NEWS Notes on WGFA for Wednesday, May 27, 2009 >
Farmers make planing progress….. Rural Bankers optimistic…. 4-H to unveil learning program…. Mokena half-brother arrested for murder…. car-train colission in Iroquois County….. Five injured rain-slickened Route 17…..
There’s a 50% chance of showers and T-storms today, high near 79. Scattered rain showers reported Tuesday in Illiana.
– KCC baseball wins 3rd in row at JUCO World Series –
* Just minor injuries reported after a train vs Semi tractor-trailer colission Tuesday in Stockland Township. The driver of the semi was unable to stop while eastbound on Iroquois County Road 1050-N. 49-year-old Tertius Naude of Danville slid into the path of the northbound K.B. & S freight train. The train hit the tanker-trailer, splitting it in half. A Haz-Mat Team from Vermilion County was notified when it was leanred the tanker was hauling ammonia sulphide, a liquid fertilizer. Sheriff’s Police reported the train consisted of two engines and a box car. Several feet of track was torn up when both engines derailed. Reports of four persons were treated and released at IMH in Watseka.
* Seven people in two vehicles were involved in a wreck; three were treated at Riverside Hospital in Kankakee Tuesday after a 3-vehicle colission on Route 17 at Kenny’s Corner. State Police report LaShaan Lott of Kankakee and Rosa Cintora of Kankakee were both eastbound near 10,000-E Road. An unidentified third car was stopped to make a left turn when Lott was unable to stop sue to a wet pavement. The colission involved all three vehicles.
* Will County authorities have announced a first-degree murder charge against a man accused of stabbing his 4-year-old half-sister to death.
State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced the charge Saturday against 18-year-old Keith Randulich of Mokena.
Randulich appeared in Will County Circuit Court on Saturday morning. Associate Judge Bobbi Petrungaro set bond at $10 million.
Mokena police found the body of Sabrina Clement in the basement of her home on Friday evening.
Detectives questioned Randulich and he was arrested early Saturday and booked into the Will County Jail.
It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney.
* A monthly survey of rural bankers in the Midwest indicates growing optimism about the rural economy. According to Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, the Rural Mainstreet Survey’s confidence index, which tracks expectations for the rural economy six months out, rose significantly from April to May. Goss says bankers are clearly getting more optimistic in their economic outlook.
Goss says the overall index for the rural mainstreet economy also increased for the third straight month. But he says other parts of the survey continue to point to economic weakness. Both the farmland-price index and the farm-equipment sales index showed declines from April. The farm equipment sales rating hit a record low since the monthly survey started in 2005.
* To address the nation’s need to remain competitive in the global agribusiness marketplace, 4-H has developed a cutting-edge, research-based, online learning system called Project Pathways. Part of 4-H’s Ag Science program, Project Pathways, was created to help drive youth ages nine to nineteen to develop an interest in pursuing ag science careers and ultimately, to grow America’s next generation of leading ag innovators.
Developed by scientists and educators within America’s unique land-grant university system, Project Pathways features a wide variety of topics and activities all sharing the goal of capturing a young person’s interest in ag science and keeping them engaged. Curriculum paths on plants, animals, and biotechnology help youth discover the diverse kinds of science, engineering and technology at play in the ag industry today through lesson plans, hands-on activities and online social networking opportunities. {courtesy Agri-Marketing Weekly}
” Last week, farmers across Illinois breathed a sigh of relief as excellent weather conditions allowed them to get a lot more of their crops in the ground. Corn is now 62 percent planted statewide, compared to 20 percent a week before. Soybeans also fared well, as 22 percent are now in the ground, compared to just 1 percent the week before. Three percent of the sorghum crop is now in the ground compared to less than 1 percent last week.
Though these numbers are encouraging, they all still fall well below their respective five-year averages. USDA crop statistician Mark Schleusener says farmers can put away their panic buttons, but might still keep a worry button in their back pockets because they’re certainly not out of the woods yet.
94.1 FM, WGFA
