OBITUARY – KEVIN WAYNE BOWLIN

Kevin Wayne Bowlin, 40, died Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012, in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville.

Kevin was born March 17, 1972, in West Frankfort, to Hobart and Debbie (Rice) Bowlin.

He was a certified habilitation technician.

Kevin married Andrea (Marshbank) Bowlin on July 17, 1993, and she survives of Belleville.

Also surviving are his children Zachary Bowlin, Riley Bowlin, Cody Bowlin and Miranda Bowlin, all of Belleville; and sister, Mellisa Bowlin of Chester. Kevin was preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22, at Gilbert Funeral Home in Christopher with interment in Mulkeytown Cemetery. Brother David Utley is officiating. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.

For more information, visit gilbertfuneralhomes.com.

 

Bonan: Bank in Wood Building for long term

 

By JIM MUIR

Much like Mark Twain … news of the death of Peoples National Bank on the Benton Public Square is much exaggerated.

Bill Bonan II, president of the PNB facility located in the historic Wood Building, said the confusion about the future of the downtown location started when it was announced that a new banking branch would be added in West City, in the Rend Lake Shopping Plaza.

Bonan said with the new renovation project in West City at the facility that formerly housed Auto Credit, he and other employees of PNB have received numerous inquiries about the future of the Wood Building facility.

“The point I want to stress is that we are not moving off the square,” said Bonan. “First, we have too much invested in the facility to just walk away. We put a lot of money in the Wood Building, and we are not going to get a dollar return on that money, that was done to better Benton. It was an eyesore for many years and we’re proud that the building was saved from demolition. But, I want to emphasize that we made a commitment to Benton that we are here in the Wood Building long term. And when we say long term we are not talking five years, we’re talking 50 years.”

Bonan stressed that he has a personal stake in the Wood Building facility.

“I have a personal interest because I live on the top floor of the Wood Building, my home is here on the top floor,” Bonan said. “I don’t have another house, I’m here … this is my home. My wife and I love living in Benton, we like the people of Benton and Franklin County.”

However, Bonan stressed that the new West City location, which is scheduled to open on January 8, will provide PNB customers and new customers another full service facility.

“The facility in West City is a full-service facility that can operate by itself, it will be fully-staffed,” Bonan said. “So, a person could actually go to the facility in West City and take care of any banking business they have and never have to drive in town.”

Bonan said part of the reason for the expansion came from comments concerning traffic that is sometimes clogged in Benton because of construction or accidents on Interstate 57. A second reason is that West City does not have a banking facility.

“One of the biggest complaints we get is the traffic in the downtown area is sometimes heavy and its just hard to get here, people don’t have time.,” said Bonan. “This is only for the convenience of our customers and the room for expansion is certainly here so we recognized that. West city doesn’t have a bank until we open, so we are proud to be the only bank in that community.”

Bonan said PNB entered into a long term lease for the building that is located immediately across the street from Applebees.

PNB has 20 employees at the facility on the Benton Public Square and will add an additional 12 employees – 11 of them full-time – when the new West City branch office opens.

The new West City location marks the 20th banking facility owed by PNB in Southern Illinois and the St. Louis metropolitan area.

“We are proud to offer the folks in West City and all of Franklin County another banking facility but we are open for business and will be for a long time in the Wood Building.,” Bonan said. “It is something that is very important to us.”

Benton roars back in second half to hand Lady Devils first loss of year

 

By Jim Muir

It was a tale of two halves at Benton’s East Gym Monday night as the Rangerettes rebounded from a 16-point deficit to defeat Sesser-Valier-Waltonville 51-49.

The Lady Devils entered the game with a perfect 10-0 record and lived up to their billing as they blistered the nets in the opening half, shooting 76 percent from the field while coasting to a 37-23 halftime advantage.  S-V-W, who put a pair of 9-0 runs together in the first half, enjoyed its biggest lead of the night late in the second quarter doubling up the Rangerettes 32-16.

