Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
Gov. J.B. Pritzker heralded the Senate’s passage of a bill that raises the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 and pledged to include the increased costs in a balanced budget proposal later this month.
Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.
Businesses from across the state came together in Springfield on Monday to urge the Illinois lawmakers to amend a proposed minimum wage increase to allow for lower pay outside the city of Chicago.
Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.
Keith Absher, 71, of Benton, IL passed away Saturday morning February 9, 2019 at his home surrounded by his family.
He was born in Logan, IL on April 1, 1947, the son of Troy & Dorothy Aline (Kirkman) Absher.
He married Diane Cameron on February 20, 1970 in Benton and she survives.
Mr. Absher is survived by his wife, Diane Absher, of Benton; three children, Karen Lynn Byrd, and husband Keith, of Biloxi, MS, Tammy Sue Overton, of Benton, IL and Wendy Marie Gose, and husband Charles, of St. Louis, MO; 11 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren: several nieces and nephews; one brother, William Absher, and wife Patti, of Logan, IL.
Mr. Absher was preceded in death by his parents, Troy & Aline, sister, Sharon Jackson and one brother, William Absher.
It was Mr. Absher’s wishes to be cremated.
There will be a gathering of family & friends from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. on Saturday, February 16th at the Morton & Johnston Funeral Home in Benton.
For more information or to send online condolences please visit www.mortonjohnstonfuneralhome.com
Ralph Dixon Jr., 86, of Sesser passed away on Sunday February 10, 2019.
He was born on November 14, 1932 in Sesser to Ralph and Ruth (Clinton) Dixon. He married Ruth (Johnson) Dixon on May 22, 1954 and she survives of Sesser.
He is also survived by his children Dennis Dixon of Benton and Deanna (Angelito) Tacderas of Carterville; grandchildren Andrew Hughes, Nathan (Pam) Dixon, Ian Tacderas, Rebekah (Noah) Little, Sarehna (Curtis) Vaughn and Sean (Krista) Tacderas; five great grandchildren Kaylee, Alex, Evan, Felix and Rosabel.
He was a Veteran of the United States Army, a member of the UMWA and a member of the 1st Baptist Church of Sesser. He was preceded in death by his parents, one son Randall “Moe” Dixon and two infant brothers Johnny Dixon and Tommy Dixon.
Funeral services will be on Friday February 15, 2019 at 1:00 PM at the Brayfield-Gilbert Funeral Home in Sesser with Brother Chris Hottenson officiating. Visitation will be on Friday from 11:00 AM until the time of the service at 1:00 PM at the funeral home. Burial will be at Maple Hill Cemetery in Sesser.
For more information go to our website www.gilbertfuneralhomes.com
Chicago’s most powerful alderman is out on bond. A yearslong federal investigation brought forth one count of attempted extortion for Ald. Ed Burke in January.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.
God Is Always Present, Regardless of How You Feel
by Rick Warren
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21 NIV).
When you are a baby Christian, God gives you a lot of confirming emotions and often answers the most immature, self-centered prayers so you’ll know he exists. But as you grow in faith, he will wean you of these dependencies.
God’s omnipresence and the manifestation of his presence are two different things. One is a fact; the other is often a feeling. God is always present, even when you are unaware of him, and his presence is too profound to be measured by mere emotion.
Yes, he wants you to sense his presence, but he’s more concerned that you trust him than that you feel him. We live by faith, not by sight or by our feelings.
The situations that will stretch your faith most will be those times when life falls apart and God is nowhere to be found. This happened to Job. On a single day he lost everything—his family, his business, his health, and all his possessions. And then, for 37 chapters, God said nothing!
How do you praise God when you don’t understand what’s happening in your life and God is silent? How do you stay connected in a crisis without communication? How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they’re full of tears? You do what Job did: “Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised’” (Job 1:20-21 NIV).
Tell God exactly how you feel. Pour out your heart to him. Unload every emotion that you’re feeling. Job did this when he said, “I can’t be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak” (Job 7:11 GNT).
He cried out when God seemed distant: “Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house” (Job 29:4 NIV).
God can handle your doubt, anger, fear, grief, confusion, and questions.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over
What person do you go to when life gets tough? What do you say to them that you also need to say to God?
How is your faith in God on display when you go through a crisis?
Why is God more concerned about your faith than your feelings?
Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.
Two people familiar with the discussions tell The Associated Press that Major League Baseball is considering one of two matchups for its 2020 series in London: New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals or Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals.
Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.
When freshman guard Javon Freeman scored to open a nine-point lead with less than eight minutes left in Sunday’s Missouri Valley Conference game, it appeared Valparaiso might be on its way to upending Loyola.
Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.
The mound that Yu Darvish stood atop Sunday felt like a cozy home.
Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.
Among an elected official’s top priorities should be to promote an environment where the economy can thrive so businesses can grow jobs and families can flourish.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.
