January 2010

Cobden coach in hall of fame Blayne Smith honored

Cobden High  School veteran baseball coach Blayne Smith topped the pinnacle of his career this past weekend.

Smith, who has coached baseball at Cobden for the last 34 years, was inducted at a banquet to the Illinois Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame at Woodridge Saturday, Feb. 6.

“It’s a tremendous honor when your peers have chosen you,” Smith said. “It doesn’t get much better than that and you just don’t get much higher. It was really a neat thing and a very impressive banquet.”

Dongola man pleads guilty to burglary, criminal sexual abuse

A Dongola man has pleaded guilty to two felony charges and will serve time in prison.

Union County State’s Attorney Tyler R. Edmonds announced Tuesday, Feb. 23, that Brandon D. Griffin, 26, of 445 Frey Ln., Dongola, entered a plea of guilty to one count of burglary and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Burglary is a Class 1 felony. Aggravated criminal sexual abuse is a Class 2 felony.

Buy Local A Return to the Good Ole Days

(Editor's note: the following article was written by Susan Odum, CED program coordinator for University of Illinois Extension.)

In rural southernmost Illinois, we often hear the term “the good ole days.”  While the decade of reference may differ for each of us, the overall concept remains the same, a time we remember fondly generally centered on friends, family and community.

Monroe Rich Jr.

Monroe Rich Jr., 61, of Cobden, and formerly of East St. Louis, died at 5:25 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, at Union County Hospital in Anna.

He was born on Dec. 24, 1948, in Gary, Ind., the son of Lindberg and Ida Matthews Rich.

Mr. Rich is survived by his son, Malcolm Monroe Rich of East St. Louis; one brother, James Rich Sr. of Fairview Heights; and one sister, Pearlie Jackson of East St. Louis; other relatives and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Everett L. Frizzell

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Continued meeting of county board scheduled Wednesday

The Union County Board of Commissioners this week took an optimistic approach to one of the issues on Tuesday's primary election ballot.

The commissioners met in regular session Monday afternoon, Feb. 1.

The future of the courthouse was linked to one of the issues which was on Tuesday's ballot.

The county was seeking an increase in the local sales tax to help fund construction of a new courthouse.

With hopes that voters would approve the proposal, the commissioners made plans to continue their meeting to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3.

Buy Local: A vote for your community

(Note: Susan Odum is University of Illinois Extension CED program coordinator.)

Buy local can’t be a fad, a gimmick or a resolution that we undertake for a short time then discontinue, like so many New Year’s resolutions. For buy local to have an impact on our local economy, it needs to become a way of life for each and every one of us.

While the reasons to buy local are endless, the following are considered to be among the Top Ten:

Local businesses are the lifeblood of the community and, therefore, critical to our community’s survival.

Planning continues for new water treatment plant

Planning continues on construction of a new $10 million water treatment plant to serve a large part of Union County.

The Anna-Jonesboro Water Commission has authorized its engineer to conduct preliminary studies for construction of the new plant to be located in the general vicinity of the existing plant southwest of Jonesboro.

The commission is in the process of acquiring property for the new plant. The engineer recommended staying near the present plant to avoid costly pipeline extension.

Conservation initiative could bring more than $1 million to Union County

A conservation project announced Tuesday could bring more than $1 million to Union County over the next three years.

The Union County Conservation Partnership Initiative was announced during Ag Appreciation Day activities at the USDA  building in Anna.

Details of the program were outlined by Carlyn Light, chairman of the Union County Soil and Water Conservation board.

A-J FBLA members receive awards at area conference

The Illinois Future Business Leaders of America, FBLA, Southern Area Conference was held Thursday, Jan. 14, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Four-hundred-sixty-four advisers, members and guests registered from 18 area schools: Anna-Jonesboro, Carbondale, Carterville, Christ Our Savior Lutheran in Evansville, Du Quoin, Hamilton County, Harrisburg, Herrin, Marion, Mt. Vernon, Murphysboro, Pinckneyville, Shawnee, Sparta, Steeleville, Trico, Waltonville and Waterloo.

The theme of the conference was "FBLA: Simply the Best."

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The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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