The off-the-charts shooting by S-V-W included 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc and coupled by 10 first half turnovers by Benton it appeared the Lady Devils were in command and heading to their 11th win of the season.  But a rejuvenated Benton team took the floor in the third frame and quickly began taking control of the game.

“I didn’t yell at halftime,” said Benton coach Andy Sloan.  “We just talked about playing better defense and taking better care of the basketball.”

Those words sank in for the Rangerettes as they outscored S-V-W 15-7 to cut the deficit to a workable 44-38 heading into a wild and sometimes frantic final quarter.  S-V-W had eight turnovers and went 6:20 seconds without scoring in the quarter as the Rangerettes whittled into the lead.

The comeback was complete for Benton with less than two minutes to play when sophomore Cali Carney hit two free throws to give Benton a 48-47 lead.  The Lady Devils came back and grabbed a 49-48 lead moments later on a layup by Chelsea Miller with only 16 seconds remaining.  Benton took a time out to set up a play and Morgan Corn made a strong move to the basket and scored and was fouled with only 10 seconds remaining to put the Rangerettes up 50-49.  Corn hit the charity toss and a final shot by the Lady Devils to tie the game fell short giving Benton the victory.  Corn turned in a double-double for Benton with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

“This is a nice win for us and I think a confidence-builder,” said Sloan.  “We played well at Marion in the tournament to open the season but has had some ups and downs since.  We are still looking for our identity.”

After trailing 37-23 the Rangerettes outscored S-V-W 28-12 in the second half holding the Lady Devils to three two-point field goals and six free throws.

The win improves Benton to 8-3 overall and is the first of three ‘big’ games for the Rangerettes this week.  Benton travels to Massac County Tuesday night to take on the always-tough Lady Patriots and the returns home on Thursday to close out the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule against a much-improved Harrisburg team.

Along with Corn’s 16 points Benton got eight points from Evelyn Mendez and Sami Minor and six points each from Katie Sandusky, Mikala Carney and Cali Carney.  Rae Lappin led the Lady Devils in scoring with 16 including a pair of 3-pointers.  Chelsea Miller added 11 points followed by Rachel Marlo with seven points, Meagan Eskew with six and Mikala Williams and Cheyenne Pitchford with four each.

Benton wrestlers finish 5th, Peyton Smith shines at Cumberland meet

By Jim Muir

The Benton Rangers wrestling team turned in a solid 5th place finish Saturday in the 17-team Cumberland High School “Skull & Crossbones Invitational Tournament.

Benton tallied 120 points in the prestigious event trailing Prairie Central (246.50), Shelbyville (179.50), Herrin (147.50) and Lawrenceville (124.00).

Individually the Rangers were led by freshman Peyton Smith who improved to 17-1 overall during the first year of his high school wrestling career.  Smith registered three wins on the day in the 132-pound class by pinning Jimmy Pearsley(Herrin) in 1:30, Zach Kocher(Lawrenceville) in 3.00 and Paul Garcia(Prairie Central) in 1:30.

Brothers Chris and Chase Worthey also had an outstanding day in Cumberland – Chris Worthey finished second and Chase Worthey finished third in the 126-pound and 120-pound classes respectively.

Benton coach Duane Bean said his young team “grew up a lot” during the tough competition.

“We wrestled well,” said the Benton coach. “It is a good tournament and we’re a better team after competing this weekend. Even some of our kids that didn’t win really improved.”

Bean pointed out that Benton was only four points out of fourth place and took only 10 wrestlers to the tournament that had 14 different weight classes.

He gave high marks to Chris and Chase Worthey and also to Smith.

“Chris and Chase wrestled very well and both were in a tough bracket,” said Bean. “And Peyton beat a kid who is ranked in the state, pinned him in 90 seconds. Peyton had a great day.”

