Rend Lake fishing report 10/9/17

October 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

LARGEMOUTH BASS  – Good, using Minnows spinner baits, worms, and black and blue jigs.  Reports of fish being caught around Jackie Branch, Sandusky Cove, and below the dam. Fish in shallow bays near brush cover and bushes. Fish around bridges and along the rocks 14” minimum length limit, 6 daily creel limit. 1 fish daily creel limit in PONDS 14” minimum length.

CRAPPIE – Excellent, using Meal worms. Small & medium minnows. Quarter-ounce pink and white tub jigs. Shallow water!  Fish attractors!  From shore, fish near structures, hot spots are Jackie Branch, Sandusky, Sailboat Harbor, Marcum coves, and Ina Boat Ramp. Try the Jackie Branch Breakwater and along Mine 21 Road. Fish the main lake drop off areas.  25 fish daily creel limit with no more than 10 fish 10 inches or longer

BLUEGILL – Good Small jigs, worms, meal worms, wax worms, crickets.  From shore try Sailboat Harbor and Mine 21 Road. Try fishing shallow with crickets, worms or small jigs. Fish in the back of necks and on flat shallow banks and on the rocks.  10 fish daily creel limit in PONDS.

CHANNEL CATFISH  – Excellent Large minnows, leeches, Hoss’s Hawg Bait, night crawlers, and Sonny’s stink bait.  Try leeches in moving water.  Drift fish the flats. Set line 3-4’ from the shore over rocks. Try the Waltonville Dam, Turnip Patch, Jackie Branch, and North Sandusky Day Use Area.  6 fish daily creel limit in PONDS. Jugs must be attended at all times while fishing.

WHITE BASS – Good In-line spinners, jig and curly tail grubs.    Reports of fish being caught around the 154 bridges. Fish around along the rocks and drop-offs Fish in shallow bays near brush cover and bushes. 20 fish creel limit. No more than 3 fish 17” or longer daily.

Information as of:  10/10/2017 LAKE LEVEL: 404.95       AVERAGE POOL FOR THIS DATE: 405.30     WATER TEMP:  73°F

Use of a minnow seine, cast net, or shad scoop for bait collecting within 1000 yards downstream of the Rend Lake dam and spillway is prohibited.

Maps of the Fish Attractor tree locations along with GPS readings are available at the Rend Lake Corps of Engineers Project Office.  Contact Randy Cordray for more information at (618) 724-2493.

Filed Under: Sports

Linda Jo Case – Galesburg formerly of Benton

October 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Linda Jo Case, age 70 of Galesburg, formerly of Benton, passed away at 8:00 a.m. Saturday, March 25, 2017, in Heartland Health Care Center of Galesburg.

Memorial Celebration of Life Services for Linda Jo Case and her mother Geraldine Simmons, will be held at 7:00 p.m. Friday, October 13, 2017 at the Leffler Funeral Home of Benton, with Pastor Sammy Simmons officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, October 13, 2017 at the Leffler Funeral Home.

Linda was born on October 25, 1946, in Benton, the daughter of Paul L. Collins and Geraldine (Bridges) Collins.

She worked many years as the office manager for Dr. William J. Swinney in Benton. She was of the Protestant faith.

Linda enjoyed golfing, cooking and eating, and spending time with her good friends and family.

She is survived by her son Rob Williams and wife Kris of Galesburg, IL; three grandchildren: Garret, Madison, and Casey Williams; a brother Doug Collins and wife Kathy of Scottsdale, AZ; a nephew Chris Collins and wife Kim of Winnetka, IL; a niece Kelly Romanczuk and husband Paul of West Chester, PA.

Linda was preceded in death by her father; a brother Jeffrey Len Collins; her mother has since passed away on August 27, 2017.

In lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions in memory of Linda, may be made to Heartland Health Care of Galesburg. Memorial contributions in memory of Gerri, may be made to Hospice of Southern Illinois; and will be accepted at the funeral home

Filed Under: Obituaries

Geraldine Simmons – Benton

October 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Mrs. Geraldine Simmons, age 90, of Benton IL, passed away at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, August 27, 2017 at Helia Healthcare of Energy.

Memorial Celebration of Life Services for Geraldine Simmons and her daughter Linda Case will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 13, 2017 at the Leffler Funeral Home of Benton, with Pastor Sammy Simmons officiating.

Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, October 13, 2017 at the Leffler Funeral Home.

