Franklin County Farm Bureau News

March 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Franklin County Farm Bureau News –

Gay Bowlin, Manager

Spring is here – now let the good weather begin and farming will be on the fast track. With that being said  –   you will begin seeing these signs around the county soon and if you would like to pick one up for yourself just stop in at the office and we will get you one.

Anhydrous is being put on now and farmers have been and will be when the rain stops – spreading and spraying fertilizer. Several area farmers are also taking care of the wheat that is still in the fields.

I know that the sign says “Start Seeing Farmers” but what it really means is “Drive Safely” – remember that we have to share the roadways with big equipment and we want everyone to be safe.

Things have changed a lot over the past 20 years for farmers. Technology on tractors that was once a shot in the dark is now a much appreciated reality. From auto-steer to field mapping, these are making it easier for farmers to get the crops in and out of the fields.

  Marketing Myths on PORK – BEEF – POULTRY

Antibiotic free: All pork, beef and poultry is your grocery store is antibiotic free.

Gluten free: There is no gluten (a grain product) in pork, beef or poultry

GMO-free: There is no GMO in pork, beef or poultry

Hormone-Free: Added hormones are not allowed in raising pork and poultry – however, all animals have hormones but the USDA allows the label “raised without hormones” to indicate that no extra hormones were given to the animal

For those of you who ordered smoked pork loin from out Young Leaders they would like to say a big thank you. They sold over 50 loins and have close to $1,300 for their scholarships.  If you have not already applied for the Farm Bureau and the Young Leaders Scholarships either call the office at 435-3616 or stop by – applications are due on April 5th.

The TV Show “Small Town Big Deal” which airs in our area on KBSI and WDKA – FOX on Saturday 7 am and Sunday at 6 am. “Small Town Big Deal “ has added a new section to their website. If you go to www.smalltownbigdeal.com the last tab to the right is “Small Town Big Heart”.

Rodney Miller and Jann Carl are using this as a platform to help fundraise for people across the nation who have extra special needs. The first fundraising commercial was filmed right here in Franklin County to help to benefit Makanda Williams from Ewing who was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer known as DIPG. Some of you might know her facebook page “MakandaStrong”.

The commercials will air during the weekly shows and on their website and hopefully will help in raising funds for the people who are highlighted. We hope that this brings even more awareness to DIPG and helps to raise money for Makanda’s treatments.

The primary election is over and now the real works for those who have been put on the ballot for the general election in November.  If you think that there have been a ton of ads on TV and radio thus far – just wait. Now the real work begins for these people so expect even more mailing and even phone calls for the next 7 months.

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

 

Filed Under: Columns

Pastor Rick Warren: God says you are accepted

March 19, 2018 By Leave a Comment
God Says You Are Accepted
By Rick Warren — Mar 19, 2018
Facebook   Twitter   Pinterest   Email
Devotional image from Rick Warren

“Therefore, accept each other in the same way that Christ accepted you. He did this to bring glory to God” (Romans 15:7 GW).

Most of us spend our entire lives trying to earn acceptance. We want to earn it from our parents, peers, partners in life, people we respect, and maybe even people we envy. The drive to be accepted is a deep drive that can influence the kinds of clothes you wear, the kind of car you drive, the kind of house you buy, and even the career you choose.

Maybe as a kid you wanted so badly to join the in-crowd. So someone would say to you, “I dare you to do this,” and they’d suggest something that was either stupid or put your personal safety at risk. But you did it anyway because your desire to be accepted overruled the desire for safety.

We do it because we love the feeling of “I’m okay. Somebody accepts me.” When you’re accepted, it does tremendous things for your self-esteem. The truth is, Jesus accepts you, and that acceptance is not based on your performance. In fact, you may have received Christ, but do you realize you’re able to do that because Jesus accepted you? You don’t have to earn his acceptance. You don’t have to prove yourself to him.

We need to stop thinking, “I’ve got an unpleasable God up there, and I’ve got to be a good boy or girl to be accepted.” God, through Jesus Christ, has already accepted you. That’s the Good News!

The Bible teaches, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me” (Psalm 27:10 NIV). Even today you may be trying to prove yourself to an unpleasable parent. You’re still attempting to earn that acceptance. If that’s you, you need to understand two things:

First, if you haven’t gotten the approval by now, then you’re not likely to ever get it — and second, that is their problem, not yours.

