12/31/11
Sosh's WRUS program called 'Sunday with the Savior'
The new radio ministry of Lon Sosh will begin Sunday, Jan, 1, at 6:30 a.m., the station he formerly owned.and on which he was a popular air personality and sportscaster. The 30-minute program will be called "Sunday with the Savior.”

12/29/11
St. Mary's, Bullitt Central win FSNB Classic titles
Bullitt Central used precision passing and long-range shooting in beating host Russellville 64-50 for the championship of the FSNB Christmas Classic Thursday, The Cougars led most of the way but the margin was just 6 after a 3-pointer by RHS' Derion Callawaywith 6:30 remaining. Coach Joe Pat Lee's team did everything right to close it out. Davis Pardue led the Panthers with 10. Ryan Schnellenberger had 20 and point guard supreme Caleb Craddock added 17 for the winners.
The Russellville Lady Panthers breezed to a win in the 5th place game over Trimble County. Coach Dedra Adler's team was led by Amber Sydnor and Imani Hampton. Paducah St. Mary's beat two-time defending champ Middlesboro for the girls title.
Logan County's teams lost close third-place games. The Lady Cougars fell by two to Mayfield while the Cougars were edged by three in double overtime by Louisville Fern Creek, It was the 2nd double OT game in 24 hours for the winners and the 2nd OT game in three days for the Cougars. Coach Scott MacAllister's Lady Cougars came within 3 points of the champs Wednesday in overtime.

12/28/11
Panthers win in 2nd OT, earn 4th straight title berth
Senior Davis Pardue, usually deadly at the foul line, struggled in the late going Wednesday night before clinching the Russellville Panthers’ 4th straight appearance in the finals of the FSNB Christmas Classic. The Panthers had hit 20 of 22 free throws and had Pardue on the line to give RHS an insurmountable lead in regulation, but he missed both tries. The same situation arose in the 1sr OT, and again he missed a pair. But in the second extra period, he hit 5 straight foul shots as the home team beat Louisville Fern Creek 80-72. Pardue finished with 21 points, Zach Hines added 17, Jordan Kennedy 12, and Josh Hampton & Derion Callaway 11 each.Michael Parrish & Jermaine Lee each scored 16 for the Tigers, who will play Logan County for 3rd at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at RHS.
Russellville will meet the Bullitt Central Cougars in the championship game at 7:30. .Bullitt Central outscored Logan County 16-3 to end the first half leading 38-25, Logan cut the final score to 68-59. The Cougars were without injured guard Landon Stratton, and senior guard Ryan Harper was in foul trouble by the second minute of the game. Coach Harold Tackett tried Aaratan Martin, Matt Harper and Kyle Jaynes at the guard opposite Avrey Collier. Sujuan Watkins kept the Cougars in contention early and Torin Graham had a good second half.
Coach Joe Pat Lee's Bullitt Central team is well coached. They move the ball precisely on offense and step into passing lanes on defense. One of the key players is Luke Whittemore, the grandson of retired Russellville Methodist Temple pastor Fred Whittemoreand his wife Mildred. Ryan Schnellenberger is a long-range shooter and Caleb Craddock the floor general.

Lady Cougars fall 49-46 to St. Mary's in OT
After leading at the first two stops by a point, the Logan County Lady Cougars fell 49-46 to Paducah St. Mary's in the semifinals of the FSNB Christmas Classic Wednesday. Logan's Laura Hunt hit a free throw with 1.6 seconds left in regulation to force the extra period.Jaylin Jones' 3-pointer tied it with 3:12 in OT, but Coach Elgie Green's Lady Vikings scored 6 of the next 7 points. Jones led Logan with 12 points while Kapreisha Powell, Shannon MacAllister and Hunt each had 8. Rachel Guess led the winners with 11. Logan will play for 3rd place at home at 5 p.m.

Lady Panthers get Classic win, to play for 5th
Coach Dedra Adler's Russellville Lady Panthers beat a team from Tennessee Wednesday to earn a berth in Thursday's fifth place game in the FSNB Christmas Classic. After losing 54-46 to Mayfield Tuesday, RHS won over West Creek 58-47 to earn a berth in the losers' bracket finals at 2:30 tomorrow against Trimble County. The return of standout point guard Amber Sydnor helped the cause. She had 23 points and Imani Hampton added 12.

