Area Breaking News

April 2026 – Russell and Keri Foster, new owners of the newly named THE FISH DOCK RIVER RESTAURANT.   By Jennifer Lane, Editor Hardin County Independent  Docked on the Illinois side of the Ohio River and cherished by generations of locals and visitors, Elizabethtown’s floating river restaurant is beginning a new chapter. Now reopened as…

K9 Spartan’s safety and health enhanced due to generous gifts  Rosiclare Chief of Police Brian Burton announced that K9 Spartan is fully certified. On May 1, 2026, the duo traveled to the Mobile Team Unit (MTU) #10 in Decatur, Illinois where Spartan aced the Illinois Tube Test. The Illinois Tube Test is an annual, mandatory,…

    Eighty-two years after his ultimate sacrifice in WW II, Pvt. Lowell Rotes was honored May 8, 2026 in Jolivet, France for his part in the town’s liberation   By Jennifer Lane, Editor Compiled from the research of Pierre Simonet and Véronique Simonet of Jolivet, France. PLEASE SEE PHOTOS AT THE END OF THIS STORY.…

Hardin County Sheriff J.T. Fricker, Hardin County Resident Judge Tara Cook, Rosiclare Chief of Police Brian Burton (handler) and K9 Spartan. By Jennifer Lane, Editor On Monday morning, Hardin County Resident 2nd Circuit Judge Tara Cook presented a medal to K9 Spartan and his handler, Rosiclare Chief of Police Brian Burton, for Spartan’s first life-saving…

  Above left – City of Rosiclare Mayor Roy Tolbert, Rosiclare Police Officer Brian Burton and K-9 Spartan receiving contribution to go to purchase of a K-9 vehicle. Above right -Spartan in his fully equipped K-9 vehicle.   L- Hardin County Sheriff J.T. Fricker’s Department contributing to the cost of K-9 vehicle. Pictured with Rosiclare…

  “The Volunteer” By Charlotte M. Casey Editor’s Note: The Hardin County Independent is proud to announce a new feature to the newspaper, a publication of serial fiction. Each week and throughout a portion of the year, readers will have the opportunity to read a chapter of the book, “The Volunteer,” until finished! The first…

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Heather Rash and Jennifer Lane.   — Aida Barnard photo.   By Jennifer Lane Editor/Publisher In March 2023, I entered the Hardin County Independent in the Southern Illinois Editorial Association (SIEA) Better Newspaper Contest for a fourth year in a row. In September, I attended the Southern Illinois Editorial Association’s General Meeting and Awards Ceremony at…

2022 – Hardin County Independent staff win SIEA awards, l-r: Jesse G. “Skipper” Farley, Heather Rash, 2022 Master Editor Julia Hurford Farley, Jennifer Lane, and Aida Barnard. 2022 – Julia Hurford Farley presented the 2022 Southern Illinois Editorial Association Master Editor award by SIEA President Travis Lott.   Hardin County Independent’s Lane and Rash won…

    2021 Christmas photo of sisters, Heather Rash and Jennifer Rash Lane, who run the Independent. Heather and Jennifer are daughters of former editor/publisher Julia Hurford Farley and granddaughters of former editor/publisher Noel E. Hurford and wife Betty. — Desi McBee photo. By Jennifer Lane Editor/Publisher In March 2021, I entered the Hardin County…