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A hodgepodge forecast to start the new year

December 31, 2016 By Jim Muir Leave a Comment

Click on this link to get the seven day forecast from the National Weather Service for Franklin County. Here is the hazardous weather outlook from the National Weather Service- .DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL GUST FROM 25 TO 35 MPH TODAY…ESPECIALLY ALONG AND EAST OF THE OHIO RIVER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY INTO MONDAY EVENING. AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM OR TWO CANNOT B E RULED OUT…MAINLY OVER WESTERN KENTUCKY. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WOULD BE THE MAIN THUNDERSTORM HAZARD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT… STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD BE VIGILANT OF UPCOMING FORECASTS CONCERNING THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL ON MONDAY. They have issued a Special Weather Statement for the windy conditions today for Franklin and all the surrounding counties…I posted a graphic that Brian McCormick from Channel 12 on the FB page last night about the potential of snow around Friday..There must be some weather sites out there that is showing several inches of snow for.. ….I read a social media posts from Grant Dade, Chief Meteorologist from KFVS. This is what he had to say, “A week from tonight an arctic air mass is forecast to move south through the central United States. Cold air is forecast to continue to filter south through at least the following Friday. At the same time southwesterly winds aloft will bring moisture over this cold air. This is when we typically see our winter weather events. It is WAY TOO EARLY to know when, where, or even if this will occur. You will see lots of social media posts over the next few days forecasting lots of snow in areas that rarely see lots of snow. Snowfall forecasts over 8 days out are rarely ever correct. If you see a forecast of 12 or more inches of snow where you live, check the source. Check the forecast time. If it is more than 3 days out chances are it will not be correct. Snow is extremely tricky to forecast. And knowing where a storms will dump a lot of snow over a week out is impossible. I do not know if your area will be hit by snow, no one does this far out. I am saying the overall atmospheric conditions will become favorable for winter weather over the central and southern United States late next week. Stay tuned and we will keep you ahead of the storm.” We will keep you informed of the changing weather conditions on franklincounty-news.com

Devils take third in their own holiday tournament

December 30, 2016 By Jim Muir Leave a Comment

by Steve Dunford

Panoramic view of a full house at Sesser-Valier in a regular season game against Christopher. There were twenty-six games in four days and sixteen teams in Southern Illinois in the field. Four Franklin County Schools took the floor in the tournament this week; Chirstopher, Zeigler -Royalton and Thompsonville took the floor there as well as the hosts.

The Sesser-Valier Red Devils take home the third place trophy by defeating the top seeded Woodlawn Cardinals to keep some third place hardware in the commons.

Both teams went to the locker room tied up at 24. Joshua Gunter came off the bench in the second quarter to have all of his seven points.

S-V Outscored Woodlawn 14-8 in the third quarter to take a 38-32 lead. It looks like Lukas Gunter, who WMIX broadcaster Danny Czerwinski called the Red Baron all week knocked five of six free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. He was chosen to the all tournament team. He as well as Preston Launius led the Devils with 12 each. Tyler Winchester added eight as well. Winchester was the second Red Devil to make the all tournament team.

Blake Wollerman led all scorers on the afternoon with 13 points. Post player Jordan Hoppa stepped behind the arc and hit four bombs on the afternoon and added 12 for the Cardinals.

This is what Sesser-Valier coach Shane Garner had to say about the week in general:

“We had a great week. We obviously didn’t get to play in the championship game like we hoped, but finished the tournament with a win and 3 wins overall is a good week. Looking forward to working on some things that were exposed this week and attacking the second half of the season.”

Sesser-Valier improves to 5-7 on the year. They have two BDC west games coming up with Vienna at Home Tuesday and Trico on the road Saturday. Unfortuately, I have to say weather permitting on Saturday.

I watched bits and peices of a couple of Vienna’s games from Eldorado. My thoughts are they are a lot like the Red Devils. There is not one superstar. They have good team coherence and go about ten deep.

The Cardinals fall to 6-7 on the year and has Sandoval at home in a Midland Trial conference game Tuesday night. They travel to Altamont on Saturday. Going to the 217 that one is definitely weather permitting.