You don’t need to be accepted by others to please God. You’ve been accepted by God. We have more than 7 billion people on the planet. If some of them don’t like you, who cares? You don’t need it. God has accepted you!

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick>>

Talk It Over

  • On what do you base your self-esteem?
  • How does the drive to be accepted by others affect you physically? What about emotionally and spiritually?
  • How does knowing you are accepted by God change your life?
Filed Under: Columns

The Bost Bulletin

March 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Congressman Mike Bost’s weekly update.

Here’s the link.

Filed Under: Columns

Steelworkers love Congressman Bost … but won’t take him home to meet folks

March 17, 2018 By Leave a Comment

U.S. Congressman Mike Bost was all smiles last week as President Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on imported steel.

 

Here’s the editorial in the Belleville News-Democrat.

Filed Under: Columns, Editorials, Opinion

Pastor Rick Warren: Working Together, We Can Accomplish More

March 17, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Working Together, We Can Accomplish More
By Rick Warren — Mar 15, 2018
Facebook   Twitter   Pinterest   Email
Devotional image from Rick Warren

 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

God put us on Earth to do a certain work that only we can do. Ephesians says that God created us to do good works and that he planned in advance what we would spend our lives doing. However, he didn’t plan for us to do that work alone. We need people to work with us.

You know the feeling you get when you do too much work on your own. You get exhausted and burned out. Why? Because you’re trying to do your work alone, while God never meant for it to be that way.

In Ecclesiastes 4:9, God tells us, “Two people are better than one, because they get more done by working together” (NCV). When you work as a team, you get so much more done. Plus, having good teammates alongside you is a whole lot more fun and less tiring!

Picture it this way: Each of us is like a snowflake. On our own, we can’t make a big difference. However, when one fragile snowflake sticks with a lot of other snowflakes, they can stop traffic. Like snowflakes, we can make a big difference if we work together, each one of us simply doing our small part.

Did you know that when we work together here on Earth, we’re actually practicing for eternity? In Heaven, we will all have to work, but each of us will have just a small piece of work, so we’ll never get overloaded or tired. Though no one will carry a heavy burden as each one of us does our small part, all the work will still get done.

As you walk through life, remember that you’re not supposed to do everything on your own. You need other people to walk alongside you, and other people also need you. As you share the burden of your work with fellow Christians, you’ll find that you actually accomplish more for the glory of God.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

  • Have you been trying to accomplish too much work on your own? What has been the effect?
  • How does/should the church exemplify working together to accomplish more for the glory of God?
  • How can you get people to help you in the work God wants you to do? What people can you help in the work God has for them?
Filed Under: Columns, Opinion

Pastor Rick Warren: ‘Do You Have a Safety Net?’

March 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Do You Have a Safety Net?
By Rick Warren — Mar 16, 2018
Facebook   Twitter   Pinterest   Email
Devotional image from Rick Warren

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8 NIV).

As a pastor, I see situations daily that nobody should ever have to go through alone. Nobody should ever have to wait in the hospital while a loved one is in life-or-death surgery. No woman should ever have to wait alone for the lab report on a problem pregnancy. Nobody should ever have to wait for news from a battlefield alone. Nobody should ever have to stand at the edge of an open grave alone. Nobody should ever have to spend the first night alone when his or her spouse has just walked out.

Life’s tough times and tragedies are inevitable. Each of us will face our share of them. But we don’t need to go through them alone. We need God’s safety net to help hold us up through these difficult times.

What is God’s safety net? It is a group of other believers — a handful of people who are really committed to you. We call this kind of group a community. Here’s God’s plan for community: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV). Community is God’s answer to despair.

Romans 12:15 expresses a similar idea: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (NIV).

The first part of that verse is easy. When something good happens to someone, it’s often natural to join in on the party.

But when someone is experiencing a tough time, it can seem more difficult. But, really, it’s simple. When you’re going through a crisis, you don’t want advice; you just want somebody to be there to sit with you, hold your hand, put an arm around your shoulder, or cry with you.

As Paul tells us, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV). Encouraging someone else doesn’t always mean giving a pep talk or offering words of wisdom. Sometimes the best kind of encouragement is just sitting in silence, and then waiting and weeping with a friend.