Gerri was born on December 14, 1926 in Benton, the daughter of James Alvis Bridges and Leola Evelyn (Wills) Bridges. She was married to Charles Ray Simmons, and he preceded her in death.

She was a hard worker and worked most of her life in retail. Mrs. Simmons enjoyed to read, exercise, play cards, listen to music, and spending time with her family. She attended the Immanuel Baptist Church of Benton.

Geraldine is survived by her son Doug Collins and wife Kathy of Scottsdale, AZ; three grandchildren: Robbie Williams and wife Kris of Galesburg, IL, Chris Collins and wife Kim of Winnetka, IL, Kelly Romanczuk and husband Paul of West Chester, PA; eight great-grandchildren: Garret Williams, Madison Williams, Casey Williams, Ryan Collins, Kate Collins, Cooper Romanczuk, Collin Romanczuk and Riley Romanczuk. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; a son Jeffrey Len Collins; and a daughter Linda Jo Case.

In lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Southern Illinois for Gerri; and to Heartland Healthcare of Galesburg for Linda; and will be accepted at the funeral home.

Filed Under: Obituaries

Accident on I 57 in Williamson County with one fatality

October 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Illinois State Police photo

 

MARION, IL- Interstate 57 northbound between exits 45 and 53 is closed due to a traffic crash. Please seek alternate routes until further notice.

This is located at the Route 148 exit, just north of the Interstate 24 interchange.  Traffic on Routes 37 and 148 northbound could become heavy in Williamson County.

From the Williamson County Emergency Management Agency 

UPDATE:
All lanes have been reopened at this time to normal flow as of 2:45 P.M..

TRAFFIC ALERT
The Illinois State Police is currently on scene with a multiple vehicle crash on I57 North Bound at Mile Post 47.
There are injuries and one confirmed fatality. Traffic backed up from the construction was stopped and a semi rear ended a passenger vehicle pushing it into the rear of a second semi.

ISP FATAL TRAFFIC CRASH ALERT
The Following Preliminary Information is Being Released by Illinois State Police District 13
WHAT: Three Vehicle Fatal Traffic Crash

WHERE: I57 North Bound Mile Post 47, Williamson County

WHEN: Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 10:14 A.M.

VEHICLES: 2016 Freightliner in 5 axle combination, a full sized 2002 GMC van, and a 2010 Kenworth in 5 axle combination

DRIVERS: Freightliner – Willie Lee Shelby, a 62 year old male of Madison, MS – Minor injuries – Transported via ambulance to a local hospital.

GMC – Wayne S. Maxwell, a 57 year old male of O’Fallon, IL – Fatally injured – Pronounced deceased on scene by Williamson County Coroner Burke

Kenworth – Jagpreet Singh, a 27 year old male of Lenexa, KS – Uninjured

PASSENGER: Kenworth – Sarbjit Singh, a 32 year old male of Lenexa, KS – Uninjured

PRELIMINARY: Preliminary investigative details indicate traffic on I57 North Bound was backed up due to a construction project that began at mile post 48. All three of the involved vehicles in this incident were north bound at mile post 47. The Kenworth was leading, followed by the GMC. Both of these vehicles were slowed nearly to a stop for the backed up traffic. The Freightliner struck the rear of the GMC shoving it into the rear of the Kenworth causing the fatal injuries to Maxwell.
All north bound traffic was diverted off of I57 at Exit 45 until approximately 2:45 P.M. when it resumed normal flow. All three vehicles were towed from the scene due to damage.

CHARGES: Shelby was cited for Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid a Crash. Additional charges could be levied pending further investigation by Illinois State Police Crash Reconstruction Officers.
All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

Benton police make the following arrests over the weekend

October 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

BENTON, IL – On October 7th, 2017 Benton Police arrested Cynthia R. Keller, age 54, of Benton on an active Franklin County warrant for failure to appear. Keller was transported to the Franklin County Jail for further processing.

On October 8th, 2017 Benton Police arrested Bradley D. Schram, age 31, of West City on an active Franklin County warrant for failure to appear. Schram was transported to the Franklin County Jail for further processing.

On October 9th, 2017 Benton Police responded to a report of criminal trespass. Upon investigating, officers arrested Randall D. Orlandini, age 18, for the offense of criminal trespass to real property. Orlandini was transported to the Franklin County Jail for further processing.