I would like to thank the staff of Sesser-Valier HS for posting the copies of the score book. Athletic Director Chip Basso gives me a lot of information.

I have known Superintendent Jason Henry all my life he is always gracious with his time.

Principal Natalie Page was very gracious with her time. I praise the Lord often that she is in remission. You have been an inspiration to me.

Thank you Coach Garner for your time. You have always been gracious every time I ask you. I have mentioned this on my blog, but I haven’t since I started writing for franklincounty-news. com, but I appreciate your unashamedly stand for the Lord.

Spending most of my adult life there, always a part of Pitchfork Nation.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

WOODLAWN: (47) 13 11 8 15-47

SESSER-VALIER: (51) 11 13 14 13-51

BOX SCORE:

WOODLAWN (6-7) Wollerman 2 3 0-0 13, Hoppa, 0-4 0-0 12, Ashby 4 0 1-3 9, McKay 1 1 0-0 5, Isaac 2 0 0-0 4 Bennett 2 0 0-0 4

SESSER-VALIER (5-7) L. Gunter 3 0 6-7 12 Launius 4 1 1-2 12, Winchester 2 1 1-2 8, J. Gunter 1 1 2-2 7, Baxter 1 0 2-6 4, Lance 2 0 0-0 4; Farmer 1 0 0-0 2, Boles 1 0 0-0 2, Page 0 0 0-0 0

Filed Under: High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Slider, Sports

Trump’s promise to revive coal industry will be tough to keep after Obama assault

December 30, 2016 By Jim Muir Leave a Comment

Mr. Trump’s pledge to put miners back to work and reverse decades of decline in the sector, analysts and industry leaders say, is highly

American Coal’s Galatia Mine (Illinois Coal Assn. Photo)

optimistic at best. At worst, they say, he is making a promise he simply won’t be able to keep, even if his administration rolls back what critics say has been President Obama’s regulatory assault on the industry and eliminates government policies that since 2009 have heavily favored renewable energy sources such as wind and solar over coal. Even some of coal’s greatest champions worry that Mr. Trump has gone too far. “I have said to Mr. Trump on a couple of occasions, ‘Please temper your commitment to my coal miners and your expectations of bringing the coal industry back.’ It cannot be brought back to what it was,” said Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy Corp., the nation’s largest coal producer….Please read the rest of the story form Ben Wolfgang of the Washington Times

Filed Under: Featured, Slider

Obama’s final, most shameful, legacy moment

December 30, 2016 By Jim Muir Leave a Comment

Click to read Charles Krauthammer’s weekly column from the Washington post. Here is an excerpt; The audience — overwhelmingly Jewish, passionately pro-Israel and supremely gullible — applauded wildly. Four years later — his last election behind him, with a month to go in office and with no need to fool Jew or gentile again — Obama took the measure of Israel’s back and slid a knife into it. People don’t quite understand the damage done to Israel by the U.S. abstention that permitted passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel over settlements. The administration pretends this is nothing but a restatement of long-standing U.S. opposition to settlements……

Filed Under: Columns, Editorials, Opinion, Slider

RLC Grad Liz Nielsen Engineering Major Succes

December 30, 2016 By Jim Muir Leave a Comment

Courtesy of Rend Lake College Public Information Department

Infrastructure is a pretty vital component to a functioning city. So, who does Chicago turn to when they need to replace 2,000 miles of gas mains, some of which date back to the Lincoln administration? RLC alumna Elizabeth “Liz” Nielsen, of course.

Former Herrin Tiger/RLC Warrior Liz Neilson now employed by Peoples Gas of Chicago as an engineer….(RLC Media Services)

Liz, daughter of RLC Dean of Applied Science Chris Nielsen, was recently promoted to Construction Project Manager for Peoples Gas, the natural gas utility in Chicago. She is now tasked with working on the System Modernization Program, an effort to replace aging cast iron gas mains with plastic mains. Some of the lines are so old, they were used when the city streets were still lit with gas lanterns.

