Rangerettes defeat Du Quoin 41-21

January 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

The Benton Rangerettes improved to 15-4 overall with a solid 41-21 victory over Du Quoin in Thursday night action.

“I thought we turned in a solid defensive effort,” said Benton coach Andy Sloan. “Overall, it was just a nice win for us.”

The Rangerettes jumped out to an 11-4 first quarter lead as six players got in the scoring column for Benton in the opening eight minutes. Benton increased the lead to 20-11 at halftime as Du Quoin managed only three field goals in the first half.

Rebekka Maddox, Du Quoin’s leading scorer, was a non-factor in the contest as she was hampered by foul trouble from the outset. Maddox picked up two quick fouls in the first 90 seconds of the game and sat out the rest of the first quarter and then returned and picked up her third in less than three minutes in the third and was on the bench the remainder of the half.

The Rangerettes put the game on ice in the third quarter outscoring Du Quoin 8-2 to open up a 38-23 lead and then coasted on to victory.

Benton was led in scoring by Morgan Corn with 10 points, followed by Mikala Carney with seven points, Katie Sandusky with six points, Sami Minor and Marcella Mendez with five points each, Evelyn Mendez with three points, Cali Carney with two points, Kaitlyn Biddle with two points and Cassandra Johnson with one point.

Maddox led Du Quoin with five points.

The Benton JV squad picked up an exciting 36-35 victory against Du Quoin. Bobbi Wegrazyn hit two free throws with 29 seconds in the game and that proved to be the winning margin.

Both Benton girl’s teams are back in action on Tuesday night when they host Zeigler-Royalton-Christopher in a non-conference match up. The game will be played at Rich Herrin Gymnasium because of a wrestling event that is being held at the East Gym.

Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, High School Sports, Uncategorized

BMS boys pick up big road win at Carbondale

January 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

Derek Oxford scored 28 points and the Benton Middle School Junior Rangers overcame a 12-point first quarter deficit en route to a gutsy 58-41 road victory Thursday night against always-tough Carbondale.

“Last night was the slowest start we have had all year and on top of that Carbondale is very athletic and their ball-defense created a lot of problems for us early,” said BMS coach John Cook. “Before we knew it we were down 13-1 and we hadn’t even gotten into our offense yet.”

The 8th grade squad closed the first quarter strong but still trailed 20-10 at the end of the first stanza. It was all Benton in the second frame as the Junior Rangers outscored Carbondale 20-8 to to turn the 10-point first quarter deficit into a 30-28 halftime lead.

Cook said Oxford, who has started on the 8th grade team since he was in sixth grade, “took the game over” when his team fell behind early.

“Derek really put us on his back in the first half,” said Cook. “We went to a straight motion offense and set a lot of high ball screens in order to free up our guards and relieve them of some of that pressure. We did a great job of keeping the floor balanced and really attacking the goal.”

While Oxford tallied 28 and barely missed a double-double with nine rebounds Cook said it was a “real team effort” that secured the road win.

“We had a pretty good idea of what Carbondale was doing offensively in the second and half and we held them to only 13 points,” said Cook. “Austin Wills really handled the ball well and Tyson Houghland had his biggest night of the season. We played excellent team defense and got a lot of good minutes from Oliver Davis, Gehrig Wynn, Blane Pankey and Jordan Richey.”

Houghland netted 18 – his high mark of the season – to go with six rebounds. Also scoring for Benton was Pankey with seven points and two rebounds, Wills with three points and two rebounds and Oliver Davis with two points and three rebounds. Also seeing action for Benton was Wynn and Richey.

The Junior Rangers shot 48 percent from the field (19-39) and hit 5-13 three-pointers with Oxford hitting four shots from beyond the arc. The Junior Rangers also shot 15-20 from the charity stripe for 75 percent.

The win improves the BMS 8th grade team’s overall record to 13-3.

In the 7th grade contest Carbondale broke open a close game with a big third quarter to take a 42-21 victory over the BMS squad.

Benton trailed 9-7 after one quarter and both teams scored 10 points in the second frame as Carbondale maintained a two-point lead at 19-17. Benton managed only four points in the second half and was outscored 10-2 in the third quarter and 13-2 in the final frame. The loss drops the 7th grade record to a still impressive 10-3 with two of the losses coming against Carbondale.

Hamilton Page, Gehrig Wynn and Eldon Owens led Benton in scoring with five points each followed by Brett Bonenberger with four points and Parker Williams with two points. Also seeing action for Benton was Blane Pankey, Drew Owens, Joey Craig, Mason Wills, Parker McGuire, Triston Summers, Robbie Moore, Braton Lutz, Ethan Kreiger, Peyton Mosely, Branden Luster and Jordan Bowlin.

