Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • 1

41) JOURNAL GAZETTE TIMES-COUEIER TUESDAY 11112014 SERVING CHARLESTON, MATTOON SURROUNDING AREAS lllll WWW.JG-TC.COM lllll $1.00 TODAY'S WEATHER jL: I 'I 1 Vf 1 ft i 4825 Decreasing clouds. A 50 percent chance of rain. Breezy. See page A4 for the four-day outlook. fa ft Itu fi mi iilmmmmmm .1 niiiimnnw Rogers i ft.

i i i 1 linTTIIIIIJ I I i Jt I LOCAL Man allegedly left firearm in rental car Mattoon police announce arrests including that of a man accused of leaving a loaded handgun under the seat of a rental car. A3 JlI I I Karsten Burgstahler, Journal Gazettemmesk)urier Speech team takes 5th at tourney Traveling to Normal, the Charleston High School speech team claims fifth place at a 22-team contest. A3 Major Todd Baughman addresses the crowd during Mattoon High School's Veterans Day assembly Monday. The greatest thanks New JG-TC publisher announced PENNY WEAVER News Editor MATTOON An Illinois native has been named the JG-TC 's new publisher. Craig Rogers comes to East Central Illinois most recently from Elkhart, where he served as advertising director at The Elkhart Truth.

He also has served in leadership roles for The Indianapolis Star in Indianapolis, The Journal Star in Peoria, and The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C. "I'm excited to be back in my home state of Illinois," Rogers said Monday. "I look forward to continuing the outstanding journalism of the Journal-Gazette and Times-Courier in serving the community and working with our valued advertisers in building their business." Rogers began his new duties Monday. "I am thrilled to announce Craig Rogers is our new publisher of the JG-TC," said Julie Bechtel, president and publisher, Central Illinois Group, for Lee Enterprises, owner of the JG-TC. "Craig was bom and raised in Illinois and is excited for his family to move back to the state and put down roots in MattoonCharleston.

"His 18 years of experience in the newspaper industry and his previous ownership of his own business position him well for leading the JG-TC team," Bechtel added. Prior to his newspaper experience, Rogers served in sales and marketing roles in the scuba diving industry, owning a dive shop in the Chicago area and working for two equipment manufacturers. Rogers is a past president of the Market Development and Promotion Federation for the Newspaper Association of America. He holds a bachelor's in sports marketing from the University of Wisconsin inOshkosh. Rogers and his wife Diana have two children: Connor, 15, and Annaken, 10.

They plan to relocate to Coles County. Rogers may be reached at or BOOKS Biography aims to bring attention to Hope Wisecracking Bob Hope is the focus of a new book that calls him "the most popular entertainer of the twentieth century." A8 VETERANS DAY EVENTS TODAY Charleston 9 a.m., Carl Sandburg Elementary School students to hold presentation of POWMIA Remembrance Table; the table honors those, be they prisoners of war or those missing in action, who cannot join their families and friends; Booth Library's north foyer, Eastern Illinois University. 10:30 a.m., Veterans Day Commemoration Ceremony at Eastern Illinois University; will include remarks by Derrick Jackson, an EIU student veteran, and EIU President Bill Perry, as well as the laying of a wreath; the ROTC Panther Battalion will render a three-volley salute, and members of the EIU Department of Music will perform the National Anthem and play taps; Old Main's Cougill Foyer. 11 a.m., Veterans Day ceremony, conducted by the Charleston VFW Post; presentation of colors, 21 -gun salute, playing of taps, and singing by Charleston grade school classes; outside the Coles County Courthouse. Martinsville 1:30 p.m., Veterans Day program, Martinsville High School gym, local veterans and other community members are invited to attend.

Mattoon 10 a.m., Veterans Day parade, procession will travel east on Western Avenue and then Broadway Avenue to Peterson Park. 11 a.m.t Veterans Day ceremony, held by Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts, Peterson Park. Noon, Civil War history marker dedication, Wolf Park, 19th Street and Western Avenue. Windsor 11 a.m., Veterans Day service at Windsor Cemetery, held by Garrett Baldrige American Legion Post 725, a potluck lunch will be held afterwards at the post, the entree will be furnished. beliefs that are the very fabric of this great nation," Baughman said.

Only about 1 percent of the nation's population is in the service at any given time, Baughman said. "As you sit here today, ask yourself if not you, then who?" Baughman said. Students also became involved in the assembly the Green Wave Band performed the national anthem, members of the JROTC Color Guard presented the colors and the JROTC Drill Team gave a performance. JROTC Battalion Commander Faithe Butler gave a presentation on Hershel Williams, a surviving Medal of Honor recipient from WWII. To close out the ceremony, Principal Michele Sinclair challenged students to find a way to honor the sacrifice made to protect Americans' freedoms.

