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Cruise Night from Above

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Drone photo R.R. Best
Cruise Night from Above
Sullivan Street Machine Association’s 39th annual Cruise Night on the Sullivan square was held Saturday, Sept. 1 and was captured in this drone photo by R.R. Best. The event drew classic show cars and hot rods from the region with more than $1500 in door prizes given away. Young drivers 3-9 competed in a Power Wheels Demo Derby. Bounce houses and a dunk tank offered entertainment for the young with Shovelhead the featured musical act. Boy Scout Troop #39, AmBuC’s and Wood Real Estate Insurance were primary outside sponsors of Cruise Night.

Injuries Plague SOV Football Team in Friday’s Loss to Newton

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Photo by RR Best
SOV quarterback Luke Harlin hands off to junior Dillon Wallace for 25 yards.

•September 5, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

Before the season started, Sullivan-Okaw Valley football coach Jeff Myers said, “Without question, the biggest weakness we have is depth. Staying healthy will be a key to our success.”
This was put to the test early on against Newton Friday night at Victory Field.
“Offensively it was hard to recover when our quarterback (Luke Harlin) went down with a shoulder injury on the second series,” said Myers. “Later in the half we lost our starting running back (Cameron Kesterson) to a concussion.”
Harlin and Kesterson accounted for 100 percent of the Redskins’ offense in week one.
Despite two long passes for touchdowns, Sullivan’s defense played well and kept them in most of the game.
“Defensively, we did some good things, led by some solid defensive line play in Leman Jones and senior Cullen Dyer, but we gave up some big plays through the air, and that’s an area we have to improve,” said Myers.
Sullivan scored its first touchdown of the game with just under 11 minutes left in the second quarter. Read More

Obituaries 9-5-2018: Roger Smith

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Roger Smith

Roger D. Smith, Sr., of Sullivan, passed away at 5:42 p.m. Wednesday August 29, 2018 in Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon.
A Celebration of Life reception was held from 10-11 a.m. Monday in Solid Rock Chapel in Sullivan. Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan was in charge of arrangements.
Roger was born November 15, 1954 in Gadsden, Alabama, the son of Tommy Lee and Virginia P. Lawrence Smith. He had been a machinist at Agri-Fab in Sullivan. Roger married Marilyn Lawhorn November 17, 1974 in Allenville. Read More

A Walk With Mr. Walk – Superintendent-Y Stuff

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•September 5, 2018•

By Ted Walk
Sullivan CUSD #300

As I was reading an article from one of my predecessors, Dr. Richard Voltz, the importance of regular communication with the public was emphasized. He described how he guest-wrote a column for his local newspaper, which just so happened to be the News-Progress.
I feel that keeping the community informed is also an important part of my role, and so this is the inaugural column of Superintendent-y Stuff. It is not the most formal title, but I thought it was fitting, seeing as I was raised in a barn. Technically, I was raised in a house, but I grew up on a hog farm and spent the majority of my waking hours as a kid in a hog barn or a school.
I will take this opportunity to tell a little bit about myself, but I hope it will be a relief to know that this will be the only time as this column is intended to be about our schools and our students. Read More

Obituaries 9-5-2018: Connie Carlyle

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Connie Carlyle

Muriel Constance “Connie” Carlyle, 91, of Bethany, passed away at 9 a.m. Monday, September 3, 2018 in her home.
A funeral service for Connie will be held at noon Saturday, September 8 in the Bethany United Methodist Church with the Rev. Ted Hartley and the Rev. Marge Overlot officiating. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until noon Saturday in the church. Burial will take place in the Marrowbone Township Cemetery in Bethany. McClure Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Taylorville is assisting the Carlyle family with arrangements. Read More

Sullivan Cross Country Teams Place at Invite

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•September 5, 2018•

The Sullivan girls’ and boys’ cross country team each placed 10th in the Charleston Cross Country Invite Saturday.
The girls’ team scored 262 and was led by Katherine Kite who ran a 22:11.86 for 29th place.
Adalee Nichols ran a 23:13.24 for 41st, and Lexie Swaim finished with a time of 25:44.06 for 70th. Read More

Obituaries 9-5-2018: Vera Goodwin

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Vera Goodwin

Vera N. Goodwin, 79, of Sullivan passed away Sunday, September 2, 2018 in Pleasant Meadows Senior Living in Chrisman.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 8 in McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan. Visitation will be held one hour before the services in McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan. Burial will be in French Cemetery in Allenville.
Vera was born January 12, 1939 in Fountain Run, Ky., the daughter of Orion and Ruby Mae Short Robinson. She married Gale Goodwin July 21, 1956 in Allenville. She attended the Southern Baptist Church in Sullivan. She loved her grandchildren and her dogs. Read More

ALAH Volleyball Team Scores Win Over Lady Warriors

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Twitter team photo
ALAH Volleyball team at Lady Warrior Classic.

•September 5, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond volleyball team defeated Villa Grove and Chrisman before finishing fourth in the Casey Westfield Lady Warrior Volleyball Classic.
Saturday, the Knights beat host Casey Westfield but lost to Salt Fork and Unity.
Against Casey Westfield, ALAH lost the first set 25-22 but battled back to take the next two sets, 25-10, 15-12.
Taylor Powell recorded 12 kills, two blocks and six digs, and Marissa Herschberger added four kills, seven digs and 22 assists.
Maria Garza had 14 digs, and Kara Yoder tallied four kills and six digs.
Makenzie Brown had five kills, and Michaela Powell added four aces and three digs. Read More

Knights Strong Offense Couldn’t Overcome Blue Devils

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Photo by Jason Brown
Quarterback Lance Mercer hands off to Billy Fifer during the second quarter against Villa Grove.

•September 5, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond football team could not overcome four turnovers at the end of key drives in its 40-13 loss to Villa Grove/Heritage at Arthur Friday night.
“I believe the score was a little deceiving as to how the game actually was,” said coach Ryan Jefferson. “We had nearly 300 yards on offense and moved it just fine, but we had four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles), with one coming inside our own five after we drove 70 yards, and two others were inside our own 35 yard after driving down the field.”
The Blue Devils scored first, but ALAH answered with 11:25 in the second quarter when Billy Fifer ran 63 yards for the touchdown.
The PAT kick was no good, leaving the score at 7-6.
Villa Grove answered immediately with a kick off return that resulted in a touchdown. The kick was good to extend the lead 14-6.
The Blue Devils scored another rushing touchdown with 3:22 left in the second quarter and were able to pass for another score with only 20.8 seconds to spread to the lead to 27-6 before half. Read More