Both BMS teams are back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 15 when they travel to Herrin. The game that was scheduled for Jan. 14 has been moved to Jan. 28 and that will also be 8th Grade Night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Benton Junior High Sports, Junior High Sports, Uncategorized

Ewing teachers vote to approve contract

January 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

Teachers at Ewing-Northern Grade School on Friday morning approved a contract that was hashed out less than 12 hours earlier, moving both sides in the labor dispute one step closer to a final agreement.

The 15 certified teachers at the northeast Franklin County grade school that houses students in grades K-8 voted at 7:30 a.m. to approve the deal that was hammered out in an 11th hour negotiating session Thursday night with a federal mediator and school administration.

The contract will not be finalized and no details will be released until after the board meets on Jan. 28 in its regular monthly meeting.  However, Collinsville attorney Barney Mundorf who has served as spokesperson for the board, said board members are “pleased” with the agreement and he expected it to be approved.

Teachers at Ewing-Northern have worked without a contact since August 30 and filed an intent to strike notice with the state in November 30.  The 15 teachers at the school, located in northeast Franklin County, are represented by the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT).  The threatened strike would have stopped classes for 227 students in grades K-8.

 

Filed Under: Breaking News, Featured, Franklin Co. News, Uncategorized

Ewing teachers reach tentative deal, strike averted

January 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

A tentative agreement has been reached between teachers and the administration at Ewing-Northern Grade School, averting a possible strike.

Both sides met Thursday night with a federal mediator and Collinsville attorney Barney Mundorf confirmed shortly after 10 p.m. that a tentative deal has been reached pending a vote of all teachers at 7:30 a.m. on Friday morning and the approval of the board at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 28.

Mundorf, who has acted as a spokesperson for the board, would not talk about any particular details in the tentative agreement but said he felt confident that both sides would ratify the contract.  He said details of the deal would not be released until after board approval.

Teachers at Ewing-Northern have worked without a contact since August 30 and filed an intent to strike notice with the state in November. The 15 teachers at the school, located in northeast Franklin County, are represented by the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT).  The threatened strike had threatened to stop classes for 227 students in grades K-8.

Franklincounty-news.com will have an update on this story after teachers vote Friday morning.

 

 

Ewing-Northern

Filed Under: Breaking News, Featured, Uncategorized

Risley makes bond, released from jail

January 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Norman Dwayne Risley, the 59-year-old Sesser man facing charges that include making bombs, possession of explosive devices and solicitation of a child, was released from the Franklin County Jail on Thursday afternoon after posting $75,000 cash bail.

Norman Dwayne Risley

The amount represents 10 percent of the $750,000 bond that was set after Risley was arrested on Dec. 21, 2012 and charged with three felony counts and one misdemeanor that includes one count of unlawful possession of explosives, one count of unlawful use of weapons, one count of indecent solicitation of a child and an additional single count of sexual exploitation of a child.

Risley appeared before Franklin County Circuit Judge Robert Lewis Thursday morning for a bond reduction hearing but the matter was pushed back to January 16 when he is already scheduled for a preliminary hearing.  Shortly after the hearing Risley posted bond and was released.

Risley was arrested after Sesser police, working on a tip, began investigating allegations alleging that he had solicited the minor child.  When law enforcement authorities gained entry through a search warrant to Risley’s residence and uncovered the cache of explosives that included 11 separate explosive devices (pipe bombs), explosive compounds and 16 blasting caps. The charges allege that Risley “intended to use the explosive devices to commit a felony.”

The charge of indecent solicitation of a child alleges that Risley approached a child under the age of 17 and “discussed and solicited the child to perform an an act of sexual penetration.”

Along with local law enforcement, state police, ATF agents and other federal authorities also participated in the investigation and arrest.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News, More Featured Articles, Sesser News, Uncategorized

‘He’s Looking Down …’

January 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By Tom Wheeler

One of the biggest upsets of the Holiday tournaments was the Christopher Bearcats win at Sesser over No. 3 seed Waltonville. The Spartans had defeated the Bearcats in the Christopher Thanksgiving tournament 48-41 but the Cats evened the score at Sesser 47-39.

Jake Towers, junior point guard led the Cats scoring with 13 points and senior R.J.Kuh was also in double figures with 11.  Last Friday night in a game against rival Zeigler-Royalton, who was on a hot streak after winning three straight games at the Sesser tournament, the Cats won 59-36. Towers were in double figures again with 11, 6-feet-6-inch Kevin Mercks had 16 and R.J. had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Kuh’s game brought a smile to my face.

Let me explain!