TEAM SCORES

PRAIRIE CENTRAL         246.50
SHELBYVILLE        179.50
HERRIN            147.50
LAWRENCEVILLE        124.00
BENTON            120.00
CUMBERLAND        116.00
CARLYLE            112.00
OLNEY            111.00
MT. OLIVE               98.50
MT. CARMEL           88.00
OAKWOOD               80.00
CARMI-WHITE COUNTY       54.00
CARTERVILLE             46.00
HARRISBURG           42.50
DECATUR EISENHOWER    35.00
EFFINGHAM           33.00
EFFINGHAM ST. ANTHONY  9.00
CASEY-WESTFIELD         6.00

(Benton wrestlers listed in all CAPS)

132 LBS – PEYTON SMITH– Champion
Pinned Jimmy Pearsley(Herrin) in 1:30
Pinned Zach Kocher(Lawrenceville) in 3:00
Pinned Paul Garcia(Prairie Central) in 1:30

126 LBS—CHRIS WORTHEY finished in 2nd Place
Pinned Levi Baker(Effingham) in 1:16
Won by major decision 10-2 over Antonio Alvarez
Lost 6-2 to Eli Roberts(Herrin)

120 LBS—CHASE WORTHEY finished in 3rd Place
Pinned Jacob McKinstry(Lawrenceville) in 0:46
Lost 6-3 to eventual champion Zach Zvonar(Carlyle)
Beat Colton Carmody(Olney) 10-5 for 3rd Place

138 LBS—DANIEL KRUG finished in 5th Place
Pinned Hunter Welch(Carmi-WC) in 1:58
Lost to Wyatt Fox(Shelbyville) 4-1
Pinned James Kruep(Carlyle) in 3:30
Pinned Braden Dees(Carterville) in 3:20
Pinned Shon Calvert (Mt. Olive) in 5:20 for 5th Place

170 LBS—ZACH MOCABY finished in 6th Place
Pinned Cody Ayers(Oakwood) in 3:06
Lost 9-0 to eventual champion Josh Hicks(Shelbyville)
Won by major decision 10-0 over Tim Sturm(Olney)
Won 9-5 over Kane Garcia(Mt. Carmel)
Lost 6-2 to Tyler Godden(Cumberland)

106 LBS—Jarred Burnett finished in 6th Place
Lost by pin to AJ Dees(Carterville) in 0:46
Won by pin in :57 over Aaron Nettles(Carlyle)

152LBS—Jarron Bennett(did not place)
Pinned Tyler Flood(Carlyle) in 0:39
Lost by technical fall 15-0 to eventual champion Sam Schuler(Prairie C)
Pinned Jeff Klelel(Effingham) in 2:22
Lost by Pin in 5:39 to John Sandschafer(Eff. STA)

285 LBS—Tyler Wiliiams(did not place)
Lost 8-4 to Dillon Walters(DEC. Eisenhower)
Won by Pin in 0:16 over Trent Carll(Casey-Westfield)
Lost by pin in 1:14 to Brent Morgan(Mt. Carmel)

195 LBS—Devon Siveking(did not place)
Pinned David Nibbe(Oakwood) in 3:22
Lost by pin in 3:04 to Timmy Carll(Cumberland)
Pinned Scott Jones(DEC Eisenhower) in 1:03
Lost by pin to Dakota White(Mt. Olive) in 1:02

145 LBS—Luke Blackman(did not place)
Lost by pin to Zach Poe(Cumberland) in 1:22
Lost by pin to Zach Horatscki(Oakwood) in 2:25

BENTON PLACED 5TH PLACE AS TEAM IN THE 18 TEAM TOURNEY!!

BENTON TOOK 10 WRESTLERS TO CUMBERLAND AND 6 OF THEM PLACED IN THE TOP 6.

Benton will return to action TONIGHT when they travel to Anna-Jonesboro with the meet starting at 6:30pm.

SV wins conference match up against Christopher

Eric Stallman’s Christopher Bearcats had their five game winning streak stopped when they went north to Sesser-Valier and lost a hard fought Black Diamond Conference game 49-48 Friday night.

Kevin Merck’s scored at the 6:13 mark for a Cats 2-0 lead as the Bearcats didn’t score again for four minutes until junior Eric Young made a steal to tie the game at 4.  Tyler Atchison hit a three and Jake Towers scored on a great pass from Josh Calloni as the Cats took a 9-6 first quarter lead.

