Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
As the calendar flips over to May this week the clock is ticking a little louder for members of the Illinois General Assembly as they try to iron out details on a number of crucial issues including concealed carry.Gov. Quinn says that cities should make the decision about concealed carry and not lawmakers.
Here’s the AP story that appeared in the Southern Illinoisan.
BY JOHN D. HOMAN
Logan Media Services
EFFINGHAM – The John A. Logan College women’s golf team has an eight-stroke lead over Rend Lake after first-round play in the two-day Region 24 tournament event at Effingham Country Club.
The Vols posted a score of 369 compared to 377 for the Warriors. Further back in the pack are Lincoln and Kaskaskia colleges. Logan is seeking its second regional title in the last three seasons.
Top individual performer for the Vols was freshman Brittanie Garrison of Carmi with an 84 (43 on the front nine and 41 on the back). Freshman Molly Borowiak of Nashville had the second-best score for Logan at 89 (44, 45). Freshman Abby Miller of Anna-Jonesboro was third at 96 (50, 46). Sophomore Kelsey Cicardi of Pinckneyville was fourth at 100 (54, 46) and Dana Kaufmann of Carterville was fifth at 102 (51, 51). Kaufmann’s score was not counted. Only the top four scores are counted on each team.
“We played in the same kind of weather conditions today that we’ve dealt with all spring – cold, rainy and windy, which made for sloppy fairways,” said Vols head coach Bill Glenn. “That’s why I was proud of the way the girls kept things together today. It was a good effort.”
Glenn said he expects the scores to improve Monday in the second and final round of the tourney as the weather forecast is sunny and warm.
“I think we’re capable of shooting in the 340s or 350s, and if we can do that, we should have a pretty good chance at winning,” he said. “An eight-stroke lead is not a comfortable lead by any means, but it’s better than being down eight.”
By Tom Wheeler
Rich Herrin took the 85-86 SIU basketball program when it was at an all-time low. The year before Coach Allen Van Winkle had five starters back while Herrin started his era with only FOUR letterman back: Doug Novsek, Steve Middleton, Dan Weiss and Brian Welch. These four played .o8 percent of SIU’s game minutes and contributed 108 of 2,044 points (.05 percent) in the 84-85 season. Somehow Rich’s first team won 8 games (4-12 in the conference) including a big win at St. Louis University. Remember also, this team was put on probation by the Missouri Valley and was not allowed to play in the post-season tournament.
Coach Herrin has always said that this team laid the groundwork for the Saluki’s later success. Checking closer I found that that is not the only groundwork that five of these players laid.
Let me explain about five of these special players!
Thad Matta is now head coach at Ohio State University. He is one of only two coaches who have posted 20 wins in their first 13 years. He has won five Big Ten titles, was runner –up in the NCAA tournament in 2007 and made the final four again in 2012. The Hoopston-East Lynn High School star played at SIU and Butler where he also coached. He moved on to Xavier before Ohio State and has a great resume of his assistants moving up the coach’s ladder, Illinois Coach John Groce being an example.
Steve Middleton is in his fifth year as an associate head coach at Oklahoma State. The Brooklyn New York native ended up in Carbondale and after a great career at SIU he became a very prosperous coach at St. Mary’s High School in Paducah, Kentucky where he was 81-35 his last four years. Ex-University of Kentucky standout Travis Ford was so impressed with Coach Middleton that he convinced him to enter the college scene. Middleton has become one of the top recruiters in the nation and he has joined Coach Ford at Eastern Kentucky, then Massachusetts University and now at Oklahoma State.
Doug Novsek came to SIU from the famed Ron Felling Lawrenceville High School period. He was runner-up for the prestigious Illinois’ Mr. Basketball award after leading the Indians to an undefeated record which included an Illinois State Championship. Doug was the basketball captain his last two years at SIU before entering the college coaching ranks. He has been an assistant for five years at Southwest Texas, three years at Illinois State, four years at the University of Nebraska and is in his seventh year as the associate head coach at the University of Nevada.
Randy House was a four year starter at SIU where he scored over 1,000 points and he has taken these “Rambo” type qualities he learned under Coach Herrin at Benton High School and then at SIU to become a top Junior College coach at Rend Lake College. Last season Coach House got his Warriors to the National tournament for the first time in the school’s history and topped that journey this year by winning the NJCAA D-II Tournament in Danville. Their 87-69 Championship win over Morraine Valley of Chicago was a fitting way to prove to fans they were truly the number one team at Danville. More impressive during their 30-3 season record is the fact they won the GRAC Conference being the “only” school in the conference that was not a Division I school.
