(Litchfield)--Two people were killed in a single vehicle accident that happened on Old Litchfield Trail. According to Illinois State Police, a vehicle driven by 35 year old Kenneth Ramsey of Hillsboro was eastbound on the trail, near Mallard Lane, when he left the road driving through a fence. His vehicle then rolled over, coming to rest on its roof.

Ramsey and passenger, 38 year old Amber Woosley of Taylor Springs were ejected from the vehicle. Both were pronounced dead at the scene by the Montgomery County Coroner's Office. The accident remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police, and by the Montgomery County Coroner's Office.

Today's (May 29th) Class 2A Baseball Sectional Tournament game Gillespie vs. Pleasant Plains has been moved to Lincoln Land College in Springfield. Game time is 4:30 today. The broadcast of the game can be heard live at 4:30 on WSMI AM 1540 and on the internet at wsmiradio.com. The championship game scheduled for Saturday (May 31st) will also be played at Lincoln Land. The game time for Saturday's game has been changed to 11:00am.

Area youngsters are invited to the free Paws for Reading summer program that begins at the Carlinville Public Library on June 3.

Paws for Reading will help children ages K-5 learn more about all different types of animals while encouraging reading and library usage. This years program runs from June 3-26.

Parents are encouraged to sign their children up for Paws for Reading from Mya 27-June 2.

The sessions for preschool children will be each Wednesday from 10-11am, while kindergarteners and first graders will meet every Tuesday from 2-3pm. Second and third graders will gather on Wednesdays from 2-3pm, and fourth and fifth graders will meet each Thursday from 2-3pm.

Special visitors will make Paws for Reading more enjoyable. On June 10 from 1-2pm, the Reptile Guy will be on hand to help youngsters learn about the world of reptiles. On June 18, there will be a wildlife program at 2pm. The program will conclude with a presentation about dogs from Buzzie of Macoupin County Animal Control.

For more information on Paws for Reading, call the Carlinville Public Library at 217-854-3505.

(Litchfield)--Illinois State Police District 18 recently announced the results of a road side saftety checkpoint that was held on Saturday, May 24th at the intersection of Route 127 and Route 16. According to figures released by District 18, a total of 31 arrests and 55 written warnings were given during the checkpoint.

According to Illinois State Police, 18 violations were for registration offenses, 6 offenses were for occupant restraint offenses, and one arrest was for driving under the influence.

(Hillsboro)--Five candidates will be running for the Old Settlers Queen during this years celebration. According to the Old Settlers Committee, those candidates include: Kaitlyn Knodle, sponsored by the Hillsboro Auxiliary Police Department, Alana Bader, sponsored by the Hillsboro Moose Lodge, Kelcie Flowers, sponsored by Tan Lines and Hair Designs, Ashlee Bruene, sponsored by the Hillsboro Unit Education Foundation, and Candie Jurgens, sponsored by the Hillsboro Lions Club.

This years queen coronation will take place on Wednesday, August 20th on the main stage. Old Settlers will run August 17th, 20th, and 21st in Hillsboro.

(Hillsboro)--Montgomery County Clerk and Recorder Sandy Leitheiser announced the names that have been added to the Veteran Memorials in Hillsboro and Litchfield. Added to the Litchfield Veteran Memorial include: Chester Greer, Larry Shrader, Phillip Klien, John Leitshuh, Thomas Lynn, Joshua Birkenkamp, Gary Black, Keith Hauter, John Noe, David Pritchard, and Justin Weiss. Names added to the Hillsboro Veterans Memorial include: Charles Pegg, Edward Rozmislowicz, Gavin Gonzalez, Jr., David Wells, Fred Lanzer, Dwain Lewey, Justin Adams, Christopher Peters, Jeremy Schmidt, and Daniel Settle.

Names are added to the memorials as military discharge information is recorded or documented by the Veterans Memorial committee.

Several high school graduations for Macoupin County will be held this weekend.

