RLC hosting Job Search Party April 13

young woman steps forward as she is called in for her interview and shakes hands with her possible new employer. Behind her other candidates wait with their resumes.

young woman steps forward as she is called in for her interview and shakes hands with her possible new employer. Behind her other candidates wait with their resumes.

MT. VERNON, IL– Job seekers are invited to the sixth annual Job Search Party, hosted by Rend Lake College, from 3 – 6 p.m. Thursday, April 13 at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Vernon. The free event will bring potential employees in front of a variety of employers.

Attendees looking for employment should come dressed for success, have plenty of copies of their résumé, and be ready and willing to have conversations with potential employers from throughout the Southern Illinois region. A full list of employers is listed below.

Jo Ann Dick, RLC Coordinator of Special Projects, said preparedness is the best tip for job seekers when coming to an event like the Job Search Party.

“The objective is to say one truly memorable thing to employers,” she said. “Take the Job Search Party seriously because you’re making important first impressions. Employers remember only a few of the hundreds of job seekers they meet at every event. Do some research and be prepared to answer questions.”

“The objective is to say one truly memorable thing to employers,” she said. “Take the Job Search Party seriously because you’re making important first impressions. Employers remember only a few of the hundreds of job seekers they meet at every event. Do some research and be prepared to answer questions.”

New this year to the Job Search Party will be two workshops hosted by RLC Career Services. Interviewing Preparation and Professionalism in the Workplace will cover the steps for landing the job and effectiveness. The workshops will start at 3:30, 3:45, 5:00, and 5:30 p.m. – each lasting 15 minutes.

Door prizes for attendees will be drawn on the half hour during the event. A children’s activity area will also be provided courtesy of RLC Project CHILD, which will include coloring, story time, and more. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Also new this year will be a drawing for a success basket.

For more information about the Job Search Party, contact Jo Ann Dick at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1337 or dickj@rlc.edu.

Employers:

  • Aflac Insurance
  • Auto Credit of Southern Illinois
  • Crossroads Community Hospital
  • Garon Foods, Inc.
  • Missouri State Highway Patrol
  • Mt. Vernon Police Department
  • Pepsi Mid America
  • Phoenix Modular Elevator
  • Primerica Financial Services
  • Priority Staffing Group
  • Purcell Tire & Service Center
  • Schneider National
  • Southern Illinois Healthcare
  • Staff Quick
  • Transamerica Agency Network
  • United Methodist Children’s Home
  • Withers Broadcasting / Dana Communication

ReAnne Palmer-Rend Lake College Media Services

 

 

 

National Ag Day

This is something that I did not know until the day is nearly over. Thank you farmers for giving us food on the table everyday.- sd

This press release is from State Representative Dave Severin (R Benton)

Today is National Agriculture Day. Illinois is made up of roughly 75 percent farmland, and is one of the nation’s leading producers of soybeans, corn, and other similar commodities. Like many districts in the state, agriculture is a major component of the 117th District’s economy.

I want to extend a special thank you to all farmers and agriculture workers for the important work they do to keep Illinois, the nation and the world fed. I am honored to represent the hard working families that contribute to the state’s robust agricultural economy. 

Mulkeytown man charged with child porn, other sex crimes

Curtis Carr

MULKEYTOWN – (Jeff Weinrich, WSIL-TV. Please Click to read the full story. Here is an excerpt.) A Mulkeytown man is due in court Tuesday to face child pornography and solicitation charges. Last week.a grand jury indicted Curtis Carr, for crimes prosecutors say, happened last June and July.

Two missing West Frankfort teens found safe

WEST FRANKFORT, IL ( COURTNEY CRUISE, WSIL TV) Please click to read the update to a story that broke about noon yesterday.

Inside the life of a K9 officer

SESSER, IL – (Ryan White- WSIL-TV Please Click for video. Here is an excerpt) One requirement for good police officers is having a nose for crime. Some officers also come with four legs and a tail. Zeke, a year old police K9, has spent the last six months helping the Sesser police department cleanup the streets around town. “Zeke is a dual purpose K9. He does narcotics and tracking, which means he can find the four main odors in narcotics. He can find marijuana, heroin, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine,” explains Sesser officer Joe Swallers, Zeke’s K9 handler. Officer Swallers has worked as a K9 officer for the last decade. Sesser police added two canine units in the last year, something Chief Ryan White says helped cut down on crime. “It’s been great. I think there’s a lot of thing that we might not have been able to do otherwise if we didn’t have them. So it’s helped out a lot, especially with some of the drugs problem that are going on today,” says White.

