Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
This Friday is pick-up day for a BBQ rib fundraiser being hosted by the West Frankfort Chamber of Commerce. Calls to order the ribs should be made immediately to the Chamber office at (618) 932-2181.
Franklin County 4-H is offering two crafting workshops for kids in early December.
On Saturday, Dec. 1, a Chrismas crafting workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Franklin County Exptension Office, 1212 Route 14 West, Benton. This workshop is open to youth ages 5 to 18. The cost is $10, which includes all supplies, and participants will take home at least one finished project. To register, call (618) 439-3178 or register online here by Nov. 29. Class size is limited.
A sewing workshop will be held for kids ages 5 to 18 on Thursday, Dec. 6 from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Participants will be making the owl purse pictured here. This workshop is free for 4-H members and $7 for non 4-H members. To register, call (618) 439-3178 or register online here by Dec. 3.
For several years, the Sesser-Valier School staff members have donated their time and money to sponsor deserving students and their younger siblings at Christmastime.
This year, the school’s Students Assistance Program Team is reaching out to the community for help. Individuals and businesses wishing to donate can shop for gifts for the children they sponsor or donate funds so that the SAP Team may shop. A wish list from the children is provided, and the average amount spent on each child is $60.
All children in the program remain anonymous.
To donate, call Tracy Masters at (618) 625-5101, Ext. 120, or Kerri Henry at (618) 625-5105, Ext. 103. Monetary donations may also be mailed to S-V Unit Dist. 196 Christmas Fund, 4626 State Highway 154, Sesser, IL 62884.
Chair seat season tickets are on sale starting today for the FCHS Redbirds basketball season. Tickets are $35 for available chair seats below the walkway in Max Morris Gymnasium, and $30 for available chair seats above the walkway.
Ticket sales will be in the gym lobby on the following days and times:
With little business to act on, a brief meeting of the Zeigler City Council was held Tuesday night.
The council unanimously authorized payment of bills of $25,206.18. Included in this total was November’s bill of $4,694.20 for West Franklin County Central Dispatch. This is the city portion for the month as a participant. “This bill could go down in January as some debts have been paid,” Mayor Dennis Mitchell.
An agenda item addressing employee salary was tabled. There was a question of a letter of de-certification of the labor union representing workers.
Zeigler Police Chief Tim Scuras reported that the Police and Fire Departments were now narrow band compliant to new FCC regulations. However, Scuras said he will work with city’s street and water departments to make sure that they also meet the mandate dealing with radios by year’s end.
— Bruce A. Fasol
Potential retirees who are part of the Teachers’ Retirement System can get their questions answered through telephone conferences with TRS benefits counselors next month.
The Franklin-Williamson Regional Office of Education #21 is scheduling the conferences in cooperation with the TRS. They will be held Dec. 20 between 9 a.m. and 4:45 p.m., in 15-minute increments.
To sign up for a telephone conference slot, contact your local superintendent or call the Franklin-Williamson Regional Office, (618) 438-9711 to complete a request form. The deadline to request a conference is fast approaching. Request forms must be returned by mail or fax to the Regional Office of Education no later than Monday, Nov. 19.
STAFF REPORT
Southern Illinois Healthcare will highlight job opportunities for registered nurses at the RN Open House on Tuesday, Nov. 27, from Noon until 4:00 PM at the SIH corporate office at University Mall in Carbondale.
Representatives from several nursing units will answer questions about current job openings at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, Herrin Hospital and St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro.
SIH Employment Manager Kristin King said several opportunities for employment are available in multiple units, such as Acute Rehabilitation, Intermediate Medical Care Unit (IMCU), ICU (Intensive Care Unit), Medical/Surgical, Case Management, RN Flex Pool, Emergency Department, Cardiac Diagnostic Unit, Surgical Services, the Cardiac Cath Lab and Obstetrics.
“Nurses will learn about our hospitals’, culture, scholarship and loan forgiveness programs, weekend scheduling program and much more,” said King.
For example, the RN Flex Pool, developed in 2009, offers nurses a flexible schedule and exposes them to many areas of nursing.
“Flex Pool nurses are scheduled throughout the system filling critical vacancies in the areas they are competent to work. It is an opportunity for nurses to work in a variety of settings. Many nurses in the Flex Pool love the variety and challenge of working on different units at multiple facilities, while others look at it as an opportunity to search for a permanent unit to transfer to,” said program manager Mary Vaughn.
RN candidates must have a minimum of one year of Registered Nursing experience to apply. Upcoming or new graduates should contact the Human Resource Department to learn about SIH’s new RN Residency Program.
For information call 618-457-5200, extension 67803 or visit www.sih.net/careers.