Do you have a safety net — a group of fellow Christians you know you can count on in life’s toughest times? If not, go out today and begin building those friendships. The hard times in life are inevitable, and it’s unwise to go into them unprepared.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

  • Who is part of your safety net? How do you build community with people and reach that level of commitment?
  • What are some practical ways you can provide someone with a safety net?
  • What is the difference between being part of a Bible study and being part of a community?
Facebook   Twitter   Pinterest   Email
Filed Under: Columns, Opinion

OJT

March 13, 2018 By Leave a Comment

That’s what they used to call it: on-the-job training. In the professional discipline of architecture, it was common for people to become architects by being an apprentice in an architectural office. After 12 years of apprenticeship, a candidate could sit for a state licensing examination—on-the-job training leading to professional certification.

sixthsense.com

Over time, a combination of formal education and apprenticeship became the norm. Currently a professional degree, typically a Master of Architecture and two years of internship experience (aka apprenticeship) followed by an examination, is required. This hand-in-glove relationship between formal education and on-the-job training is a powerful one-two punch to prepare people for productive careers in fields ranging from architecture to zoology.   Internships and apprenticeships, mandatory or voluntary, paid or unpaid, are important topics of discussion on many university campuses – including what components make internships most valuable.

The combination of formal training with internships in contrast to a more traditional apprenticeship with little classroom exposure is growing. In 2014, President Obama wanted apprenticeships to grow 100% in five years so that by 2019 there would be 750,000 apprentices. President Trump has also authorized a $200 million increase to apprenticeship programs. This issue is nonpartisan and originates from skilled worker shortages nationwide, especially in the fields of construction, healthcare and information technology. The distinction between skilled worker and manager is diminishing. Rather than white or blue collar, light blue is becoming the destination color.

Many college students say hands-on work is “very” satisfying. The intellectual ability to identify, diagnose and solve problems comes in many forms and is in high demand.  Inspired education and training allows students to gain experience applicable in any setting. Joseph E. Aoun, in Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, says that anyone who creates a new “thing” or process becomes invaluable in the marketplace as well as “robot-proof.”

Internships and apprenticeships create appreciation for the consequence of a hierarchy.  Organizations are not flat, pancake-like structures. Not everyone is equal. Operational workplaces have workers and decision makers functioning with different roles dispersed throughout. In addition, both up and down the chains of command, accountability and effectiveness flow in both directions. This may be the most important lesson that anyone learns in any work setting. Unlike a college classroom, which is a pancake-like structure where all students are equal and guided by a single faculty member, the workplace demands complex interdependencies. Effective leaders and workers understand this interdependency as necessary to accomplish goals. In formal educational settings, the abilities and accomplishments of an individual are typically elevated above collaboration, as they should be. This makes the combination of the workplace and the schoolhouse powerful.

The apprenticeship model, with indentured servitude mindsets embedded in history, is just that—a historical artifact. Apprentices were functionally important and produced goods or services of value. Today, too many internships rely on and count shadowing, watching and observation as “work.” Such experiences do provide insight and knowledge, but very little experience with the real responsibility for the production of goods, ideas or services; in a word—work. Room to Grow: Identifying New Frontiers for Apprenticeship, from Burning Glass Technologies reinforces the impact of apprenticeships and their contribution to individuals and industries.

Effective universities build more opportunities to incorporate on-the-job training in both apprenticeship and internship settings as a pedagogical extension of the classroom. All areas of study would benefit from a model of internship/apprenticeship that combines learning and doing. Providing enough mentors and meaningful experiences for students to bridge the gap between learning about something and working is a challenge.

Many institutions and corporations provide unpaid internships, which seem to be a “win-win” situation. However, the model falls short because of the old adage, “You don’t value what you don’t pay for.” An unpaid worker, not to be confused with a volunteer (another subject altogether), provides questionable value to both the individual and the organization beyond networking—important for sure but not a substitute for work.

There is little, serious argument about whether or not either of these experiences contribute to positive knowledge and insights and future employment. One study at Southwestern University showed that 13% of the students engaged in internships were more likely to find employment. One in three of the students engaged in internships were “very happy” with the experience. In the African-American and Latino student populations, over 70% of the students were so positive regarding work experiences as part of the curriculum that they believed on-the-job training should be required. These observations were from a survey of 50,000 college students and graduates.

