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“Young Frankenstein” at The Little Theatre on the Square is Electrifying!

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•August 8, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

Mel Brooks has always described ‘Young Frankenstein” as his best film. So, when he successfully turned his ‘The Producers” into a Broadway musical, it seemed only natural to follow suit with a musical version of “Young Frankenstein”.
This is vintage, madcap, bawdy Brooks with outrageous double entendres and asides aplenty. When Frederick arrives at his grandfather’s castle, he sees the enormous door knockers and exclaims, ‘Wow! What a great pair of knockers!” to which his voluptuous German assistant Inga coos, “Oh, zank you Doctor.” So, hold on to your sides and laugh the evening away.
Director Peter Marinaro has done a brilliant and masterful job of orchestrating this complicated musical with many scene changes, ensemble numbers, costume changes, hilarious props and pyrotechnics that all come off without a hitch. The use of the new screen for black and white background film is especially stunning. Read More

D.C. All Wheel Winners

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•August 8, 2018•

Dalton City All Wheel Extravaganza results from July 22 include Participant Choice Top 5 vehicles: Randy Goodrich - 48 Pontiac Woody; Rick Beauchamp-57 Chevy; Kent Ghast - 32 Ford; Steve Holsapple - 62 Vette; Ron Long - 50 Mercury. Motorcycle winner was 2008 Harley owned by Greg Luth and 52 Ram Farmall tractor owned by Steve Smith.
There were 105 entries in this year’s All Wheel Extravaganza.

Back to School: Make Safety a Top Priority

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•August 8, 2018•

Safety in our schools and on our college campuses is a right every student and family should expect. As students from pre-kindergarten to college prepare to head back to school, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and local emergency management agencies across the state are reminding educators about the recent recommendations of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force School Safety Working Group. The group’s 13 recommendations are designed to help make Illinois schools safer. These recommendations were presented to Governor Bruce Rauner in May 2018, and are available online for the public to review. Read More

County Farm Rent Bids Opened

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•August 8, 2018•

Moultrie County Board building and grounds committee is recommending Clint Robinson’s bid of $82,500 ($379.17A) proposed county farm rent be approved by the county board August 9.
At the August 1 meeting of the committee, chairman Gary Smith opened bids from four interested farmers for the two year rental agreement.
Bids were opened in the order they were received: Zeb Hughes bid $70,713.50 ($325A); Shuman Brothers bid $67,658.68 ($310.96A); Robinson- $82,500 and Mark Kuhns bid $75,520.26 ($347A). Read More

Obituaries 8-8-2018: Tammy Wilson

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Tammy Wilson

Tammy J. Wilson, 59, of Sullivan passed away at 10:10 a.m. Wednesday August 1, 2018 in Mason Point in Sullivan.
Private graveside services were Saturday August 4 in Camfield Cemetery in Sullivan.
Tammy was born May 18, 1959 in Kirksville, the daughter of John Adkins and Patsy Bruce She had cleaned homes for many people and also had operated a child care center in her home. Read More

Wine Tours To Help Fund Bethany Gymnast’s Trip To Russia

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Photo furnished
Reese Nichols is Russia bound.

•August 8, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

Reese Nichols is a diminutive 12-year-old gymnast with big dreams and high hopes of participating in an international gymnastics competition in Russia in November.
Reese is the daughter of Bethany Police Chief Chris Nichols and his wife Bethany who is a nurse. Reese has a brother, sister and a dog named Theo.
Besides gymnastics she plays on a softball team, and her favorite subject in school is science.
She recently won first place in all-round competition at a national meet in North Carolina. All-round is the most difficult because she must compete in all events: floor exercises, vault, parallel bars and beam. Read More

County Offices Targeted by Spam Emails

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•August 8, 2018•

There are several spam emails coming through the Moultrie County courthouse computers, County Clerk Georgia England reported, noting three computers were affected by Monday.
They may say Statement of Account, Invoice, Unpaid Invoice, etc. Be aware of emails that you open.
Look at
1. Who sent the email – you don’t know the person – do not open – delete. Read More

Understanding Illinois: Make No Little Plans-They Have No Magic To Stir The Blood

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•August 8, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

Illinois could sure use a couple of big thinkers and doers like Daniel Burnham and William Stratton. Based on what I see of political TV ads, we may have to wait another four years. But we can dream, can’t we?
Architect and city planner, Burnham was the driving force behind the creation of the fabulous “white city” that was the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, which put Chicago prominently on the world map.
Overcoming earlier false starts by others, a national economic panic, and almost impossibly tight deadlines, Burnham triumphed. The fair drew 27 million people to Chicago (the Illinois State Fair each year draws maybe half a million).
In 1906, Burnham went on to develop his namesake plan for Chicago—the glistening public lakefront, extensive park system and wide boulevards that symbolize the city today. He became famous for the line: “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood.”
In 1952 at age 39, Republican William G. Stratton was elected governor of Illinois. Over two terms, the slight-of-build state chief executive with the squeaky voice transformed the Prairie State. Read More

Obituaries 8-8-2018: Kathy Wood

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Kathy Wood

Katherine M. Horn Wood, 77, of Sullivan, passed away May 12, 2018. A memorial gathering will be held Sunday, August 12 from 11 to 2 at the Sullivan Country Club. Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan is in charge of arrangements.
Kathy was born August 7, 1940 in San Jose, California, the daughter of Hermann L. and Alice E. Horn. She graduated from Sunnyvale High School in 1958. She attended the University of Idaho where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority and where she met her husband, Steve Wood. They were married June 16, 1962 in Sunnyvale, California. Read More

Moultrie Moment of the Week

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Pictured above is The Cummins and David Hardware store, which was originally located where the vacant lot is now on the south side of the square in Sullivan. The photo was taken around 1900-1905. Please submit photos to the News Progress for future consideration. Originals will be saved for return or forwarded to Moultrie County Historical Society. If you have any other information, please contact the Moultrie County Historical Society at 217-728- 4085.