 

Filed Under: Benton News, Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

Rend Lake College Men’s Basketball Preview

October 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment

https://www.rlc.edu/athletics/athletics-news/13388-2017-bball-preview

INA, IL –  Click on the link above for the full preview, schedule, and roster from Reece Rutland, Sports Information Director of Rend Lake College.  The text part of the preview is below.

Tommy Holder last year as a Rend Lake Assistant (RLC Sports Information)

In his first season since transiting from Rend Lake College assistant coach to head coach, Tommy Holder is anticipating the Warriors will be highly competitive in a very strong Great Rivers Athletic Conference and an even stronger NJCAA Region XXIV.

Holder has brought in a wide-array of fresh faces to give the team a new look and address some of the issues he observed with last year’s team.

“The first thing we addressed this year was something I felt like we lacked last year. I really wanted to see us elevate our point guard play. We have a few guys that can handle the ball for us this year; Trevyon Williams (Springfield), Jason Towers (Maywood) and Juwan Moore (Morrilton, Ark.). Then, we have one of our returning players, Kenny Berry (Granite City) that can handle the ball as well,” said Holder.

“I feel like they are all going to bring different things to the table, but they are all very capable ball handlers that will be able to adequately get us in our offense.”

In addition to new point guards, Holder has also brought in a recruitment class full of shooters to help spread the floor on the offensive side of the ball.

 

Carterville’s Austin Swalls

“Austin Swalls (Carterville), David Hunt (Chicago) and Jordan Doss (Chicago) are all pretty good shooters with size. This team has got a lot of length. We’ve got quite a few on the roster this year in that 6’6 to 6’8 range. There’s just a lot of versatility we have. I’m pretty excited about the group.”

Holder went on to say that he sees more spirit in this group. He described last year’s team as more reserved, and said he is looking for this team to have a stronger competitive fire on the court and at practice.

While the new head coach sees several improvements to the offense, the team is still built on a bedrock of defensive focus. He anticipates the team picking up opposing ball handlers further up the court than they did last year.

“The defense is going to feed our offense. But, we should be a lot of fun to watch. There are some really athletic players on the team this year. I know the fans like to see the dunks and things. There will probably be plenty of that. I just want to see productivity, and I anticipate getting that from this group,” he said.

In addition to taking over as head coach, Holder also serves as the academic adviser for all the RLC student athletes, and the position has afforded him the opportunity to be more active in visiting local high schools to see and support in-district programs at that level.

With community building in mind, Holder anticipates new initiatives to foster a stronger partnership between his roundball Warriors and the district.

“We want to actively get the community involved in what we do. I want each of our high schools to know that we would love to see them come watch a game at Waugh Gym. We invited many of the high school teams to come to campus over the summer and work out with us,” Holder said.

“We’d love to have people come out and support these young men. RLC is a great place to watch a game, and I think we are going to have a team people can be proud of this season.”

 

DeMarius Dabney

In addition to being Holder’s first season as head coach, he has also brought in a crop of new and talented assistant coaches to help maintain the team.

De’Marius Dabney was a coach who Holder had worked with in the past when they spent time coaching a summer club.
“What stands out to me about De’Marius is that he is mature beyond his age. He’s just got such a wealth of knowledge. He’s also very good with strength and conditioning, so that will help a lot going forward.”

Sam Ficker comes into the Warrior program with coaching experience at the college level. Ficker is bringing in a couple years of experience when he served for two years as a grad assistant at Lincoln University. Holder also said that he brought Ficker on because of his poise, something the often-fiery new head coach knows will help balance him out.

Sam Ficker

“There’s a lot of responsibility molding these young men. We want to be focused doing our best job of helping facilitate them both athletically and academically. When you have the ability to divvy things out to assistant coaches you trust, it becomes less strenuous and everyone gets the attention they and support that they need,” Holder explained.

The Warriors kick off their season with a home opener against Danville Area community College at 3 p.m. on Nov. 4.

 

 

Filed Under: College Sports, Sports

SDSU runs past SIU, 49-14

October 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by John Lock, siusalukis.com

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Ninth-ranked South Dakota State scored on all five first-half possessions en route to a 49-14 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday night.

SDSU was coming off a 19-7 loss to Youngstown State last week and exploded offensively in the first half. The score was 14-0 before the Salukis gained a first down. At halftime, the Jacks had five touchdowns and only three third downs; they were averaging more than eight yards per play. Conversely, SIU’s only extended drive ended in an interception.