City of Benton, IL hosts ribbon cutting for new police station

Benton Mayor Fred Kondritz cuts the ribbon for the opening of the new police station.  (David Cooper, photo)

Benton Mayor Fred Kondritz cuts the ribbon for the opening of the new police station. (David Cooper, photo)

BENTON, IL – (Amber Ruch- KFVS-TV Click to read the entire story. Here is an excerpt) The City of Benton, Illinois hosted a ribbon cutting on Monday, March 20 for the new police station. The public was invited to the ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. at the police department on West Washington Street.

“West City’s Good Luck Charm” – Shirley Smith Set to Retire After Nearly Four Decades of Service

Shirley Smith, who has been the Village of West City's Clerk since 1978, will be retiring on April 30th.  (William McPherson, West Frankfort Gazette photo)

Shirley Smith, who has been the Village of West City’s Clerk since 1978, will be retiring on April 30th. (William McPherson, West Frankfort Gazette photo)

WEST CITY, IL (William McPherson- The Benton Gazette. Please click to read the entire story. Here is an excerpt) Shirley Smith, 79, has been West City’s good luck charm for nearly four decades. The West City Village Board accepted her retirement at the March board meeting. When Smith began her job as West City Village Clerk, there was only one fully paved road in the entire village—highway 14. Now nearly all of the roads are paved, and the tiny village is one of the most successful, business wise, in all of Southern Illinois. “It’s been amazing the changes that have happened in West City. There were no computers when I started—all the checks, vouchers were written out by hand. The minutes of the board meetings were written out by hand in a bound book,” she said as she pulled out one of the many file drawers in her small office to locate one of the original ledgers.

50 Influencers of Rend Lake College: Pat Kern, setting the foundation

Reece Rutland:  Rend Lake College Media Services

INA, IL   From nontraditional student to CEO of the Rend Lake College Foundation, Pat Kern is right at home on the list of RLC’s 50 Influencers. Her numerous successes and continued dedication to the college, the Foundation and the students have made her a key fixture both on the Ina campus and the district-at-large.

In the role she is best known for, Kern led the Foundation as CEO for nearly 15 years, hitting milestone after milestone during her time at the helm. Prior to leading, she was the second full-time Director of Resource Development for the foundation after years of cutting her teeth as an unofficial assistant.

At the time of her retirement in 2011, she had served the RLCF for almost 20 years total. But, her service didn’t stop there. Following retirement, she continues to participate in the RLCF today, acting as a Foundation board member, serving on subcommittees and volunteering time and resources to assist with events.

When she retired, her many friends with the RLCF made sure she would not be forgotten, naming the Student Center’s Pat Kern Private Dining Room in her honor and donating $20,000 to establish an endowed Patricia Kern Scholarship in December of 2011.

“The sign of a true leader is someone who brings people together from all walks of life, different ambitions, different goals and gets them all working the same way all together in one direction to make something good, and Pat has done that for 14 years,” said RLCF

RLCF Board Member Ed Cunningham presents Pat Kern with the commemorative plaque that hangs outside the Pat Kern Private Dining Room in the Rend Lake College Student Center. (RLC Meida Services photo)

RLCF Board Member Ed Cunningham presents Pat Kern with the commemorative plaque that hangs outside the Pat Kern Private Dining Room in the Rend Lake College Student Center. (RLC Media Services photo)

Board Member Ed Cunningham at the dedication ceremony. “Look at what the college has done and look at what the Foundation has done for the college … How many kids do you think this has touched? And how many do you think it will continue to touch for the future?”

A number of important projects the college completed were made possible through the Foundation, under Kern’s guidance. Those projects included: the campus Children’s Center, Aquatics Center, clock tower, Walls of Fame and Walls of Honor, countless equipment donations, and the satellite campus in Pinckneyville and its subsequent expansion.

