Dandy Gyms: Max Morris Gymnasium, West Frankfort
West Frankfort’s Max Morris gym, given the name “The Supreme Court” by the late Redbird broadcaster Bruce A. Fasol. (Quad City Times Photo)
100 best Illinois high school basketball players ever
Doug Collins playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. He went on to coach the Chicago Bulls and as a color man for TNT on NBA broadcasts
Goold: Wainwright gives prospect Sherriff a license to drive
Cardinal lefthander Ryan Sheriff who pitcher Adam Wainwright rented a vehicle for to get back and forth to the spring training complex. (Chris Lee- St. Louis post dispatch photo)
“She said yes!”
Taryan Ashli being proposed to by West Frankfort firefighter Matt Morthland (William McPherson – West Frankfort Gazette Photo)
Watson continues to right the ship at Southern Indiana
50 influencers of Rend Lake College- Dr. Barbara Luchsinger – exemplification of caring
Reece Rutland – Rend Lake College Media Services
INA, Ill. (Feb. 26, 2017) – Barbara Luchsinger began teaching at Mt. Vernon Community College in 1956 and served as the Department Chair from 1965-1975. Luchsinger was one of the first educators to be granted tenure by the college. She was one of 18 that the Board of Trustees awarded with the designation during their June 18, 1968, meeting. She was also the co-founder of the RLC Writing Lab.
She received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Iowa in 1969.
Long time Rend Lake College instructor, Barbara Luchsinger
During the second year at Mt. Vernon Community College, Luchsinger sponsored the publication of the college’s first yearbook. In addition to playing a major role in the establishment of the college’s writing and reading programs, Dr. Luchsinger also served as sponsor of the student newspaper and advisor for the Rho Xi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the national community college scholastic honor fraternity. She also was a patron for many years of the literary magazine published by the Arts and Communications Department. In later years, she was active with the RLC Foundation, working with and presenting special classes for the Institute for Learning in Retirement.
An excerpt from a piece to commemorate Luchsinger’s 25th anniversary with the college:
…she comes close to having helped start two different colleges.
She arrived at Mt. Vernon Community College the second year of its existence and, except for time off for good behavior (to pursue a doctorate degree from the University of Iowa), has been a mainstay ever since.
“Those first years we were determined to make the college ‘go.’ To get teaching load down, we both taught classes for nothing. Others did the same.”
“Rend Lake College did not spring full grown from an oak tree,” Dr. Luchsinger continued. “The Mt. Vernon Community College never intended to be a permanent institution. Always it was to be absorbed into an area college, although the area was not defined.”
“Since I’ve been around longer than the college, much of my life reflects the history. I won’t ‘heave my heart into my mouth’ to recap the early days. Often I was on campus from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. I’m thankful for the part I was allowed to play.”
She was a graduate of Mt. Vernon Township High School and Lindenwood College in St. Louis. Both of her graduate degrees are from Iowa, with some work at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a workshop in Economics from Northwestern University.
When the RLC Foundation began handing out its “Faculty Excellence Award,” Dr. Luchsinger was the sixth person so honored.
It wasn’t just time that Dr. Luchsinger gave RLC and its students. She also donated her 246-acre family farm in Dix to the RLC Foundation.
In addition to her official work with the college, Luchsinger was also active in the lives of her students. In 1996, she was selected as “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Human Services Club because of her eagerness “to help any student who comes to her seeking advice – academically or otherwise. She even took time to call an ailing student at home to wish her well.”
She passed away November 17, 2005, at the age of 75. She had been involved with Mt. Vernon Community College and Rend Lake College for almost 50 years in total.
Former RLC President Mark S. Kern said of Luchsinger, “We have a lot of caring people at Rend Lake College, and if anybody exemplifies that more than Barbara Luchsinger, I don’t know who it would be. Her heart is as big as this room.”
Jefferson County Sheriff has Warrior roots
INA, IL – Jefferson County Sheriff Travis Allen is a proud product of Rend Lake College. From struggling high school student to master’s degree graduate, he shares his story of success, philosophy on law enforcement and advice with anyone interested in the field.
