Autumn-like temperatures will usher in a weekend of activities at one of Southern Illinois’ premiere events. The Old King Coal Festival is gearing up for an exciting weekend of activities for all ages. Below is the schedule.
RLC named Military Friendly School for 2014
September 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
INA, Ill. – Rend Lake College has been awarded, for the second year in a row, the title of Military Friendly School by Victory Media, a veteran-owned business and publisher of G.I. Jobs. The award is a result of a survey of over 12,000 schools, of which RLC ranks in the top 15 percent.
RLC and the other 1,867 colleges, universities and trade schools on this year’s list exhibit leading practices in the recruitment and retention of students with military experience. Fifty percent of the surveys focused on military support on campus and academic credibility.
“The faculty and staff at RLC are proud to be listed among the best Military Friendly Schools this year,” said RLC President Terry Wilkerson. “Veterans and service members are a distinctive group of students and we work every day toward helping them become successful students at Rend Lake College.”
The full list, interactive tools and a search function to help military students find the college best-suited to their unique needs and preferences can be found at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com.
“On behalf of the 8 million military members and veterans seeking a school, I thank you for your commitment to educating our nation’s most deserving heroes,” said Rich McCormack, President of Victory Media, Inc. “You have demonstrated a strong interest in recruiting military students, and I urge you to augment your already stellar efforts by continuing to improve your military friendliness each year.”
As a part of one initiative to help veterans and service members, RLC began registering veterans and service members today for Spring 2014 classes. This priority registration continues from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13.
Anyone interested in taking advantage of this priority registration period simply needs to call the Rend Lake College Academic Advisement Center at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1266, identify themselves as a veteran or service member, and make an advisement appointment.
“Offering early enrollment to our veterans and service members is just one way Rend Lake College exudes how important these students are to our community and how military-friendly we are,” said Lisa Price, Vice President of Student Services at RLC. “We look forward to helping these students with the next phase in their education.”
ICE Fair returning to RLC Sept. 17 to help students explore education options
September 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
INA, Ill. – The Illinois College Exposition (ICE) Fair returns to Rend Lake College on Sept. 17, giving area students the chance to meet with representatives from more than 40 colleges and universities from across the country.
The free event will start at 6 p.m. in the RLC Waugh Gymnasium and will last until 7:30 p.m. Parents and students are welcome to attend and gather information about the colleges and universities they are considering.
The ICE Fair, sponsored by the Illinois Association of College Admission Counseling (IACAC), is one in a series of regional college fairs held throughout the state. It is a great opportunity to gather information, ask questions and learn about options for the student’s post-secondary education.
“Rend Lake College is excited to be hosting the Illinois College Exposition Fair again this year and to be offering this great opportunity to the students in our district,” said Jason Swann, RLC Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management. “ICE allows prospective students and parents to speak to different college representatives who are knowledgeable in admissions, scholarship opportunities, programs and an abundance of other areas at their respective institutions. It’s a great way to window shop and get questions answered before making the big decision.”
Franklin County Farm Bureau News
September 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
By J. Larry Miller
As summer comes to an end soybeans are in need of some beneficial rainfall. We are as dry as we have been all summer and soybeans will be reduced if some moisture does become a reality in a few days. That being said it will not be a disaster but we could lose as much as 25 percent of yield without some sun. The window of opportunity will close rapidly in the next two weeks.
Larry Miller, executive director Franklin County Farm Bureau
I have heard of some corn being harvested in Saline County but have no report of yield or moisture content. It will be at least two weeks before any corn will be harvested in Franklin County. Anticipation of high yields remains but many believe that the cool weather in August will cause some farmers to be a little disappointed. Rather that the best ever – it may only be one of the best. I remain optimistic it is the best on my farm.
A farmer in Central Illinois has corn coming out the field at 32.4 percent moisture and about 215 bushels per acre yield.
Farm shows in the last couple of weeks have been attended in record numbers. This year’s Half Century of Progress Farm Show in Rantoul was the largest ever. The show saw a 14 percent increase at the gate and a 29 percent increase in the amount of machinery brought to the show compared to two years ago.
This year’s Farm Progress Show was a flurry of activity – on Tuesday the morning began with a $70,000 check presentation to Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom from FS and Growmark. The AITC program is reaching thousands of students and teaching them about agriculture in Illinois.