Wayne Harre was a Nashville high School All –State player who first played at Kaskaskia College in Centralia (where he was later inducted into the schools Hall of Fame) before moving to SIU to be a Saluki. Wayne returned home to coach the boys JV team before he decided to become the Nashville girls’ coach. In 13 years at the helm of the Lady Hornets his team has won 362 games while losing only 64. His worse season in these 13 years was in 07-08 when he “only” won 22 games and lost 8 (that was his worst). His team’s success at the IHSA state tournament includes finishing fourth twice, finishing third twice and this year they were the IHSA Class 2A state champs finishing 33-2.
SIU Salukis – 1985-86
MT. CARMEL, Ill. (April 28, 2013) – Jarret Bednar threw six scoreless innings for Rend Lake as the Warriors won 3-1 twice on Sunday at Wabash Valley and took first place in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference with only four games to go before postseason play.
Bednar (Decatur) improved to 6-1 as a starter for the Warriors this season. He gave up only three hits and had three strikeouts in the 3-1 nightcap win for RLC. The victory makes Rend Lake 16-5 in the league – the same as Wabash Valley. Since RLC took two out of a three-game series, the Warriors from The Lake move into the top GRAC spot.
Blake Deaton (Mt. Vernon) just seems to know how to score. Whether at the plate or on base, Deaton’s play against Wabash Valley came up clutch and helped RLC grab the #1 place in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference.
Justin Busekrus (O’Fallon) and Blake Deaton (Mt. Vernon) each had a RBI for RLC in the nightcap. Ty Broady (Greenville, Ky.) scored Rend Lake’s third run on Brandon Allen’s wild pitch in the top of the fourth. Wabash’s run came in the bottom of the seventh after Jeff Smith advanced to third on Brady Wright’s (Jonesboro) wild pitch and was then brought in on a double by Tim Barry. Wright picked up his 10th save of the season. Allen got the loss. RLC outhit Wabash 5-4 and Rend Lake had two errors to WVC’s zero.
There was more hitting in the first game, but there were also more innings. And there were more strikeouts and more runners left on base – RLC stranded six, WVC five. The outcome was still 3-1 Rend Lake in nine innings. The game winning run for Rend Lake came when Deaton led off in the top of the ninth with a single. Zack Jones (Mt. Vernon) sacrificed him over to second with a bunt and Deaton scored on an error by WVC first baseman Conor Dishman.
The Warriors from Rend Lake outhit WVC 9-4 and Wabash’s defense committed two errors this time, compared to RLC’s none. Deaton, Jones and Aaron Choate (Mt. Vernon, Ind.) all had doubles for RLC and Jones had Rend Lake’s lone RBI – a double in the top of the sixth to score Deaton.
Rend Lake’s mound man Nick Andros (Tunnel Hill) struck out 10 batters, and gave up four hits and one run in six innings. Logan Tabor (Marissa) threw two innings of relief and Wright got the save in the bottom of the ninth after getting Dishman to fly out and Rey Perez to hit into a double play.
| FINAL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rend Lake College (32-14) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Wabash Valley College (32-14) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
RLC, now 33-14 overall this season, will play a nonconference game at Lindenwood University – Belleville on Monday before wrapping up the season with a three-game series against conference rival John A. Logan College. Their first game will be played at 3 p.m. Thursday, at JALC. The doubleheader will be played at noon on Saturday, May 4, at RLC. It will be the Warriors’ regular season closer and final home game. For all things athletic at The Lake, visit RLC online at www.rlc.edu/warriors.
|CARTERVILLE, Ill. – Rend Lake and John A. Logan split in college softball action Sunday, forcing a deciding third game at 3 p.m., Monday, at JALC. It was the opening round of a NJCAA DI Region XXIV Tournament that was postponed by rain on Friday and Saturday.
In Sunday’s first game, RLC dominated and won on the mercy rule, 13-5. The Lake scored two in the third, four in the fourth and seven in the fifth on a dozen hits and committed one error. Taylor Thomas (Arcola) improved to 10-7 on the mound this season after throwing all five innings – three strikeouts, four walks, five hits and four earned runs. RLC catcher Alaina Reeves (Mt. Vernon) had one of her best games of the year with a bat: 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Haley Miller (Rockport, Ind.) had a monster game hitting: 2-for-3 with a triple and six RBI. Breanne Pelker (Nashville) was 2-for-2 with three runs scored. Every batter in RLC’s lineup had at least a base hit.
