Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
CHIRSTOPHER – There is a blood drive today in Christopher from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Christopher Community Building.
The building is located just off of Route 148 behind the old Dollar General building. The event is sponsored by the First Baptist Church of Christopher.
JACKSON COUNTY — Authorities are investigating the death of a deputy from a neighboring county.
Deputies found 33-year-old Joshua Harsy dead at a home in rural Jackson County just before 3 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Harsy worked as a deputy for the Perry County Sheriff’s Office, but he was off duty at the time.
Please click on the link below for the full story from WSIL-TV.
http://www.wsiltv.com/story/37135677/perry-county-deputy-found-dead
Wind chills the next two mornings will be very cold, generally in the single digits to just below zero. These can be very dangerous if you are not prepared. Dress in layers if you have to be outside. (NWS Paducah)
.DAY ONE…Today and Tonight
A few flurries or snow showers this afternoon may produce some
very minor snow accumulations, generally just a dusting.
Very cold air even with light winds will produce wind chills
ranging from 5 below zero to 5 above very late tonight.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…Wednesday through Monday
Very cold air will remain over the region through the period. Wind
chills on New Years morning are expected to range from zero to 10
below zero.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT…
Spotter activation is not anticipated.
ROYALTON – The village of Royalton has issued a boil water order.
As of December 25th at 3:45pm, South Main Street from South 4th Street to South 6th Street are all affected areas.
This order stands until further notice.
..Light Dusting of Snowfall Christmas Night…
A light dusting of snowfall is forecast with spotty snow showers
Christmas night. A half inch or less is expected, but with it
falling in much colder temperatures, this could create a few slick
spots on roads and walkways.
Christmas night travelers are advised to slow down, allow
a little extra time to turn or stop, and use your low beam
headlights to increase your visibility to others.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…Tuesday through Sunday
A chance of light snow or flurries is forecast across all or a
part of the area Tuesday, Thursday afternoon and evening, Friday
night, and late Saturday night into Sunday. However, the potential
for impactful accumulation remains low at this point.
Mugshot of the erratic driver and his sleigh taken by a drone, over Creek Nation Blacktop between Zeigler and Royalton. He should be making his way through the entire county soon.
The Franklin County Sheriffs Department, Central Dispatch in Christopher, and other law enforcement agencies, are taking a lot of calls, regarding an erratic driver.
The driver is described as a heavy set older gentleman, with white hair, and a long white beard. He is also wearing a red suit.
The vehicle is a sleigh, pulled by eight tiny reindeer and led by a fawn with a shiny nose. With the snow flurries that is flying throughout the county, that will help with his visibility.
He is a jolly man, and he has been reported, going rooftop to rooftop, sliding down the chimney with a full bag of toys. He stays for a few minutes at each house. The bag is empty handed, and he always goes back to his sleigh munching on a cookie.
While in the air he has been reported to be saying Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!!!!
The law enforcement agencies, stated the man is neither armed or dangerous. He is spreading love and cheer to each house he visits.
The authorities stated for him to pay a visit, all boys and girls need to go to bed soon, if they aren’t already.
There will be further developments to this story early in the morning.
Unless there is urgent and pertinent information that needs to be passed on to the citizens of Franklin County, the page will be silent until Tuesday.
Each and everyone of you, have a Merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season.
Christmas Eve travelers should be prepared for a little precipitation today. In the north, especially along the Interstate 64 corridor, a light dusting upwards to an inch is possible, mainly on grassy surfaces. Further south, the snow mixes with rain and little impact is expected. Air and ground temperatures will be above freezing this afternoon, but holiday travel caution is still advised in case untreated or elevated road surfaces present a slick patch or two. (NWS Paducah)
The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement for up to one inch for the counties in Southern Illinois for Route 13 north.
If you plan on traveling today, there is a winter weather advisory out for the counties north of I -70. Snow accumulations around 2″- 4″ is possible, with 3″ -5″ north of route 74.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and be careful if you are out and about. -sd
By Tom Weber
LAS VEGAS, NV – Southern Illinois rallied from a seven-point second-half deficit, finishing the game with a 9-0 run in the final 90 seconds, to beat Duquesne, 74-64, on Saturday at Orleans Arena.
The game featured big runs by both teams, but the Salukis (8-5) were the last men standing. SIU led, 37-30, early in the second half before Duquesne went on a 20-6 run to take a 50-43 advantage with 10:53 remaining.
All tournament team selection Sean Lloyd siusalukis.com photo
Southern battled back to tie, 53-53, on a layup by Rudy Stradnieks with 5:43 to go. Sean Lloyd then took the team on his back and scored the next six points for SIU with a pair of driving layups and two free throws to give his team a 61-57 cushion. The closest Duquesne came thereafter was 63-62 on a Tarin Smith 3-pointer. The Salukis made 9-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes and 23-of-27 in the game to secure the victory.
Lloyd, who was named to the Las Vegas Invitational All-Tournament team, led SIU with 19 points and seven rebounds and made clutch baskets when his team needed him most. He also held Duquesne’s leading scorer, Mike Lewis II, to 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
“I challenged Sean because yesterday we got in the mode where we went in the pity-party again,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. “I challenged Sean and met with him one-on-one, and I just said, if you’re going to be the leader of this ball club, be the leader of this ball club. Everybody wants you to be that guy. We rode the horse.”
Both teams were playing their second game in as many days and fatigue set in on both sides during the second half. Perimeter shots were especially hard to come by as the teams combined to make just 6-of-27 from long range. That meant points in the paint were at a premium and SIU had the advantage, 42-26, thanks to Lloyd, plus Kavion Pippen‘s 10 points and Stradnieks’ eight points off the bench.
SIU had 11 assists — six by Aaron Cook — and committed a season-low four turnovers. Meanwhile, the defense held the Dukes (9-4) to 36.5 percent shooting from the field and forced 13 turnovers.
“Not only did we execute on the offensive end, we executed on the defensive end,” Hinson said.
There were plenty of game balls to go around. Tyler Smithpeters started in place of the injured Marcus Bartley and played 37 minutes, scored nine points and had a key blocked shot of Jordan Robinson late in the game to preserve a two-point lead.
“We got the news about Marcus today and we’re just all looking at each other like — what more can we go through?” Hinson said. “The resilience of this ballclub amazes me every time.”
Besides his six assists, Cook added 12 points and ran the team effectively from the point. Armon Fletcher chipped in 12 points and made all five of his free throws.
“The last thing I told them before we came out on the floor today was what my dad used to tell me all the time, when things aren’t going right son, sometimes you have to buck up and bow your neck,” Hinson said. “I told them today was one of those days.”
The Salukis begin conference play on Dec. 28 at Northern Iowa.
JOHNSTON CITY – For a program with a new coach and system in place, any early season win is a welcome sight.
And it certainly doesn’t hurt any that a veteran backcourt specialist has a monster night offensively
Head coach Scott Burzynski and his Johnston City Indians picked up a non-conference victory at home on Friday night thanks to Chase Selby.
Please click on the link below for the full story from Jack Bullock of A Baseline View.