The Bearcats went on another four minute drought and didn’t score until the 3:53 mark when Atchison hit another three. The next time down the floor a loose ball caused a giant pile up and Christopher’s R.J. Kuh came up with a bloody face, after the game he was seen by a nurse who butter flied the cut closed. Jr. Ethan Conner hit a free throw at the 3:06 mark and a minute later Calloni knocked down two free tosses. Fellow freshman Hunter Wheeler grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled going back up and hit one of his charity tosses and then the Cats went in at half leading 19-17 in a defensive battle

Young started the second half with a steal and a lay-up, Merck’s followed with two free throws for a 25-18 Bearcat lead. Merck hit two free throws before  a S-V technical foul but the Cats missed both of these free throws and turned the ball over throwing it in. Young stepped up big again with his third steal and basket of the game to put CCHS up 29-20. The Cats lead then went to 31-22 and Young’s defense again got him another layup for a 33-22 lead, the biggest of the night.

Someone forgot to tell Coach Chip Basso’s crew that they were out of the game. The Cats evened the score when one of their players was called for a technical after fouling.  S-V’s Derek Hood hits both free throws and the Red Devils clawed back to being down only 33-25. The home team’s Jacob Vanwey scored and Jordan Gunter fired in a long range three. With the Red Devils down 33-30 the Cats fell asleep on a missed Red Devil free throw as 6-feet-6-inch Justin Kulich gets the rebound and scored his only field goal of the night as the Cats 11 point  lead was trimmed to 33-32 at the end of the third stanza.

The fourth quarter started with Mercks hitting one of two charity tosses for Christopher, followed by a rebound basket on the next possession giving the visitors a 36-34 advantage. The lead increased to four when Young scored on a nifty pass from Towers. Kulich hits one of two free throws when a foul was called on Christopher and where Cat fans were initially excited when they thought the call was a charging foul on SV’s all conference tight end. Young scored for a 40-35 lead but after a SV basket Coach Basso called a time out at the 3:12 mark and his team down 40-37.Reggie Eubanks is fouled at the 2; 32 mark and makes the first freebie but misses the second. The Cats then made a mistake that will later haunt them as no one screened Kulich out and he hit a bucket to tie the score at 40-40. Young scored the last basket of the night for him and the Cats are up 42-40 but Gunter answered with a basket and again it’s a tie game.

SV’s Hood hits another big basket and tied the score at 42 and there is under a minute to play.

To say the last 50seconds were wild would be an understatement — SV’s Kulich hits a free throw, Hood follows with a basket for a 47-42 SV lead. The Cats Atchison scores with 27.1 seconds left in the game to get close at 47-44. Then sophomore Nick Marlow hits one free throw at the 27 second mark  and after a Bearcat miss, Eubanks hits another freebie for a 49-45 SV lead with 25 seconds left in the game. Atchison hits his fourth trey of the game at the buzzer as the Red Devils win a hard fought contest 49-48.

Scoring for Sesser-Valier was Gunter 11, Hood, 10, Vanwey 8,Marlo 7, Tyler Baxter 7,Kulich 4 and Eubanks 4.

Young led the Cats with 15 ,followed by Atchison with 14, Mercks 9,Towers 4,Calloni and Kuh 2 and Conner and Wheeler a free throw.

Coach Jeremy Varner’s Bearcat JV squad remained undefeated with a 62-39 victory in the preliminary game to raise their record to 5-0.

A picture is worth a thousand words …

The Franklin County Courthouse adorned in Christmas lights in 1947.

Benton wrestlers picks up impressive wins in dual meet

The Benton Rangers wrestling team improved to 7-2 overall with a solid showing in the Benton Dual Meet held at Rich Herrin Gymnasium. Benton picked up victories over Sparta, Pinckneyville and Fairfield in the eight-team meet.

Benton results are listed below:

2012 BENTON DUALS

BENTON – 60

SPARTA – 15

106 – Jarred Burnett won by pin in :47 over Triston Loucks(S).