Internships and apprenticeships have amplified value when the student is engaged in real work that depends on and grows from the classroom learning experience at the university. Benefit is chrome plated when there is tangible output from the labor. That is what people should mean when they say on-the-job training.

Filed Under: Columns, Featured

Franklin County Farm Bureau News

March 13, 2018 By Leave a Comment

From Franklin County Farm Bureau Manager, Gay Bowlin

BENTON – Spring is coming – but not soon enough – with the cold and some snow this past weekend it seems like it will take forever for warm weather to get here. Before long we will be seeing combines on the roads and I want to make sure that everyone remembers that they are Slow Moving Vehicles and to Share the Roadways.

Also, another reminder is to NOT text and drive – whether you are in a car, truck, tractor or combine it is illegal and dangerous. SAFETY IS OUR MAIN CONCERN.

Identity theft topped the list of consumer complaints filed to the Illinois Attorney General’s office in 2017. Most of the 2,500 complaints involved the unauthorized usage of credit cards through cyber-attacks. Just be careful when ordering online and/or giving your credit card information out.

COUNTRY Financial Representatives in West Frankfort – Adrienne Mason and Gavin Suver – had a pancake breakfast last Saturday at their new location in the VF Factory Mall. They asked Franklin County Young Leaders and Franklin County 4-H members to come in a help serve and clean up. The pancake breakfast was free but they received donations for both of these groups. The money that will be given to the Young Leaders will help on Scholarships this year. We want to thank Adrienne and Gavin for their support.

Franklin County Young Leaders Pork Loin Sale

JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER DINNER

FRANKLIN COUNTY FARM BUREAU YOUNG LEADERS

ARE TAKING ORDERS FOR SMOKED PORK LOIN.

READY FOR PICK-UP ON MARCH 28 & 29 –

½ LOIN – $35             FULL LOIN – $50

SEE A FCFB YOUNG LEADER OR CALL (618) 435-3616

Orders must be in by March 21

(ALL PROFIT WILL BE USED FOR COUNTY SCHOLARSHIPS)

The Foundation Scholarship and the Young Leaders Scholarships are available to anyone attending a post-secondary school to study in an agriculture related field.  All applicants must be a resident of Illinois and must be a Franklin County Farm Bureau Member or dependent in good standing.

The Foundation and the Young Leaders will both award scholarships based on: Academic performance and honors, rank in class, ACT/SAT score, community involvement, demonstrating an interest in agriculture and/or agribusiness, character and personality, maturity, intellectual interest, moral character and demonstration of leadership skills.

Applications must be returned to the Franklin County Farm Bureau no later than April 5, 2018 to be eligible for consideration for the 2018 scholarships.

Applications are available now and can be picked up the at the Franklin County Farm Bureau Building at 1210 Highway 14 West in Benton send to you by email. Call the office at (618) 435-3616 if you have any questions.

Franklin County Ag in the Classroom (AITC) has been very busy helping to promote the IL Reads Book Festival held on March 10th, 2018 at the DuQuoin High School in Perry County.  The Franklin County AITC Coordinator, Melissa Lamczyk, gave away one book to every school district in Franklin County.  A box was placed in each school district for teachers to enter their name in the drawing.  The drawing was for one of the highlighted books, “Popcorn Astronauts”, at the book festival.

A book was given to Akin Grade School 5th Grade, St John’s Catholic School in West Frankfort Pre-K, Denning Kindergarten in West Frankfort, Ewing Grade School Kindergarten, Thompsonville Christian Junior Academy, Sesser-Valier Grade School, Thompsonville Grade School and to Christopher and Zeigler Libraries.

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

Filed Under: Columns, Featured

What Do I Owe Parents?