The schools include: Southwestern on Friday, May 23 at 7:00pm; Bunker Hill on Friday, May 23 at 7:00pm; Staunton on Friday, May 23 at 7:00pm; Northwestern on Friday, May 23 at 7:00pm; North Mac on Saturday, May 24 at 2:00pm (note: the graduation will be in Sangamon Auditorium at the University of Illinois-Springfield); Carlinville on Sunday, May 25 at 3:00pm.

(Litchfield)--Two Litchfield men were arrested in connection to two separate sex crimes that took place in Maryland Heights, Missouri and in Lincoln. The incidents reportedly both involved a fourteen year old victim.

29 year old Jerry Pocklington was arrested on May 16th in St. Louis County for two counts of statutory sodomy and one count of statutory rape after he reportedly ran off with a fourteen year old family member.

55 year old Ronald Collins was arrested on Tuesday in Logan County for four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of a child sex offender operating an unauthorized vehicle.

Bond for Pocklington has been set at 150 thousand dollars. He is scheduled for a court appearance in St. Louis County on June 2nd. Bond for Collins has been set at 50 thousand dollars. He is scheduled for an appearance in Logan County next Tuesday.

New playground equipment is currently being installed near the trailer camping area at Beaver Dam State Park.

The equipment and installation is funded through a $55,000 state investment secured by State Senator Andy Manar, State Senator Sam McCann and State Representative Wayne Rosenthal.

Beaver Dam Park already has a playground on site near the tent camping area. But it is across the park from the busier trailer camping area. Manar noted that his office has received serveral calls from local residents raising concerns over the distance from the trailer camping area to the current playground. McCann and Rosenthal indicated they had received similar calls.

The three lawmakers made a pitch for a new playground at the trailer camping site to Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director, Marc Miller.

After doing an assessment of the proposed site for the playground, Miller approved the investment.

A free quilt show will be featured at the Macoupin County Historical Society's Spring Strawberry Festival on Saturday, May 24, and Sunday, May 25, from 9am to 4pm in the Ruyle Building at the MCHS Museum in Carlinville.

A 1918 Red Cross Signature Quilt will be featured during the Quilt show. Hundreds of signatures of Carlinville citizens, who donated to the Red Cross, including serveral doctors and nurses are stiched into the quilt, which was donated to MCHS by the Margaret Denby Heinz estate.

The Quilt Show will also feature other historic quilts from the MCHS Museum plus quilts on loan from local community members.

The Spring Strawberry Festival is hosted by the Macoupin County Historical Society, Macoupin Antique Agricultural Association and Illinois Valley Blacksmith Association.

(Hillsboro)-- A public hearing regarding the City of Hillsboro applying for a C.D.A.P. grant took place before the Hillsboro City Council meeting Tuesday night. According to Hillsboro Mayor John Downs, the hearing was part of the grant process. Downs said that the city applied for the same grant last year, but was unsuccessful. If approved, the grant would allow the city to replace water lines that are in disrepair. The C.D.A.P. grant application was approved later in the evening by the city council.

Full Time Police Officer

During the regular meeting, the Hillsboro City Council had a long discussion regarding the hiring of a full time police officer for the city. According to Commissioner Dennis McCammack, the city is currently at its bare bones regarding police protection. McCammack stated that the city is down three police officers from this time last year. The motion to hire a full time police officer failed due to a lack of a second on the motion.

Water Main Break

Hillsboro Mayor John Downs also thanked residents and businesses for their help during a water main break that occurred last week. The water main break forced Hillsboro, Taylor Springs, Schram City, and Coffeen to be on a water main break for two days.

The Italian Club of Benld will hold its 61st Annual Italian-American Days Festival on May 23-26 in the Benld City Park.

The weekend begins with the park opening at 4:00pm on Friday, May 23rd. Swyear Amusements will offer carnival armbands from 6:00 until 10:00pm. Hicktown will provide music from 7:30 until 11:30pm.

