Village Board Tuesday night how synthetic kratom and nitrous oxide sold at a Sandoval business rendered their son unconscious for two days and left him disabled. Angie and Steve Gordon then asked the board to ban the sale of the items in the Sandoval to protect others. "The nitrous oxide tanks caused my son to have oxygen depletion from his brain and his spinal cord," Angie Gordon said. "It caused him permanent...

About 100 volunteers helped in the cleanup around Fairview Park and the Fairview Shopping Center Tuesday night ahead of Balloon Fest this weekend. The Executive Director of Keep Centralia Beautiful Mike Morris says the initiative is designed to spruce up the community for visitors. "It's our way to help pay back, get people involved in the community to help make it look nice, do some community service and give back to the entire community for this wonderful event where all of these peop...

Salem Police arrested 18-year-old Alyssa Adkins of East McMackin in Salem for criminal trespass to property at Bryan Memorial Park. Police say Adkins had earlier been told she could not be in the park. Adkins was taken to the Marion County Jail and released on a notice to appear in court. 41-year-old Lamont Young, who told authorities he was homeless, was arrested on a Marion County no bond misdemeanor failure to appear warrant. 21-year-old Jacob Miller of South Pine in Salem was arrested b...

A cardiologist at SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon has introduced cardiac procedures commonly performed at St. Louis to Southern Illinois. Dr. Lincoln Shenje is now performing heart catherization as well as CT scans and ultrasound imaging at Good Samaritan in cooperation with St. Louis University Hospital. As a result, patients will only have to drive to St. Louis once or twice during the treatment process. Within his first six months at SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital in ...

Two people whose partial remains had gone unidentified since the 1971 Tonti train wreck have been identified as mother and daughter, 35-year-old Katherine Marcelin Adams and her three-year-old daughter Gladys "Gigi" Adams. Those involved in the project were surprised to learn during the initial investigation that the grave may have contained more than one person. The Adams family said they were surprised when contacted about the remains because they believed the two were totally b...

The Salem Community High School Board approved its tentative budget Monday night. Superintendent Dr. Brad Detering says the budget is flat. "We do show minor deficits in the education fund and the transportation fund," Detering said. "Both of those may wind up being surplus budgets depending on what expenditures are made and what costs for food and fuel turn out to be. We do have a surplus of about $25,000 in our building fund. Any surplus that we have in any of those funds are...

Salem High School Superintendent Dr. Brad Detering told the school board Monday night temporary repairs have been made to the floor at BE Gum gymnasium after a new basketball goal being put into place fell and went through a small area of the floor. Detering says the company putting up the basketball goals paid for the repairs. "Not quite exactly what we'd like for it to be, but it will have to do for the school year," Detering said. "Next summer, we're planning to go ahead and...

The Salem City Council has voted down a series of motions that would create a nonprofit city foundation. Mayor Nic Farley said the action was to clear any intention to move forward with the foundation after earlier discussion. "This was not something that we had any competition with any other agency like the Salem Greater Area Foundation," Farley said. "This was something where we had found some grants specifically for EMA that were tied to nonprofits. We were trying to creat...