The Lady Volunteers scored two in the first, two in the second and one in the third for five runs on five hits and one error. The losing pitcher was Heather Johnson with Taylor Brackett catching.
The nightcap featured home runs by Rend Lake’s Molly Whaley (Benton) and catcher Abbie Lehman (Marissa). But it also featured three errors by Rend Lake in the field that resulted in five unearned runs for JALC and a 15-7 loss for The Lake.
Logan scored three runs in the second, six in the third, four in the fourth and two in the fifth for 15 runs on 16 hits and three errors. The winning pitcher was Sara Kroeger with Brackett behind the plate.
RLC scored first with a run right off the bat. It got another run in the third, four in the fourth, and tacked on one more in the fifth for seven runs on nine hits. The losing pitcher was Amanda Holloway (Benton) with Lehman. Holloway went three and two-thirds innings and is now 10-13. She struck out one, walked four and gave up 11 hits and 13 runs, eight of which were earned. She was relieved in the fourth by Erica Wilson (O’Fallon) who walked one and gave up five hits and two earned runs. Hitters for The Lake: Whaley was 2-for-3 with a home run and a RBI; and Lehman was 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
“We are in that situation where you either do it and win tomorrow or your season is over,” said RLC Head Coach Dave Ellingsworth. “I told the players today, you’ve really got to love the fact that you are playing games … where every at-bat, every pitch and every defensive play is meaningful. I believe they are relishing that.
We hit the ball really well today. In the second game, we didn’t struggle hitting, but we struggled otherwise. If we hit the ball like that tomorrow, and play some defense, we’ve got a good shot at moving on to the final four.”
Two Region XXIV Final Four spots are filled. Lake Land and Olney Central have advanced in the tournament after sweeping Southeastern Illinois and Kaskaskia, respectively. Rend Lake is now 25-25 overall. For all things athletic at The Lake, visit RLC online at www.rlc.edu/warriors.
Virgil Lee Schirmer, 72, of Christopher, IL, passed away peacefully on April 26, 2013, at Heartland Regional Medical Center of Progressive Supranuclear Palsey.
Virgil was born June 23, 1940, at Herrin Hospital to George Schirmer and Irene (Lewis) Schirmer of Mulkeytown, IL.
He married the late Patsy Baker of Christopher, IL in July 24, 1959. Virgil was a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and retired after 36 years of service. In his younger years, Virgil was an active member of the Jaycees and Masonic Lodge in Christopher. Virgil was a member of the First Christian Church in Christopher and served in many capacities, most notably as a deacon and elder.
Mr. Schirmer was preceded in death by his wife Pat, who passed in 2008, and his parents. He is survived by his daughters Tina Fletcher (Martin), Cindy Kreider (Matt), and Trish Sherk (Jeff), six grandchildren:
Cassandra Hargraves, Kyle Hargraves, Jake Fletcher, Anna Mae Kreider, Emily Ruth Kreider and Luke Schirmer Kreider. He is also survived by his brother, Russell Schirmer (Joanne). Two nieces Kelli Blaiser(Dale) and Kimbra Pistono(Jeff)
Funeral services will be held at the First Christian Church in Christopher, IL, on Sunday, April 28. Visitation will be held from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. with the funeral service beginning at 5:00 p.m with Rev. Jerry Akin officiating.
Private graveside services will be held at the Mulkeytown Cemetery
Gilbert’s Funeral Home in Christopher is handling funeral arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to CurePSP (httPs://give.psp.org/) or Hospice of Southern Illinois and will be accepted at the church.
(NOTE: One of the all-time great all-around athletes – perhaps the greatest ever – passed away yesterday. Marion Rushing, of Pinckneyville had a storied career at SIU and then played more than a decade in the NFL. I had the privilege to write a story about Rushing highlighting his career through the eyes of teammates and his biggest fan, his wife Bonnie. It’s a sports story and certainly a love story. Here’s the story that ran in SISC Magazine in September 2008. JM)
The Greatest Ever?
