Jennifer A. Lang — Benton, IL

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Jennifer A. Lang, 56, of Benton, IL, passed away at 2:44 p.m., on Sunday, October 14, 2018, at her residence.

She was born on November 6, 1961, to Richard and Vera (Bunker) Lang in Ann Arbor , MI.

Jennifer loved traveling, spending time outdoors, and being with her family and friends. She was especially fond of her pet cats.

Jennifer is survived by her one brother, Richard G. Lang, Jr.; one nephew, Bryan Lang; and companion, Earl Glisson.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Richard Sr. and Vera I. Lang; and two brothers, Steve and Barry Lang.

Funeral Arrangements have been entrusted to Pate Funeral Home, 301 S. Main St., Benton, IL.

Services will be held at a later date.

Memorials contributions may be made to Second Chance Rescue of Franklin County and will be accepted at the funeral home.

Online condolences can be given at www.patefh.com.

Filed Under: Obituaries

Gov. Rauner announces $1.5 million in Recreational Trails Program grants

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Bruce Rauner today announced nearly $1.6 million dollars has been awarded for recreational trail development projects in 11 Illinois communities, helping them meet the growing demand for improved trails and outdoor recreation facilities.

“These projects will help provide safe places for children and families, hikers, bike riders and horseback riders to enjoy the outdoors,” Rauner said.

Funding for the grants is supported by the federal government’s Recreational Trails Program (RTP), which provides up to 80 percent reimbursement to local grant recipients for the cost of the trail projects.  Grant recipients provide the balance of the funding for the projects.

The RTP grant program in Illinois is administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).

“We are pleased to partner with the local government sponsors of these trail construction, improvement, and maintenance projects that will benefit trail users in communities throughout the state,” said IDNR Director Wayne Rosenthal.

“These projects are going to add to the state’s impressive collection of trails and strengthen multimodal connections in several of our great communities,” said IDOT Secretary Randy Blankenhorn. “Not only will they improve transportation, but they will also enhance the quality of life for residents and families.”

Grants may be awarded for the acquisition of land from willing sellers, trail construction and rehabilitation, purchase of equipment for trail development and maintenance, restoration of areas damaged by unauthorized trail use, construction of trail-related support facilities (such as parking and restrooms), and educational programs.

The projects were recommended for funding by the Illinois Greenways and Trails Council, composed of representatives of statewide motorized and nonmotorized trail user organizations, statewide agency organizations, organizations involved in greenways and trails, and metro-area greenways and trails coalitions.

Recreational Trails Program grant recipients, grant amounts and project descriptions are listed below.

Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grants

                                                           

City of Aurora (Kane County), $140,000 for replacement of a crumbling concrete staircase which connects the south end of the East Branch of the Fox River Trail with New York Street in downtown Aurora. The Fox River Trail extends nearly 60 miles from Oswego north to near the Wisconsin border. The city will install a metal stairway to replace the concrete steps.

City of Charleston (Coles County), $76,100 for trailhead improvements related to the existing 12-mile Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail. Includes the development of new concrete parking with an accessible parking area at Country Club Road, new concrete parking with accessible parking at Decker Springs Road, and new concrete parking with accessible space at the TGM elevator entrance.

Cook County Forest Preserve District, $200,000 for repairs to the underpass at 119th and LaGrange Road and repair of the adjacent trail in Palos Hills. The underpass is on an 8.1-mile trail loop and has a stone aggregate surface. This loop connects to the 20-mile Sag Valley Trail System, which also connects to the 40-mile Palos Trail.

DuPage County Forest Preserve District, $200,000 to construct .6 miles of equestrian/multi-use trail along the northern boundary of St. James Farm. The trail will expand the preserve’s equestrian recreational opportunities and provide links to an existing carriage walk along Winfield Road and to a future trail through Cantigny Park.

Macon County Conservation District, $180,800 to repair three bridges spanning the Sangamon River and Stevens Creek. Wood material used in bridge construction is reaching the end of its useful life and is in need of replacement, while embankment settling and scour erosion require regrading and riprap replacement. The project will replace deteriorated wood and fencing and reshape the bridge embankment.