“We didn’t stop them, but we didn’t do anything on offense to get the momentum back or make it a shootout,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said. “We’ve been down 14 and came back. You don’t like to do that, but we talk about it all the time. You never know how the game is going to go. We have to adapt and adjust to any circumstance. But we just couldn’t get anything going tonight.”

Defensively, the Salukis rebounded in the second half. SIU forced three turnovers and had a pair of sacks. Cody Crider forced a fumble in the third quarter that set up a Sam Straub touchdown run five plays later. The Salukis second touchdown was a highlight leaping grab from Raphael Leonard early in the fourth quarter. But the Jackrabbits also scored two second-half touchdowns to hand SIU its most lopsided loss since 2003.

“At halftime, we talked about fighting back,” Hill said. “We came out and fought hard. You saw that. We competed. I’m proud of that. We just talked about stacking good plays together. That’s how you get good drives and stops. But obviously, this game was won in the first half.”

For SIU (2-3, 0-2 MVFC), Darrell James caught six passes for 78 yards. Daquan Isom averaged five yards per rush on nine carries. SDSU improved to 4-1, 1-1 MVFC. Brady Mengarelli rushed for 220 yards and two scores. QB Taryn Christion, last year’s MVFC Offensive Player of the Year, threw for 216 yards and four touchdowns against no interceptions.

“They won the line of scrimmage on both sides,” Hill said. “You can tell they were frustrated with the way their game went last week. A lot of that wasn’t because they weren’t good on offense; they just never had the ball against Youngstown. But we weren’t able to do anything to keep their explosive players off the field. There is no excuse for giving up that many rushing yards. We knew that their explosive players would make explosive plays in this game; they have their entire career. But when you make it easy on them–when they’re rushing the ball and picking up every third down, and we’re not picking up third downs–it’s a recipe for a long, long night.”

Southern Illinois returns home for a matchup with nationally ranked Illinois State on Saturday for the annual Homecoming football game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. in Saluki Stadium.

Box Score

http://siusalukis.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=7834

Filed Under: College Sports, Sports

50 INFLUENCERS OF REND LAKE COLLEGE: BETTY ANN WARD, GUIDING LIGHT

October 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Reece Rutland – Rend Lake College Public information

With any organization, it’s possible that some of the most influential people aren’t newsworthy in the traditional sense of the word. So, as the years go by, there are unsung heroes whose dedication and service get overshadowed by larger personalities and grander titles.

 

Betty Ann Ward from 1968 RLC Yearbook

The next entry on the 50 Influencer list never rose to any leadership positions that helped steer the institution. She never helped build a building or win a championship. But, Betty Ann Ward did something as well as anyone else in the college’s history, she cared.

Ward was among that storied handful of instructors that transitioned over from Mt. Vernon Community College when it was phased out in favor of Rend Lake College in 1967, and was one of the 15 former MVCC instructors granted the very first round of tenure a year later.

Those first 15 were:

Wayne Arnold, Health, Physical Education and Recreation Instructor; Imogene Book, Librarian; E. Judson DeWitt, Psychology Instructor; Paula Dulaney, Library Assistant; Dr. Eugene Estes, Science Instructor; Gela Goin, Secretarial Science Instructor, Eleanor Hall, Sociology and Anthropology Instructor; Georgine Hawley, English Instructor; Ed Kownacki, Math and Science Instructor; Dr. Barbara Luchsinger, English Instructor; Shirley McHaney, Allied Health Department Chair; Richard Perrachione, Math Instructor; Betty Ann Ward, Math Instructor and Counselor; Jim Waugh, Health and Physical Education Instructor, and William Younghusband, Business Instructor.

A decade later, 10 of the 15 still remained, Ward among them.

“These 10 people have had an impact on the college that multiplies many times the 10,” said then College Dean Mark Kern while acknowledging the group consisting of Ward, Arnold, Estes, Goin, Hawley, Luchsinger, McHaney, Perrachione, Waugh and Younghusband. The 10 represented a combined 300 years of teaching experience.

Yet, even among those peers, Ward was respected for her devotion to improving the lives of every student she came in contact with.

Perhaps even more important to Ward than her inside-the-classroom role was her position as the college’s primary counselor

“She was a true counselor and friend of all students. All students were welcome to her office and/or home whether they had a problem or not. Who knows the number of students she taught how to play bridge,” recalled Arnold.

