Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
A new deal has emerged in the fight to regulate a potentially lucrative but controversial oil and gas drilling technique in Illinois.
Bipartisan proponents from the House and the Senate — along with representatives of environmental, business, and labor groups — met Tuesday morning to address some of the sticking points that had mired a proposal to permit and regulate hydraulic fracturing drilling.
Here’s the link to the story in the Southern Illinoisan.
By Bruce A. Fasol
Bond was denied for 33-year-old Derrick Twardoski, the Percy man accused of setting a fatal house fire last Friday that claimed the lives of four children.
Here’s the link to the story in the Southern Illinoisan.
Friday morning at the end of long, tiring work week – uggh! A rainy Friday morning at the end of a long, tiring work week – double uggh! A rainy Friday morning at the end of a long, tiring work week with a scheduled 7 a.m. appointment with a personal trainer – %#!@&*#*$&$^$%&^!!
That pretty well sums up my thoughts this morning as I tried to summon up something from within – courage, willpower, determination – to talk myself out of canceling the appointment. This was my fifth session and I am trying to push through what my trainer Stetson Browning says is a tough but crucial two week stretch.
“Stay with me for two weeks and I promise it will get easier,” he has told me repeatedly.
Always an early riser the time wasn’t the issue – the fact that I am dog tired after a grueling week is where the rub came for me. I can’t stress how much I wanted to stay in my jammies and play hookey. It was the first morning that I have felt that way, where I seriously didn’t think I had it in me.
When I started this six-month venture (or perhaps I should say ad-venture) my goal was to go from May 1 to November 1, which is my 60th birthday, to see how much weight I could lose, how much I could improve my physical fitness and overall health during that six month stretch.
I decided to write about it for two reasons, one to highlight the great work that Stetson Browning does with all his clients regardless of age, body size, physical ability or gender in his work as a personal trainer. I also knew that writing about it and posting those column on my website (franklincounty-news.com) and on Facebook would provide a measure of accountability for me. The thought of that accountability prodded me forward this morning.
So, with the good little dude sitting on my right shoulder telling me to push on and that bad little guy on my left shoulder telling me to go back to bed, I trudged off shortly before 6 a.m. It was not a pretty site, think of these words, beat up, beat down, worn out. Nonetheless, I still trudged off.
With my appointment at 7 o’clock I arrived in time to get in about a 45 minute walk on the treadmill before I started and it’s quite remarkable, but 15-20 minutes into my walk I started feeling better.
As far at the workout, it was legs primarily with some upper body. And I have to admit that while the work and the pace are the same it was a little easier for me today. Even the dreaded ‘plank exercise’ that I despise – get down in a pushup position and then put your forearms on the floor and hold yourself up – was a little easier today. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s still brutal and I still hate it with every fiber of my being … but it was easier.
Another positive about this morning involved my food diary that I have been keeping. I turned my weekly total in last Wednesday and today Stetson told me I am not eating enough and that there is too much of a gap with no food between meals . I need to eat more, he said, which will help speed my metabolism up.
‘Huh … not eating enough.??’ Well, certainly that’s the first time I have ever, ever been told that.
So, after a rocky and questionable start to the day it ended on a positive note and I am thrilled that I fought through the Friday morning funk and didn’t cancel.
After my next session on Monday I will be through that initial two-week stretch that I have heard so much about. I plan to get started this weekend on that new ‘more food’ part of this regimen. Now there’s something I’ll be good at for sure.
Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!
Newly elected board member Larry Manning took his seat on the Rend Lake College Board of Trustees Tuesday evening. Manning, 57, of Belle Rive, owns and operates a 3,000-acre family farm with his brother and son, Paul and Steven Manning. He has been on the Tri-County Electric Cooperative Board for 15 years and served more than 16 years on the Bluford Grade School Board.
Manning replaces outgoing board member Marvin Scott, who opted not to seek reelection after 35 years on the board. Scott was honored with engraved pocketknife and a plaque commemorating his years of service.
Outgoing board chair Bryan Drew noted that Scott first came on the board in 1978, when Drew was three years old. “That tells you how long he has been involved with this college,” Drew said of Scott. “I can promise you nobody loves this college more than Mr. Scott. He knows this place backward and forward.” Drew said it had been an honor to serve with Scott.
Scott himself had few words as he officially left the RLC Board of Trustees. “I think you all know how I feel. It’s been a great time, and we’re going to miss it.”
The board elected its officers Tuesday night: Ed Cunningham, Chair; Randy Rubenacker, Vice Chair; and John Kabat, Secretary. In addition, Rick Marlow was named the board’s Illinois Community College Trustee Association Representative; Angie Kistner, Vice President of Finance and Administration, was named board Treasurer; and Gilbert, Huffman, Prosser, Hewson and Barke of Carbondale were named board attorneys.
No public input at bond hearing
Conducted a public hearing on the intent to sell $1,905,000 in working cash fund bonds for the purpose of increasing the working cash fund of the college, during which no questions were asked. The board then approved moving forward with the bonds, which will not increase the levy on the district’s taxpayers.