113 – Nathan Flatt won by forfeit.

120 – Chase Worthey won by forfeit.

126 – Chris Worthey won by forfeit.

132 – Peyton Smith won by pin in 1:10 over Anthony Carter(S).

138 – Daniel Krug won bypin over Greg Scheibol(S) in 3:29.

145 – Alex Yates won 13-7 over Charles Rogers(S)

152 – Jarron Bennett won by pin in 2:24 over Deon Baker(S).

160 – Luke Blackman won by forfeit.

170 – Benton forfeitedto Jay Baue(S).

182 – Zach Mocoby won 7-2 over Dylan Hatley(S).

195 – Benton forfeited to Cedric Briscoe(S).

220 – Devon Siveking won by pin in 3:35 over Tyler Adams(S).

HVY – Tyler Williams lost 14-8 to Jerrod Penny(S)

——————————

BENTON – 52

PINCKNEYVILLE – 17

106 – Jarred Burnett won by forfeit.

113 – Nathan Flatt won by forfeit.

120 – Chase Worthey won by forfeit.

126 – Chris Worthey won 12-3 over Chris Hagan(P)

132 – Peyton Smith won by pin in :49 over Hunter Olive(P).

138 – Daniel Krug won byforfeit.

145 – Nick Goffinet won by forfeit.

152 – Jarron Bennett lost 20-4 to Chris Ward(H).

160 – Luke Blackman lost by pin in 2:16 to Jerod Winkleman(P).

170 – Benton forfeitedto Quinin Baker.

182 – Zach Mocoby won by pin in 1:21 over Michael Jones(P).

195 – Double forfeit.

220 – Double forfeit.

HVY – Jordan Piercy won by forfeit.

BENTON – 59

FAIRFIELD – 24

106 – Jarred Burnett lost by pin in 1:31 to Austin Goodman(F).

113 – Nathan Flatt won by forfeit.

120 – Chase Worthey won by pin in :30 over Aaron Clark(F).

126 – Chris Worthey won by pin in :51 over Don Bielecki(F)

132 – Peyton Smith won by pin in :23 over Derek McInnis(F)

138 – Daniel Krug won bypin in :44 over Colton Crawford(F).

145 – Alex Yates lost by pin in 4:50 to Braden Robertson(F).

152 –Luke Blackman won 16-1 over Mathew Sampio(F).

160 –Jarron Bennett won by pin in :13 over Brock Lewis(F).

170 – Benton forfeitedto Nick Mathews(F).

182 – Zach Mocoby won by pin in :25 over Hunter Clevenger(F).

195 – Benton forfeited to Andrew Garrison(F).

220 – Benton forfeited to Charles Wheeler(F).

HVY – Tyler Williams won by pin in 4:31 over Aaron Cates(F).

Other Team Scores:

Harrisburg 60 – Carterville 24
Harrisburg 42 – Fairfield 42 (Harrisburg wins by criteria)
Sparta 42 – Harrisburg 33
West Frankfort 66 – Anna Jonesboro 0
West Frankfort 48 – Pinckneyville 12
West Frankfort 42 – Fairfield 42 (West Frankfort wins by criteria)
Sparta beat Anna-Jonesboro(No score to report)
Carterville beat Pinckneyville(No score to report)

Benton is 7-2 and 1-0 in the Ohio division of the River to River conference. Next, at Cumberland Invitational Tournament in Toledo on Saturday, December 15.


Rangerettes lose at Nashville, drop to 7-3 overall

By Jim Muir

The Nashville Hornettes raced out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back Thursday night defeating the Benton Rangerettes in convincing fashion 42-18.

With the loss the Rangerettes fall to 7-3 overall while Nashville improves to 10-0.

The Rangerettes were never in the ball game trailing 16-2 at the end of one quarter and 22-7 at the intermission as the stingy Nashville defense took Benton totally out of any offensive rhythm. Benton did not its first field goal until the 3:00 minute mark of the second quarter when Katie Sandusky hit a 3-pointer. It was the only field goal the Rangerettes had in the first half.

