HARRISBURG – With spring legislative session scheduled to begin on January 30, State Senator Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) spent the week in his district, celebrating the legacy and career of a local leader, speaking with members of Southern Illinois’ agricultural community and supporting a local nonprofit that works to provide a new pair of shoes to children in need.

Honoring a local leader and role model in the community, Sen. Fowler joined members of the Marion community to celebrate the retirement and career of Mayor Robert Butler on January 23. After almost 55 years of dedication and service to his community, Mayor Butler will be retiring at the end of the month. Mayor Butler is ending his career as one of the longest serving mayors in the nation, having worked tirelessly to bring growth, development and opportunities to the area. Having worked closely with Mayor Butler, Sen. Fowler was honored to speak at the celebration, recognize his tremendous legacy in the community and wish him all the best in future endeavors.

With scheduled session beginning on January 30, Sen. Fowler reached out to members of Southern Illinois’ agricultural community to take part in his second meeting of his Agricultural Advisory Committee on January 26. Sen. Fowler invited members and representatives of the agricultural industry in the 59^th Senate District to come together to discuss ongoing issues in the agricultural community, giving the Senator better insight into the needs of the state’s number one industry and economic driver. At this week’s meeting, Sen. Fowler welcomed Trooper Paul Howard, Motor Carrier Safety Inspector with the Illinois State Police, to brief the committee. The advisory board also heard from Warren Goetsch, Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Also this week, Sen. Fowler joined Advanced Energy Solutions Solar for their “Business After Hours” event in Carterville on January 25. AES Solar opened their doors to the public, giving tours of their showroom and offering visitors a chance to learn more about solar power and renewable energy. AES has been operating in Southern Illinois since 1999, bringing American-made renewable energy systems to the region and working to educate the public about energy efficiency for almost 20 years.

Continuing the trend of celebrating local businesses, Sen. Fowler attended the Marion Chamber of Commerce’s 97th annual Banquet and Auction and the Benton-West City Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner throughout the week. Sen. Fowler joined the chambers as they turn to a new year, celebrating the accomplishments and milestones from 2017, honoring and recognizing award winners, and bringing together members of the business community.

Sen. Fowler also joined the Happy Feet Equals Learning Feet organization as they provided new shoes to students in need. Happy Feet is an organization that has operated for almost 10 years to provide quality, free shoes to students to help them become better learners. The corporation, founded in Union County, KY, believes providing a basic necessity, like athletic shoes, helps build children’s self-esteems, combats bullying and takes away a worry and distraction for many children about lacking fitting footwear.

In state news, Illinois lawmakers will return to the Capitol next week for three scheduled days of session on Jan. 30 and 31, and Feb. 1, which will include the Governor’s State of the State Address on Jan. 31. While Gov. Bruce Rauner hasn’t made any public statements on what specifically will be included in his annual speech, typically governors use the event to paint a picture of both the current status of state government and their plans moving forward.

Finally, Sen. Fowler is reminding everyone that the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) will begin accepting 2017 individual state income tax returns on Jan. 29, the same day that the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will begin accepting federal individual income tax returns. More information can be found on Sen. Fowler’s website, senatorfowler.com.

BENTON – On January 24^th, 2018 Benton Police were dispatched to the 1100 block of Fairland Street in reference to a four year old child found unsupervised.  Through investigation, police arrested Rachel Ray, age 32, of Benton for endangering the life or health of a child.  Ray was charged and transported to the Franklin County Jail for further processing.

On January 25^th, 2018 Benton Police were dispatched to 629 West Main Street, Hardee’s Restaurant, for a traffic crash.  Through investigation, police arrested Kevin L. Millikan, age 27, of Benton for driving under the influence.  Millikan was charged and transported to the Franklin County Jail for further processing.

The alleged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.

From ReAnne Palmer – Rend Lake College Public Information  

INA– Prospective and returning Rend Lake College students can now apply for scholarships for the 2018-19 academic year by completing the RLC Foundation scholarship application. The application applies students for approximately 250 scholarships, and is due by Wednesday, February 28, 2018 for priority awarding.

Interested students can complete the application online at www.rlc.edu/foundation. The single-page form takes only minutes to complete. Students must also submit their most recent transcript and one letter of recommendation to be considered.

Liz Jennings, RLC Foundation Assistant Director and Scholarship Coordinator, said the application has a new save feature this year, which allows students to work on the scholarship application, save their work, and return to complete it at a later time.

“The save option is a great way for students to work on their scholarship application and come back to review it before submission, giving them a chance to better prepare their responses,” said Jennings. “Students should also keep in mind that submitting the application isn’t completely done online. They also need to send us their transcripts and letter of recommendation after hitting the ‘submit’ button.”

In addition to the application, students are strongly encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To complete the 2018-19 FAFSA, visit www.fafsa.ed.gov or contact RLC’s Financial Aid Office at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1385 for more information.

