Admit it — you’ve driven and talked on the cell phone at the same time.

Has it ever distracted you while driving?

There are some new laws in Illinois concerning texting, cell phones and other issues. Click here for more.

The Quincy Police Department recently conducted a survey on cell phone usage. They observed 1,000 cars on Broadway, and 6 percent of the drivers were using cell phones.

As Jim Morrison and The Doors used to sing …. “Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel … “

Temperatures are beginning to plunge and roads are starting to get slick, so be careful out there as 2009 comes to an end.

Adams County Sheriff’s deputy Randy Huseman is working today and says the main roads are in pretty good shape, but many of the side roads in rural areas are ice-covered.

At least this isn’t the first snow or snap of cold weather. “That’s when we respond to a lot of calls of vehicles off the road, and we just leave a lot of them there, and they pick them up the next day,” Huseman said.

In Saturday’s Herald-Whig, I have a column about an Illinois State Police trooper who can especially relate to the tragic Christmas day death of a fellow officer near St. Louis. He was killed by a sliding vehicle while standing behind his own squad car.

Huseman himself has had a few near misses in his 10 years with the ACSD. “I’ve had to jump out of the way a few times,” he says. “It’s just people who aren’t paying attention.”

Please be careful tonight on New Year’s Eve, and let’s ring in 2010 on a safe note.

For a small town on the Mississippi River, Hannibal sure attracts more than its fair share of bank robbers.

Monday’s robbery of the US Bank marks the third bank robbery since March 2007 in Hannibal. There were at least five bank robberies in Hannibal this past decade. The US Bank location on McMasters Avenue has been hit three times since 2000.

In at least three of the robberies, the person or persons caught were from out of town. U.S. 61 goes through Hannibal (and there are proposals for it to eventually go around instead of through town). However, that might make it a more likely target for people coming through on the way to Chicago, St. Louis or Kansas City.

The robbery Monday is strange because the person who took the money from US Bank simply vanished. You would think a 40- to 50-year-old man with a slight limp, black jacket and black gloves would be noticeable if he’s walking up toward the Huck Finn Shopping Center.

This is pure speculation, of course, and Hannibal Police Department investigators are being typically quiet about the robbery, but this guy must have had a plan. He either had a vehicle stashed away in a nearby parking lot or changed his clothing/appearance in a nearby business or residence before apparently getting away.

Here’s to hoping somebody talks or does something dumb to get caught, or an alert citizen sees something and calls law enforcement.

Matt (left) and Mark Wiewel rode their bikes last summer to raise money for local and state food pantries.

Always cool when fathers and sons hang out together and help out a great cause. Click here for more …

Here is a photo of the stuff collected by the Courthouse Caring For Christmas group.

It went to the New Start Rescue Mission in Quincy, for all the right reasons. This is a group of men down on their luck who probably wouldn’t get much for Christmas had it not been for the Adams County Courthouse crew.

Most of the time people at the Adams County Courthouse deal with the tougher issues of life. But a finer group of people might be hard to find.

The day before Christmas, most of us were making last-minute shopping runs or final plans for gathering the next day.

For several Adams County Sheriff’s deputies, Illinois State Police Meth Response Team and Illinois Department of Corrections parole agents, Christmas Eve was spent cleaning up a meth lab they say was found at the Diamond Motel in Quincy.

Bet these two aren’t having a merry Christmas ….

It wasn’t what the officers wanted to be doing. Several had family plans and other activities scheduled.

Yet there were there. It’s their job, and they know they can get called to duty at any time, at any place.

Got this release from the American Kennel Club, for all you animal lovers out there ….

The American Kennel Club continues to remind pet owners to heed warnings about an alarming rise in “dog-nappings.” State houses across America have taken notice and are proposing laws to toughen penalties for those who steal pets.

Since last year, when AKC first noted concerns about the prevalence of pet theft, more dogs are disappearing. Through November 30, 2009, the AKC has tracked more than 115 missing pets via incidents reported by news media and customer reports. In 2008, the AKC tracked a total of 71 thefts.

For much more, click here.

AS HE HAS DURING THE entire Matthew Ruble case, defense attorney Jesse Gilsdorf used Monday’s sentencing to talk about other people not being charged with providing alcohol to minors.

His client was sentenced Monday to 14 years in prison for aggravated driving under the influence. Two of the three people Ruble crashed into last April — Jordan Schieferdecker and Alissa Zornes — died after the accident on Ill. 104 near Five Points.