"I can think of a few ways that might be helpful living your life in a way that shows respect for people. Living your life in a way that you care about others," she said. "And you take advantage of the privileges and freedoms that we have." Contact Burgstahler at or 217-238-6839. High school honors veterans KARSTEN BURGSTAHLER JG-TC Staff Writer MATTOON -Carol Bell spent six years in the service. And if she had the chance, she'd do it all over again.

"I do not regret one minute I spent in the military. I don't regret it," she said. "The military was wonderful to me." Bell, who served in the Navy from 1955-1961, went through Aviation Prep School to work as an aerial photographer. She ended up developing photos and piecing them together to create maps. After spending much of her time in the darkroom, she became a yeoman in the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps.

Bell, along with the nearly 50 veterans who were honored during Monday's Veterans Day assembly at Mattoon High School, has a story to tell. And during the ceremony, economics teacher Vince Walk recognized each veteran and his or her service. Each name was met with applause, followed by a standing ovation at the end of the list. Major Todd Baughman, TOP THIS! Man claims to be Denzel Washington during arrest MURFREESBORO, Term. (AP) A Tennessee man being arrested on charges of illegal marijuana possession told police he was Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington.

Officers told 21-year-old Justin Lee Seay of Memphis he wasn't fooling anyone and quickly found that he had violated his probation on a separate case. The Daily News Journal reported that police arrested Seay on Monday night after responding to a complaint of noise at his apartment. While being arrested, police say, Seay declared he was Washington. His real identity surfaced after police booked him. Of ficers say they found several bags of marijuana inside the apartment.

Seay was being held in the Rutherford County Jail. Jail records did not list an attorney. 1987-94 and 1997-2011, completing three tours in Iraq during that time. "The veterans' service protects the very document that outlines the ideals and of MHS's ROTC program, also reminded the crowd of the importance of service as he spoke about the history of Veterans Day. Baughman served in the Army from Local man took part in search for Amelia Earhart final resting place of Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10E Special.

Weddell, of Westfield, said his involvement with the search-and-res-cue effort for Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, began as the Lexington was completing its spring cruise and preparing to stop at San Francisco. "We were supposed to be there for the Fourth of July, but we didn't make it. They turned us around just after we made it under the Golden Gate had intended to land, and around Baker Island, an uninhabited atoll in this region. "We searched for six days and never found a trace," Weddell said, adding that he believes Earhart's airplane crashed into the ocean. "That old Pacific Ocean never quits moving and the pieces could have been disbursed over a pretty wide area, vast area." The July 16 entry in Weddell's diary states, "The planes came back and went out again, but nothing was sighted and all seems in vain." "You can feel the frantic back and forth of search and searching, and finally he writes that they are leav- ing," Tina Weddell said of her father's diary entries.

Weddell said his Navy service was later cut short on the Lexington during an accident with a landing Boeing F4B. He said the plane's tail hook made its connection to an arresting cable on the flight deck, but the plane's momentum ROB STROUD JG-TC Staff Writer CHARLESTON Navy veteran Norm Weddell's leather-bound diary is full of entries about his service on the USS Lexington in 1937 service that took a surprising turn on July 3 of that year. The entry written on July 3, 1937, off the coast of Long Beach, Calif, states, "Fueled and took on provisions. Going to search for Amelia." The aircraft carrier and its crew were tasked with helping search for missing aviator Amelia Earhart, who disappeared on July 2 over the central Pacific Ocean while attempting to fly around the world. "That diary entry gives me chills every time I read it," said the veteran's daughter, Tina Weddell of Charleston.

"I always found that statement (about the search) to be very poignant." On Saturday, Weddell displayed his diary and scrapbook about his service while his extended family was in town for a visit. These reminiscences followed recent national news reports about the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery's efforts to locate the Weddell 'V5 COME BACK TOMORROW Catch up on the latest in agricultural news and issues via the Farm page. Bridge," Weddell said, adding that he did not grumble about the sudden change in mission. "There is one way the Navy way and you do what they want you to do." The carrier spent six days at sea in the search area around where the International Date Line and the equator cross, he said. Temperatures there averaged 108 degrees per day during the search, he noted.

Weddell said they searched around the site, Howland Island, where Earhart Submitted photos Pictured Is the USS Lexington. Norm Weddell was serving on this aircraft car-rler when It was sent to help search for Amelia Earhart. EARHARTA2 INSIDE TODAY Advice A6 Classifieds B5-6 Comics B4 Horoscopes A4 Local A3 Lottery -A4 Markets B3 Obituaries B7 Opinions -A5 6 ll 181 34 a. 1 37th Year, Number 248 BREAKING NEWS, COMMENTARY, MULTIMEDIA AND MORE WWW. JG-TGCOM 217-235-5656 41.