Town Hall Meetings planned to discuss proposed penny sales tax increase

Franklin County Board press release

Franklin County voters have the opportunity to take control of the future of their court house by voting for the proposed penny tax on April 4. The county’s current facility has outlived its usefulness, posing numerous maintenance challenges and safety risks to the public, employees, and crime victims who must attend court daily.

Funds are needed to build a new facility. The Franklin County Board has identified a couple of potential sites for the facility, which would be built to new state requirements for a court house. The best way to fund this construction is through a penny sales tax, which would not be charged on the necessities of food and medicine, but would add $1 to a $100 purchase of goods bought by those with discretionary income. The sales tax would be paid by visitors to our county, spreading out the cost of our new court house — leveraging the power of the penny.

A series of Town Hall Meetings has been planned to answer your questions about the proposal. County officials will be on hand at the following dates and times:

CHRISTOPHER: 6 p.m. Wednesday, February 22 at the Christopher Civic Center

SESSER: 6 p.m. Thursday, March 2 at the Goode Township Building

BENTON: 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 7 at the Benton Civic Center

ROYALTON: 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 8 at the Royalton Village Hall

WEST FRANKFORT: 6 p.m. Thursday, March 9 at the Aquatics and Activities Center

ZEIGLER: 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 14 at the Six Mile Township Building

West Frankfort prepares for new businesses

Site of the new Taco Bell restaurant being built by the VF mall in West Frankfort (Evie Allen-WSIL-TV photo)

Site of the new Taco Bell restaurant being built by the VF mall in West Frankfort (WSIL-TV photo)

WEST FRANKFORT, IL- (Evie Allen -WSIL TV. Please click for the read the entire story and accompanied video. Here is an excerpt) City leaders in West Frankfort have made a big investment in their town. They’ve signed papers to purchase almost 20 acres of land north of the mall. The deal to buy the land had been in the works for the past four months. Mayor Tom Jordan says he hopes to make it a destination spot for drivers along the interstate. “It kind of fits into the whole picture out here of what we’re trying to accomplish,” says Jordan. This Spring, West Frankfort will offer a new restaurant Taco Bell. It makes up just one part of Jordan’s plan for growth. The sale of the Taco Bell property allowed the city to purchase 17 1/2 more acres nearby, for more business development.

Update on early morning West Frankfort fire

WEST FRANKFORT, IL –  West Frankfort fire crews were called at 6:38 a.m. this morning to 17579 State Hwy. 149, four miles east of town.

WSIL Photo

WSIL Photo

A spokesman for the West Frankfort Fire Department said the fire was an electrical fire that was contained to one bedroom.  Estimated loss was $20,000 in damage.

Mutual aid was provided by Benton, Carterville, Zeigler, and Ewing-Northern.   -sd

Home on East Elm St. a total loss following fire

West Frankfort firefighters on the scene of the home on 1216 E Elm street in West Frankfort last night. (West Frankfort Gazette photo)

West Frankfort firefighters on the scene of the home on 1216 E Elm street in West Frankfort last night. (West Frankfort Gazette photo)

WEST FRANKFORT, IL – (West Frankfort Gazette – Please click on link to read the entire story. – Here is an excerpt) According to a statement by West Frankfort Fire Chief Jody Allen, a home located at 1216 E. Elm St is deemed a total loss following a fire the night of Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. & Allen reported the call came in at approximately 9:50 p.m. reporting a residential structure fire with the caller indicating visible flames coming from the home. The homeowner was present, according to Allen, but no injuries were reported for residents or firefighters and the fire was contained to the structure itself with no neighboring homes or buildings receiving damage. & Allen said firefighters cleared the scene at 04:03 a.m. He added that the cause of the fire is under investigation at this time.

Redbirds easily handle the Bearcats

by Steve Dunford

WEST FRANKFORT – Austin Glodich Dominated both ends of the floor in the 12 minutes he played with thirteen points and seven rebounds as West Frankfort defeated Christopher 59-35 in the opening round of pool play at the West Frankfort Midwinter Classic.midwinterclassic

Glodich rolled an ankle with two minutes and some change on the clock in the first half.  He will be ready to play in Wednesday night’s game against Carterville.

Christopher was short handed to begin with without the services of Bradley Young and Gabe Schimpf, who will return for tonight’s game against Eldorado.  Coach Eric Stallman played a 2-3 zone all night against the Redbrids which the Bearcats play man to man 99% of the time.

It might have been storming outside, but the perfect storm happened on the floor for Christopher in the first half.  Jared Curry sit most of the second quarter with two fouls.  Different ones for the Redbirds guarded Kaeleb Pedigo, and he was held scoreless.  Both teams went to the locker rooms with the score 33-18.

There were a couple back breaking threes by Noah Allen in the third quarter that sealed the deal for the Redbirds.  Coach Kevin Toney subbed freely most of the second half.

Along with Glodich’s 13 on the night Allen had 11 on the night to pace WF.  Gabriel Motsinger, a freshman making his first varsity start, led the Bearcats with 10 on the night.

The Redbirds improve to (7-8) on the season and (1-0) in their pool.  They play Carterville tomorrow night at 8:30.  The Bearcats fall to (11-5) on the season and (0-1) in pool play.  They have the unenvyous task of taking on the Eldorado Eagles, the No #6 team in the state in class 2A in the latest AP rankings.