Village of Mahomet (Champaign County), $98,000 for a concrete trail south from the parking lot through 120 yards of bottomland forest. The launch site will include a small overlook with a bench, interpretive signage, and a turnaround to accommodate visitors with disabilities. The launch will create a concrete ramp with an incline to water level for kayak and canoe launching.

Prairie State College District 515, (Cook County), $135,800 for a 1-mile walking trail. The trail loop will be located in a 30-acre nature preserve.

Rockford Park District, (Winnebago County), $104,000 to develop a 1.2-mile trail at Alpine Hills Adventure Park to provide a unique year-round “gateway” trail for beginner level mountain biking.

Shabbona Township, (DeKalb County), $72,000 for acquisition of approximately 5.7 acres of dedicated right-of-way through purchase, land donations or through intergovernmental agreements between the applicant and four other public bodies. This strip of land will be used to provide 2.5 miles of new paved path connecting the Village of Shabbona to other outdoor recreational opportunities.

Southern Illinois University – Touch of Nature Center, (Jackson/Williamson counties), $200,000 to construct a 5-mile multi-use mountain bike trail that will eventually be part of a 30-mile park. These trails will be natural surface and primarily built by removing the top layer of soil. They will be easily accessible to mountain bikers, hikers and trail runners, but built with mountain biking as the intended primary use.

Village of Tinley Park (Cook County), $192,000 to address the maintenance needs of the existing 2.5-mile multi-use trail which will include patching, resurfacing and restriping the path. Maintenance activities also include minor drainage improvements, small culvert replacement, ditch regrading and landscape restoration.

Application forms  for the next round of grants are available by contacting the IDNR Division of Grant Administration, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271, or by calling 217-782-7481, TDD 217-782-9175, Ameritech Relay 800-526-0844, or on the IDNR website at www.dnr.illinois.gov. The annual deadline to submit an RTP application is March 1.

Filed Under: Breaking News

Democrats reveal yet again that diversity of thought cannot be tolerated

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment

In the beginning, it was safe to ignore Kanye West and his growing bromance with President Trump. After all, West is a performer, which makes it easy to discount his political talk, and he is married to a Kardashian, which, well, enough said.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

Filed Under: Columns

Your Daily Prayer: A Prayer for Righteousness

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment

A Prayer for Righteousness – Your Daily Prayer

Your Daily Prayer Devotional Banner

A Prayer for Righteousness
By Pete Briscoe

In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality – Proverbs 12:20

Elementary school was a difficult time for me; I was picked on quite a bit. One afternoon as I waited for the bus, a classmate ridiculed me relentlessly. My anger was building slowly; but when he said something about my mother, I walked over and kicked his kneecap. And he crumpled to the ground.

I boarded my bus feeling ashamed. All the way home my conscience told me, That was wrong. I got off the bus at home and waited for the school to call my parents, but the phone didn’t ring.

While it appeared I’d gotten away with injuring that kid, condemnation ran through my thoughts: Not only was that wrong, but you are wrong. Even at such a young age, I resisted turning to God because of my self-condemnation. Surely He wanted nothing to do with such a naughty kid.

Isn’t it heartbreaking how our conscience – something hardwired within all of humanity by our Creator – can be twisted in such as way as to distance us from Him?

Some of you are still struggling with your little judge. He’s reminding you of what you did in college. He tells you how you messed up your first marriage. The Evil One – our accuser – has hijacked your conscience, and you’re desperate to know if he can be silenced.

Yes, there is a way to clear our conscience before God – but there is only one way.

I know what you might be thinking: Jesus came to forgive our sins. This is enough. We can live with the guilt if we are forgiven.

But there is so much more to our life in Christ than this, friends!

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ… cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death…” (Hebrews 9:14)

He wants you to be free – free from not only the acts of death, but also the guilt that results. I don’t know what guilt you live with, but I do know Jesus can silence it. All you have to do is ask Him.

Jesus, knowing You forgive all my sins was enough. But there is more? Praises to You! Yes, I want to be free from guilt and shame! Yes, I long for this abundant life! Amen.

Filed Under: Columns

Editorial: Of toilets and contractors: Is Pritzker up to the job of renovating Illinois?

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Which do you imagine is the more difficult task: governing Illinois or completing a home remodeling job.

Here’s a link to the editorial at the Chicago Tribune.

