Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
The Spiel, a new daytime talk show premiering in January, is collecting new or lightly used toys and children’s clothing today at the show’s studios in the Illinois Star Centre mall, Marion.
Donations may be dropped off today between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. The show is also collecting gift wrapping materials.
Items will be distributed to needy children this weekend.
For more information, call (618) 534-5645 or email admin@SpielOn.com.
Benton Police were advised of a reckless driver heading north bound on Hwy 37 heading into Benton on Tuesday. Officers attempted to stop the suspect vehicle, however, the vehicle did not stop. Through investigation, police discovered the abandoned vehicle on Election Street and later located the suspect driver nearby. The suspect was identified as Harold W. Keim, 54, of Carbondale. Keim was arrested and charged with driving while license suspended, aggravated reckless driving, fleeing and attempting to elude a peace officer, and disobeying a stop sign.
Also on Tuesday, Jason E. Kirkpatrick, 26, of Sesser was arrested by Benton Police after a traffic stop at West Main and Mill Street. Kirkpatrick was charged with driving while license suspended.
By JIM MUIR
The Benton Rangers opened the new basketball season on a losing note Tuesday night dropping a 68-59 decision to the Egyptian Pharaohs.
Egyptian rode the one-two punch of Demantae Price and Justin Prewett, who combined for 52 points in the victory in second round action from the first-ever Goreville Invitational Tournament. Prewett had 28 and Price had 24 respectively.
The Rangers fell behind 19-10 after one quarter and trailed by 12 points early in the second quarter before rallying behind the play of Nathaniel Higgins and Daulton Ward to outscore Egyptian 19-12 in the second frame and trail only 31-29 at the half.
Benton actually grabbed the lead early in the third quarter surging ahead 34-33 but fell behind again and trailed 43-41 heading into the final frame.
“I thought we showed some character to come back after falling behind early,” said Benton coach Ron Winemiller. “When we got the lead I thought we were going to be all right but we had a couple of possessions where we shot too quickly and we made a couple of ill-advised passes and then when we fell behind again we just couldn’t bounce back.”
The Rangers entered the game with virtually no varsity experience except for Cole Forby who was a mainstay on last year’s 19-9 regional championship team.
“I thought our inexperience showed some during the game and I really do think this team is going to get much better,” said Winemiller. “That is not coach-speak, I think we have the potential to be a pretty good team as the season rolls on. I really like this team, they have been a great group to work with.”
While Benton was playing in its first game of the season Egyptian, who played in last week’s Christopher Turkey Tournament, was playing game number five, a point not lost on Winemiller.
“I think we had some season opening jitters and they (Egyptian) got off to a great start tonight,,” said Winemiller. “But, I think we settled down in the second quarter.”
Nine players saw action for Benton in the season-opening loss but only four hit the scoring column with three of them going for double figures. Ward led the way with 23 points, followed by Higgins with 20 and Forby with 10. Ethan Hughes also added six points for the Rangers.
In other action last night Goreville, who has established itself as the team to beat in the tournament, walloped Anna-Jonesboro by a score of 81-41. The tournament is idle Wednesday night but resumes on Thursday with a pair of games and also two games each on Friday and Saturday.
Here is the schedule for the remainder of the week:
Thursday
AJ vs. Egyptian 6 p.m.
Johnston City vs. Benton 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Benton vs. AJ 6 p.m.
Goreville vs. Johnston City 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Egyptian vs. Johnston City 6 p.m.
Benton vs. Goreville 7:30 p.m.
By JIM MUIR
The Southern Illinois economy and mining industry took a direct hit Tuesday with the announcement that the Willow Lake Mine near Harrisburg will close permanently.
Below is a press release issued by Peabody Energy:
Big Ridge, Inc. today announced it will permanently close the Willow Lake Mine near Harrisburg, Ill. The mine has failed to meet acceptable standards for safety, compliance and operating performance, and these ongoing issues make the operations unsustainable.
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letters are being provided to approximately 400 employees. Willow Lake sold 2.2 million tons in 2011.
Peabody expects to incur a largely non-cash, one-time charge estimated at $40 to $60 million ($0.10 to $0.15 per share after tax) in the fourth quarter primarily to write off assets, increase asset retirement obligations and accrue severance. The company expects little effect on ongoing earnings from the closing.
By BRUCE A. FASOL
The Meridian Bobcats rode the 26 points from senior Josh Jones enroute to a 67-43 win over the West Frankfort Redbirds. This was the opening game for coach Dan Dewerff and his Redbird team.