Joe Yusko and Gordon Lambert grew up playing sports in the late 1940s in Southern Illinois – a time when coal mine tipples dotted the landscape and the baby-boom era was just beginning.
Yusko, who played at West Frankfort, and Lambert, who played at Marion, wouldn’t meet until they became football teammates at Southern Illinois University in the mid-1950s but both athletes learned a valuable lesson while honing their athletic talents in their respective community.
“Once a teammate always a teammate,” Yusko said.
“And you always pick a teammate up when he’s down,” Lambert added.
It was that reasoning that prompted Yusko and Lambert to contact SISC with a story idea about Marion Rushing – who in their assessment was ‘the greatest Southern Illinois athlete ever.’
Certainly, anytime the ‘greatest anything’ is mentioned, especially athletes, is mentioned there’s differing opinions.
Who’s the greatest Southern Illinois athlete of all time?
Pose that question to 10 people and there’s a good chance you’ll get 10 different answers. Certainly the era involved, size of the school and the overall success of the team the individual played on have to be factored in making a choice.
But, regardless of all those intangibles individual personal accomplishments have to weigh heavily when trying to determine the greatest athlete to ever lace up a pair of sneakers.
For decades, perhaps more than a century, there has been a single standard used in athletics – from grade school children through college stars who have an eye on professional sports – that has determined success for all athletes. That standard is a ‘letter,’ the letter representing a respective school (‘C’ for Carterville, ‘P’ for Pinckneyville), the letter that signifies being a significant member of a team.
Letters are unique because they’re not won, they’re not awarded, but instead they’re earned. And if the greatest athletes are being considered and the letters earned are the measuring stick then Marion Rushing, with 13 letters during his four years at SIU, really is in a class all by himself.
During a meeting at a local restaurant Yusko and Lambert – who were both outstanding high school and college athletes in their own right – laid out a solid argument to back up their claim about Rushing’s athletic prowess. But it wasn’t so much the argument presented, after all 13 letters speak volumes, as it was the reasoning behind the decision by Yusko and Lambert to volunteer to tell their former teammates’ story.
Rushing has battled Parkinson ’s disease for more than 20 years – a debilitating illness that has robbed him of his ability to walk or talk.
“Rush (Rushing) was so unassuming and humble that he probably wouldn’t have talked about his success if he could,” said Yusko. “But, he was a great teammate and we wanted to tell his story for him.”
And a great story it is.
________________________________________________
By Jim Muir
When discussing all-time great athletes in Illinois the name of Thomas Dwight “Dike” Eddleman is often mentioned.
Eddleman grew up and starred at Centralia High School and later at the University of Illinois where he was a three-sport standout. He earned 11 letters in football, basketball and track during his collegiate days with Illinois. Eddleman has had books written about him, a street named after him and is still revered in the Champaign-Urbana area.
Joe Yusko believes that everything Eddleman is to Fighting Illini fans Marion Rushing is and should be to Saluki fans.
“He was that good and in the same category with Dike Eddleman,” said Yusko when talking about Rushing’s career at SIU. “In fact, Eddleman earned 11 letters and Rushing earned 13.”
Rushing earned letters in football in 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957 and in basketball in 1955, 1956 and 1957. He also lettered in track in 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958 and in wrestling in 1958 and 1959. Following college Rushing made his professional debut in the NFL in 1959 with the Chicago Cardinals. He played in the NFL for 7 years, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Cardinals over the course of seven year NFL career. Rushing also played in the AFL for one year, playing for the Houston Oilers the entire time.
Yusko graduated from West Frankfort High School in 1952 and went to the University of Illinois on a football scholarship. He was injured during his first year and returned home, later transferring to SIU where he played football for four years. It was at SIU in 1954 that Yusko and Rushing became teammates.
“He was off the charts athletically,” said Yusko. “He could do anything … when you think about the fact that he was good enough to play professional football, he started several basketball games and he set records in track and as a wrestler.”
Yusko used the word ‘humble’ repeatedly when talking about Rushing’s demeanor.
“He was a quiet guy, didn’t say that much,” said Yusko. “If you met him without knowing just how great of an athlete he was you’d have never known. He wasn’t the kind of guy that would toot his own horn. He was just very unassuming and humble. He was just a farm boy who happened to be a great athlete.”
Lambert, a retired Marion attorney, played basketball and baseball at SIU and was also a teammate of Rushing. Lambert echoed Yusko’s sentiments about Rushing’s quiet demeanor but added that the Pinckneyville native had a toughness about him that he had never seen in any other athlete.
