Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
Today is the order deadline if you wish to buy citrus fruit from the Franklin County Farm Bureau this season.
Oranges, grapefruit and tangelos are available for $25 for four-fifths of a bushel or $15 for two-fifths of a bushel. Call the Farm Bureau office at (618) 435-3616 to order.
The bureau also has pecans for sale in the office – 1-pound bags of shelled pecan halves are $9. The Franklin County Farm Bureau office is located at 1210 Highway 14 West in Benton.
The Rend Lake College Cheerleading team will hold a Spaghetti Supper Fund-raiser at 5 p.m., following the Warriors and Lady Warriors conference basketball home openers on Saturday, Dec. 1.
The event will last until 7:30 p.m. and will take place in the RLC Student Center. Tickets are $7 for spaghetti, breadstick, salad, dessert and a drink. They can be purchased from any member of the cheerleading team, or reserved by contacting Coach Nikki LaBuwi-Corollo at 618-513-1978, or by e-mail at nlabuwi@hotmail.com. Take-out is an option.
The Dec. 1 Lady Warriors home game tips off at 1 p.m., followed by the Warriors game at 3 p.m. Both teams are opening the conference season against Lincoln Trail.
The 20th Annual Fantasy of Lights parade will be Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 6:30 p.m. in Downtown West Frankfort.
The parade begins at St. John’s Catholic Church and School and heads west down Main Street to the railroad tracks. It features lighted floats, carolers and the big guy, Santa Claus.
After the parade, pictures with Santa will be available in the 100 block of East Main Street.
By BILL BONAN II, Peoples National Bank
Column sponsor
It is so important in today’s economy to know what banking products you have and use on a daily basis. What I mean specifically is always know what kind of fees that your bank charges on the accounts that you have.
Every bank is different. There are some banks that have free checking, free online bill pay, free internet banking, etc., like PNB does, but other banks charge for those services. They don’t send you a bill; they usually debit the money right out of your account. So you won’t know it until the money is out of your account.
Also, just because it says free checking account, you need to know the rules of that account so that you make sure it stays free.
Sometimes there are “Dormant Fee and Inactivity Fees.” A dormant fee is a charge to your account if you have don’t complete at least one transaction every 6 months out of that account. An inactivity fee is a fee that is charged when you don’t use your debit card within a period of 90 days. These charges vary from bank to bank. As a rule each bank does have these charges, so make sure that you ask the banker who opens your account.
Also, it is crucial to balance your account.
Each account holder is usually given overdraft privileges. Each bank has a product similar to this. It might be called something else, but operates the same. When you have overdraft privileges or overdraft protection, the bank will pay checks up to a certain amount that come into your account. An example of this would be if you had $50 in your account and you write a $100 check, the bank goes ahead and pays the check, and you would be overdrawn by $50. This service is not free.
Remember when you overdraw you are borrowing money from the bank. So, very much like interest, the banks charge a fee for the use of their money. This is a convenience for the customer. The fees can be anywhere from $27 to $40 per item, depending on your bank.
It is just a good practice to know everything about your account. The banker is supposed to disclose these fees, but sometimes these fees do not get disclosed.
State Rep. John Bradley (D-Marion) is asking Franklin County residents to donate old cell phones through the end of this month.
The cell phones will go to Cell Phones for Soldiers, which sells them to a recycling company and uses the proceeds to buy phone cards for soldiers.
Drop off phones by Nov. 30 at the following West Frankfort Public Library, 402 E. Poplar St., or the Benton Public Library, 502 S. Main St.
They are calling it “Undivided,” and it is open to everyone. It is a night of community worship and ministry in Southern Illinois.
Jon Walker is the organizer and had the vision for this event from the beginning. The hope is that Undivided will bring people from different churches and with different backgrounds together for a great night of worship.
“I hope that fostering unity will eventually bring about ministry and reaching this community as one body of Christ. So we are collecting food for a local food pantry and we will be doing similar charity work with every event we put on,” Walker said.
An added feature of the event is that they are collecting food for the Benton Ministerial Alliance at the event. Bringing the community together and serving others by collecting food – some would say that Whittington Church does that very well.