March 5, 2018 By Leave a Comment

I daily take in and reflect on student expectations of our university. I speak with parents and guardians less frequently, though I owe them a great deal. While the step-out-of-the-nest for the student is a “big deal,” it is also a challenging transition for parents. Here is a catalog of parental ponderings.

https://www.mylifetree.com/soulfeed/an-open-letter-to-the-parent-crying-at-graduation/

A 2015 study by Noodle reveals a few parental preoccupations. There is considerable and justifiable heartburn over costs. Concern about whether or not a child will complete a degree, questions regarding the selection of a major, starting salaries and academic performance are all priority concerns. Parents agonize over whether or not the college is a good fit for their child. College leaders fuss and fret over the U.S. News & World Report rankings, yet only one in five parents care about rankings. Parents like the idea that their student might finish college in four years, but 40% recognize that is unlikely. Fear over a student incurring debt for the family grows. Costs to the student are one thing, but parents taking on second mortgages to send their child to college brings a completely different set of concerns. Intergenerational educational debt is particularly vexing, especially when bankruptcy courts rarely discharge student loans. A degree, or a portion thereof, cannot be repossessed.

Coupled with this lengthy list of concerns, parents want a safe environment. Eighty percent of families are worried about sexual assaults on campuses. Four decades of drastically altered views of human sexuality and what constitutes appropriate behavior between men and women have taken a toll on the public understanding and morality in relationships. Alcohol abuse is frequently present in cases of sexual assault, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Embedded in all of these concerns is a growing lack of trust regarding universities and institutional ability to provide an environment conducive to learning. I am not talking about “safe spaces” where protection from various ideas exist; that perspective is antithetical to our purpose. We strive to create spaces safe for ideas, not from ideas. Both the U.S. Constitution and effective universities share this mission.

Some of what I owe parents:

Transparency – Cardinal John Henry Newman captured the role of a university in this unpretentious statement: “Accordingly, in its simple and rudimental form, it is a school of knowledge of every kind, consisting of teachers and learners from every quarter.” I need to serve all who come calling when they demonstrate sincerity and a commitment to purpose and are prepared to work toward academic excellence.  

Honest Cost-Benefit Analysis – The New York Times, and countless publications of every sort, provide generic assessments of the costs and benefits of university attendance. However, these overgeneralized prognostications fail individuals. Parents care about single students, not randomized data points. The value of a given degree from a particular institution to a particular student is absent. I owe every student and parent a specific assessment of individualized value to the best of our institutional ability.

Likelihood of Success – Students enter universities with a history. While history is an imperfect predictor of the future, it is available and I should use it. If a student comes from high school with a “C” average and minimally acceptable college preparation, I need to help that student and family appreciate the “odds” on the likelihood of successful degree completion—be an educational handicapper of sorts. This is essential, even if not always a “pretty picture.” It may not be encouraging. “Curve breakers” show up as the exceptions that prove the rule, but these represent a miniscule portion of the population, e.g., Gates, Zuckerberg, Turner, Pitt, Winfrey, Jobs, Disney, Lincoln…

Safety – Campus safekeeping creates anxiety for parents. There are data available from the U.S. Department of Education and those warrant study, but more importantly families must sense that an institution is committed to a safe and secure learning environment. Canyon, Texas, is rated as a very safe campus community—number 12 nationally. Ask the hard questions of a specific campus. Do not trust the data alone. Trust also your heart. Coupled with the data, trust what you see in the place.

Growth in Personal Responsibility – An institution cannot guarantee moral decision-making, nor can a church, temple or synagogue. Rather, it is a personal understanding and exercise of free will and its limits. St. Paul said it clearly in his letter to the church at Rome: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Our university should encourage thoughtful and reflective understanding of each individual’s place in the world and the role of self-determination in establishing that foundation.

I owe parents an honest expression of what our university can do. I also owe them an honest expression of what it cannot do.

Walter V. Wendler is President of West Texas A&M University. His reflections are available at www.walterwendler.com.

Filed Under: Columns, Editorials, Featured, Opinion

Senator Paul Schimpf Week in Review: February 26 – March 2, 2018

March 3, 2018 By Leave a Comment

From State Senator Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo)

Earlier in the week Sen. Schimpf was lucky to be in the company of Trico Senior High Schoolers Haleigh Turner, (left), Jade Kranawetter, and Juhle Prange in Springfield. The three seniors had a jam-packed day of learning on Tuesday, Feb. 27, as his Honorary Pages. (From State Senator Paul Schimpf)

Higher Education Working Group

Senator Paul Schimpf’s week in Springfield began with a meeting of the Higher Education Working Group. This bipartisan group of legislators from the Illinois House and Senate has been meeting since December to identify ways the Illinois legislature can support our state universities and community colleges.

