Ohio State: Campus pulls together; attacker’s neighbors shocked
Gatlinburg hotels, homes destroyed in fires
Benton blows out Hamilton County to open Goreville Invitational
Wildfires lead to evacuation of downtown Gatlinburg
Terrorism suspected in car-and-knife attack at Ohio State
Sesser-Valier Opens Tonight at DuQuoin Tip-off Classic
Sesser Valier will be Very Deep…Open Tonight at DQ Tipoff
Steve Dunford-Franklin County Hoops and Gridiron
The 2016-17 edition of the Sesser-Valier Red Devils will tip it off the season in Anders Gym as they play at 6:00 P.M. in the DuQuoin Tip-off Classic against the Lovejoy Wildcats. Lovejoy is a tiny village in the Metro East just north of East St. Louis. Over the years they have had a we will play anyone mentality playing Mt. Vernon, Centrailia, Cairo, and Meridian. Sesser plays one of the tougher 1A schedules in Southern Illinois, especially if the IHSA keeps the regional-sectional complexes the same.
The only one that graduated from last years squad was 6’ 5” senior Jake Styve. Coach Shane Garner has four starters from last year returning. Lukas Gunter a 5’ 11” junior has the potential to be one of the better point guards in the region. His running mate in the back court will be 6’ 2” senior sharpshooter Charles Farmer. In the post will be three year starter 6” 3” senior Jamie Lance. Preston Launius a 6 ‘3” junior, started at the three spot for the Devils last season.
Coach Garner has several to choose from to be the fifth starter. Addison Baxter a 6’ 2” senior can pretty well play all five spots on the floor. A pair of 6’ 1” juniors, Addison Page and Joshua Gunter, played significant varsity minutes last year. Page mainly played the post last season. Joshua Gunter is very versatile, lightning fast and I noticed during football season he bulked up a lot. Clayton Smith a 5’ 10” junior will most likely back up Lukas Gunter at the point and calling signals will not be much of a change. He was one of the better QB’s in the Black Diamond this fall.
I have the Devils slated to finish fourth in the Black Diamond West this year behind Goreville, Chester, and Christopher. Their record at years end will be much better than the 10-20 mark they posted last year. Their strength of schedule, especially playing this week at DuQuoin and in the BIT will help them come late February.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK FOR SESSER-VALIER AT the DuQUOIN TIP-OFF
6:00 p.m. Tonight –Lovejoy (Broadcast on WMIX 94.1FM or wmixsports.com)
6:00 pm. Friday, 12/2- Cairo
12:30 p.m Saturday 12/2 –CarmiWhite County (Broadcast on WRUL 97.3FM or wrul.com)
7:30 p.m. Saturday 12/3 –DuQuoin (Broadcast on WDQN 1580am or wdqun1580.com
Rangers Open Play Tonight at the Goreville Tournament
Rangers Open Play Tonight at the Goreville Tournament
Steve Dunford-Franklin County Hoops and Gridiron
The 2016-17 edition of the Benton Rangers will hit the hardwood tonight at 7:00P.M., against the Hamilton County Foxes at the Goreville Invitational Tournament. The Rangers return three starters from last year’s 26-4 campaign. They ended their season in the first round of the Class 3A regional against Carbondale. With an enrollment of 577 they are one of the smallest 3A schools in the state. They finished second in the Southern Illinois River to River Ohio division to the Carbondale Terriers.
The conference will be loaded again. Daryl Murphy reloads every year at Murphysboro. Herrin had a very good week down at the Pyramid Plus going 4-1. Harrisburg has been bit by the injury bug. Blake Drue is out for the season with a knee injury. Two of Massac County’s best scorers last year JT Weber and Noah Farmer did not go out for Basketball. Kevin Toney has a deep bench and the Redbirds will be much more competitive this year.
