(Hillsboro)--The C.E.F.S. Economic Opportunity Corporation's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Grant Program still has energy funding available for winter utility assistance. Any household that has applied as of September 1st or after will not be able to apply again. LIHEAP provides one time grants to help income eligible households pay their winter utility bills.

Items needed for applications are: proof of all households income for thirty days immediately preceeding the day of application, proof of social security numbers for all members of the household, and current heating and electric bills.

In Montgomery County, over one hundred households received over sixty thousand dollars in emergency assistance.

(Springfield)--A new Miss Illinois County Fair Queen was crowned during ceremonies held this weekend in Springfield. Miss Lake County Brittani Schisler was crowned as the new queen. She is a student at Eastern Illinois University studing communications disorders and sciences.

First runner up was Miss Montgomery County Fair Queen Lauren Murphy of Harvel. There were over seventy queens vying for this years title.

The new Miss Illinois Fair Queen will be the official hostess at the Illinois State Fair which will be held August 9th thru the 19th in Springfield and August 24th thru September 3rd in DeQuoin.

The Miss Illinois Fair Queen Pageant was held as part of the annual convention of the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs.

(Litchfield)--Fire fighters responded to a fire at the Litchfield Recycling Center. According to Dawn Lutz from the Montgomery County Recycling Program, fire fighters responded to the shed around 5:30 Saturday morning.

The building was fully engulphed when fire fighters arrived. The Montgomery County Recycling Program is working on a temporary location for Litchfield residents for recycling. Anyone seeking more information can contact the Reycling Program at 532-2088.

(Taylorville)--A Morrisonville man was killed in a two vehicle accident Thursday afternoon on Route 29 in Christian County. According to State Police, a vehicle driven by 36 year old Reynaldo Tapia the Third of Morrisonville was southbound on Route 29 near Seventeen Hundred East Road. Another vehicle driven by 56 year old Michael Johnson of Lincoln was northbound.

For unknown reasons the two vehicles were involved in a head on accident. Tapia was pronounced dead at the scene. Johnson was taken to a Taylorville Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Route 29 was closed as a result of the accident, which remains under investigation.

(Hillsboro)--The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is searching for a missing 73 year old Coffeen man. The Sheriff's Office received a phone call reporting a suspected suicidal person missing from Coffeen.

Sheriff's Deputies responded to the residence of 73 year old Howard Beard. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Coffeen Police Department, and the Hillsboro Police Department searched for Beard, but were unsuccessful.

Beard is five foot ten, 215 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes. He was last seen near Casey's Monday morning. Beard was also wearing denim overalls and a black hooded jacket.

Anyone with information on Mr. Beard's whereabouts is asked to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

(Litchfield)--A Litchfield man was killed, and another person seriously injured in a single vehicle accident Saturday evening. According to State Police, 60 year old Robert Johnson of Litchfield and 44 year old Gregory Strong of Marion were southbound on East 1st Road when the truck they were in left the road, striking a ditch.

The truck overturned and came to rest in a field. Johnson was fatally injured in the accident, and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Montgomery County Coroner's Office. Strong was airlifted to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield for treatment of serious injuries. The accident remains under investigation by the Montgomery County Coroner's Office and State Police.

(Witt)--Two people were arrested in connection to a meth bust Saturday evening in Witt. According to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, a search warrant was executed on a residence on West Berry Street. Sheriff's Deputies, the South Central Illinois Drug Task Force, and Witt Police discovered an amount of suspected methamphetamine along with other items and materials used to make meth.

37 year old Shannon Johnson and 38 year old Renee Price were taken into custody. Two young children in the residence were released to a family member. Johnson and Price both face numerous methamphetamine possession and manufacturing charges. The incident remains under investigation.

(Taylor Springs)--One person was seriously injured in a two vehicle accident Wednesday afternoon on Route 127 near Taylor Springs. According to State Police, vehicles driven by 20 year old Brittnay Phillips of Donnellson, and 25 year old Tricia Northcutt of Taylor Springs were southbound on Route 127.

Northcutt was making a turn onto East Street, when she was struck by Phillips car. Northcutt's vehicle was pushed into a ditch. Northcutt was taken to Hillsboro Area Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. 33 year old Zachary Umek, a passenger in Phillips vehicle, was taken to St. Francis Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Phillips was cited with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

(Springfield)--Ameren Illinois has filed a plan with the Illinois Commerce Commission seeking a rate hike to help pay for an upgrade of its distribution grid. Vice President Craig Nelson says Tuesday's filing is the beginning of an effort by the utility to modernize the power grid over the next ten years to meet service expectations of Ameren's over one million customers.

Illinois lawmakers in November passed legislation allowing Ameren and Commonwealth Edison to boost rates with less regulatory oversight in exchange for an upgrade of the electrical grid.

Randy Nehrt from the Commerce Commission says regulators still have a responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation of the proposal. If approved, the rate hikes will go into effect in October.