“I remember during football season one year ‘Rush’ got his hand stepped on and it swelled up, I mean, twice its normal size, it was obviously broken,” said Lambert. “He would carry it kind of under his other arm so nobody could see how bad it was. We kept on telling him that he needed to go to see the trainer. He said emphatically, ‘I’m not going to do it, because if I do they’ll tell me it’s broken and they won’t let me play, and I’m going to play.’ He never did go to the trainer but he played the next game.”
Lambert said while other athletes would head to downtown Carbondale for the nightlife and perhaps a few beers, Rushing never was part of the group.
“He was just very dedicated,” said Lambert. “He was very religious, a good Baptist, just a very kind farm kid, but boy, what an athlete. While his athletic ability stands out he was as good a person as he was an athlete.”
When mentioning Rushing’s teammates, the one that has clearly been at his side longer than anybody is wife Bonnie. The couple has been married 44 years and has three children, Pam (Hall), of Herrin, Chad and Troy, who both live in Pinckneyville.
Bonnie now oversees her husband’s daily care. She said was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than 25 years ago and said his health has declined steadily during the past few years. Rushing can walk with assistance but can barely speak above a whisper.
“He won’t initiate any conversation, I think it’s just too difficult for him,” Bonnie said. “But, he understands when somebody talks to him.”
When asked how she first met her future husband Bonnie related a remarkable story – a story that would give proof that some romances are destined. Bonnie (Dodillet) grew up in Centralia and when she was a senior in high school visited her sister, Sue, who was a sophomore at SIU. The sisters attended a Saturday afternoon Salukis game and Bonnie took note of a picture in the program of the team captain, a strapping young man named Marion Rushing.
“I took one look at his picture and I thought, ‘oh man.’ I thought he was the cutest guy I had ever seen,” Bonnie recalled. “I cut the picture out of the program and I carried it in my wallet for three years before I ever met him.”
Even the circumstances surrounding the way Bonnie and Marion meant had a meant-to-be air about it.
“I had a friend named Bill Bush and we were driving from Centralia to Carbondale and he told me he wanted to stop in Pinckneyville and talk to a buddy,” Bonnie said. “I asked who his buddy was and he said ‘Marion Rushing.’ Well, needless to say I didn’t object to him stopping.”
Bonnie said she and Marion soon began dating but she waited several months to tell him about the picture she had carried all those years.
“He didn’t believe me until I pulled the shredded picture out of my wallet and showed him,” she said.
Following his career in professional football Rushing began a career as a farmer and also worked for more than 20 years as a coal miner.
“He liked hard work and he loved heavy equipment,” said Bonnie. “For leisure he loved to fish. I still get him on our four-wheeler and drive him around our property. We bought 360 acres in 1964, it’s just strip pits and hills and there are nice trails. He really enjoys that.”
Bonnie also used the word ‘unassuming’ when describing the way Marion looked at his athletic success.
“Certainly he was very competitive and he wanted to win badly but his ability was really no big deal to him, he just took it all in stride,” she said. “He didn’t care anything about applause or notoriety, he just did his very best and whatever happened, just happened. He always said there was more to life than sports. I always thought of him as a gentle giant.”
Bonnie said Marion has accepted his illness with the same attitude he had when he was excelling at four different sports at SIU.
“It has been a very tough road, very tough,” she said. “But, I have never heard him complain, not a single word. There’s no ‘poor, poor me’ he just takes things as they come and does the best he can.”
Sidebar story for Marion Rushing
Marion Rushing’s athletic career at SIU was one of a kind. No one had ever accomplished what he did as a Saluki athlete in the mid-1950s and no one has come close since . . . nor will they.
Rushing is a native of Pinckneyville where as a prep athlete, he was a football standout, a solid basketball player on Merrill “Duster” Thomas’ outstanding teams and a consistent winner in track as a high jumper and shot putter.
At SIU where he enrolled in the fall of 1954 and graduated in the spring of 1959, Rushing earned four letters in football, four in track, three in basketball and two in wrestling. The total of 13 varsity awards is the coveted accomplishment that he alone owns.
Another is that he was the first Saluki athlete to win SIU’s “most outstanding athlete of the year” award twice. Since Rushing gained the honor in 1956 and 1958, gymnast Rusty Mitchell duplicated the feat in 1963 and 1964 and basketball/track standout Chuck Benson in 1968 and 1969.