Filed Under: Columns

Pastor Rick Warren: You Are Saved for a Purpose

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment

By Rick Warren — October 16, 2018

”Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? . . . So let people see God in and through your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20 The Message).

There’s an amazing paradox to God’s grace. It’s absolutely free to all who come to Jesus in faith. Yet the grace of God is the costliest gift we’ll ever receive.It cost God’s Son his life.

So in light of what Jesus has done for us, how should we respond? We must be grateful. One way we can show our gratitude to God is by making our lives count.

You can’t really understand the grace of God and the price he paid to make it available to you while living how you want to live, ignoring the commands of Jesus, or wasting your life on things that don’t matter. The Bible says it this way: “Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? . . . So let people see God in and through your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20 The Message).

After the failed assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan, I remember him saying, “I have a new sense that I was spared for a purpose and that all my time belonged to God after that.”

We all should have the same sense of purpose. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we were spared for a reason: to make a difference with our lives. Jesus didn’t die on the cross so we could go on living any way we like. He made us for a purpose—and he redeemed us for a purpose, too. He wants us to fulfill that purpose.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (NIV). You were given spiritual gifts, abilities, education, and relationships for a reason—to help other people and tell them about Jesus.

God saved you so he can use you.

 

Have you trusted Jesus for your salvation?

The Bible says we can only get to heaven by trusting in God through his Son, Jesus Christ. And we don’t have to earn God’s love or work our way into heaven. The Bible says, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).

If you haven’t trusted in Jesus and committed to following him, why wait any longer? If you’re ready to step across that line and make a decision to believe in Jesus Christ and follow him, pray this prayer:

“Dear Jesus, you have promised that if I believe in you, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day.

“I confess my sin, and I believe that you are my Savior. You have promised that if I confess my sin and trust you, I will be saved. I trust you when you say that salvation comes by grace, through faith, and not by anything I do. I receive you into my life as my Lord. Today I’m turning over every part of my life to your management. You have the right to call the shots in my life.

“Jesus, I want to relax in your love. Thank you that I don’t have to earn it or work for it. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you instead of serving myself. I humbly commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In your name I pray. Amen.”

If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus.

Talk It Over

  • How have you seen people squander their spiritual gifts?
  • Are you concerned you may be squandering your spiritual gifts? Talk to God about what he wants you to do. He’s gifted you for a reason.
  • What spiritual gifts and talents has God given you that you can use to help others?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.

Filed Under: Columns

Red Sox ace Sale out of hospital, will rejoin team at Game 3 of ALCS in Houston

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Red Sox ace Chris Sale was released from the hospital Monday and will rejoin the team in Houston before Game 3 of the AL Championship Series.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

Filed Under: Sports

SIU coach Nick Hill’s weekly press conference

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Nick Hill

Head coach Nick Hill’s weekly press conference

Story Links

CARBONDALE, Ill.  — Here are excerpts from Saluki football head coach Nick Hill‘s weekly press conference held Monday afternoon at Saluki Stadium. Southern Illinois hosts Indiana State on Homecoming on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. The contest will be televised on ESPN+. 

On the significance of Homecoming.
The football game is what brings everybody together. I know what it means to go out there and play well and give them something to celebrate on Saturday. We’re excited for the opportunity to go out there and do it against a good football team in Indiana State. It’s a team that’s improving, stuck to their plan and gotten better. That’s evident watching them on film. It’s a great challenge in front of us. We have a lot of things to keep correcting. We have to get back to playing the football we know we can play. 

On the team’s lengthy injury list.
I’ve always said that nobody cares. Indiana State doesn’t. It’s all about results. This game is going to create injuries. We probably have more than most, but that’s our job, that’s what we get paid to do, is to get the next guy coached up and go out there and give us a chance to win. That’s what we’ll continue to do, with a good attitude, great body language, come out and practice and coach, and do everything in our power. We’ll get a couple guys back, we’ll lose a couple more, but we’ll line up on Saturday with the confidence with the guys we have to go out and play well.

On the defense’s inability to stop the run at Illinois State.
You turn on the film and there’s opportunities to get stops. We’re fitting power and two guys fit outside the puller, and (the running back) hits inside and you’re going to get beat. Not all of it was just physically getting manhandled up there. We had guys that physically won one-on-ones, but it takes all 11 guys in the right spot. Missed tackles, some inexperience, (knowing) when to fit double pullers, (Illinois State) created some problems. I definitely don’t think up front we have to recruit better. We feel like we have some good players, a lot of them. 