BOX SCORE:

WEST FRANKFORT   (59)  Glodich 5 0 3-6 13; Allen 1 3 0-0 11; Hammers 3 0 0-1 6; D. Russell 1 1 0-0 5; Sturgill 2 0 0-0 4; Thrash 2 0 0-0 4; Clinton 2 0 0-0 4; Levanti 0 1 0-0 3; Wolfe 0 1 0-0 3; Riddle 0 1 0-0 3; Johnson 0 1 0-0 3; Russell 0 0 0-0 0; Powell 0 0 0-0 0; House 0 0 0-0 0; Clark 0 0 0-0 0; Croslin 0 0 0-0 0

CHRISTOPHER (35)  Motsinger 3 1 1-2 10; Pedigo 1 2 0-0 8; Curry 4 0 0-1 8; Snell 0 1 2-2 4; Sanders 0 1 1-2 3; Pratt 0 1 0-0 2; Saeger 0 0 0-0 0; Dorris 0 0 0-0 0; Hawkins 0 0 0-0 0; Dunford 0 0 0-0 0; Flowers 0 0 0-0 0

SCORE BY QUARTERS 

WEST FRANKFORT   15    18    14    12  –  59  

CHRISTOPHER              7    11      8      9  –  35

 

Closings and cancellations 1/13/17

snow-dayI will use media sources to get every closing from I -64 south, since people go to this website all over Southern Illinois.  Please contact me with any closings by the following ways:

You can call or text me at 513-2516, call at 937-0253; PM me on Facebook (Steve Dunford), email me at sdunford1970@hotmail.com.

It will be nearly impossible to reply to individual requests if a school or business is closed.  I will update frequently with times.

Updated 6:30 am 1/13/17

I will lump all closings categorized by county.  Any type will be under the county listed.  

SCHOOLS-The only schools that I do not have in Southern Illinois are the following:  Century, The only Johnson County School I have is Lick Creek, Hardin County and Pope County.  

COLLEGES-  The only ones I have not heard anything about is Shawnee Community College and SIU, which never calls off.  The key staff needs to report at Morthland COllege.  

I am going to go to sporting events/business mode now.  

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Murphysboro at Benton Boys HS basketball/no make up date as of yet

Kids R My Business Day Care, Christopher

Girls Junior High Class L regional Benton/DuQuoin

JEFFERSON COUNTY

PERRY COUNTY 

UNION COUNTY

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Main Street in WF Closed at the tracks

Union Pacific crews working on the railroad crossing on East Main Street in West Frankfort (Jeff Webb photo)

Union Pacific crews working on the railroad crossing on East Main Street in West Frankfort (Jeff Webb photo)

Union Pacific has completed the work on the crossing on South Main (Route 37) in Benton.  It has been open to traffic since yesterday afternoon.

Main Street in West Frankfort (Route 149) is now closed for repair of the railroad crossing.  It will be completed before 7:00 p.m. tomorrow evening, weather permitting.

South Main in Benton/East Main in WF closed for crossing repair this week

road-closedThe furthest south railroad crossing on South Main Street (Route 37) in Benton is closed for repairs.  The road will open back up around 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

The railroad crossing on East Main street (Route 149) will be closed on Wednesday morning around 7 a.m. on  and reopen around 7 pm on Thursday for repairs also.

This is weather pending.  If rescheduled, franklincounty-news.com will pass along an alternate date.

Natural Gas Smell in West Frankfort not a leak

This statement was issued on the West Frankfort Fire Department’s Facebook page:

We have been receiving several reports of a natural gas smell around town. We have investigated each report but, so far, we have west-frankfort-logonot found any sign of dangerous gas on our meters.

This problem occurs quite often in our area during the winter. We believe the odor to be Hydrogen Sulfide or a methane gas that may be the byproduct of oil wells or coal mines in the area. While these gases can be dangerous in high concentrations, when outside in open air, they generally will not reach levels high enough to be harmful.

If you smell a strange odor inside your home or near a gas line or gas meter, and have concern that it could be dangerous please feel free to contact us or your gas provider and we will gladly come check it for you.

Law enforcement agencies put out APB

Franklin County Sheriff’s office has reported there is an erratic driver on Route 14 at the Franklin-Hamilton county line.  They sent out an APB to the State Police and all local authorities.

Mug shot of this man

                      Mug shot of this man

He is a jolly fat man in a sleigh with eight tiny reindeer.  He is weaving rooftop to rooftop and going down chimneys with homes that have them.  He is carrying a bag that is suspected to be full of toys for children.

Direction of travel is unknown.  He is suspected to either head to Ewing and Whittington, maybe head to Benton, or go down North Thompsonville road and hit Akin and T’ville next.

It is guaranteed that he will hit all houses in West Frankfort, Logan, Zeigler, Freeman Spur, Orient, Pulmfield, Royalton, Cleburne, Mulkeytown, Christopher, Coello, Valier, Sesser, Buckner, West City and all rural areas in between.

He prefers milk and cookies at every stop.  He will visit every house in the county.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

 

Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News