Southern Illinoisan from Carbondale, Illinois • Page 9

1) CAUGHT ON TAPE Mount Vernon police looking for bank robber 2B MM The Southern Illinoisan Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Contact Us: karen.binderthesouthern.com 1 Briefly nines mMi dttOM stately BY CALEB HALE THE SOUTHERN CARBONDALE Southern Illinois University Carbondale begins to tell its story now. Interim Chancellor John Dunn said Tuesday he's earmarked half a million dollars in the upcoming fiscal year to start a long-term marketing strategy that will be carried out by a retooled campus communications department. The SIUC Office of Media and Communication Resources is now simply called University Communications and harbors a new marketing and advertising services unit assigned to spearhead the campus' first-ever marketing push. SIU Director of Communications Mike Ruiz remains in charge of the whole operation, and SIUC marketing school Chairman Terry I LMMMiWaM jrnM.Va.i.i.rtMiW JEFFERSON COUNTY Police seeking suspect in beating Mount Vernon police are on the lookout for a man they say is hiding from them. Oscar Montgomery, 22, is wanted on a Jefferson County warrant, according to information released by Chief Chris Mendenall.

He is thought to have been involved in the recent beating of a man on Bell Street. Police say Montgomery knows he is wanted and has been eluding police in the Mount Vernon area. Police are asking for public assistance in locating Montgomery. Anyone with information about him is asked to call 242-2131 or the Jefferson County Crimestoppers at 242-8477. Andrea Hahn WILLIAMSON COUNTY Car hits semi; Herrin men hurt Two Herrin men were seriously injured in a collision with a semitrailer about 1 p.m.

Monday. Matthew Wilson, 21, was driving a 1999 Nissan Maxima west on Grassy Road when he failed to stop at a posted sign at Illinois 148, state police said. Wilson's vehicle hit a semitrailer driven by Alan Abercrombie, 44, of Mulkeytown. Both Wilson and his passenger, 19-year-old Evan Collier, were seriously injured, police said. Collier was flown to St.

Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Wilson was taken to Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion. Neither man was wearing a seat belt, police said. Wilson was cited for his failure to wear a seat belt. He also was cited for not stopping at a stop sign and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Andrea Hahn DU QUOIN Jaycees plan bowling event The Du Quoin Jaycees will be sponsoring their annual benefit Jaycee's Bowling Tournament will be March 18 at Ten Pin alley in Du Quoin. The tournament will feature five-person teams; mixed, men, and women's. The cost is $15 per person or $13 if two food items, to be donated to a food pantry, are brought. Trophies will be awarded. Registration begins at 1 1 a.m.

with the first bowling session starting at noon and a second session at 3 p.m. if needed. For more information contact Bill Koonce at 790-5061. Christi Mathis deluded into thinking SIUC is a slacker university better suited for party animals than for serious students. That's not true, and the notions continue because university officials have not told anyone different, he said.

The campus will be relying largely on students in the marketing unit to produce creative materials for advertisements, commercials and other promotions, Dunn said. Dunn also said officials would be putting out a bid for an outside marketing consultant to work with Clark for the first year. Washington D.C.-based marketing firm Simpson-Scarborough analyzed SIUC's marketing strategy last fall. "What we don't want to do is end up relying on an external entity for all of this. They'll get us started but we need to move to internalize and do it on our own," Dunn said.

The final cost of the entire city primaries but it's obviously not an issue in a municipal race. Barb Pulley, deputy county clerk for Williamson County, said voter turnout for the Marion City Council race was "very low" as of 4 p.m. BYanklin County Clerk Dave Dobill said by mid-afternoon he could only call the turnout he'd seen "very light." While it is not uncommon, he said, Tuesday's participation seemed more sparse than usual. "We usually run 20 to 25 percent, but the way it looks right now I don't think we're going to get there," Dobill said. Frances Weber, an election judge overseeing ballots for Ward 1 of the Murphysboro City Council race, found quite a bit of downtime Tuesday.

She said by late afternoon she'd only seen roughly 30 voters between two precincts stop by to cast a ballot. Southern staff writers contributed to this article. caleb.halefthesouthern.com 351-5090 ELECTION marketing push won't exceed its $500,000 budget, Dunn added. "We've put aside $500,000. Some would say that is not enough and others might say you can do a lot with that kind of money," he said.