Kern also has a legacy of getting the college district to buy into the RLCF’s vision of providing scholarships to worthy candidates. At the time of her retirement in 2011, scholarship giving had gone from $45,000 two decades before to more than $500,000 that year, for a total of more than $4 million throughout her years at the helm. Under her leadership, the Foundation’s net assets more than doubled in a decade and total donations since establishment reached $11.5 million in 2011.

The RLCF chief started her journey at RLC as a nontraditional student, earning her Associate in Science Degree in 1991. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and went on to receive the Fund-Raising Management Degree certification in 1999 through Indiana University’s Center of Philanthropy.

Two years later, she was recipient of a $500 scholarship from the Illinois Community College System Foundation to attend a summer course offering through I.U., “Planned Giving: Getting the Proper Start.” In the years that followed, she was a frequent attendee at sessions to upgrade her skills. She didn’t stop there. She served as a presenter (along with Vice President Lori Ragland) at the National Council for Resource Development Conference in Washington, D.C. (2002); Illinois Resource and Development State Conference (2002); Illinois Community College System State Conference in Springfield (2007), and leading a group discussion for peers at the Illinois Community College State Foundation Conference in Bloomington (2003).

The former student worker was originally hired full-time by Rend Lake College in January 1992 as a Data Entry Clerk as part of a federal Title III “Strengthening Institutions” Grant. She was promoted within the Student Services area to Registrar four years later, and was promoted again nine months later, to Director of Admissions, in October 1996.

“I want to thank the many people from the Foundation and college who entrusted me with the RLCF CEO position that proved to be more rewarding than I could ever imagine,” Kern said in her retirement letter.
RLCF Board Member Ed Cunningham presents Pat Kern with the commemorative plaque that hangs outside the Pat Kern Private Dining Room in the Rend Lake College Student Center. (RLC Meida Services photo)

RLCF Board Member Ed Cunningham presents Pat Kern with the commemorative plaque that hangs outside the Pat Kern Private Dining Room in the Rend Lake College Student Center. (RLC Meida Services photo)

Man shot in head on Busch Stadium MetroLink platform amid assault on train, police believe

St. Louis police officers and detectives are investigating the crime scene at Busch Stadium early this morning.  (Post Dispatch Photo)

St. Louis police officers and detectives are investigating the crime scene at Busch Stadium early this morning. (Post Dispatch Photo)

ST LOUIS, MO NOTE: I am excited about Cardinal Baseball opening up in a couple weeks. I used to make about two to three trips to Busch Stadium. I am wondering, how many of you use the Metrolink to go to the ball park or when you travel around St. Louis? Here is a link to the story from Joel Currier of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and an excpert will follow.  -sd A man standing on the MetroLink platform at Busch Stadium was shot in the head when a gun went off inside a train, apparently as a group of people accosted other passengers and tried to rob them late Sunday night. The injured man was taken to a hospital after the shooting. His condition was not immediately available, but his injuries were grave and homicide detectives were called in to investigate the confusing shooting. The injured man was believed to be in his 40s or early 50s and may have been homeless, police said.

Spring has sprung!!!!!….Fake weather is being circulated

Steve Dunford- franklincounty-news.com

Today is the first day of spring.  Enjoy it, the high today is going to be 75.  There is a chance of thunderstorms for tonight and tomorrow.

Temperatures the rest of the week will be in the 50s and moderating to around 70 by Friday.

Friday night into Sunday seems like it is going to be stormy.  There are doomsday predictions that there will be a tornado outbreak over Southern Illinois from some weather websites.

Those sites are for clickbait.  Reality is that there might be some severe weather southwest of us, but at this time most meteorologists say it is too early to tell.  WSIL-TV’s Tony Laumbach posted a stern message about this yesterday.

There is accusations of fake news all over the place today.  This is an example of fake weather.

The only trusted source that is saying anything about severe weather here for Friday, is Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel. He has Southern Illinois with a TORCON rating of three.

I am going to share my weather background.  I am not a meteorologist.  For electives for my degree, I have six hours of credit in meteorology classes form SIU.  I am an elite storm spotter for the National Weather Service.  I have taken additional seminars over the years to enhance my weather knowledge.

I can interpret some charts and models, and I can detect things on radar.  Most information I pass on will come from meteorologists.   I might throw an opinion in from time to time.

I hope you have a fabulous Monday.

 

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