Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
Illinoisans finally have a plan for what “getting back to normal” might look like — and how long it will take. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-phase plan allows for a gradual reopening of businesses, gatherings, events and more — with a strategy that divides the state into regions and takes a careful look at the spread of COVID-19.
Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.
(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that he wants to work with lawmakers in the General Assembly, but lawmakers have not yet returned to Springfield since March.
Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.
Rend Lake – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Rend Lake is announcing that the Rend Lake Dam/Spillway Bridge will be closed to all through traffic from 7:30 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13.
In the event of inclement weather the inspection will be moved to May 14. Watch for closure signs at Sugar Creek parking lot and the west entrance to the Rend Lake dam. This closure is necessary for engineers to perform a periodic inspection on the Rend Lake main dam/spillway bridge. Periodic inspections are conducted every two years on all bridges at Rend Lake which are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
For further information feel free to contact the Rend Lake Project Office and Visitor Center at 618-724-2493.
ST. LOUIS – Four SIU baseball players were named to the Missouri Valley Conference’s Scholar-Athlete teams, the league announced Thursday. Ian Walters was named to the First Team. Brad Harrison, Mason Hiser, and Austin Ulick were named to the Honorable Mention team.
Walters (Paducah, Ky.) was off to an incredible start in 2020, leading the MVC in hits, doubles, stolen bases, assists, and on-base percentage. He also ranked highly in the league in batting average (2nd), total bases (2nd), walks (2nd), runs scored (3rd) and slugging percentage (7th). Walters reached base in all 18 games and recorded a hit in 17 of them, including 15-straight games to close the season. Walters reached base at least twice in 16 of 18 games. Walters holds a 3.881 GPA in sport administration.
Brad Harrison (O’Fallon, Ill.) was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team for a third-straight year. He posted a 3.00 ERA over 18 innings. Most notably, he pitched five shutout innings in SIU’s win over USC. He also pitched five shutout innings in a win over Northern Illinois. Harrison’s ERA ranked eighth-best in the league. In addition to being a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete team selection (HM in 2018, First Team in 2019), Harrison was a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week in 2018 and earned a spot on the All-MVC Honorable Mention team in 2018. Harrison holds a 3.64 GPA in civil engineering.
Mason Hiser (Augusta, Kan.) was SIU’s opening day starter in 2020 and was outstanding all season. He went 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA over 23 innings. His ERA ranked fourth in the league, and he also ranked fourth in the league in inning pitched. Hiser had two quality starts and did not allow more than three earned runs in any start this season. He started the year off with six shutout innings on opening day. Hiser holds a 3.387 GPA in sport administration.
Austin Ulick (Washington, Ill.) started 14 of 18 games at catcher for the Salukis and hit .362, which ranked fourth in the league. Behind the plate, he threw out six would-be base stealers, which led the MVC, and has now thrown out 22 runners over his three seasons at SIU. Ulick posted a .444 on-base percentage, which ranked eighth in the league, and drove home the winning run in a walk-off win over Northern Illinois. Ulick holds a 3.823 GPA in sport administration.
SIU placed three or more player’s on the league’s Scholar-Athlete teams for the fourth time in the last five years. SIU has placed at least two players on the league’s Scholar-Athlete team in eight of the last nine seasons.
When you think about obedience, is “joy” a word that immediately comes to mind? Probably not. But the Bible tells us to obey God joyfully. And as it turns out, there are lots of great reasons for being joyful as we obey God.
Here’s a link to at Daily Hope.
On Zoom yesterday a friend asked me how I was doing in the midst of the pandemic. “Without dismissing the death and economic pain,” I answered, “honestly, I find the whole thing epic. I feel invigorated and called to serve.”
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.
If you were paying any attention to the news Thursday afternoon — and we suspect you were — you know there is a passionate debate underway right now among political partisans over the Justice Department’s decision to drop the case against General Michael Flynn. They are screaming.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.
Problems continue for Illinois residents signing up for unemployment
As the number of people seeking unemployment benefits continues to rise in Illinois during the COVID-19 pandemic, many say they are still experiencing problems filing claims.
Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.
Amelia Morris is the 2020 recipient of the Rebecka Garavalia Lab Choir Award.
Amelia Morris
Chosen by her fellow choir members, Amelia exemplifies all the criteria for this award, according to music teacher Alisa Leffler.
“She is a leader in the classroom, a responsible student and an excellent musician,” Leffler said.
A four year chorus member Amelia also performs in local theatre. She is active in Pyramid Players, Artstarts and Kre8ive. She has also appeared on the Rend Lake College stage. Amelia was slated to appear as Sharpay Evans in the 2020 Benton Grade School production of High School Musical Jr. The show was cancelled due to the COVID19 Pandemic. Amelia is a three time Superior soloist in Music Contest and often performs The National Anthem at local events. She is a member of the Jazz Band, a student of dance and participates in the music ministry at First Christian Church Benton. The daughter of Matt and Joelle Morris, Amelia is the big sister to twin siblings Rachel and Willis.
“It will be hard to fill the hole Amelia will leave in the Lab Choir. She is an outstanding vocalist and will be greatly missed. It has been an honor working with Amelia and being a part of her vocal training” says Leffler.
Recent recipients of this award include Benton High School students Mady Darr(2016), Trinity Price(2017), Kadinz Wilson(2018) and Delaney Leffler(2019)