Lon Sosh saying bye to Big Daddy for ministry
Lon Sosh , who has been a fixture in radio for over half a century, is leaving being a WRUS air personality to spend more time on evangelism. He and his wife Dartha worship in Deerlick, but he is available to speak at whatever church would like to hear his message. Sosh, who has undergone many health problems in the past couple of years, is retiring his Big Daddy Bob Alou personality but will begin a Christian program this Sunday at 6:30 a.m.on WRUS. Tim Harris, who has filled in frequently during Sosh's absences, is now officially the host of the 2-6 p.m. time slot weekdays.

12/2711
Logan teams sweep FSNB Classic openers
Logan County's teams won their First Southern National Bank Christmas Classic openers at home Tuesday in different styles. The Lady Cougars led Jackson County 33-10 at halftime and won 60-21. The Cougars needed an overtime to win 80-72 over a very athletic team from Chicago. Jaylin Jones scored 16 and Megan Hardison 12 for the Lady Cougars. Coach Scot MacAllister played all 14 Lady Cougars and 10 of them scored.
Percy Julian High led much of the boys game, including 65-59 with 2 minutes in regulation. The Cougars tied it and had a chance to win. Cougar senior guard Ryan Harper scored the first 4 points of OT. The Jaguars had to play catch-up the rest of the way. For Logan,Sajuan Watkins had 23 points and 13 rebounds. Twin Lancaster added 20 points & Torin Graham and Harper 10 each. Aratan Martin had 9 points and 10 rebounds. Dion Irvin scored 21 and long-range shooter Devin Taylor 19 for the Jaguars.
Coach Harold Tackett utilized a platoon system, starting Lancaster, Watkins, Graham, Avrey Collier and Landon Stratton with Martin, Harper, J.R. Morrow, Clint Knight and Matt Harper relieving them as a group three times.

Panthers beat West Creek to open FSNB Classic
Host Russellville jumped out to a 20-4 first-quarter lead, saw it cut to 10 at halftime and led West Creek only 55-45 with two minutes remaining in the game. Coach Dennis Pardue's team then scored 7 of the game’s last 8 points, highlighted by Zach Hines' defensive rebound and length-of-the-court drive for a 62-47 win. Jordan Kennedy scored 22 and Davis Pardue 10 while Hines had 10 points and 7 rebounds. DeAnthony Smith led the Tennesseans with 25 points and Phillip Smith added 14.
Coach Dedra Adler's Lady Panthers lost by a single point to Mayfield in the nigthcap. Russellville was playing without veteran guardAmber Sydnor, who was reportedly bruised after an automobile accident the day before.

12/26/11
FSNB Christmas Classic starts play Tuesday
Featuring what is believed to be the strongest boys field in its history, the First Southern National Bank Classic begins Tuesday and ends 24 games later Thursday night. Four games will be held at both the Logan County and Russellville gyms (two each of boys and girls) each day. The host teams' Tuesday schedule: Panther boys vs. West Creek at 1 p.m.; LCHS girls vs. Jackson County at 6; RHS girls vs. Mayfield at 6:30; and Cougar boys vs, Julian of Chicago at 7:30. Local teams play in their own gyms. WRUS and Roy's Bar-B-Q are co-sponsors.

12/22/11
Panthers fall in close tournament game Thursday
Graves County edged the Russellville Panthers by four points in the second round of the Hardees Classic at Warren East Thursday after the Panthers won their opener 65-54 over Garrard County on Wednesday. Zach Hines scored 17 and Jordan Kennedy 12 in that opener...The Logan County Cougars finished 1-3 in the Bowl-ing Green tournament with all four games close.

12/21/11
Steelman part of Showtime military feature tonight
Former Bowling Green quarterback Trent Steelman will be part of a Showtime documentary at 9 tonight about football players at the military academies. The son of veteran Russellville Carpenter Co. salesman Bob Steelman has been the Army quarterback since the first game of his freshman year. He is the only Army 1st-year guy to start every game and has been the starting qb for all three seasons. "Trent is everything that they are saying about him in the media, tough as nails and such a competitor," says Diane Walker, noting many Carpeter co-workers are looking forward to the program. President Barack Obama watched the Army-Navy game in person.

Christmas concert offered tonight at Crossroads
A free Christmas Concert will begin at 7 p.m. today at Cross-roads Church. Worship will be led by Christian recording artistTrent Monk. Praise teams from Elk Llick Baptist Church, Crossroads Church and Hillview Heights will participate. Speakers will include Dana Reed, Chris Cowan, Calvin Naylor and Toby Baptiste. The evening has been organized by Toby and Kyleen Baptiste of Impact-Change.org.