Statistics in Rushing’s era were not as refined as they became in later years and as a result there are no defensive records in football throughout his career. It is noted in Saluki history that he played at three different positions – end, center and guard – offensively while he was a defensive power as an end. And, yes, players performed on both offense and defense in those years.
As a senior in football in 1957, Rushing was team captain, received SIU’s most valuable player award and was a first-team all-conference choice after having been named to the second team the two previous seasons.
He likewise earned four letters in track where he excelled throwing the javelin. In fact, he established a new SIU record in the event in his final season when he threw the spear 195 feet, 11 1/2 inches breaking a 26-year-old mark.
Football assistant coach Bob Franz filled in as SIU’s wrestling coach in 1958 when Jim Wilkinson took a sabbatical leave of absence, talked Rushing into competing in the one-on-one sport rather than basketball and it proved to be a good decision for the one-time Panther prep star.
At 6-2, perhaps 6-3 depending on which SIU roster one prefers to accept, and 190 pounds, Rushing competed at the heavyweight class in wrestling and has the distinction of being a member of the only two undefeated (in duals) teams in school history. The Salukis earned the honor in both 1958 and 1959 with Marion claiming the conference heavyweight title in the latter year.
Perhaps the finest of all SIU honors Rushing owns, however, is that he was included on the charter class of the university’s sports hall of fame when it was formed in 1978.
Just 10 athletes from the post-World War II era were so honored when Rushing was included with the likes of Walt Frazier, Jim Hart, Chico Vaughn and Larry Kistoff. And, Rushing’s athletic career did not end when he left SIU’s campus as he enjoyed almost a dozen years in the NFL.
Unquestionably Marion Rushing is one of the finest all-around athletes ever produced in Southern Illinois.
– Fred Huff –
What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder that is chronic and progressive, meaning that symptoms continue and worsen over time. As many as one million Americans suffer from Parkinson’s disease, which is more than the combined number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig’s disease. Incidence of Parkinson’s increases with age, but an estimated 4 percent of people with PD are diagnosed before the age of 50. The cause is unknown, and although there is presently no cure, there are many treatment options such as medication and surgery to manage the symptoms.
Parkinson’s disease occurs when a group of cells in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra begin to malfunction and die. These cells in the substantia nigra produce a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, that sends information to the parts of the brain that control movement and coordination. When a person has Parkinson’s disease, their dopamine-producing cells begin to die and the amount of dopamine produced in the brain decreases. Messages from the brain telling the body how and when to move are therefore delivered more slowly, leaving a person incapable of initiating and controlling movements in a normal way.
Parkinson’s disease can also cause several different symptoms. The specific group of symptoms that an individual experiences varies from person to person. Some of the most common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are:
* tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face
* rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk
* bradykinesia or slowness of movement
* postural instability or impaired balance and coordination
Source: Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (www.pdf.org)
Harrisburg, IL: Representatives of the Harrisburg Elks Lodge No. 1058 recently presented a check for $4,250 to the Fowler-Bonan Foundation in support of its “Clothes for Kids” program.
The check represented partial proceeds from the Elks 32nd annual charity Monopoly tournament held earlier this year. Habitat for Humanity of Saline County also was granted proceeds by the Elks.
Pictured are Fowler-Bonan Foundation executive director Kerry Camp, (l-r) Foundation board chairman Dale Fowler, Lodge Exalted Ruler Jessica Mitchell and Monopoly committee chairman Genny Craig, all of Harrisburg.
“The Harrisburg Elks are thrilled to support the Fowler-Bonan Foundation’s “Clothes for Kids” program, and our local Habitat chapter as well,” said Harrisburg Elks Exalted Ruler Jessica Mitchell. “Our support for these two charities is a working example of our “Elks Care, Elks Share” motto.
The Fowler-Bonan Foundation provides new clothing and shoes for underprivileged school children throughout southern Illinois. They annually assist more than 300 children in eleven southern Illinois counties.
“We are honored to receive this donation from the Harrisburg Elks,” foundation board chairman Dale Fowler said. “We are also very thankful for support that we have received from the lodge and all its members, over the long haul.”
The Fowler – Bonan Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, thus donations to the foundation are tax-deductable. The foundation’s phone number is 618-231-3904, and its mailing address is PO Box 848 in Harrisburg. They can be found on the web at www.FowlerBonanFoundation.com or on Facebook.