Meridian jumped out to a 15-9 lead after one quarter of play. The Redbirds mounted comebacks but could not get close enough to make the game in doubt. Meridian continued to build their lead in each quarter.
Leading the way for the Redbirds was sophomore Christian Dunning with a dozen points. Seniors Trent Easley and Nick Korolenko were the only other ‘Birds in double figures with 10 points apiece.
The Redbirds stay on the road as they travel to Sesser-Valier Friday night. The home opener is set for Saturday night against Pinckneyville.
A Murphysboro woman has been announced as the winner of a prestigious scholarship at John A. Logan College. Theresa Heern is the recipient of the Dr. Fred Nolen Scholarship.Through his Orthodontic practice, Dr. Nolen was well known and beloved by hundreds of Southern Illinoisans. As a long time member of the John A. Logan College Foundation Board of Directors, Dr. Nolen contributed of his time, energy, and resources to support John A. Logan College and its students.
by BRUCE A. FASOL
West Frankfort Police Chief Jeff Tharp has announced an arrest in the recent burglary of a West Frankfort home. No date was identified when three guns were found missing from a home in the 100 block of West Sixth Street. Chief Tharp said the victim could not pinpoint when the guns were stolen.
The guns stolen were: a .22 long rifle, with a Bushnell scope, a Colt commander .45 caliber pistol, stainless steel and a 100th Anniversary edition, and also taken was a Heritage Roughrider .22 caliber pistol.
On Nov. 14, West Frankfort Police saw the investigation lead to Fairfield. A Fairfield resident told police there that he had purchased one of the firearms but did not know it was stolen. A similar story then emerged with a Thompsonville man saying he bought a gun, not knowing it was taken in a burglary.
West Frankfort Police developed a suspect in the case, and arrested 22-year-old Justin M. Murphy at a home on North Illinois Avenue in West Frankfort.
According to Chief Tharp, Murphy has admitted to investigators he entered the home of an acquaintance and took the weapons.
Murphy has been charged with residential burglary and the theft of the firearms.
By ERIN STEINSULTZ
Benton Public Library will hold its first Christmas Talent Show Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
“This is something new we’re trying this year,” said library director, Erin Steinsultz. “We’ve had Christmas concerts in the past that have been well attended. Violinist Rebecca Curry has performed for us many times, and she came up with this idea to offer the teens of our community a chance to show off their talents.”
The library has a signup sheet at the front desk for any teen wishing to participate. Interested performers should sign up before December 7.
“We’re hoping for a variety of performers, from musicians to poets and anything in between, as long as it has a holiday theme,” said Steinsultz.
Curry and her family have been long-time supporters of the library.
“Rebecca and her brothers have all volunteered at the library. We appreciate their support. I think this is a great idea, and I appreciate her interest in helping the library to provide new things,” said Steinsultz.
Performers and audience members should please refrain from wearing perfume or cologne due to severe fragrance allergies.
The library encourages all teens to sign up and share their talents.
“I know we have a lot of talent in the teens that come here regularly. All teens are welcome to perform, even if they’re new to the library,” said Steinsultz.
Anyone with questions or who is interested in performing can call the library at 618-438-7511.
By BILL FORD
SIUSalukis.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla.— Cartaesha Macklin scored a career-high 34 points, but the Southern Illinois women’s basketball team couldn’t hold off Florida Atlantic in an 85-81 loss to the Owls Saturday night at the UM Thanksgiving Tournament.
Playing in front of friends and family in her home state, Macklin netted 10 field goals and went 12-for-14 from the free throw line to amass the fifth highest scoring total in SIU history and the highest output by an SIU player in 10 years.
Sophomore guard Cartaesha Macklin scored 34 points.
SIU head coach Missy Tiber said Macklin’s night was sparked by a move back to the point guard position with freshman Rishonda Napier playing the two guard.
“We made some key changes that allowed two players on our team to be better, and I think it made our whole team better,” Tiber said. “‘Cartaesha had a phenomenal game. And Rishonda went for 12 points and eight rebounds. I think it also made her better.”
Despite suffering their fourth loss of the young season, the Salukis (0-4) showed tremendous signs of improvement from their previous three games. Southern came out on top of a back-and-forth first half and led as much as seven in the second before a late run by FAU (3-2) pushed the Owls over the top.