Officials consider marketing a top priority to help turn around falling student enrollment numtsersand poor public perception, Dunn said. In addition to a public campaign, Ruiz said he will be pushing to improve internal communication between his department and the rest of the university. "There are probably a lot of people who feel we've been down this road before and may be skeptical," Ruiz said. "All I can tell them is I have a good sense of the history of the institution, and I'm very optimistic that this is going to get done." caleb.halethesouthern.com 351-5090 i i 1 LKZZ1 Radio Disney regulars Everlife will play Herrin on May 26. Everlife booked for HerrinFesta BY ASHLEY WIEHLE THE SOUTHERN HERRIN Young girls who are known as "tweens" are notoriously difficult to entertain, but organizers of this year's HerrinFesta Italiana are thinking ahead.

Herrin's flagship festival has booked Radio Disney favorites Everlife for the main stage of HerrinFesta Italiana on May 26. Jim Gentile, executive director of the HerrinFesta Italiana Committee, said Everlife represents an age group that is hard to please. "We have activities through Festa for all ages, but we have an age group of 11 to 15 that gets tired of the Ferris wheels and says they don't have anything to do," Gentile said. "We've been working on this for quite some time, and we think we've finally got a group here we can afford and that they'll really like." A group of three sisters, Everlife released its first album in August 2004 and has since had four singles on Radio Disney's Top 30 Play List. The group performed the title track for Disney original movie "Go Figure" and released a self-titled album on Feb.

20. Although more than three months remain until merrymakers descend upon Herrin, organizers are already preparing for May 21, when the festival kicks Gentile said organizers looking to build up the volunteer base more this year. "We're increasing the food court this year, redecorating HerrinFesta extensively and we need more volunteers to help us," Gentile said. Volunteers can learn about opportunities to lend their services at the annual volunteer meeting and spaghetti dinner on May 8. "We invite anyone who has volunteered with us in the past and anyone interested in volunteering for us at this year's Festa," said Cris Trapani, president of HerrinFesta Italiana.

Volunteers run the gamut from organizing the festival to volunteering during the event itself, said Trapani, naming off a dozen tasks such as staffing booths and working at the gates and events. "We can't have enough volunteers," Trapani said. "Volunteerism is certainly rampant in Herrin, and we're very thankful for the many volunteers that we have." ashley.wiehlethesouthern.com 997-3356 ext. 5807 Clark will oversee the marketingadvertising wing, which will be entirely staffed by paid student workers representing various colleges across campus. Clark said he's agreed to lead the unit Dunn through December, but after that officials will seek to hire someone to the position permanently.

A salary line for the position has not yet been set. Clark said his role in the effort isn't about money or personal gain but a drive to see SIUC promoting the good things about the campus. "It's a labor of love really," he said. "I get mad when I see the Chicago and St. Louis media bash us.

It's not fair and it's not right." Clark said people in the state and across the country have been i. f-ii i ts CEASAR MARAGN! THE SOUTHERN Marietta Kolisek strolls past election judge Betty Rhine to receive her ballot Tuesday at the Benton Township Community Building where voting was steady throughout the morning. gotten many people out there," he said. Toler said he understands some people hesitate to vote in political primaries to avoid pulling a ticket, STEVE JAHNKE THE SOUTHERN Carbondale Precinct 9 election judge Paula Phemister makes some baby faces while saying goodbye to seven-month-old Clara Barthelme of Creal Springs after her grandparents Al (left) and Dia Parr of Carbondale stopped by the Civic Center to vote in the primary election Tuesday. The Parrs regularly baby-sit Clara every Monday and Tuesday and brought her along for the ride.

Voter participation 'very low' in BY CALEB HALE THE SOUTHERN If you didn't vote in a Southern Illinois municipal primary Tuesday, you're probably in the majority, election officials say. Voter participation across the region was lacking, county clerks reported. They weren't surprised by the low turnout, however; municipal elections, especially primaries, tend to see the fewest number of people cast a ballot. Jackson County Clerk and Recorder Larry Reinhardt said as of Tuesday afternoon, he was seeing the "average" low voter count in the polling places. Vote counts hit a relative high in the 2003 municipal election with 1,900, he said.

Nineteen candidates ran for Carbondale City Council then, spurring more interest, but in the 2004 presidential election primary voter turnout fell to around 1,200. In Union County, County Clerk Bobby Toler Jr. said by 2 p.m. a mere 400 votes had been cast in Anna, the only community running a primary for mayor and city council. Toler characterized it as a "very low turnout." "We've got 11 people running for the city council and three running for mayor, but I don't know, it hasn't I www.thesouthem.com.