Allen graduated from Waltonville High School in 2002. Having had his share of struggles in high school, he said that following graduation, college wasn’t really an option he considered.
“I wanted to go out and achieve the world,” he explained. “I quickly realized that that wasn’t happening. I was working for minimum wage loading batteries in a warehouse. So, one day, I thought, ‘You know what? I’ve always wanted to be a police officer.’ So, I talked it over with my parents and enrolled here at RLC in the Criminal Justice Program.”
Allen completed his Associate in Applied Science Degree in 2005. But, before he had even graduated, the future sheriff was offered a position with the Army Corps of Engineers through an internship program, giving him the opportunity to gain valuable experience. His work at RLC and his new job helped convince him to continue with his education.
“I had a lot of friends who went to Rend Lake. Being from Waltonville, the smaller classes and locations were great too. I’ve never been in the position where someone else was going to pay for
Jefferson County Sheriff Travis Allen (RLC Media Services)
me to go off to school, so doing things affordably was always important to me. It gave me the opportunity to work all through school. I knew the Criminal Justice Program here was great. Once I enrolled, I absolutely loved it. It saved education for me. It was the first time I loved school.”
Describing himself as a student who didn’t enjoy high school, he said that he struggled for most of his four years. He joked that any of his high school teachers would have likely laughed at the thought of him going on to earn degrees.
Yet, go on to earn degrees is exactly what he did. After graduating from RLC, Allen transferred to Greenville College, graduating in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership.
Quickly after that graduation, he earned his first job in law enforcement with the Mt. Vernon Police Department. Around that same time, Greenville launched a master’s degree in Management Practice. He graduated from that program in 2012.
“It was so important to get that spark early on. Rend Lake College let me finally study things that I had an interest in. I got to do hands-on work that held my interest and that I got excited about. I really think RLC saved my academic career. If it hadn’t been for finding that interest, I probably would have ended up graduating from high school and going into the workforce,” he expressed.
Allen said his passion for law enforcement came from a mixture of his desire to work in a field that offered a different challenge and experience every day combined with the aspect of helping others and making a difference in his community.
In fact, he cites one of the biggest mistakes of his life as leaving the Mt. Vernon Police Department to take a full-time office job while working on his master’s degree. He said that at that time in his life, he saw dollar signs and a great benefit package, and thought that was exactly what he wanted.
“I really hated everything about that. I gained some great experience, but coming in every day and working in a cubicle was really the worst thing for me. But, everything has worked out. After a few years, while I was in the office job, I started working part-time for the Ina Police Department,” Allen said.
“I was able to get that department fixed up the way I wanted it and after about three years as part of that department, I decided I wanted to run for sheriff. And, after about a year-and-a-half of campaigning, here we are.”
Allen said his favorite thing about the new position is being involved with the community and shaping the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office into being the most people-focused department in can be. He said with all the recent negativity surrounding law enforcement, he wants to make sure his officers break the mindset of focusing on “just throwing bad guys in jail” and instead putting the priority on “serving and protecting the people.”
“There’s no question, it’s a time of change in the field. We have to change our mindset. We have to change how we do business. I mean, obviously, we keep locking people up, and it doesn’t seem to be working. Einstein said the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,” Allen explained.
“So, we’ve put a focus on being active with the children in our communities. We want to have a lot of activities with youth to show them that the police are their friends and neighbors. We have to change the mindset of an entire generation if we want to be successful. I just don’t feel like that ‘throw all the bad guys in jail’ mentality and not focusing on serving the community is a recipe for success.”
His biggest piece of advice for those interested in entering the law enforcement profession is to get your associate degree in Criminal Justice, but then focus on another subject for a bachelor’s degree. He has no regrets earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business-related fields.
. “This is my opinion. You might be better suited getting the bachelor’s degree in in a different field. If you are on the fence, a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice might limit your career options. What happens if you get out there in the field and don’t like it? A lot of law enforcement agencies don’t necessarily look for a bachelor’s in criminal justice. I can teach you how to be a police officer. The better-rounded a candidate is can be very important. We learn a lot of what we need with that associate degree and then the academy. What I’m looking for is that if you have a bachelor’s degree, it shows me you are dedicated and trainable. I don’t care so much what it’s in. I tell students who ask me, go into something you are interested in. You are going to be more likely succeed.”