R.J.’s grandmother is Pam McGee, a close family friend, and she asked me to talk to R.J. about her son Robert who was taken from us much too early in a terrible automobile accident in 1989. Pam knew how close Robert and my son T.J were and she wanted her grandson to know about his uncle.  We sat in the garage and checked some old tapes of Robert in grade school, then went thru some scrap books of Roberts’ athletic endeavors.  I stressed to R.J. how quick his senior year would go, and no one knew what tomorrow would bring, so make the best of today. More importantly, I told him to enjoy his teammates and coaches and for him to do whatever his coach needed him to do for his team to win.

I had no idea that by mid-year R.J. would be having a game against a good team and get a double-double. At the time of our talk I looked for him to be the ‘Dennis Rodman’ type player. Guard the opponents best player, rebound every shot, dive on the floor for the loose ball and take all those charges (he gets at least one a game).

When asked about R.J.’s recent scoring, Coach Eric Stallman answered, “I talked to R.J and explained to him with every one doubling down on Merck’s, he had to be more aggressive on offense. He has been and now his confidence is at an all-time high.”

T.J. was a freshman at Illinois when we lost Robert. He put the initials R.M. on every pair of shoes he wore the next four years and at the time simply said “I think of Robert McGee every time I lace up my shoes.” In 1994 when his Bearcat jersey No. 44 was retired at CCHS, he told the audience how proud he was that his 44 would hang in the Robert McGee trophy case, named in Robert’s honor.

R.J. is one of those Bearcats all around athletes, linebacker in football, pitcher for ZRC‘s baseball team and now enjoying a senior basketball season where he has become a very valuable clog in Coach Stallman’s program. And while all this is quickly going by I want him to know “Robert is looking down R.J. and enjoying this too.”

Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, Columns, High School Sports, Uncategorized

Franklin County Farm Bureau News

January 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 By J. Larry Miller

On December 1st, I began my 11th year as Franklin County Farm Bureau Manager. As I look back over what seems a very short 10 years, I have become involved with a lot of different organizations in the county as part of my effort to represent our farmers. I have attended a lot of meetings! One of the primary efforts of the local, state and federal Farm Bureau’s, is to be involved in the political process.

One meeting that I remember attending about 5 years ago was a civic function where a local financial planner was talking about the way that government was working. He said that, yes, there are a lot of problems with government in the area of budgets that were of concern but these problems always have a way of working themselves out. This individual has a lot of respect with many in the community of which I am one of those people.

I really do listen to what people have to say and someone of his influence has an impact on my thought process. I did not particularly agree with him at that point but have reason today to disagree with the statement even more.

As I see it, our democracy has slowly gone the way of others in history that have done very well until the common man realized that he could elect those who would help him receive money or to get help from the government. In my lifetime, I have watched the role of government go from having a limited affect on personal lives to invading almost every area of our daily lives. Government is going bankrupt trying to deliver our mail, provide unlimited health care for seniors, welfare for members of society who are unable or unwilling to work for any reason, police the world, maintain a bloated bureaucracy and regulate what size soft drink portions should be.

This past week many of you indicated that you had seen me being interviewed on a local television station and that I seemed to be frustrated with the latest inability of government to solve problems. I always wanted to be transparent.

Does anyone out there believe that we have leadership that will solve our current problems? Can we overcome being $17 Trillion in debt? Can the Illinois General Assembly balance it’s budget and solve the Billions in pension problem? The only noise I hear is the sound of a tin can being kicked further toward the cliff.

Gun control is not our biggest problem nor is making same sex marriage legal but maybe that is our problem. Poor values!

I am thankful to live in this country and believe that we can change things. Someone said that the only way for evil to prevail is for good men and women to do nothing.

I believe that Farm Bureau has good principles and that if we work together we can change the direction of our country.

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

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Columns, Franklin Co. News, Opinion, Uncategorized

Sluggish performance results in loss for Lady Vols

January 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment


BY JOHN D. HOMAN

Logan Media Services

CARTERVILLE – There was no carryover from Monday night’s stellar win over Southeastern Illinois for the Lady Vols of John A. Logan College Wednesday.

The Kaskaskia Blue Angels outrebounded Logan an astonishing 51-to-24 and rolled to a 78-69 Great Rivers Athletic Conference win over the host Vols. Logan falls to 2-2 in the league and 8-5 overall.

Vols head coach Marty Hawkins was disappointed with the results as his troops appeared a step or more slow to react, perhaps a result of having played two nights earlier.

“It was like we were standing in quicksand out there at times,” he said. “They (Blue Angels) had more offensive rebounds (25) than we had total rebounds,” he said. “And they kept the lead because they were able to get so many stickbacks on us.”