Kruz Hayes, Brendan Ritchason and Chase Owens were seniors last year who were main contributors for the Rangers. Four year starter Derek Oxford will be back for the Rangers. He has topped the 1,000 point mark for his career. Also returning is point guard Timmy Henson. Between time at Thompsonville and Benton he is a four year starter. Coach Ron Winemiller says you can see him getting some time at other ends of the floor this year. Also back is 6’ 1”Austin Wills who averaged 11 points a game for the Rangers.
You can expect 6’ 3” Parker Williams to get the call in the starting lineup tonight. The fifth starter for the Rangers according to Coach Winemiller, will most likely be either 5’ 10” junior Gehrig Wynn or 5’ 8” Junior Cade Thomas. Coming off the bench for Benton will be juniors Hamilton Page and Blaine Pankey. This duo had a very successful season in the Benton backfield. All the juniors mentioned have been a very anticipated group since they played in junior high. They went 14-1 at the JV level last year. Coach Winemiller also mentioned 6’ 5” sophomore Brandon Utz getting some time as the years go on.
In tonight’s opener against Hamilton County, the Foxes are coming off of a 4-21 record and they are coached by Jeremy Varner. Their best player is four year starter Oakley Dial. Everyone else for HamCo is back and will be much improved from last year. I expect the Rangers to win by 20 tonight. The Foxes will play very hard, but do not have the horses to keep up with the Rangers.
Here is the Schedule for the Rangers the rest of the week from Goreville:
Tuesday 11/29 at 5:30 p.m. against Hardin County
Thursday 12/1 at 8:30 p.m. against Anna Jonesboro
Saturday 12/3 at 2:00 p.m. against Johnston City
Saturday 12/3 at 8:30 p.m. against Goreville
Join Jim Muir and Tom Wheeler for all the Ranger games this season on Q106, or streaming on wqrlradio.com. Tonight’s match up with Hamilton County will be video streamed on FoxesFans.net.
Active Shooter Situation at Ohio State University
Rain up to Two Inches in the Forecast
The National Weather Service has forecasted 1″ to 2″ of rain across
the region: High of 57 today with gusty winds up to 25-35 mph.; Tonight a low of 45; A high of 65 tomorrow with a cooling trend coming.
Mrs. Della Eickelmann – Christopher
Della L. Eickelmann, 90 of Christopher IL 
, passed away peacefully surrounded by family and loved ones on Saturday November 26, 2016. Della was born April 10, 1926 to John and Millie (Pyles) Martin on Karber’s Ridge in Gallatin County Illinois. Della’s youth was spent on High Knob attending a one room school house with her 10 brothers and sisters.
On January 1, 1944 she married Cecil Cole Eickelmann of Buckner who preceded her in death. They had three children, Gary Cole, Raymond Dale and Gaila Marie. They shared a happy life together and enjoyed square dancing, gardening, fishing, spending time with loved ones. Della worked as a cook at Christopher, Herrin, and Benton hospitals and as a seamstress for many years. She enjoyed playing pinochle with the same group of ladies for 54 years. Della loved cooking, canning, crocheting and quilting.
She is survived by her children Raymond Eickelmann of Valier and Gaila Carpenter of Buckner; Grandchildren: Theresa Eickelmann of Centralia, John Eickelmann of Valier, Nicole Pace of Union KY and Mackenzie Stephenson of Marion; Great Grandchildren: Drew, Samantha, Ginger, Jacob, Makaylah, Shelby, Riley and Anne-Marie. Brother William Floyd Martin of Marion, and sister Mary Barker of Jamestown, Tennesee, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Preceding Della in death are her parents, husband Cecil, sons Cecil Cole and Gary Cole. Grandson Richard Eickelmann and siblings Frank Martin, Annabelle Carnahan, Lawrence Martin, Phoebe Davis, A.B . “Pepper” Martin, John Martin, Rosetta Colbert and Treva Chisler.
Funeral services will be on Wednesday November 30, 2016 at 11:00 A.M. at the Gilbert Funeral Home in Christopher. Burial will be in Harrison Cemetery in Buckner. Visitation will be on Tuesday November 29, 2016 from 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital or March of Dimes and will be accepted at the funeral home.
For more information go tour website www.gilbertfuneralhomes.com