12/20/11
Cougars, Lady Panthers open tournament play today
The Logan County Cougars have two games scheduled today in the Citizens First Holiday Classic at Bowling Green High. LCHS plays Franklin County at 3 p.m. and Owensboro Senior at 7. The Russellville Panthers begin play in the Hardees Classic at Warren East with a 10:30 a.m. game against Garrard County. The Russellville Lady Panthers will take on Bardstown in the Caverna Lady Colonels Christmas Tournament tonight at 6:30. Logan County girls play a home regular season game tonight against Tennessee team West Creek,

12/18/11
Romeo Crennel leads Chiefs to win over Packers
The end of the Green Bay Packers' attempt to finish a perfect season Sunday has local ties. Romeo Crennel, who was elevated to head coach this week, led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 19-13 win over the defending Super Bowl champs. Crennel was in Russellville two years ago this fall, the houseguest of General Jerry Humble and his wife Margaret. Humble was a teammate at WKU with Crennel, as were fellow former Panthers Mike Humble, Brad Watson & Toby Nichols. He later coached Watson and the late Larry Duffey. Crennel formerly was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. He spoke to the 2009 RHS football team during his stay in Logan County.

East withstands barrage by RHS' Kennedy & Hampton
Despite 22 points by Jordan Kennedy and 19 from Josh Hampton, the Russellville Panthers fell 64-58 at Warren East Friday. The Raiders led by 13 at the half, but Kennedy got 14 of his total points in the third period. RHS took the lead on two free throws by
Davis Pardue , but the Raiders' Tadd Dunn hit a trio of treys to give East the lead for keeps. East improved to 5-1, and RHS fell to 4-2 in the final game before holiday tournaments begin.

12/16/11
Cougars beat Todd Central to go 2-0 in district
The Logan County Cougars jumped out to 13-0 lead and beating visiting Todd Central 80-55 Friday to run their record to 5-2, including 2-0 in the 13th District. Twin Lancaster led Coach Harold Tackett's team with 21 points while Sajuan Watkinsadded 15, 13 of them coming in the second half. Torin Graham added 14. Coach Calvin Head’s Rebels were led by Michael Rager with 19and John Michael Brown and C.J. Broderick with 10 each.
12/15/11
Panthers knock off undefeated Barren County
The Russellville Panthers knocked visiting Barren County from the undefeated list Thursday night, beating the Trojans 76-70 behind 23 points by Jordan Kennedy's 23 points and 15 rebounds. It was the second victory for the Panthers in three days with Nathan Thompson as acting head coach in the absence of Coach Dennis Pardue, who is serving a 3-game suspension for his actions in the Todd Central game.

LCHS athletic upgrade II put on hold by board
The Logan County Board of Education took no action on proposed improvements to the Logan County High School athletic complex at Tuesday's meeting. Board Chairman Kenny Robertson said the necessary expense of replacing the roof on the oldest part of Auburn School may have been the deciding factor in a lack of support for improvements to the football field and track plus the construction of a soccer field. New bleachers are already in place in the main gym, and a favorable bid will allow the purchase of new bleachers for the softball and baseball fields.

Lady Cougars' illness postpones Todd girls game
Because of widespread illness among the Lady Cougars, Friday's scheduled district Logan County game against visiting Todd Central, Athletic Director Hugh McReynolds has announced. He said the team only has four healthy players now, complicated by an injury to senior Polly Cowan. The boys' game will now be a JV/V doubleheader. The girls game has been rescheduled for Jan. 21.

12/13/11
Panthers win 68-57 at Allen County-Scottsville
The Russellville Panthers put four players in double figures Tuesday in a 68-57 win at Allen County. Jordan Kennedy and Davis Pardue each scored 14, Zach Hines 13 and Josh Hampton 12. Josh Jones scored 28 for the Patriots.... The Lady Panthers lost 55-30 despite 12 points by Amber Sydnor.

Visiting Glasgow holds off Cougars 69-65
Glasgow won 69-65 at Logan County Tuesday in a fast-paced game that had 8 lead changes & 9 ties. Logan dominated inside as Coach Jeff Hall's Scotties played without two of their big men, but Glasgow guards Quinten Ellis and Parker Cash combined for 35 points. Sajuan Watkins had 17, Twin Lancaster 16, Torin Graham 15 and Aratan Martin 13 for 61 Logan's points.... Coach Justin Stinson's Lady Scotties won 64-26 with Hailey Perkins and Shalika Smith scoring 17 each. Kapreshai Powelltopped Logan with 12 points.