Dee Ozment: The man behind the name of Crab Orchard High School gym
Steve Dunford – franklincounty-news.com
CRAB ORCHARD, IL – Christopher, Sesser-Vailer and Zeigler- Royalton participated in the Crab Orchard Class 1A Regional this week. I would like to introduce you to the one the facility is named after, Dee Ozment.
When Williamson county had a sales tax increase for capital improvements to their schools, Crab Orchard built a new high school. The school was opened during the 2004-05 school year.
Lyle “Dee” Ozment
After Christopher defeated Steeleville last night, I began to exchange messages with his widowed wife Dianne. I asked her if it would be too painful to write this story. She graciously said, “It is never painful to talk about Dee. He was a fine man and meant so much to so many.”
I have known Dee Ozment in many circles, first as a long time teacher/school administrator at Crab Orchard, who he dedicated 41 years to his Alma Mater. He was larger than life, had one of the most infectious smiles I ever witnessed. At the same time, he was a humble servant.
Dianne shared a clipping with me from the Marion Daily Republican the night the gym was dedicated to him. The story said that he would do anything that needed to be done in the district. He would help the custodians, and fill in as a bus driver if needed.
My eighth grade year my basketball team was there. For those who do not know, I went to school at Thompsonville. If you are familiar with the old gym down there it had concrete sidelines.
It was a mild December day and the sidelines was sweating. It was in the days of three-piece suits. Dee was out there with his vest on mopping the sidelines.
I refereed a lot of games at Crab Orchard. I worked my third or fourth varsity game there. It was against Thompsonville. It was a game that was rescheduled after a snow. Their athletic director Keith Johns (and still the A.D.) said I know it will put you in a spot, but I feel more comfortable with you than anyone.
Trying to be objective, I was giving my hometown a royal rooking. Dee put his arm around me and said son, thank you for coming. He said go out and call the second half like it is just any other team in blue. That will always stick with me.
I took a six-month job working for IDOT after college. The project was widening Route 13 to four lanes. I was in Crab Orchard a lot, and I would run into him. I loved taking to him about high school sports, picking his mind about education, and mostly about the Lord.
During that winter, I would be a substitute teacher there from time to time. I also was during a time I worked a second shift job in Marion. He would tell me would loved for me to teach there if they had a position open. I took that as a very high compliment.
Dee and his wife Dianne spent their weekends spreading the Gospel in churches and fairs across the Midwest. He was the lead singer of the Glorylanders quartet. She was the pianist/alto.
The group spanned over five decades, up until the time Dee went home to be with the Lord. The group had several personnel changes but he was a constant. I asked Diane to share some thoughts about the group:
“The Gloylanders were group of high school boys started singing around 1959. Members came and went over the years, and about 54 years later, when Dee went home to be with our Lord, the group was still going strong. But that time, it consisted of 3 family members and one non-family.”
“He had a deep love for Southern Gospel music that never wavered. His funeral service was a celebration with some of the most glorious music I have ever heard.”
My parents were “groupies” of them back in the 1970’s. Their signature song was The King is Coming, written by Bill and Gloria Gaither.
When he would sing it he would be in the aisle of the church as far as his mic chord would reach. The spirit would be so strong as he sang it with such passion.
Dee passed away on March 16, 2013 after a very brief illness. When he went home to be with his Lord, I thought of a line in “his song” over and over, “praise God he’s coming for me.”
He came for him that day. Because the Lord saved someone who still is an old rotten sinner, I will see him again one day.
Just a few footnotes on some Franklin County connections. Diane started her teaching career at Thompsonville High School, then taught several years at Crab Orchard before her retirement.
Richard Ozment, their son, taught at Sesser-Valier a few years. He is now a principal at Hardin County.
The Ozment’s daughter Rindy has been involved in Southern Gospel music all of her life. She is in a group with former Sesser-Valier and now Johnston City teacher Andrea Harris, the Clarks. Andrea’s father Gary Clark is the pastor of Oasis Nazarene Church in Harrisburg. Dee was the minister of minister of music there at his passing.