After listening to universities discuss their strategies for recruitment and retention of applicants, the working group reached tentative agreement on reforms to increase the likelihood that Illinois students will stay in state for higher education.

Ideas included:

  • Changes to a common application
  • Reforms to merit scholarships
  • Reforms to tax credits

The working group will turn next to the structure of higher education governance in Illinois.

“No” votes on gun bills

This week Sen. Schimpf voted against the two pieces of gun control legislation that came before him in the Illinois Senate.

“In my opinion, these bills are more concerned with scoring political points than ensuring the safety of our students,” said Schimpf. “They both significantly limit our Second Amendment rights.”

Senator Schimpf voted against HB 772 which would set up a process where an individual’s immediate and extended family can petition a judge to order the confiscation of their firearms without notice to the individual in question. This is a problem because the process sets the lowest possible burden of proof for the judge to grant the request. In essence, the law would be setting up on-demand weapon confiscation with no legal safeguards for the firearm owner.

“This bill is unnecessary,” said Schimpf. “Illinois law already provides that a person who is subject to an existing order of protection may not lawfully possess weapons under the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act.”

Sen. Schimpf also voted against legislation to implement SB 1657.  The bill would create a new gun dealer licensing bureaucracy within Illinois government.

“I have concerns that this proposal doesn’t treat big box stores, like Walmart, the same as the local ‘mom and pop’ stores in our communities,” said Schimpf. “This proposal will make doing business much more difficult for Southern Illinois gun stores. This is another example of politicians placing Chicago solutions on the rest of the state.”

Despite the Senator’s “No” vote – both bills passed, SB 1657 is awaiting further action by the Governor. HB 772 had to return to the House because the Senate amended the bill. The House has to concur on that amendment before it can receive final approval and be sent to the Governor.

Hospital Assessment Vote

Changes are coming to Illinois’ Hospital Assessment Program following the overwhelming passage of bipartisan legislation to authorize the continuation of the Hospital Assessment Program. The program will enhance Medicaid managed care transparency and oversight.

The program brings in $3.5 billion annually to support access to healthcare for over three million Illinoisans who are insured by Medicaid. The program is fully financed by hospitals and the federal government—there is no cost to the state. The goal of all lawmakers from the very beginning was to direct limited dollars to those individuals who need it, in the fairest possible way.

The final package will preserve access to healthcare for all Illinoisans, especially vulnerable populations in rural and urban communities, including those served by Safety Net and Critical Access Hospitals.

Veterans’ Affairs Committee to Meet

The Illinois Veterans’ Home at Quincy will likely make headlines again next week as the fourth Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing is slated for Monday, March 5, in Chicago. The outbreaks at the facility have turned into a wicked problem, confounding elected officials, medical professionals, and healthcare administrators, alike.

Despite efforts by the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (IDVA), the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to eliminate the bacteria through heating, chemical treatment, and filtration, four residents have recently tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease—the most recent being the week of Feb. 19.

“Since December 2017, I have visited the site and participated in several legislative hearings, conference calls, and meetings,” Schimpf said. “Despite this information gathering, I cannot fathom why the home still tests positive for Legionella.  I will continue holding our Veterans’ Affairs and Public Health leaders accountable until we can identify why our veterans are at risk.”

Life Skills Re-Entry Center Soon to Re-open

On Friday, March 2, Sen. Schimpf spoke at a ceremony at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center where more than 60 cadets graduated from the training academy. The new correctional officers are bound for new roles at the Life Skills Re-Entry Center in Murphysboro.

“Without question, this is a positive day for these people, our new cadets, the City of Murphysboro, and the State of Illinois,” said Schimpf. “I’m proud to be a part of it all, witnessing the changes we need to see in our region unfold. I commend Governor Bruce Rauner, Representative Terri Bryant, and the Department of Corrections for their hard work in reopening this facility.”

Honorary Pages for a Day

Earlier in the week Sen. Schimpf was lucky to be in the company of Trico Senior High Schoolers Haleigh Turner, (left), Jade Kranawetter, and Juhle Prange in Springfield. The three seniors had a jam-packed day of learning on Tuesday, Feb. 27, as his Honorary Pages.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Columns, Franklin Co. News, Opinion
« Previous Page
Next Page »
Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News