Harrisburg Elks Lodge No. 1058, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America, was chartered on November 10, 1907 and boasts a membership of over 500.
Pictured are Fowler-Bonan Foundation executive director Kerry Camp, (l-r) Foundation board chairman Dale Fowler, Lodge Exalted Ruler Jessica Mitchell and Monopoly committee chairman Genny Craig, all of Harrisburg.
By J. Larry Miller
Larry Miller, executive director Franklin County Farm Bureau
Rainfall last week and last night is keeping planters on the sidelines and farmers anxious about getting serious about corn planting. I certainly would like to have drier conditions but the cool temperatures are of greater concern. Frost last Friday morning and possible frost on Thursday morning does not allow soils to warm and promote plant growth. An example is yards are not growing as fast because of the cool temperatures. Not that I want to mow more often!
The House of Representatives continued to try to find a way forward on gun issues this week. A bill was introduced earlier this week allowing concealed carry based on permits that may be issued. The amendment stated that applicants would apply for a concealed carry license to their County Sheriff, or if the person lives in Chicago to the Superintendent of Police. The Sheriff or Superintendent then may recommend to the Illinois State Police that the permit be approved if the person meets the requirements of the proposed law. Once approved by the Sheriff or Superintendent, the Illinois State Police then may issue a license to a person meeting the requirements of the proposed law. This amendment was reportedly modeled after New York’s current “may issue” concealed carry legislation and was opposed by the NRA. The bill was called for a vote, but only received 31 yes votes, well below the total needed for passage.
Following the failure of the “may issue” concealed carry legislation, proponents of less restrictive concealed carry legislation introduced an amendment to HB 997. The amendment states that a permit for concealed carry shall be issued if a person meets the requirements of the law, among which include training requirements, a valid FOID card, and no prohibition from owning or possessing a gun under State or Federal law. The bill provides several restrictions on where a person with a concealed carry permit may carry a gun, including not carrying a gun into a courthouse, into a meeting of a unit of local government, into a school without the consent of school authorities, and other restrictions. The fee for a concealed carry license is set by the bill at $100, with the money used to support the Illinois State Police’s administration of the proposed law and to support a Mental Health Reporting Fund to enforce mental health firearms prohibitions. The amendment was supported by the NRA.
Because the amendment to HB 997 preempts home rule, not allowing home rule units of government to regulate concealed carry, the bill needs a supermajority of 71 votes to pass per the Illinois Constitution. The amendment was called for a vote late on Thursday evening, but received only 64 yes votes. A parliamentary procedure was used to place the bill on “postponed consideration”, meaning the bill is still alive and can be called at a later date.
In the Senate there have been negotiations, led by Sen. Raoul and Sen. Bivins, on the issue. It has been reported that details of a possible proposal will be released soon, most likely before next week’s Senate Third Reading deadline.
The issues surrounding concealed carry and gun control issues continue to develop at a rapid pace. Concealed carry and other gun issues will receive more discussion and attention in the weeks to come. IFB continues to express our support for legislation that authorizes concealed carry through an appropriate application process and oppose legislation creating more stringent gun control laws. HB 997 is on Third Reading in the House. IFB supports HB 997 and other amendments that support firearm rights and opposes those that limit firearm rights.
Remember we are farmers working together. If we can help let us know.
By Bruce A. Fasol
The recent cutbacks in art and music instruction in West Frankfort schools, is prompting local residents to form a support group. A meeting will be held Wednesday May 1st to discuss how volunteers could replace the loss of some in-school instruction with private instruction.
The meeting will be held at GranDo Arts Studio, which is ironically located in a former Frankfort elementary school in West Franfort . The meeting begins at 6:30pm, and is open to anyone wishing to help by offering ideas. A number of key decisions are expected to be made at this meeting according to organizers.
Budget cuts were made by the District 168 School Board to music programs and art programs in the district. This was done, in part, due to efforts to trim the budget due to the shortfall of money from the state. Cuts were made to class offerings in all aspects of music including vocal and instrumental instruction. However, arts were not totally eliminated from the curriculum entirely.
Even though this organizational meeting is being held in a business providing private instruction, organizers stress that this is not a profit venture, and instruction would come from volunteers on a free basis to students,eventually if the program can be organized.