Melissa Lamczyk, AITC Coordinator from Franklin County was joined by AITC Coordinator Maridy Tso from Saline/Galatin County at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. On both Thursday and Friday of last week they taught over 450 school children in grades K – 4 about agriculture in the Ag Expo Building. There was a science experiment, a lesson about cows and many of them children made cow masks. Everyone involved had a great time and Melissa is looking forward to making the experience even better next year.
Under a new federal law, every driver with a CDL must visit one of 47 state CDL facilities to declare which of four medical card categories is applicable. If someone’s CDL expires before Jan. 30, that individual may take care of the matter while renewing the license, Montalbano said. Drivers who fail to declare their status by the deadline will have their CDLs suspended. By early August, 71 percent of drivers had declared their status. That still leaves 135,000 drivers at risk of losing their CDLs.
A driver with a CDL who does 100 percent of his transportation duties within the state’s borders would declare his status as “intrastate.”
However, a driver with a CDL who crosses the state border, no matter the distance, would declare his status as “interstate,” according to Montalbano.
The intrastate section offers a nonexcepted category for those subject to federal driver qualification requirements. An “excepted intrastate” category is offered for those who are excepted from all or parts of the state driver qualification requirements, such as the medical card.
“If they have a CDL, they must declare,” Montalbano said. “As farmers, if driving a straight truck, they would be exempt (from the driver qualification requirement) within their 150 miles across state lines doing farming business, etc. So that farmer can either mark EI (excepted interstate) or EA (excepted intrastate), and neither is wrong.
“However, if that same farmer does nonfarm work in the off season and crosses state lines for commercial purposes, he must mark NI (non-excepted interstate) and that covers all transactions,” Montalbano said.
More information on this issue can be found at http://bit.ly/17rtEAn.
Remember, we are farmers working together. If we can help let us know.
GOP hopeful Rauner rolls out term-limits proposal
September 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Declaring the moment ripe to address “failure in Springfield,” Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner unveiled a proposal Tuesday to impose eight-year term limits on Illinois lawmakers while also shrinking the size of the state Senate and giving the governor more power to override legislators’ vetoes.
Here’s the link to the story at the Springfield State Journal-Register.
Drowning victim recovered at Rend Lake
September 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Staff Report
The body of a Carmi teenager was recovered Tuesday afternoon from Rend Lake, approximately 28 hours after she was reported missing by friends.
Franklin County Coroner Marty Leffler said the woman has been identified as 18-year-old Emilie Jo Turrentine, from Carmi, located in White County. Turrentine was with four other people enjoying a holiday at Rend Lake when she went under and did not resurface. The group was swimming off a boat in an area north of Route 154 near Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park.
A 911 call was placed at 11:14 a.m. Monday notifying authorities of the possible drowning. Search and rescue teams from Benton and Sesser along with law enforcement officials from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources took part in the recovery of the body.
Leffler said preliminary autopsy results are consistent with drowning and added that there were no signs of foul play and drugs or alcohol are not suspected to have been a contributing factor.
Obituary – Gary Lee Howell – Sesser
August 31, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Affectionately known as “Bugs,” Buggy” and “Uncle Bugs,” Gary Lee Howell passed away at 2:40 am on August 30, 2013 at Stone Bridge Senior Living Center in Benton with family members by his side.
Mr. Howell was born July 6, 1946 in Herrin Hospital to Irene (Stomberski) and Dale Howell. Mr. Howell grew up in Freeman Spur, Illinois and graduated from Herrin High School in 1964. From 1966 to 1969, Mr. Howell served in the United States Navy. Mr. Howell worked as a top laborer at Old Ben Mine No. 21 from 1970 to 1991 and at the Zeigler NO.11 Mine in Coulterville from 1994 to 1997. Mr. Howell was a member of UMWA Local #1124. Mr. Howell also drove for Star Trucking and Dorris Trucking until 2006.
Mr. Howell married Linda Geraldine (Muir) VanZandt on August 22, 1970 in Freeman Spur, and she survives in Sesser, along with great niece Cassyln Pedigo who lives with Gary and Linda. Mr. Howell is also survived by son Jamey VanZandt of Mount Vernon, Illinois.