On Saturday, May 24th the Education Station pre-school will sponsor its 4th annual Preschool 5K/10K at the Benld City Ball Field. Registration begins at 7:00am. The park will open at 4:00pm and carnival rides will be $1.00 each. Agent 99 will provide musical entertainment from 7:30 until 11:30pm.

Sunday, May 25th is the highlight of the weekend with one ton of free spaghetti served between 11:00am and 1:30pm. Musical entertainment will be provided by the Bagna Caulda Combo from 11:00am until 2:00pm. Avery Hill will follow from 3:00 until 7:00pm. Following Avery Hill, the Smash band will provide music from 7:30 until 11:30pm.. Also, the Bocce Ball Tournament will be played on Sunday starting at 1:00pm. Registration begins at noon in the beer tent.

Monday, May 26th is the last day of the event with the park opening at noon and closing at 5:00pm.

Italian specialties including tortellini soup, homemade Italian salami, meatball sandwiches, bagna caulda and spumoni ice cream will be sold along with various Italian novelty items including the annual festival shirts.

The 4th Annual Build Benld Craft Fair and Flea Market will be held on Saturday, May 10, at the Benld Civic Center from 9am until 3pm.

There will be over 48 vendors from the area selling items from crafts to baked goods. New booths this year will feature stained glass, silverware chimes and framed art and pictures.

Home-made foods, snacks and drinks will be available for purchase throughout the day.

(Hillsboro)--A large water main break on the east side of Hillsboro caused several communities to be under a boil water order. Hillsboro, Taylor Springs, and Schram City were all subject to the break which took place early Tuesday morning.

According to Hillsboro Mayor John Downs, the break has been fixed, and the city is currently waiting on tests to come back before lifting the boil order. The affected areas are under a boil water order until further notice. The order could be in effect until Thursday at the latest.

(Farmersville)--More information has been released regarding a single vehicle accident that killed Panhandle Co-Superintendent and Lincolnwood High School Principal Chad Langheim. According to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, 911 received a phone call regarding a single vehicle accident that happened on the Black Diamond Trail, north of North 31st Avenue.

Authorities from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, the Farmersville-Waggoner Ambulance and Fire Department, and the Pawnee Police Department responded.

According to reports, a 2001 Jeep driven by Langheim was southbound on the Black Diamond Trail when it left the road, striking a metal culvert. Langheim was extricated from the vehicle and was airlifted by ARCH helicopter to Memorial Hosptial in Springfield where he was pronounced dead.

The Panhandle School District announced that they would have crisis counselors available this week for students and faculty. The accident remains under investigation by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, and the Sangamon County Coroner's Office.

A Calhoun County High School teacher faces state and federal charges in connection with a bomb threat on Monday.

According to Illinois State Police, Calhoun County States Attorney Rick Ringhausen on Thursday charged 36 year old Michelle Smith of Jerseyville with Falsely Making a Terrorist Threat. Bond was set at $500,000.

Following an investigation by authorities, Smith has been incarcerated since Tuesday.

On April 28, at apporximately 1:00pm, a typed letter was found in a bathroom at the high school indicating the presence of a bomb in the school. Students and teachers were evacuated from the school and a search was conducted by multiple law enforcement agencies. Non explosive device was found.

In a related matter, after the state charges were filed, a federal charge of conveying a false threat was made and Michelle Smith was taken into federal custody and was being held without bail.

The Macoupin County Fair and Agricultural Association and Starr's Primal Meats of Carlinville are announcing a day of fun to benefit and kick-off the Macoupin County Fair.

Starr's Primal Cook-Off will be held on the Macoupin County Fairgrounds beginning with set-up for teams at 5:30am on Saturday, June 21st. The fairgrounds will also play host to the Greasy Chin 5K at 10am on the same date. The Cook-off and 5k are open to the public and entry forms may be obtained by going to the Fair website at www.macoupincountyfair.org.

The event will include the 5K and rib cook-off with dinners available for purchase beginning at 4pm with music by the band Hicktown to follow.

The 162nd Macoupin County Fair will be held June 23-28 at the Macoupin County Fairgrounds.