12/12/11
Lady Panthers win at Central, go to 2-0 against 14th District
Behind 15 points and 13 rebounds by Imani Hampton--most of them coming in the second half--the Russellville Lady Panthers won 52-50 at Warren Central Monday night. Amber Sydnor, who got in early foul trouble, added 9 points and 4 rebounds.Lariah Stockton, daughter of former Olmstead and WKU star Lillie Mason, had 13 points for the Lady Dragons. CoachDedra Adler's RHS team is 2-0 again Warren County schools.

Australian aluminum firm to invest $25 million in Logan
MHM, an Australian-based firm which recycles aluminum scrap, will spend $25.1 million to buy and remodel the old ITW-Shake-proof plant on the Clarksville Road, Gov. Steve Beshear said in Russellville Monday. Known as Alreco, the company will create 30 jobs initially with more to come later. LEAD Executive Director Tom Harned, LEAD President Chris Milam, and Logan Judge-Executive Logan Chick participated in the announcement. Complete details on the selection process appear in a full story on the announcement in the Articles section of The LoJo, thanks to news releases provided by Paula Timberlake of LEAD with pictures by Lisa Browning of the Chamber of Commerce..

12/9/11
Panthers pull away from Todd Central 73-55
Russellville outscored Todd Central 28-15 in the fourth period on the way to a 73-55 road win. Davis Pardue and Josh Hampton each scored 11 points while Darrion Quarles, Derion Calloway and Josh Kennedy added 10 each. It was a rough night for the Pardues. Davis Pardue was injured on a play early in the second quarter and his dad, Coach Dennis Pardue, drew two technical fouls for complaining about the play and was ejected from the game. Todd scored six points on that posession but the Panthers went on a 15-4 run after that. RHS led just 28-26 at the half.

Cougars complete sweep at Franklin-Simpson
With Twin Lancaster scoring 24 points and grabbing 14 boards and Sajuan Watkins adding 16 points, the Logan County Cougars beat Franklin-Simpson 63-44 in the first district game in the Wildcats' new gym. The Cougars, now 3-1 on the season, out-scored F-S 17-6 in the fourth quarter.
Lady Cougars win in Franklin's new gym 44-32
The Logan County Lady Cougars won the first game ever played by a team from the Land of Logan in Franklin-Simpson's new gym 44-32 Friday. Jaylin Jones had 13 points by halftime. F-S' new coach is former Cougar Josh Matthews.
Meanwhile the Russellville Lady Panthers fell 70-41 at Todd Central. The Lady Rebels led by 17 at halftime even though Jazzy Elliott had 8 points. The margin was 16, despite Amber Sydnor's 17 points. Logan hit only 8 of 22 free throws while Todd went 15 of 20 at the line. Coach Dedra Adler's Lady Panthers were coming off an almost 50-point win over Warren East.

12/8/11
Ribbon cutting Friday for Logan County Ag Arena
The Logan County Chamber of Commerce will conduct a ribbon cutting for the new Logan County Ag Arena Friday at 8:30 a.m. Built through the leadership of the Cattlemen's Association with financial help from government sources, the massive arena is located across John Paul Drive from the Farmers Market at the UK Ag Complex. The public is welcome at all Chanber ribbon cuttings

Farmers Market Christmas Bake and Craft Show
The 8^th annual Farmers Market Christmas Bake and Craft Show will be held Friday and Saturday at the Logan County Extension Office. Homemade crafts and foods will be available. A free soup lunch will be served each day from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Among the vendors will be Wanda Grayson, Elaine Turner, Ali Robertson, and Jeanine Slaughter. Hours Friday are 9-5 and Saturday 9-2.

12/7/11
Logan's Sye Head named first team All-State
Logan County's Sye Head, who finished fifth in the state cross country meet, has been named first team All-State in Class AA by the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association, his coach, Greg Howard, has announced.
12/6/11
Lancaster's double-double leads Cougars' win
Twin Lancaster scored 25 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead Logan County to a 75-68 win over visiting Henderson County Tuesday. Sajuan Watkins added 19 points and Torin Graham 17 for the Cougars. The lead was five at the half.Landon Stratton's steal put Logan up by 13 after three quarters, and Watkins scored on an assist from Ryan Harper to make it 62-47 before the Colonels mounted a comeback. Reserve Jermaine Langley led HCHS with 23 while Jake Baker added 10.

Franklin's Gooch leads Lady Toppers past La Tech
Freshman Chasity Gooch, who dominated the 13th District the last four years at Franklin-Simpson, made her first career start for Western Kentucky University Monday night, and responded with a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lady Toppers to a 69-54 victory over Louisiana Tech in the 29th Annual BB&T Classic Game at Diddle Arena. La Tech was Western's fiercest rival for many years when Coach Leon Barmore's Lady Techsters were in the Sun Belt Conference.