Her former students are quick to collaborate that sentiment.

“Once I entered college, Betty Ann Ward provided me with guidance. She took me ‘under her wings’ and made me feel like I counted,” said former MVCC student Robert L. Brown.

Brown went on to follow in Ward’s footsteps, becoming a counselor at Mt. Vernon Township High School as well as being an active force in his community.

He wasn’t the only one to pick up the torch Ward had sparked in the lives of her students.

Betty Ward counseling a student.

Dr. Gary Sweeten, an Ina native who now owns a large counseling agency in Cincinnati, said Ward was especially influential.
“She is the reason I entered counseling,” he said. “She inspired me. I didn’t know what counselors did, but I decided I wanted to be like her.”

He now owns and operates Life Way Counseling – a large family and individual counseling agency in Cincinnati that employs 15 therapists.

Rend Lake College’s very first yearbook, the 1967-68 TARN, was “proudly” dedicated to Ward.

“We firmly believe that Miss Ward should be credited with much of the unity and development of the faculty, the students and the community of Rend Lake College. No matter how minute or involved the problems may be, Miss Ward always finds it to be a self-imperative need to help the college’s students to become better citizens in their country and their community,” reads the dedication.

The 1963 Pyramid Yearbook is also dedicated to Ward and then RLC Dean Howard Rawlinson for “their devotion to the school and its betterment.”

Ward was active on the first faculty councils at RLC, a trend she started by being active on the MVCC councils. She also tried to be as active as she could on campus to support the students she cared so deeply for.

“She and I also served as faculty sponsors at student dances when the college was still housed at Mt. Vernon High School. The music was as loud then as it is today,” Arnold reminisced. “It was so loud that we would sit right next to each other and she couldn’t hear a word I was saying … We were close friends, and I enjoyed working with her very much.”

Arnold said that Ward passed away sometime during summer in the mid-80s while she was visiting friends in the metro east area. She had pre-arranged the details for her funeral with Charlie Hughey at Hughey Funeral Home.

Ward had told Hughey that she didn’t want a memorial or funeral. But, following her death, her family at RLC couldn’t stand to not offer tribute in some way. Rawlinson put on a small service in the RLC Theatre. Estes, Luchsinger and Arnold spoke in memory of their colleague and friend.

“Charlie Hughey attended the memorial and after the session, I was visiting with him and we were discussing her wish for him to determine what to do with her ashes,” recalled Arnold.

“I asked him what he was going to do with them. He said that he had given it a lot of thought and that Rend Lake College was her life and he decided to drive to the campus on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon with her urn and throw the ashes into the air and let the wind blow them. He did that. So, in a way, Betty Ann is still with us. It was a great tribute for a great lady.”

 

 

 

Filed Under: Featured, Franklin Co. News

City of Benton under a burn ban

October 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment

BENTON, IL – The City of Benton Burn Ordinance states that an automatic burn ban goes into effect when winds are over 10 mph or when put into effect by the Fire Chief during conditions unfavorable to burning.

Therefore, with conditions as such, we have placed the city under a burn ban effective 2 pm. Please be good neighbors and refrain from all burning until further notice.

from Benton Fire Chief Shane Cockrum

Filed Under: Benton News, Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

Getting out: Many students leaving Illinois to attend college

October 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment

http://www.sj-r.com/news/20170930/getting-out-many-students-leaving-illinois-to-attend-college

SPRINGFIELD, IL –  (Tim Landis, Springfield Journal Register.  Please click on the link for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

Illinois has the second-highest rate nationally of college freshmen choosing to leave the state to pursue higher education — a mark it hit even before the state’s two-year budget impasse — and preliminary figures this fall suggest the numbers continue to look grim.

Between 2000 and 2014, when the out-migration hit an all-time high, the number of freshmen leaving Illinois to attend college shot up by about 64 percent, according to a study earlier this year by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Only New Jersey, which also has had state budget woes, exceeded Illinois in loss of students to out-of-state schools.

The trend was even more pronounced among students attending four-year colleges and universities. Of those freshmen, nearly half chose to attend out of state schools in 2015.

That all-time high was hit even before the state’s colleges and universities weathered the effects of a two-year state budget impasse, which left institutions cutting budgets and programs and put financial aid for thousands of students on hold or in limbo.

Filed Under: Breaking News, State News
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