MT. VERNON, IL (KFVS) - The U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education and special assistant for community colleges will be in Mt. Vernon for a round table discussion on September 19.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Tony Miller and Sue Liu, special assistant for community colleges in the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, will travel to Continental Tire’s production facility in Mt. Vernon, Ill., where they will tour the facility and lead a roundtable discussion with representatives from the company, Rend Lake College, and other local business and education leaders.

This is part of the U.S. Department of Education’s third annual back-to-school bus tour.

The roundtable discussion will focus on partnerships that have been forged among community colleges, businesses, and industry in the area and the connection between education and jobs.

CARBONDALE, IL (KFVS) - Southern Illinois University Carbondale will honor 294 retirees at a retirement ceremony and reception on Wednesday, August 29.

According to SIUC, the ceremony will be in the Student Center Ballroom B. It starts at 6 p.m., with a reception following in the John W. Corker Lounge.

Chancellor Rita Cheng and her husband, Tom Cheng, will host the evenings' festivities which honors employees who retired between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012.

SIUC says the employees leaving during this time have 7,026 years of combined experience with the university. Of those retirees 225 have 20 or more years with the university, 59 have 30 or more years and two employees each have 43 years.

The retirees are listed below by SIUC by hometowns and years of service:

ILLINOIS

Albany