Board approves agreements with SIC
The board approved two inter-district agreements for educational cooperation with Southeastern Illinois College. One is set up to allow RLC to provide required coal miner training to residents of the Southeastern Illinois College district who are employed at White Oak Resources in McLeansboro. The other provides a basis for SIC and RLC to train and offer credential-bearing (certificate and degree) programs as well as custom safety training in Oil and Natural Gas Technician as a cooperative venture.
PHS project changes approved
The board granted permission to make a reduction in scope of work on Protection, Health and Safety Levy projects for Fiscal Year 2013. The college still is pursuing the reroofing of the RLC Foundation Children’s Center and upgrades to the HVAC controls at the RLC MarketPlace, but would prefer not to replace an air handling unit in the Science Building or replace cooling coils in the air handling units in the gymnasium. According to administrative rationale, since these projects were submitted in October 2011, there have been some repairs to the air handling units and changes in priorities have occurred in other areas of the campus.
In a related action, the board granted permission to submit to the Illinois Community College Board a PHS Levy application to replace the exterior metal halide lighting on campus parking lots with LED lighting and granted permission to bid pending ICCB approval.
Men’s wrestling program suspended
Granted permission to suspend the men’s wrestling program effective immediately. The action was based on a lack of state funding and tuition reimbursement; the small number of Illinois community colleges which have wrestling programs, requiring RLC’s team to travel and compete with four-year universities; and the fact that wrestling is a high-risk insurance sport. No student-athletes have been recruited for the team for the 2013-2014 academic year.
Featherstone joins IT Department
Appointed James Featherstone as Report Writer effective May 16. He will graduate next week from Rend Lake College with an IT Systems Specialist Associate in Applied Science Degree.
College to seek Business Office / HR Specialist
Granted permission to create the position, approve the job description and advertise for the position of Business Office / Human Resources Specialist. According to administrative rationale, the new position is required due to the increased record-keeping duties which will be associated with the documentation of employment status for all hires and monitoring of time records to ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, the position will allow for greater cross-training and adequate coverage of all areas of the business office. Due to the recent implementation of the new Enterprise Resource Planning system, proper cross-training has been limited.
Two transfers approved
The board authorized the transfer of two employees effective May 8:
Lora Phillips from Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Career Technical Instruction to Administrative Assistant for Community and Corporate Education. This transfer is needed due to the increased workload in CCCE, which now oversees several educational programs in addition to the functions it historically has had, such as Community Education offerings, cooperative education, job placement, Truck Driver Training, the Institute for Lifelong Learning and others. Phillips already has a productive working relationship with Dean Lori Ragland and will be an asset to the department.
Chelsea Zettler from Administrative Assistant for the Physical Plant to Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness. This move is needed due to the transfers of Lora Phillips and Gina Schenk away from the Vice Presidents’ offices in the Administration Building. Zettler will be available to assist students and staff who have business in the Administration Building, and the move addresses continuing needs stemming from the adoption of the new ERP system
Liberal Arts Division’s Cross to retire in 2015
Accepted with regret the retirement resignation of Cathy Cross, Administrative Assistant for the Liberal Arts Division, effective June 30, 2015. Cross has been with the college for nearly 30 years, having been employed with the Liberal Arts Division since Dec. 5, 1983.
“Rend Lake College is a truly wonderful place to work and I am quite honored to have had the opportunity to be associated with it for so many years,” Cross wrote in her retirement letter. “I have really enjoyed my career at RLC, and in the famous words of Bob Hope I would like to say, ‘Thanks for the memories.'”
Mining Tech’s Colombo moving on
Accepted with regret the resignation of David Colombo, Mining Technology Associate Professor, effective June 30. “I appreciate the opportunity to work at the college and am proud of all we have accomplished in the mining technology program,” Colombo wrote in his resignation letter. “Thank you for your support and friendship over the past six years.”
In other business, the board …
Approved a new course in the Culinary Arts area, American Regional Cuisines, and authorized its submission to the Illinois Community College Board for approval. Additionally, changes to the Culinary Arts and Culinary Arts Management – Baking and Pastry Arts certificates were approved and authorized for submission to ICCB. Both involved a small change in the total credit hours required for completion.
The board granted permission to advertise for bids for pavement sealing and striping on the main campus in Ina and at the RLC MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon.
Approved revisions to board policy regarding the limit of hours for part-time employees (first reading) and insurance (first reading).
Created board policy and procedure concerning volunteer staff (first reading) and social media (first reading).
Approved revisions to board procedure concerning fees.
Mark your calendars …
Student Appreciation Days, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, and Wednesday, May 8.
Associate Degree Nursing Pinning Ceremony, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, RLC Gymnasium.
Commencement, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, May 18, RLC Gymnasium.
GED Graduation, 7 p.m. Thursday, June 13, RLC Theatre.
LPN Pinning, 7 p.m. Thursday, June 27, RLC Theatre.