Top scorer for the Vols was freshman guard Briya Wilborn with 17 points. Kyra Navarrete followed with 14. Aneta Sloma notched 13. Autumn Miller added eight.

The Blue Angels were led by Miranda Burroughs’ 16 points. Four other teammates reached double digits.

Logan returns to the hardwood Saturday evening at Olney.

Filed Under: College Sports, Uncategorized

Men’s Basketball to host Crowley’s Ridge College Thursday at Max Morris Gymnasium

January 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment
WEST FRANKFORT, Ill. –Morthland College (0-13) plays hosts Crowley’s Ridge College (4-12) on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Max Morris Gymnasium in a game that will be broadcasted on WGGH 1150 AM.The Patriots enter the game with their best shot of winning this season as Crowley’s Ridge has lost three of its last five games, most recently defeating Boyce College 88-74 on Jan. 5.Morthland has added depth to the team with newcomers Nick Bonner and Brandon Harris, both appearing briefly in Wednesday’s 93-74 loss to Oakland City.

Will Carmickle is leading the way for Morthland College averaging 20.1 points and 12 rebounds per game. Entering tomorrows game Carmickle has recorded a double-double in eight of the nine games he has played as a Patriot.

Performing at halftime of tomorrows game will be the IDTA 2008-2011 Hip-Hop Illinois State Champion DuQuoin Indianettes competition dance team.

Filed Under: College Sports, Uncategorized

OBITUARY – TONA O. (STRUBLE) GERMAN – BENTON

January 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Tona O. (Struble) German, 93, passed away Saturday afternoon, January 5, 2013 at Southview Acres in St. Paul, MN.

Mrs. German was born on February 5, 1919, in Macedonia, IL, a daughter of Harry and Iva (Wilson) Struble.  At the age of 13 she professed faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized in a pond in January.  She married Henry E. German, Sr. on April 7, 1935 and he preceded her in death on January 29, 1956.  God blessed their union with eight children, two preceded her in death in infancy, Thomas Roland and Donald Gale.  The oldest son, Henry German Jr. also preceded his mother in death on April 18, 2005.

Her surviving family includes four daughters, Joyce J. (John) Conner, Watseka, IL, T. Roberta Vietti, St. Paul, MN, Maureen E. Rice, Benton, IL, Sandra L. Zippe, Rockford, IL, one son, David A. German, Rockford, IL, one daughter-in-law Carol German, Watseka, IL, one sister Faye (Sam) Kraft, Benton, IL, one borther Charles (Bette) Struble, Watseka, IL, 14 grandchildren who dearly loved her, Tim German, Patrick (Monique) German, Michael German, Joelle (Paul) Nelson, Jonica (Wade) Suver, Janessa Conner, Tony (Brenda) Vietti, Peter (Rosana) Vietti, Joy (Glen) Langenberg, Elisabeth (Pete) Fung, Daniel (Rosslind) Rice, Shante’ King, Mathew Zippe, David German II, and 26 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews and some very good friends.

Mrs. German was preceded in death by her parents, husband, three sons, one son-in-law Douglas Rice, two sisters, Idalia (Cecil) Briley, Rachel (Roscoe) Smith, one brother Raleigh (Velta) Struble and her grandparents Thomas and Cora Wilson, with whom she spent many happy summers growing up.  No doubt she will be greeted in Heaven by these and an abundance of precious friends who have gone on before.  What a happy reunion.

Tona was a longtime member of North Benton Baptist Church and taught Sunday School there for more than 20 years.  She was owner and operator of Tona’s Beauty Shop in Benton for 37 years.  Besides studying the Bible, Tona enjoyed knitting, crocheting, sewing, puzzles, the Chicago Cubs, and spending happy times with her children, grandchildren and great-grandbabies. She was adored by children and known for her sweet, gentle spirit and sacrificial love for her beloved family and friends.

Visitation will be at Immanuel Baptist Church, 516 North Main Street, Benton, IL, on Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 12 noon until 1 p.m.  Memorial services will be held immediately following the visitation at 1 p.m. with the Rev. Eddie Paul Davis officiating.  Burial will be in the Masonic & Oddfellows Cemetery, Benton, IL.  Morton & Johnston Funeral Home, in Benton, IL is in charge of arrangements.  Memorial contributions may be made to Carmi Baptist Children’s Home, 949 County Road 1300 N, Carmi, IL 62812 or to North Benton Baptist Church.

As a final word, the precious Christian lady would want to sing these words from the old hymn, “God will take care of you, through everyday, ore all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you.”  And He will! And God Bless You.

 

Filed Under: Franklin Co. News, Obituaries, Uncategorized
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