Benton coach Andy Sloan saw two distinct reasons for the disappointing and lopsided defeat.

“First, I think you have to give credit to Nashville for the way they played defense which took us completely out of our offense,” Sloan said. “But, we did not play very well and we didn’t we didn’t play hard. We didn’t set a good screen all night long and didn’t do a very good job on defense. We knew what Nashville was going to do on defense but we didn’t handle it very well.”

The Rangerettes managed only two field goals for the first three quarters – a pair of 3-pointers by Sandusky. Benton added three more field goals by Morgan Corn, Mikala Carney and Ashtyn Ward in the fourth quarter when the game had long been decided.

Sandusky led the Rangerettes in scoring with six points followed by Corn with five and Mikala Carney with three, Sami Minor and Ward with two each.

Erica Brown led the balanced Nashville scoring attack with 15 points, followed by Shay Harre with 12 and Shawn Rennegarbe with 10. Also scoring for the Hornettes was Hannah Yung with three, Emily Gill with two and Alli Kellerman with two.

The Rangerettes will not have long to regroup from the loss as they face one of the toughest weeks of the season beginning Monday when undefeated Sesser-Valier visits the East Gym. Then on Tuesday Benton travels to Massac County before finishing up on the road at Massac County on Thursday.

 

Franklin County Farm Bureau News

 By J. Larry Miller

It is obvious that the public opinion of farmers is changing but to have the Secretary of Agriculture make negative comments about rural America tells me that we need a new department leader in Washington. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has some harsh words for rural America: It’s “becoming less and less relevant,” he says.

A month after an election that Democrats won even as rural parts of the country voted overwhelmingly Republican, the former Democratic governor of Iowa told farm belt leaders this past week that he’s frustrated with their internecine squabbles and says they need to be more strategic in picking their political fights. “It’s time for us to have an adult conversation with folks in rural America,” Vilsack said in a speech at a forum sponsored by the Farm Journal. “It’s time for a different thought process here, in my view.”

“Why is it that we don’t have a farm bill?” said Vilsack. “It isn’t just the differences of policy. It’s the fact that rural America with a shrinking population is becoming less and less relevant to the politics of this country, and we had better recognize that and we better begin to reverse it.”

Vilsack criticized farmers who have embraced wedge issues such as regulation, citing the uproar over the idea that the Environmental Protection Agency was going to start regulating farm dust after the Obama administration said repeatedly it had no so such intention.

In his Washington speech, he also cited criticism of a proposed Labor Department regulation, later dropped, that was intended to keep younger children away from the most dangerous farm jobs, and criticism of egg producers for dealing with the Humane Society on increasing the space that hens have in their coops. Livestock producers fearing they will be the next target of animal rights advocates have tried to undo that agreement.

“We need a proactive message, not a reactive message,” Vilsack said. “How are you going to encourage young people to want to be involved in rural America or farming if you don’t have a proactive message?”

There is no doubt that farm groups need to be proactive but we must defend our industry against the very things that the Secretary mentioned as frivolous. Regulating dust from combines and animal rights issues are basic to our survival.

What we need is a Secretary of Agriculture that will fight for farmers and is concerned about a safe and abundant supply of food. We may be shrinking in numbers but our value needs to be defended by a pro-farmer Secretary of Agriculture rather than a laid-off politician from the Midwest that needs a job until retirement.

Remember we are farmers working together. If we can help let us know.

 

Morthland falls to Benedictine-Springfield, 79-57.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Morthland College men’s basketball team fell to host school Benedictine University-Springfield tonight, 79-57.

The Patriots trailed at halftime 29-45 and could not claw their way back into the game, while being out-rebounded 37-24.

Morthland was led by Eldorado product Will Carmickle who scored 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, to record his fourth double-double of the year, while freshman guard Roby Boatright chipped in 13 points on the night.

The Patriots will be back in action on Saturday when they host Saint Catherine College, tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Max Morris Gymnasium.

Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News