By Jim Muir
The Sesser-Valier Unit School District board, during action at Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, hired Shane Garner as the new head basketball coach.
Garner, a 2002 graduate of S-V High School and a former multi-sport standout at the Franklin County school, replaces Chip Basso, who resigned the position last month.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity,” Garner said. “I know the students, the school and the community so I think it will be a very seamless transition.”
Garner served as an assistant under Basso during the past four years that included a remarkable post-season run in 2010 and a second place finish in the IHSA Class A state basketball tournament. Garner also previously worked two years coaching at the freshman level at S-V.
Garner is a graduate of Rend Lake College where he played basketball and baseball and then graduated from SIUC in 2007.
Basso, who remains as a teacher and athletic director at S-V, was equally excited about the board’s decision to hire Garner.
“This just isn’t a great hire for the school and basketball program, it’s a great hire for the community,” said Basso. “He (Garner) knows the kids and the program and he will do a great job. I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Garner said the fact that he has been with the program for the past six years will also mean a smooth transition for the players.
“The kids know me and know what to expect,” said Garner. “So, I think it will make the change much easier on them, too.”
The Red Devils lost several key players to graduation but return Nick Marlo, Tyler Baxter and Jordan Gunter, who all started at different points during last season.
‘What was I thinking …?’
That comment went through my mind more than once Monday morning during my 7 a.m appointment with a personal trainer at Stark’s Total Body & Fitness in Benton.
Trying to be a dutiful and serious student I arrived at 6:15 and walked 3.5 miles on the treadmill prior to my appointment. I knew we had worked upper body on Friday so Monday I was going to work my legs.
‘No way he can hurt me working my legs,’ I thought as we started the hour-long routine.
I found out within minutes that my comment was a big miscalculation on my part.
I probably should back up a little and let you know that I started this six-month, three-day-per-week project on May 1 (last Wednesday) and had two sessions under my belt – two sessions I cruised through I should add.
Apparently – I found out the hard way – those were introductory sessions conducted by a nice young man named Stetson Browning. On Monday, some guy named Stetson ‘Pain-Nazi’ Browning was conducting the workout.
As for the question, ‘what was I thinking … ? The simple answer is, ‘obviously, I wasn’t.’
I’m certain that during the hour between 7 and 8 a.m. Stetson walked me through three reps of every possible leg exercise known to man and he even admitted that he made up a new one where he stood and pointed out quite directly if I let the RPMs on a stationary bicycle drop below 75. And it should be noted that this was about midway through the session when my legs were simultaneously burning like fire and feeling like jelly.
“You’ve got to experience the pain to accomplish this … and then you’re going to be alright,” he told me several times during the session.
And each time he would say that the thought that went through my mind was, ‘well … I’ve sure got the freaking pain thing figured out, as far as the accomplishments, well, that remains to be seen.”
But, I am competitive enough and also stubborn enough — and perhaps ‘stupid’ should be added — that I was bound and determined to finish the hour – if it killed me. And a couple times I thought it might.
A couple observations I made on a rainy, pain-filled Monday morning. First, it seems that Stetson is not good at math. You see, he would say we have 20 reps to do and I would start counting to myself and when I had 12 completed he would say, ‘OK, 12 more, 12 more, come on … you can do it.’ So, I learned today that sometimes 12 plus 12 is 20 sometimes.
Secondly, at my very lowest point during the hour I happened to look at Stetson and I could have sworn I saw some small horns protruding from his head. Perhaps it was the lighting or maybe I was hallucinating from the pain, but I could swear I saw it. I will clearly keep my eyes posted for that in future sessions.
As I stumbled (literally) through the final minutes, admittedly I was spent, busted, beat up and worn down when Stetson said we would finish with the one exercise I dread the most. While it might sound easy I urge you to try it. You get down in a prone position like you are going to do a push up and then you put your forearms down on the floor and hold your body weight off the floor for three, 60-second sets. It’s brutal, or at least for me it is.
As a broadcaster I have often mentioned in the final seconds of a close basketball game how long 10 seconds actually is and how much can take place in that time span. The final 10 seconds on the third rep Monday morning seemed to last about 5 minutes.
But, the bottom line is that I finished Session No. 3 and never quit.
“You’ve got to experience the pain to accomplish this … and then you’re going to be alright.”
Those words were in my head as I slowly trudged (and I mean slowly and trudged) to my truck. Maybe so, I thought, but the only thing I feel I accomplished today was Father Time kicking the ever-loving crap out of me.
But, I’m in it for the duration and my next session is Wednesday morning at 6 a.m. – that is if I can get out of bed.
Benton police made two arrests in separate incidents during the weekend.
On May 1st, 2013 Benton Police arrested Caleb N. Forby, age 19, of Benton for driving while license suspended. Forby was also cited for operating an uninsured vehicle. Forby was charged and transported to the Franklin County Jail for further processing.
On May 5th, 2013 Benton Police arrested Nichole R. Maynor, age 32, of West Frankfort for driving while license suspended. Maynor was charged and transported to the Franklin County Jail for further processing.
