A fund has been established for Sailor Gutzler, the 7-year-old Nashville girl who survived a plane crash.

A family spokesman said the fund for the benefit of Sailor was set up in response to many inquiries from people about how they could help the girl.

Information about the fund is available at www.sailorgutzlerfund.com.

Checks can be made payable and sent to: Sailor Gutzler Fund, P.O. Box 242, Nashville, Ill., 62263.

Sailor’s parents, Marty and Kim Gutzler, and her sister, 9-year-old Piper Gutzler, died in a plane crash Friday night in Kentucky. Sailor’s cousin, 14-year-old Sierra Wilder, also died in the crash. The family was flying a small plane from Florida to a regional airport in Mount Vernon.

Sailor walked from the wreckage to a residence, where she asked for help.

The family spokesman, attorney Kent Plotner, said Sunday the Gutzler family is thankful “for the heartfelt words of sympathy that have been expressed during this unimaginable loss.”

INA, Ill.  – A new program for those interested in the health care industry will start in the Fall 2015 semester, and students can register now for general education courses leading up to the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) program at Rend Lake College.

All general education courses are required for those who want to complete the associate degree program. At two years and 66 credit hours, students can begin the program now to get a semester ahead of schedule.

There will also be a one-year, 36 credit hour certificate program offered, and students can register for some existing courses, such as Health Care Terminology, Anatomy and Physiology Fundamentals, Intro to Pharmacology, and others. In addition to general education courses and a practicum, students will be required to take new curriculum to graduate.

The program will prepare students to work in medical offices, clinics, and other outpatient facilities doing a number of tasks, including maintaining appointment schedules and medical records, billing, recording vital signs, obtaining medical histories, and drawing blood.

Kim Robert, Dean of Allied Health, said the associate degree will better prepare students for jobs in the community with more communication skills and better opportunities for supervisory roles in an office setting.

“We’re excited about the new Certified Medical Assistant program because we recognize it as a need for our students in the ever-changing health care industry,” said Kim Robert, Dean of Allied Health. “Both the degree and the certificate are a response to the needs in our district. It’s all new, and we can’t wait to get started next fall.”

Medical assistants are projected to have much faster than average job growth by 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with more than 162,000 jobs coming into the market in the next eight years, a 29 percent increase.

After graduation, students can sit for the American Association of Medical Assistants examination. To learn more about the CMA program, contact the RLC Allied Health Division at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1251.

INA, Ill. – Start working on your New Year’s resolution to lose weight by joining in the Lose-to-Win Challenge 2015, co-sponsored by Rend Lake College and the YMCA of Jefferson County for the third year in a row.

The Lose-to-Win Challenge is a team and individual competition, and to be the biggest winner, you must have the highest percentage of weight loss. Teams and individuals who lose the most will win cash prizes: first place will be awarded $600, $400 for second place, and $200 for third. The Individual Weight Loss Champion will win $500, and the best team name will win $100.  In addition to cash prizes, there will also be giveaway drawings for those in attendance at the final weigh in.

Participants are asked to register as a team of four to be eligible for all monetary prizes. All members of a team must participate in the weigh in and weigh out to win team awards.

The challenge begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 with the first weigh in at the YMCA of Jefferson County, located at 1304 Broadway in Mt. Vernon. During this time, participants will be given a card and granted access to the YMCA Gym Fitness Center, RLC Fitness and Aquatic centers on the Ina campus, and the RLC MarketPlace Fitness Center on Potomac Boulevard. Educational courses on health and wellness will be offered during the eight-week challenge.  The final weigh out is scheduled for Saturday, March 7. All weigh ins and outs must be conducted with shoes on.

Registration is $25 per person or $100 per team, and forms must be turned in to the YMCA by Monday, Jan. 5. Lose-to-Win contestants mus

Keeping schools and social services funded. Making higher education more affordable. Addressing crowded prisons. Possibly redoing pension reform.

Longtime Benton Mayor Gary Kraft will face a challenge in the April 7, 2015 consolidated election.

Challenger Fred Kondritz has filed paperwork to run against Kraft.  All four city council seats in Benton are also up for re-election.

Incumbent commissioners Ronnie Baumgarte, Bob Burnett, Dennis Miller and Don Wyant are all seeking re-election.

Challengers Melvin Dixon, David Moore and Joey Smith are also seeking city council seats.

The filing period for the city election ended at 5 p.m. on Dec. 22. Voting will be during the April 7, 2015, consolidated elections.

INA, Ill. – Attention all drill rig workers, little more than two weeks stand between you and the next SafeLand training course at Rend Lake College, which is set for 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 23 at the Coal Mine Training Center. The training course will cover materials required for PEC certification.

Don McBride, RLC Mining Technology Instructor, is a PEC certified instructor, and will teach course curriculum designed to give students information on safety issues, including rigging, fall protection, hazmat, emergency response, welding safety, fire protection and more.

The first SafeLand training was offered at RLC in 2013 in connection with PEC Safety of Mandeville, La. The instructional class is open to anyone in the drilling industry.

“RLC began this program in anticipation of the fracking activity we hoped would come to Southern Illinois, and many of the large oil producers, such as Shell and Exxon, require their rig workers to have PEC certification before allowing them to work on the drill sites,” said McBride.

To register for the class, contact Kacie Hunter at 618-437-5321, Ext. 2373, or email hunterk@rlc.edu. The cost of the class is $95 and individuals must pre-register.

BENTON — A 10 year tradition continues at approximately 5:30 p.m. at Fred’s in Benton as children in kindergarten through sixth grades are invited to Shop with a Cop.

On Wednesday, Dec. 17, Max Morris Gymnasium in West Frankfort will host “Morthland’s March for Marla,” a halftime fundraising event and 50/50 drawing that will take place during the Morthland College Patriots basketball game against  Blue Mountain Toppers. Initiated by one of the Patriot’s star players, the money will go toward the financial burden of an area family dealing with stage four cancer.

SPRINGFIELD — The race for state treasurer remains undecided nearly two weeks after Election Day, with both campaigns agreeing fewer than 400 votes now separate the candidates in what could be the closest statewide race in Illinois in at least a century. It also may lead to the first recount request in three decades.

Here’s a link to the story.

A 46-year-old Benton man was arrested after failing to appear in Franklin County court.

Thomas Wright was arrested Monday on an active Franklin County warrant after he missed a court date.

Wright was taken to the Franklin County Jail for processing.