Randolph County News

by Pete Rosenbery CARBONDALE, Ill. — New York Philharmonic organist Kent Tritle, one of the nation’s leading choral conductors, will perform at Southern Illinois University Carbondale later this month for the Marianne Webb and David N. Bateman Distinguished Organ Recital Series. International concert organist and choral conductor Kent Tritle, organist of the New York Philharmonic, […]

Students are rewarded for demonstrating Respect, Responsibility, Safety, and Empathy BY JIM BEERS  Chester Grade School recognized 33 students on Friday September 4, 2026 in grades Kindergarten through 8th, for demonstrating the “HIVE” PBIS good character traits of either Respect, Responsibility, Safety, or Empathy. There are four “HIVE” PBIS characteristics that teachers and staff at

James Franklin Sharp grew up in Chester, Illinois, a small Mississippi River Town in southwest Illinois.  He graduated from Chester High School in 1954. SIU Tedrick Welcome Center He then attended the two-year Pre-Engineering Program at nearby Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. At SIU, he lived in Doyle Dorm, that housed just 60 boys,

by Brooke Keltner CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale invites artists of all skill levels—from beginners to experts—to express their creativity at the Craft Shop’s annual fall workshop series. Running from Sept. 11 through Nov. 17, the series offers a wide variety of hands-on arts, including pottery, crochet, fused glass, sewing and more. Workshops

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale has delivered one of the most significant institutional turnarounds in its history — recording overall enrollment levels not seen in the last eight years — reaching above 12,000 students, with an incoming first-year class size not seen for 11 years. Fall 2026 semester enrollment grew to 12,066 students,