Nielsen, a self-professed “Herrin Tiger,” transitioned to Rend Lake College out of high school to develop her college course foundation. Despite the fact that her father worked for the college, Liz said there was never any pressure for her to transition to RLC.

“My parents never pressured me to choose any specific school. As I remember, it was an open discussion about all of my options. I had also received some academic scholarships to universities, but I don’t think I was ready to give up on sports just yet. They had been a major part of my life since childhood, so I couldn’t picture myself as just a student, and not a student-athlete,” she explained.

Her involvement in sports ended up being a vital experience for her during her RLC career, forging memories, skills and friendships that she maintains to this day. “First and foremost, a great deal of my friendships throughout my life have been with my teammates. Constantly living, traveling, and practicing with them led to some great memories,” she said.

“Aside from sentimental reasons, I also believe my time as a student-athlete helped make me a better employee and leader. Everything from time management, networking, teamwork, and even mental toughness were thrust upon me very early, and I was forced to adapt quickly.”

As for going to school where your dad works—

“I was mostly indifferent. He did his thing – I did mine, and we occasionally got lunch together,” she joked.

She encouraged students to be proactive, “You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. You just have to show up and work hard. I would also encourage students to pursue internships to get valuable real-life experience.”

During college, Nielsen interned with the Illinois Department of Transportation. She is confident that that opportunity directly contributed to her being hired at her current position.

After RLC, Nielsen transferred to the University of Illinois where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. After graduation, she moved to the city and began her career, enjoying a field that keeps her thinking and adapting. A natural passion of building propelled Nielsen to the Engineering field.

“I always liked building things as a kid. I was usually playing with Legos or designing a SimCity. As I got older, my parents encouraged me with Math and Science, and everything combined for a natural fit- probably just like they planned!” she joked.

Now, she’s busy building and coordinating projects in real life, putting that initial love into professional action.

“In my time with Peoples Gas, I have held various engineer roles. All of the different aspects of being an engineer keeps me constantly engaged. One day I’m wearing a hard-hat and boots, and the next I’m in heels and a skirt,” she explained.

While she is now a full-fledged city girl, Southern Illinois is never far from her thoughts.

“I love living in the city. Besides the fact that Chicago held more career opportunities for me, I am also the type of person that needs to be pushed out of my comfort zone to feel successful and valued. I visit home every few months, so thankfully I’m never very far away.”

Filed Under: Featured, Slider

Sunny, high of 46 degrees today

December 30, 2016 By Jim Muir Leave a Comment

Enjoy the clear blue skies and a mild December day today. We have another rainy but mild weekend coming up. Click to read the full forecast for Franklin County from the National Weather Service of Paducah, KY

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News, Slider

Franklin County Sheriffs Office seeking suspects over stolen deer stand

December 28, 2016 By Jim Muir Leave a Comment

Franklin County Sheriff’s office photo

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is seeking suspects in the theft of a deer stand in Benton. Anyone who recognizes the truck or has information regarding the incident is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 618-438-4841 or the hotline at 618-439-9252.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News, Slider

Woodlawn keeps title hopes alive

December 28, 2016 By Jim Muir Leave a Comment

NOTE: There are box scores from the Sesser-Valier and

Woodlawn’s Blake Wollerman drives around the Meteror Defender

Christopher games.SESSER – Playing without one of their key players in the first half of their quarterfinal game on Tuesday afternoon against Marissa-Coulterville, the Woodlawn Cardinals were ripe for an upset at the 36th annual Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament. Coach Brian Gamber saw his senior leader Blake Wollerman go to the bench early in the first quarter after picking up a pair of early personal fouls. But with Wollerman on the pine, the rest of the young Cardinals stepped up and weathered the Meteors’ storm. When the 5-foot-11 senior returned to the floor, he made a big difference in the outcome as his all-around play sparked his club. Please click on the link to read the story, browse, and return frequently to Jack Bullock’s site abaselineview.com

Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Slider, Thompsonville High School Sports, Zeigler-Royalton High School Sports

Natural Gas Smell in West Frankfort not a leak

December 27, 2016 By Jim Muir Leave a Comment

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 not 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.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Slider, West Frankfort News