Other survivors include Mr. Howell’s mother, Irene Howell of Marion, an uncle, Harry Stomberski and wife Delores of Herrin, Illinois, a brother, Randy Howell and wife Marian of Herrin, Illinois, and a sister, Cathy Thomas and husband Joel of Lake of Egypt, Illinois. Mr. Howell is also survived by a beloved sister-in-law, Mary Ann Baker of Morris, Alabama, and brothers-in-law Billy Muir and wife Roberta of Nashville, Illinois, and Jim Muir and wife Lisa Kay of Sesser, Illinois. Other survivors include several nieces ‘and nephews, including Brigadier General H. Brent Baker and wife Roblye of Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Bruce Baker of Morris, Alabama, Lyndsay Muir and fiance Ryan Lampert of Trenton, Illinois, Mackenzie Broyles and husband Justin of Collinsville, Illinois, Caleb Muir of Benton, Illinois, Bailey Muir of Benton, Illinois, Joey Burton of Chicago, Josh Burton and wife Lindsey of Carbondale, Heather Burkhalter and husband James of Marble Hill, Missouri, and Patti Howell also of Marble Hill, and several beloved great-nieces and great-nephews. Mr. Howell was preceded in death by a brother, David Howell, and his father, Dale Howell.
Mr. Howell was a friend to all – he never met a stranger. He loved all of his family, his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, sharp cars and trucks, especially Chevrolets, music by Elvis, and Sylvester Stallone and Rocky films. “Uncle Buggy” was a decent, humble, and caring person to all, and was loved and admired beyond measure.
Visitation for Gary Lee Howell will be held from 5:00 to 8:00 pm on Sunday, September 1, 2013 at Brayfield-Gilbert Funeral Home in Sesser. Funeral services will be conducted at 1:00 pm on Monday, September 2, 2013, with Bro. Larry Cook officiating. Interment will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery in Sesser, IL.
House GOP to consider new leader to replace Cross
August 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Illinois House Republicans are gathering to consider electing a new leader following a summer of internal squabbling while the current caucus chief debated his political future.
Here’s the link at the Springfield State Journal-Register.
McKinney enters ‘not guilty’ plea to all charges
August 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment
BENTON – William P. McKinney, the former Buckner police officer facing charges in the death of Roy D. Barnhart, has entered a plea of not guilty to all charges. Barnhart was also a Buckner resident.
During a court appearance on Wednesday, the 60-yer-old McKinney was also appointed a new attorney — his third attorney since the charges were filed six weeks ago — after newly-appointed attorney David Garavalia withdrew due to a conflict of interest. Garavalia was appointed only last week to replace Eric Dirnbeck who also cited a conflict in representing McKinney. Veteran Benton attorney Brian Drew was appointed by Judge Paul Lamar to represent McKinney.
The incident that led to McKinney’s arrest took place on July 7 when the former Buckner officer responded, along with other law enforcement officers, to a report of a fight in progress. Barnhart and McKinney engaged in a heated argument before Barnhart was placed under arrest. Several witnesses told authorities that McKinney continued to beat Barnhart after he was handcuffed and on the ground. Barnhart died four days later in a St. Louis hospital. McKinney is charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery of a senior citizen and official misconduct in connection with the death of Barnhart.
A jury trial was set for Nov. 5. McKinney remains in custody at Franklin County Jail.
Garavalia appointed as attorney for former Buckner police officer charged with involuntary manslaughter
August 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Staff Report
Benton attorney David Garavalia has been appointed as legal counsel for former Buckner police officer William P. McKinney, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 62-year-old Roy D. Barnhart, of Buckner.
The appointment of Garavalia to replace Eric Dirnbeck, who had previously filed a motion to withdraw as McKinney’s attorney due to a conflict of interest, took place during a Wednesday court hearing in Franklin County Circuit.
The incident that led to McKinney’s arrest took place on July 7 when the former Buckner officer responded, along with other law enforcement officers, to a report of a fight in progress. Barnhart and McKinney engaged in a heated argument before Barnhart was placed under arrest. Several witnesses told authorities that McKinney continued to beat Barnhart after he was handcuffed and on the ground. Barnhart died four days later in a St. Louis hospital.
McKinney is also charged with aggravated battery of a senior citizen and official misconduct in connection with the death of Barnhart.
McKinney is scheduled for arraignment on Wednesday, August 28 in Franklin County Court.