Gilsdorf constantly brought up other issues during the case, disputing testimony Ruble was in the wrong lane of traffic, and instead focusing in on the Ashley Grave, the driver of the other car who survived, and her blood alcohol level of .067.

Gilsdorf called three people to the stand as defense witnesses Monday, two Illinois State Police troopers and a woman who apparently complained many times about partying in a certain location.

Ruble testified he went to the Payson residence of Veronica Carter, a fellow Influent employee and supervisor, to party that fateful night.

Ruble said he’d been pressured to party with Carter for three weeks, and he finally gave in. He got a friend identified only as “Pete” to buy his beer and vodka in Quincy, then drove to the Payson residence.

He gave his keys to Carter since they were partying and intended on staying there overnight, he said.

Once there, he claimed to have downed at least 20 shots of vodka. Ruble said Carter made him drinks that night. Later in the evening a dispute arose after some “drama” involving other girls, Ruble said. He said he was tired of the drama and doesn’t remember leaving. Police said previously that Ruble hit a garage and caused property damage when he left.

Ruble says he drove back to Quincy, got “scared” because he was intoxicated and driving, and decided to drive to Baylis where his family lived.

Gilsdorf wondered why Carter wasn’t arrested, though investigators say they were not sure who supplied alcohol at the party. He wondered why the people in Liberty, where Zornes, Schieferdecker and Grave were visiting before the crash, were not arrested.

For all his posturing and attempts to blame others, Gilsdorf failed to impress family members of the victims.

“I am not blaming Ashley,” said Amy Zornes, Alissa Zornes’ mother. “Too many witnesses said you (Ruble) crossed the line.”

Judge Scott Walden was patient during the hearing. At one point he cut Gilsdorf off and said he wasn’t interested in who prosecutors should or will arrest in connection with the case.

Amy Zornes had the last word. As she left the stand after a powerful victim impact statement, she glared at Gilsdorf and said, “Know your code of ethics.”

Gilsdorf protested to the judge about irrelevant comments, saying they didn’t pertain to the victims. Zornes then chided the Mount Sterling attorney for inappropriate laughter during the hearings.

“I am a victim, big-time,” Zornes said, striding back to her seat.

Indeed.

Quincy resident Sheila Gibson is struggling right now in a Springfield hospital and could use some encouragement.

Sheila was hit by a drunk driver in 2002 and confined to a wheelchair. She became an advocate for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Quincy Neighborhood Federation and the Quincy Housing Authority. She got her degree from Quincy University in 2008 and has inspired many. A few weeks ago she developed some health issues, and one of her legs will be amputated after Christmas.

If you want to send a card or word of hope to Sheila, here is her address:

Sheila Gibson/CO Memorial Hospital, 701 N. First Street Room G-238, Springfield IL, 62307.

Got this from a reader in regards to a scam surfacing in Quincy. I’ll let the reader tell you about it in their words.

My 21 year old son put a $180 item on Craigslist several weeks ago. He was contacted by “Paul” who said he wanted the item and would pay extra if my son would hold it for him until he could arrange a pickup. The “purchaser” then sent a Money Gram (money order) to my son by mail. After sending the check the “purchaser” sent two e-mails to my son,  here is one of them:

Hello i buy and resell so we bought lots of things unfortunately my worker sent to payment that was meant for another item if i try to cancel it i get to loose from my bank  cause it was issued with your name on it so when receive it get it cashed at your bank deduct your payment send the the difference via western union to the details i would provide for you at the moment am in london.
thanks
paul

The checks came with no return address yesterday (Dec. 14). The “purchaser” sent three money orders each in the amount of $915. Today I took the money orders to a local bank and was told they had no way to check them but would suggest contact Money Gram or I just run them through the system and wait five days for them to clear. I always check money orders with the issuer if I don’t know who I’m dealing with and it only takes five minutes. I contacted Money Gram and they ran the numbers of the money orders and here is what I was told:

The check ending in number 518  was cashed for $600 on 10-05-09,  the check ending in number 538 was cashed for $20 on 9-29-09,  and the ending in 528 was cashed for$10 on 9-29-09.

In other words they are counterfeit, though they look very real.

Being in the financial services business I am aware scams happen every day and it was obvious something was up. The problem is if I was not aware of the transaction, my son could be out $2,565.

I would ask that you let your readers know that this does happen in Quincy and to be very careful when doing transactions over the Internet.