The two teams had eight ties and nine lead changes in the first half before the Salukis took a 47-44 lead into the break. The Salukis’ 47 first-half points were the most SIU has scored in a half since netting 49 in the second half against DePaul last season. Macklin scored 26 in the first half alone.
Southern ran out to its biggest lead at 51-44 two minutes into the second half before FAU responded with a 13-0 run to slingshot into the lead by six points at the 14:36 mark. The Salukis battled back within one point, but the Owls pushed the lead back to eight points at 68-60 with 10:26 left.
SIU again responded, fighting back to tie the game at 73-73 on a 3-pointer by Napier, and later tied the game again at 76-76 on a 3-point play by freshman center Dyana Pierre. The Salukis had chances in the final minutes, but missed a few free throws and couldn’t get the defensive stops they needed.
“You’ve got to give our kids credit. They didn’t roll over. They continued to fight,” Tiber said. “When it came down to it, our kids played unbelievably hard. We had a couple of turnovers and we missed a couple of free throws that we’d love to have back.”
After struggling from the free throw line through its first three games, SIU shot an efficient 20-for-27 from the stripe (74.1 percent) against FAU. Despite missing leading rebounder Alexus Patterson, who was out with an injury, SIU out-rebounded the Owls 54-39 led by a career-high 15 boards from Pierre.
Sophomore guard Mercedes Griffin also turned in the best performance of her young career, scoring 10 points with seven rebounds.
“Our defense is going to take some time,” Tiber said. “I told the team, we can get better with our effort and we can get better rebounding the ball — simple things that you can measure. I think our kids did that tonight.”
The Salukis will be back in action at noon Thursday at SIU Arena hosting IPFW for Field Trip Day.
By TOM WEBER
SIUSalukis.com
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Saint Louis administered a dose of reality to unbeaten Southern Illinois on Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena, handing the Salukis a 61-51 defeat.
The Billikens (3-2) led the entire game and by as many as 17 points before a late flurry by the Salukis (3-1) in the final two minutes cut the final deficit to 10.
Dantiel Daniels scored 12 points in the second half for SIU.
After winning its first three games against lesser opponents by an average of 24 points, SIU head coach Barry Hinson said his team found SLU more problematic.
“They are very unique — their bigs play like guards, and their guards play like drivers who are more comfortable inside the arc,” Hinson said.
SIU started a lineup with no player taller than 6-foot-5, but the size disadvantage didn’t hurt Southern in the paint, as it won the rebound battle, 36-28. Instead, the Salukis had trouble guarding 6-foot-11 center Rob Loe and 6-foot-8 forward Cody Ellis on the perimeter. Those two combined to make 6-of-9 shots from 3-point range. Loe made all three of his tries from downtown and finished with 12 points.
“We have some major focus problems,” Hinson said of his defense. “You look at what Loe and Ellis did tonight, I promise you, we had big circles around their names that they like to step out and shoot the three, and I think Loe is going to send (Saluki forward) Davante Drinkard a Christmas card.”
Southern’s offense was its downfall in the first half, as it shot just 24 percent from the field. The Salukis trailed, 28-17, at the half, and guard Jeff Early had 11 of his team’s points. For the fourth-straight game, he finished as the team’s top scorer, totaling 15 on the night.
There were bright spots for SIU in the second half. Forward Dantiel Daniels, who has been nursing a pulled groin, got untracked and scored all 12 of his points in the final 20 minutes. Southern shot 50 percent in the second half, but couldn’t make a game of it, because SLU shot 55 percent in the half.
“They were switching defenses so much,” said Saint Louis head coach Jim Crews. “They were playing a triangle-and-two, 2-3 zone, they were playing man-to-man, switching man-to-man. They played four different defenses against us.”
The Salukis have been able to neutralize their size disadvantage this season by using superior speed in the open floor. They entered the game with 50 transition points on the season, but could only pick up six against the disciplined Billikens.
“We’re small but were pesky,” Hinson noted. “We’re going to have to play that way.”
Both teams played short-handed. SIU was without starting forward Antonio Bryer and reserve guard Josh Swan, while SLU was short three players, including its top scorer, due to injury.
“It’s the next guy up — the season is long,” Crews said. “As much as I believe in the process, you still get a little antsy to get the process moving quicker.”
The Salukis never made a serious run in the game, in part because they fell behind quickly, 15-4. Hinson said he took responsibility for the team’s slow start.
“I told them part of this is on me — the first half we were stagnant, and the second half we did some things better,” he said. “The most encouraging thing is we didn’t quit.”
