Hardin County Independent

12/10/2025

Wednesday, 12/10/25
The Cave-In-Rock Ferry will be OPEN starting at 5:00 pm.

12/10/2025

***ATTENTION***

Wednesday, 12/10/2025
The Cave-In-Rock Ferry is CLOSED due to high west winds causing rough river conditions.

12/08/2025

12/08/2025

12/06/2025

Rosiclare’s new K-9 Spartan and Officer Brian Burton are crushing it in training! Read the story about how Spartan came to Rosiclare {and will serve the County too} in the 11/27/25 Hardin County Independent.

Introducing our new class of students- First up, meet Spartan. There are some dogs whose stories punch you in the chest the moment you hear them. Spartan is one of those dogs.

When we first learned about him, he was an emaciated malinois sitting in a high-kill shelter… terrified, misunderstood, and already written off as “aggressive” because he liked to jump. He was one checkmark away from being another body in a black bag. Just a number. Just one more dog nobody bothered to truly see.

But then came a miracle disguised as a family. One of the volunteers at the shelter and good friends of our program the Melingers — and Erica Dewey-Melinger, especially — saw him. She looked into that kennel and didn’t see a problem. She saw a soul begging for one person, just one, to take a chance. She asked if he would be a good fit for our program- easiest decision ever. She even fostered him for us until he could get placed with an officer.

Their family fed him. They soothed him. They showed him what safety felt like for the first time in who knows how long. Her family didn’t foster Spartan — they rescued him in the deepest sense of the word. They loved him when the world didn’t think he was worth the space he took up. And that love is the reason he’s alive today. Because now…Now Spartan is here with us. And he is crushing canine school.

The same dog condemned as “too much,” “too wild,” “too risky” is now showing every single day why he should have never been discarded. He’s driven. He’s focused. He’s gentle. He’s smart. He’s sweet. He’s everything a working dog should be — and then some. And soon… he’ll be headed to an out-of-state agency where he will serve, protect, and change lives.

A dog that almost died for nothing will soon live for something great. This is why we fight. This is why we never, ever accept the word “unwanted.” Because somewhere out there right now is another Spartan — alone, scared, mislabeled — who needs someone to see him. To the Melinger family, and especially to Erica: You didn’t just save a dog. You created a future. You gave purpose to a life that almost ended before it began.

Spartan should have been gone, but he wasn’t.
Because the right people stepped in at the right time and refused to let the world erase him. Cry for where he came from. Cheer for where he’s going.

12/05/2025

https://www.hardincoindependent.com/2025/12/05/obituary-of-rev-arthur-t-austin/

Obituary of Rev. Arthur T. Austin, Jr By Editor | December 5, 2025 | 0 Rev. Arthur T. Austin, Jr, 91, of Cave-In-Rock, IL passed away on Thursday, December 4, 2025. Junior was born to Rev. Arthur T. Austin, Sr and Verdna Barnard Austin on July 8, 1934 in Cave-In-Rock, IL and was delivered by his gra...

12/04/2025

https://www.hardincoindependent.com/2025/12/04/arrowleaf-angel-tree-program-faces-record-need-for-local-children/

Arrowleaf Angel Tree Program faces record need for local children By Editor | December 4, 2025 | 0 Community help urgently needed by December 10 December 4, 2025 – Arrowleaf’s annual Angel Tree holiday program is facing a record-breaking year of need, with 505 children referred for gifts from ac...

12/04/2025

It’s PAPER DAY!
(12-4-25)

Wow, how did it get to be December and be so cccooolllldddd? .... brrr

In this week’s paper you will read about ...

• HCHS Homecoming candidates, attendants and information
• Homecoming Spirit Week schedule and Elementary Christmas Dress Up schedule
• Coverage from the Rosiclare Lights Parade and events from the night (See more Santa pics in the 12/11 paper)
• Info about when Santa is coming to back to our towns
• info about the upcoming Spirit of Saint Nicholas Day at St. Joseph of the Woods Catholic Church
• info about Down Home Christmas in Elizabethtown 12/13.
• picture and names of HCHS cheerleaders
• story from Jack Bullock on Cougars vs NCOE
• Board minutes
• Students of the month for jr. high and high school
• Deer harvest stastics and a picture of a cute little deer hunter with her first harvest
• Winner of the Bob’s Food Market gift certificate from The Bladed Raven Studio
• “The Volunteer” Chapter 12 - Hope you are enjoying serial fiction from a local author (under a pen name)
• Church news
• Riverside Reflections about hunting in Hardin County (so good!)
• Coverage of HCHS College and Career Fair
• Read about how this area is put on the map thanks to the ORSB during America 250 Illinois.
• Kunath’s Hardware Case Knives catalog is inserted in this week’s paper!

If you are planning to buy a subscription as a gift for a friend, family or neighbor, please give us a call at 618-287-2361. You can also subscribe online.

CHRISTMAS GREETING TIME! If you want to place a Christmas Greeting ad in the Dec. 11 or Dec. 18 papers, call me ASAP! I am working on them today!

12/03/2025

Now is the time to order yours. I will be working on them this week! [email protected] or call 618-287-2361

12/02/2025

https://www.hardincoindependent.com/2025/12/02/obituary-of-mark-lewis/

Obituary of Mark Lewis By Editor | December 2, 2025 | 0 January 1, 1956 – November 27, 2025 Mark Lewis, age 69, passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 27, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of quiet strength and unwavering loyalty to the people he loved. Born on January 1, 1956, Mark entered the ...

11/30/2025

6th upload to album courtesy of Tony Lane ❤️