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Two dogs wandered away from their home and fell into a sinkhole in Southern Illinois, but there is a happy ending to this story.

Around 2 PM Wednesday, a pair of hikers in the Stemler Cave Nature Preserve, between Columbia and Millstadt, Illinois, heard the sound of whimpering dogs.

The hikers followed the sound to the opening of a large sink hole. Emergency crews from both Columbia and Millstadt responded and were able to pull the two Dobermans, named Bullet and Legend, from the 60 foot deep hole.

The dogs were returned their owner with no serious injuries.

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Several southern Illinois counties are sampling the fruits of a land rush linked to a debated drilling practice, even as state lawmakers wrestle with how to regulate it.

 

Hundreds of thousands of dollars of fees have flowed in recent years into the coffers of Wayne and Hamilton counties from searches of title records, often by out-of-state people seeking prime parcels for exploration.

 

Locals believe the best is yet to come from the drilling technique commonly called "fracking."

 

Hydraulic fracturing uses high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel and chemicals to crack rock formations and release oil and natural gas.

 

Some environmentalists worry that could pollute. But Governor Pat Quinn and the industry believe it could create by some estimates some 40,000 jobs.

CARRIER MILLS, Ill. (AP) - Caterpillar Inc. and police say an explosion at one of the company's southern Illinois sites where mining equipment is repaired left one worker hospitalized and heavily damaged a building.

Caterpillar spokesman Rusty Dunn says it's unclear what caused the blast and fire yesterday morning in an unattached paint building. That building was heavily damaged. Saline County Sheriff's Office Lt. Tracy Felty says it happened near the village of Carrier Mills.

Dunn says an unidentified employee sustained burns and was taken to a St. Louis-area hospital. His medical status was not immediately known.

The Carrier Mills site and a related site in nearby Norris City together employ about 70 people. It's not clear how many workers were at the Carrier Mills location when the explosion happened.

Carrier Mills is about 140 miles southeast of St. Louis.