12/5/11
Watkins scores 39 in opening Cougars' win
Senior Sajuan Watkins scored 39 points and Twin Lancaster 26 as the Logan County Cougars beat visiting Warren East 90-84 in double overtime Friday for Logan's first win of the season. Coach Harold Tackett's team has a full week, entertaining Henderson County Tuesday, opening district play at Franklin-Simpson Friday and against Webster County at Hopkins County Central Saturday afternoon. Coach Lex Lindsey is in the process of getting Franklin's football players into a basketball mode following Saturday's loss to Fort Thomas Highlands in the state grid finals.
12/4/11
RHS grad, Journalism Hall of Famer Jack Lyne dies
Kentucky Journalism Hall of Famer Jack Lyne died unexpectedly Saturday in a Florida hospital, two days after undergoing a hip replacement. Mr. Lyne was a 1962 graduate of Russellville High School where he was a standout in basketball. After graduating from the University of Kentucky School of Journalism, he worked for the Louisville Public Schools and for CNN before becoming editor of Site Selection magazine, which is important in industrial development.
Jack Lyne, who was the brother of June Robinson of Russellville, was the son of Commonwealth Attorney Jim Lyne and the great-nephew of political legend Doc Beauchamp and the grandson of Judge J.T. and Allie Mae Linton. Mrs. Linton was the first female state representative from Logan County. An article by Lyne and Al Smith's comments about his induction into the Hall of Fame can be found in the April 2010 Archives of The LoJo.

12/3/11
deGraffenried Chorale Christmas concert Sunday
The deGraffenried Chorale will present its 33rd annual Christmas concert “Here We Come a-Caroling,” 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the United Methodist Temple of Russellville..Instrumentalists will be Susan Fox and Susan Allpress, flute. Featured soloists will be Myra Alcott, Anne Crawford, Mary Beth Dowden, John Kees, Iris Walton Perez, Karen Russell and Robert Stuart. Mary Beth Dowden is the Chorale director. The concert is free.

Patrick Whitmer to introduce NBA-calibre talent
When Russellville High School graduate Patrick Whitmer introduces the lineups for the North Carolina-Kentucky basketball game today, he will get practice for an NBA job if he wants it. A total of eight players listed in ESPN's top 21 NBA prospects will be on the floor. From top-ranked UK, they are Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones & Marquis Teague. From former @1 UNC are Harrison Barnes, John Henson, James McAdoo and Tyler Zeller. Game time here is 11 a.m. on Channel 5. Whitmer has been public address announcer at Rupp Arena for several years.

Mayfield, Glasgow fall in state football finals
Teams from western Kentucky found home area advantage didn't help Friday in the Kentucky football state championship games at Feix Field in Bowling Green. Mayfield, which plays in Russellville's Class 1A district, saw its 29-game win streak mauled by Hazard 24-6 in a rematch of last year's state finals. Glasgow led 7-6 mid-way through the second quarter but lost 33-14 to Covington Holy Cross. Louisville Trinity, one of the nation's top teams, rolled over Scott County by 41 points. The other two teams in the original SKY League besides RHS and Glasgow play in state finals today with Franklin-Simpson meeting four-time defending state champ Fort Thomas Highlands at 3 p.m. and Bowling Green taking on Anderson County tonight. Former Logan County athlete Brian Holloman is middle school coach at Anderson County.

12/2/11
Auburn Christmas Homes Tour slated Saturday
The Auburn Historical Society will hold its annual Homes Tour from 2-5 p.m. Participants should come to the Auburn Museum at 2 p.m. to purchase their tickets for $10. The tour will begin at the museum and feature the old school house, barn and cabin. Then participants will tour the homes of Roy & Marilyn Anderson, Andy & Teri Britt and Lee & Jill Blythe. All funds raised will go to the Auburn Historical Society.
12/1/11
Christmas at Shakertown set this weekend
One of Kentucky’s finest antique and craft markets will be held the next two days, the first weekend in December as always. Christmas at Shakertown features over 30 regional antique vendors and artists, all nestled in the historic atmosphere of the South Union Shaker Village. The Preview Party is Friday from 7-9 p.m. Enjoy coffee and desserts and listen to Christmas carols being sung by the South Union Shaker Quartet. Reservations are required: $10 per person. Saturday hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The admission: A canned food item or donation to be distributed to those in need.