On winning. 
You have to make things happen. You can’t sit back and hope it to happen. You have to be the aggressor and go and attack to finish the ballgame. Winning starts to steamroll and breeds success. Unfortunately, we haven’t had a lot of them that have went our way. You got to get one to get the next one, and then you start to learn how to win and what it feels like to win. You gotta find a way at some point to say, enough’s enough, and go out there and do it. Everybody has a hand in it. We have to coach better in the second half, we have to coach better late in practices. We have to focus for an entire 60 minutes. 

On the talent level on defense.
I don’t think we’ve lined up against anybody that has more superior athletes than us. You’re not going to find better athletes than some of the guys we just named off — Anthony Knighton, Jordan Berner, Jeremy Chinn, Madre Harper. They’re as good as anybody. We have to coach them better and put them in better spots, and at the end of the day, we have to make some plays. We have to tackle better, we didn’t tackle good in space, we mis-fit some things, and when we did fit it up right, we had trouble getting (the running back) down.

On Sam Straub’s running ability versus Illinois State.
I thought Sam did his best job of taking care of the football. His 49 yards rushing, all of them were passes called. I think four of them were first-down runs, which we emphasized him doing. For him to take the next step, it’s what he’s got to continue to do. If it doesn’t feel good, something’s not there, pull it down. He’s an athletic kid and tough to bring down. Picking up four or five yards is a positive play. 

On the offense’s performance the last two weeks.
Any time you have 200 yards of offense in back-to-back weeks, there’s a lot of things you can look at to do better, starting with me. Nobody’s happy in that room. Your job as an offense is to score points — we scored three points, we didn’t put it in the end zone. We could sit here all day and talk about things we could do better.

On how the team handles adversity.
You can’t feel sorry for yourself. That’s what this game will teach you. It will humble you really quick. It’s easy to talk about in the offseason, about how football teaches you about life, there’s no greater sport. When you’re in it, and you’re 1-5, it doesn’t feel good, then you really learn those lessons. It’s our job as coaches to be those mentors, be honest with (the players). They’re not the only ones who have that gut-wrenching feel. The coaches are right there with them. You have to keep the core, fundamental things of your program at the forefront. You have to keep challenging them as men. You’re going to win with class, you’re going to lose with class. You’re still going to sit in the first three rows, still going to be respectful. We’re going to lift hard, we’re going to practice hard, we’re going to run on and off the field. We’re going to have a great attitude and body language on the sideline. It’s our job as coaches to mentor that. If you see somebody slipping in that area or feeling sorry for themselves, it’s your job to get them out of that.

On the team’s effort at Illinois State.
There wasn’t anyone who traveled last week who wasn’t in it to win it and didn’t compete until the very end. Madre Harper on the last touchdown passed up two guys to tackle (the ball carrier) and roll him into the end zone. If I would have seen him jogging after that guy on a 49-yard touchdown run because he doesn’t really feel like going to get him because we’re down by 35, but he didn’t. He chases him down, you play to the whistle, you keep competing. That’s we all have to do and the only way it’s going to get better. If we want to flip it around and finish this season strong, we have one choice and it’s to keep working with a good attitude.

On the team’s depleted running back corps.
We went into the (Illinois State) game with three backs — Perk (Chris Perkins), D.J. (Davis) and Tremayne (Lee), who is a freshman who has continually gotten better. He’s gotten stronger and lost 10 pounds, which we challenged him to do. He’s done a great job on the scout team. We used one game last week and we’ll probably use those three other games at some point and still let him redshirt.

Filed Under: Sports

Cubs hire Anthony Iapoce from Rangers to replace Chili Davis as hitting coach

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Anthony Iapoce will become the Cubs’ third hitting coach in three seasons, but he has an advantage his predecessors didn’t.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

Filed Under: Sports

Brewers blank Dodgers to seize 2-1 lead in NLCS

October 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Jhoulys Chacin combined with four relievers on a five-hitter, Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer and the Brewers beat the Dodgers 4-0 on Monday to take a 2-1 lead in the NL Championship Series

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

Filed Under: Sports
« Previous Page
Next Page »
Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News