From George O’ Connor, Communications Director for Congressman Mike Bost

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Bost today announced a grant award to fund the construction of roadway improvements for industrial expansion in Mount Vernon. The project will improve access to allow current industries to ship and receive goods more efficiently, along with improving water service for the area, which will result in new higher paying jobs and additional employment throughout the region.

“This grant not only improves infrastructure in Mount Vernon, it will also create more than 100 good-paying jobs and promote economic development in Jefferson County,” said Rep. Bost. “This is a win for job creation and the local economy.”

Background:

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant totals $1.5 million and is expected to create 110 jobs, save 97 jobs, and leverage $110 million in private investment.
EDA grants are awarded through a competitive process based upon the application’s merit, the applicant’s eligibility, and the availability of funds.

http://www.wsiltv.com/story/36227675/murphysboro-children-go-on-shopping-spree-with-senator-fowler

Senator Fowler shops with kids from the Murphysboro Children’s home with part of the money raised from the Fowler-Bonan foundation. (WSIL TV-Photo)

CARBONDALE, IL –  (Hannah Gerbresilasse, WSIL-TV.  Please click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

Several Murphysboro children took a trip to Kohl’s in Carbondale on Sunday for a shopping spree with the Fowler-Bonan Foundation

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The Foundation teamed up with Innov8, another philanthropic group, to host the shopping day.

Ten children from the Murphysboro Children’s Home each got to spend $150 on “back to school” clothes.

by Steve Dunford

I am amazed by the numbers of the Week 1 preview and the High School Football scoreboard from last night.

Between the five posts, there has been a reach of approximately 6,600 views on Facebook alone.

I am getting ready to go into coverage mode from last night, and will have something on all four games.  I was at West Frankfort last night, and will watch game film from Benton some time today.

The page has grown by nearly 1,700 on Facebook alone since January.  It is quickly  approaching the 5k mark,  That is because of you.  I am very humbled and grateful for the confidence you have shown.

Franklincounty-news.com is the only daily publication in Franklin County now.  The website will be your news, sports, and weather source for Franklin and surrounding counties.  During emergencies, we will provide timely information that needs to get out to the citizens of this area.

If you would like to partner with us in this growing venture, and help us expand as well as your business grow, please contact me at 937-0253, email me at sdunford1970@hotmail.com, or send me a message on Facebook.

You can also contact the owner/publisher, Jim Muir at jmuir@frontier.com,  give him a call at 525-4744 or send him a message as well.

From Reece Rutland, Rend Lake College Public Information

INA, IL – Have you ever wanted to brush up your computer skills? Well, with classes offered through Rend Lake College’s Community and Corporate Education Division there are plenty of opportunities to pick up some useful computing knowledge.

The cost for each class will be $45 and will be taught over the course of two class sessions.
The offerings start with Beginning Computers taught over two classes from 6 – 8 p.m. on Tuesdays 9/5 and 9/12. The class will be held in the RLC Murphy-Wall Pinckneyville Campus, Room 102.

Also in Pinckneyville, interested learners will have an opportunity to take Beginning Microsoft Word from 6 – 8 p.m. on 10/10 and 10/17. Students will be taught the fundamentals of work processing using Microsoft Word and will discover how to use the menu system and toolbars; pen, reopen, print, save and close documents; insert/delete text, reverse an edit operation, apply font attributes to text, and move text blocks. Students will also be trained on how to use Spelling/Grammar Checker, Thesaurus, the Help menu and how to customize the AutoCorrect Dictionary. Cost of the course includes the text book.

Rounding out the Pinckneyville offerings is Beginning Microsoft Excel. Taking place from 6 – 8 p.m. on 11/7 and 11/14, students will learn how easy it is to work with numbers by picking up skills in the fundamental operations of spreadsheets. Participants will learn how to use the menu system and toolbars; open, reopen, print and close workbooks; and enter labels. Students will also be taught adding values and formulas into worksheets, formatting spreadsheets by adjusting the size of columns/rows, using borders/shading, and changing the page setup. The cost of the course includes the book.

For those closer to Mt. Vernon, many of the same offerings will be held at the Rend Lake College MarketPlace campus, room 338.

Beginning Microsoft Word will be offered at the MarketPlace from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on 9/19 and 9/26.

The MarketPlace will also have Beginning Microsoft Excel from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on 10/3 and 10/10.

Then, in an offering unique to the MarketPlace, students can take Beginning Microsoft Publisher from 5:30 – 7:30 on 10/17 and 10/24. In that course, students will learn how to use Microsoft Publisher to create professional looking publications, such as flyers, greeting cards, brochures, and more. The class will cover basic skills needed in Publisher and will include how to find images/graphics online. The cost of the course includes the book.
In addition to those classes, there will be a number of Personal Enrichment offerings related to computers and technology.

In Internet and Email Basics, students will learn basic internet and email skills. Participants will learn about different browsers, links and web addresses to get started with the internet. Once internet basics are down, the class will show how to obtain an email account, check email, attach pictures and more.

The cost of the class is $10 and it will meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16 in on the Mt. Vernon MarketPlace Campus, Room 338.

The course Linux for Home User will cover the basics of using Linux Mint, an easy-to-use operating system for personal use. The free system offers excellent security and provides all the basic programs needed to surf the web, send emails, create documents, produce presentations and much more. Linux also offers countless applications free to download, giving students limitless options for personalizing their own machine. Each student will get their own computer to customize. The instructor will be on hand to illustrate how to connect to the internet, help with downloading free applications and answering any questions. Thanks to local donations, all participants will be able to keep their customized computer, excluding the monitor.

The cost of the class will be $50 and it will meet from 5 – 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20 in the Advanced Technology Center, Room 175 on the Ina Campus.