News Progress

Local youth lead book discussions and showcase program’s value

•April 2, 2025•

by DM Williamee

On Monday, March 24th, One Book, One Sullivan met at Sullivan’s First United Methodist Church for their reading of the book, “The Lost Year” by author Katherine Marsh. The event was very well attended, with nearly one hundred participants and an atmosphere alternating between lively and serious. 

Rikki Ray and Rebecca Powell greeted the community while also moving from table to table as the discussions took place. Ms. Ray shared, “I loved the conversations between the adults and the students about listening to your grandparents’ stories and learning about your family history. One table was discussing what people learned from the book. Ann Wheeler talked to the kids about not wasting food, as she firmly believes in eating what is on your plate and not throwing food out. When we think about people starving around the world, this thought becomes very important.” Ms. Ray continued, “Some of the adults debated whether or not they liked the character Matthew in the story. We learned earlier that day in the live-stream reading with the author that Mat-thew was not even in Katherine Marsh’s original writing of the book, which she began in 2019. Then Covid happened. At that point she added in the character, Matthew, to help kids connect the story to their real-life experiences. For me, the relationship that blooms between Matthew and (his?) Grandma is so touching. I feel the unpacking of Grandma’s belongings is a metaphor for unpacking Grandma’s life story. I overheard Dr. Walk telling kids that doing the right thing…even when it is hard, was a theme he took away.”

•March 19, 2025•

After two years in production, the feature documentary, “The Farmer’s Daughter” is now ready to touch the hearts of all who see it.

“The Farmer’s Daughter” follows the life of former television news anchor Tara Barrett-Duzan as she carries on her father’s farming legacy in east central Illinois. When tragedy hit her family, Tara made the decision to move from the anchor seat to the tractor seat.

“It was a little strange,” smiles Tara Barrett-Duzan. “They told me a camera crew was going to follow me for an entire year. I have to be honest and say that I really dreaded it. But I trusted Scot and I knew if he was involved that it was going to be something special.”

The film is directed by Barrett’s former co-anchor, Scot England. Kylie Daniel, who owns Half Moon Digital in Shelbyville, was in charge of the documentary’s filming and editing.