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Perhaps the scheduled burial of Saluki Basketball is premature.
Picked to finish last in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, Southern Illinois opened its regular season with a dominating 72-55 win at New Orleans on Monday night, christening the Barry Hinson era with a road victory.
Jeff Early
Jeff Early scored a career-high 27 points, and the Salukis (1-0) demonstrated superior speed and athleticism in an entertaining, if sometimes ragged, up-tempo game.
With little in the way of front-court size, SIU’s formula for success this year — at least until Dantiel Daniels returns from injury — will be to utilize its quickness as much as possible. Southern swiped the ball on defense 13 times and scored 27 points off of turnovers, including 18 points in transition.
A full-court battle played into the hands of the explosive Early, who slashed and dashed to the basket, surpassing his previous career-best of 18 points. He added a career-high 12 rebounds to boot.
Playing the power forward position, the 6-foot-1 Early was a force on both ends of the court, diving for loose balls, taking four charges and holding UNO leading scorer Lovell Cook to nine points.
“I can’t remember a player dominating a game single-handedly as much as Jeff did tonight,” Hinson said. “Everyone has been wanting to know about that hybrid (forward) spot. How can Jeff Early play in that spot and be effective? Tonight, you saw how he can be effective.”
The Salukis took control from the opening tip, scoring the first 11 points and leading 26-6 after a breakaway dunk by Early at the 11:28 mark.
The Privateers (1-1), a program that was nearly washed away by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, is back on its feet and playing a mostly Division I schedule this season. Yet they had no answer for Southern’s quickness. They committed 27 turnovers and were harassed into shooting 35 percent from the field.
SIU led by 16 at halftime and by as many as 24 in the second half. UNO came as close as 13 points on four occasions in the final 10 minutes, but never seriously threatened a comeback.
In addition to Early’s career night, Wyoming transfer Desmar Jackson scored 17 points in his first game in nearly two years. Forward Antonio Bryer, making his first career start, made all four of his field goal attempts and finished with a career-best eight points.
To be sure, SIU has areas for improvement. Its 28 turnovers were the most since committing 29 at Tulsa on Jan. 2, 1999. Southern was also 1-of-8 from the 3-point line and committed 25 personal fouls.
None of those stats could overcome the good feeling generated by a victory that snapped a seven-game losing streak and eight-game road losing streak dating back to last season.
“The best moment was walking into the locker room and seeing the faces of the kids,” Hinson said. “This program has taken a lot of bump, and we’re going to take some bumps this year, but to go on the road and win by the margin we did tonight, and to basically dominate every category statistically, I’m really proud of our guys.”
“I think I’ll resign right now as the only undefeated coach in school history,” Hinson joked.
Staff Report
Carterville, Illinois – The John A. Logan College Scholarship Committee has awarded the Rendleman Nursing Scholarship to Christopher Glazik of Herrin.
Christopher Glazik
The scholarship is awarded to a John A. Logan College Nursing student who possesses a true dedication to the profession of nursing and has demonstrated the potential of becoming a registered nurse.
An endowment established by Mrs. Gladys Rendleman in 1992 funds the scholarships.
For further information concerning this scholarship or other scholarship opportunities at John A. Logan College, contact Stacy Holloway, Director of Scholarships and Alumni Services, at 985-3741, Ext. 8426.
Staff Report
Leigh Caldwell has joined FranklinCounty-News.com as managing editor, it was announced today by Jim Muir, owner/publisher of the online publication.
Leigh Caldwell
Muir said the “quick take off” of new website necessitated bringing on additional help.
“I am pleased to announce that Leigh Caldwell is joining FranklinCounty-News.com as managing editor,” Muir said. “I started this online news site a couple of months ago to fill a gap I saw in news coverage in our area, and it has taken off in a bigger way than even I could have anticipated.”
Muir said Caldwell’s expertise in digital publications and her extensive work background, coupled with the fact that she is a West Frankfort native will serve readers well.
“Leigh is a seasoned journalist who has worked as a newspaper editor and television news director for several media outlets in Florida, including The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, which was owned by The New York Times Company,” Muir noted. “But she’s really a local girl at heart and grew up in West Frankfort, which gives her a great knowledge of this area and people who live here.”
Caldwell got her first job in journalism at WFRX in West Frankfort when she was just 15 years old.
“Leigh returned to the area this summer, and I am happy to have her join the growing FranklinCounty-News.com staff in this endeavor,” said Muir. “I would encourage you to add Leigh as a friend on Facebook and share your news tips and feature story ideas with her.”
In her new role Caldwell will handle the day-to-day operation of the news side of the publication while organizing and coordinating local news and feature stories.