Scholarship recipients will be selected based on the criteria set forth by each scholarship. High school students will be informed of their awards at their high school honors nights, with letters being sent out after Tuesday, May 1. Applications will be accepted after the Feb. 28 priority date; however, preference will be given to students who complete the application beforehand.

Every year, approximately $200,000 is awarded to RLC students through Foundation scholarships. These 250 scholarships range from $500 to $1,500 annually and are made possible by generous, local businesses and individuals.

The RLC Foundation is actively working to grow the number of scholarships offered to students, said CEO Kay Zibby-Damron.

“With the rising cost of education and the ongoing uncertainty of state funding, there is a tremendous need for increased private support to help our students,” Zibby-Damron said. “I welcome an opportunity to talk with area businesses and individuals about establishing a scholarship through the RLC Foundation. Creating a scholarship is one investment that will definitely yield positive results.”

For more information about the scholarship application or establishing a new scholarship, contact the RLC Foundation at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1214 or foundation@rlc.edu.

From Gay Bowlin, Franklin County Farm Bureau Manager 

Trucking regulations got you scratching your head? Are you hearing conflicting explanations? To sort fact from fiction Kevin Rund, Illinois Farm Bureau Senior Director of Local Government who has specialized in farm transportation issues for more than 30 years will be at the Franklin County Farm Bureau office on Friday February 2 at 7:30 a.m. We will serve breakfast and Kevin will explain the new laws and answer any questions that you might have. Please call the office as soon possible 435-3616 to make your reservation.

Gay Bowlin -Franklin County Farm Bureau Manager

On Saturday February 3 from 8 am to 12 pm, Extreme Exigency will be at the Franklin County Farm Bureau Building offering a Utah Conceal and Carry Class. The Utah CFP permit training class takes 4 hours. Firing of a firearm is not required to obtain the Non-Resident Utah concealed firearm permit. The permit is valid for 5 years and re-training is not required for renewal. This permit is perfect for people who travel and want to legally protect themselves and their family

All the training materials are provided and for your added convenience we provide photos and fingerprint cards. The Utah permit is recognized in 34 states, 32 states for non-residents (Colorado, Florida, Michigan, and New Hampshire has residency restrictions). Non-residents from states that have CCW permits must obtain their state’s permit before applying for the Utah permit (this change in effect May 10, 2011). Illinois residents are exempt from this requirement.

We have invited Dale Durchholz, Senior Market Analyst for AgriVisor to speak to our farmer members concerning the current market and conditions of the futures market. Dale will be at the Franklin County Farm Bureau on Tuesday, February 6 at 7:30 a.m. Breakfast will be served.  The information he will provide will be beneficial in planning what to do with crops still in the bins and on what you will decide to plant in the Spring. We have been inviting Dale to speak for many years. His priority is to keep farmers informed. Please call if you would like to attend this meeting so we have the numbers for breakfast.  Call the office at (618) 435-3616 at make your reservations today.

The Franklin County Farm Bureau has had several calls in reference to their farmland assessments and we are going to take another opportunity to explain how this works.  Brenda Matherly, Assistant Director for Local Government from the Illinois Farm Bureau will be on hand to answer any questions that you might have.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday February 7 @ 5:30 p.m. at the Benton Civic Center  and is open to the public

Reservations are not necessary but we encourage you to attend this meeting if you are having questions or issues with your farmland assessment part of your tax bill.

If you have questions please call us at 435-3616.

USDA officials and other groups will work with Congress to fix a recent tax law change that offers advantages to farmers who sell their products to co-ops. The provision allows them to deduct up to 20 percent of their total sales to cooperatives.

Remember we are farmers working together. If we can help let us know.

WEST FRANKFORT – The Night’s Shield Children’s Crisis center staff would like to show you what an amazing service we are offering to families! Come see the bright, cheerful, safe haven we provide to children from our communities. Please bring family, friends, and anyone else who may need the service, wants to see how they can help, or to just see what a positive impact we are having! We will have pizza and cookies if you and the kids are hungry!

Diana Geisler, Hospital Services Administrator from DaVita Dialysis, presented center with a check from DaVita employees. Diana is a native of Thompsonville, and a TCHS graduate.

The Night’s Shield Children’s Crisis Shelter program serves families from the entire State of Illinois and especially the Southern Regions of Illinois. The program is a temporary emergency child care shelter that provides short-term care for children age’s birth to a child’s eighteenth birthday, for families who are experiencing a severe disruptive crisis, such as domestic violence, parental stress, home crisis/homelessness, legal issues, family medical problem, mental health issues, substance use/abuse, public support/services, job/school issues, or family instability. The Night’s Shield Crisis Shelter provides intervention, community based resource referrals, and support to families for their re-stabilization and empowerment.