(Litchfield)--The southbound lanes of Interstate 55 near Litchfield and Mt. Olive were shut down Tuesday morning as a result of an accident. According to Illinois State Police, 78 year old Wilma Polley of Springfield, Missouri was heading north on the interstate when she crossed the center median, and collided with a southbound box truck driven by a 59 year old Arlington Heights man.

Polley was airlifted to a St. Louis area hospital for treatment of injuries. She was cited with improper lane usage, and with failure to wear a seatbelt.

Interstate 55 was shut down for close to two hours as a result of the accident, which remains under investigation.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has posted weight limits on Shipman Road at the bridge over Coops Creek.

According to IDOT, due to the results of a recent load rating inspection of the bridge located 2.6 miles north of IL Rt. 16, the Illinois Department of Transportatio's Bureau of Bridges and Structures has instituted a load posting at 15 tons for single unit vehicles and 20 tons for combination vehicles using the bridge.

Vehicles over these weight limits are instructed to use IL Rt. 4 and Rt. 16 as a detour route.

Signs are now posted at the bridge.

Navy Petty Officer Troy Cloe Jr., from Pana, was named "Sailor of the Year" in a December 9th luncheon at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state. Cloe said, " To become sailor of the year, you have to be dedicated. Leadership fosters good work ethic and values that lead to sailor of the year. The Sailor of the Year program was established in 1972 to recognize an individual sailor who best represented the ever growing group of dedicated professional sailors at each command and ultimately the Navy.

The Macoupin County Historical Society plans to sponsor a county history book that will be published in 2015.

The primary content of the book will be family histories that will be limited to 500 words. There will also be a general history of Macupin County included.

The Society is urging county families to contribute to the book.

The hardbound book will be published by Acclaim Press which has published hundreds of county history books.

More information about the book will be sent out in a brochure to county residents after the first of the year.

Montgomery County History & Family Book

(Litchfield) - The Montgomery County Genealogical Society has completed the "Montgomery County History and Family Book". The project which was co-chaired by Carol Hampton Berry and Deanna Reeves took more than a year to complete. The book will be available, beginning December 17th thru December 20th from 10 am - 4 pm, in the Research room at the Litchfield Museum/Route 66 Welcome Center and Sunday, December 21st from 1-4 pm. The book is on sale for Christmas for $59.95. After January 1st the price will be $ 64.95

A Litchfield man faces several charges after a single vehicle accident Saturday northeast of Gillespie.

According to Illinois State Police, 49 year old Jimmy Darrah was driving a 1999 Acura westbound on Rt 16 at Franke Road when he lost control of the car at 2:07am. The vehicle left the roadway and struck a utility pole.

Darrah was ejected from the Accura and sustained injuries. He was transported by Gillespie/Benld Area ambulance to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield.

State Police charge Darrah with DUI., driving while license revoked, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, improper lane usage and failure to wear a seatbelt.

(Springfield)--According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois hunters harvested over seventy six thousand five hundred deer during the seven day firearm hunting season. The figures are up from the seventy four thousand three hundred deer that were harvested the previous year.

Locally in Montgomery County, hunters harvested 862 deer during the 2014 season, up 31 from the previous year. Other surrounding counties: Bond County had 568 deer harvested, up four from the previous year; Christian County had 532 deer harvested, down four from the previous season; and Macoupin County had 1,201 deer harvested, down 21 from the year before.

A Mt. Olive man has been sentenced to 5 years in prison on drug related charges.

According to Macoupin County State's Attorney Jennifer Watson, on Thursday, Judge Kenneth Deihl sentenced 29 year old Eric D. Parish to 5 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Parish entered a plea of quilty to unlawful possession of methamphetamine manufacturing materials and unlawful possession of methamphetamine.

The allegations stem from incidents that occured at the 100 block of South Prange street in Mt. Olive. A structure fire investigation found materials consistent with the production of methamphetamine and upon further investigation Parish was arrested.

According to State's Attorney Watson, this is a prime example of how people who are determined to make methamphetamine endanger their communities.

Eric Parish, in addition to the prison sentence, was ordered to pay $2,500 to the Mt. Olive Police Department which was requested by the State's Attorney.

(Hillsboro)--The Montgomery County Board held a reorganization meeting on Monday. Being appointed as chairman was Roy Hertel. Appointed as vice chairwoman was Mary Bathurst.

The new board also set committee chairs. Named as chair of the Personnel Committee was Mary Bathurst; Finance Committee will be chaired by Megan Beeler; Economic Development will be chaired by Heather Hampton+Knodle; E.M.A./Ambulance will be chaired by Glenn Savage; Building and Grounds will be chaired by Bob Sneed; Connie Beck will chair the H.W.E. Committee; and Gene Miles will chair the Road and Bridge Committee.