The event starts with refreshments at 6 p.m., followed by the service at 7 p.m. Whittington Baptist Church is located at 200 W. Main St. in Whittington, IL.
— Tammy Head
This Friday is pick-up day for a BBQ rib fundraiser being hosted by the West Frankfort Chamber of Commerce. Calls to order the ribs should be made immediately to the Chamber office at (618) 932-2181.
Franklin County 4-H is offering two crafting workshops for kids in early December.
On Saturday, Dec. 1, a Chrismas crafting workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Franklin County Exptension Office, 1212 Route 14 West, Benton. This workshop is open to youth ages 5 to 18. The cost is $10, which includes all supplies, and participants will take home at least one finished project. To register, call (618) 439-3178 or register online here by Nov. 29. Class size is limited.
A sewing workshop will be held for kids ages 5 to 18 on Thursday, Dec. 6 from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Participants will be making the owl purse pictured here. This workshop is free for 4-H members and $7 for non 4-H members. To register, call (618) 439-3178 or register online here by Dec. 3.
A well-known Benton family needs your help.
David Tedrow was recently diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer and is receiving aggressive treatment in St. Louis five days per week.
On Saturday, Dec. 1 friends of David and April Tedrow are sponsoring a fundraiser to help defray the costs of the ongoing medical treatment and travel. A rummage sale, auction, raffle and fish fry will be held at the Benton Kiwanis Hall located on Hudelson Street, adjacent to the Benton Civic Center. All proceeds from the event will go to the Tedrow family.
Currently, items for the rummage sale and auction are being collected and can be dropped off at the Whittington Water Department or at Martin’s Restaurant & Catering, located on East Main Street in Benton. Anybody wanting to purchase or help sell tickets for the fish fry or needing more information can contact Dale and Penny Brookins at 927-1960 or Bob and Linda Martin at 927-2627.
One of the largest Veteran’s Day crowds in recent memory assembled Monday morning in downtown West Frankfort to honor America’s war veterans. The ceremony at the Veteran’s Memorial/Museum was preceeded an hour earlier by a detail at the monument in one of the traveling graveside programs. The first eye-catching remembrance of those lost in combat, or injured in battle, comes from the concrete doughboy statue bearing the inscription, “Lest we forget.” Ceremonies like this Veteran’s Day program make sure that will never happen.
West Frankfort Mayor Tom Jordan spoke, with the mayor’s theme being “unity.” Jordan read the lyrics to a song which contained the phrase ” United we stand, divided we fall.” That lyric has been oft repeated in American history, the mayor said. Jordan pointed out how today’s society has fragmented along religious, political, sexual orientation, and other divides. Jordan then said that the military was a good example of the unity that is needed in society today. The mayor spoke for others there, reminding everyone he is not a veteran, yet has a deep sense of their service in making us a free nation.
As people arrived for the service, some probably noticed a simple, wooden unit located in front of the Doughboy memorial. Led by Drill Sgt. Brad Dunning, the Black Tigers Ceremonial Guard made a stirring presentation to the assembled crowd. Flags from the various branches of the military were presented by the Black Tigers.
Following that, individual Black Tigers made a solemn procession to place items on that wooden shelf. There was a military weapon presented, along with boots, helmets and hats, dogtags and other memorabilia from past wars. Each piece represented a facet of military life: a life that those being remembered gave for our freedom. The presentation brought tears to the eyes of many of those assembled in the morning cold.
West Frankfort native Dunning then asked the crowd to put their hands over their hearts “in a show of respect” for those being honored. He then ordered the veterans, “You will salute the flag.”
It was pointed out that we gather for these few minutes at the same time each year to honor those who have made a sacrifice so that we remain free. Since World War I, over one million soldiers have died, and another 1.5 million have been wounded.
Following the outdoor ceremony, a public reception was hosted by the West Frankfort Veteran’s of Foreign Wars. Names of local veterans who had passed were solemnly read, with a single bell tolling after each name.
— Bruce A. Fasol
