Author Archives:

DMH Announces New Chief Medical Officer

News Progress Posted on by

•July 4, 2018•

Decatur Memorial Hospital has announced that Larry Hegland, M.D., will join the hospital on July 16 as its Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Hegland last served in the capacity of Regional Chief Medical Officer, for SSM Health/Dean Health System in Madison, Wis. Prior to joining SSM Health, he was a chief medical officer and system medical director at Ministry Health Care as well as a number of other related assignments spanning a career which began in 1990 when he began his career as an anesthesiologist.
“We’re very excited to have Dr. Hegland join our hospital,“ said Timothy D. Stone Jr., President and CEO at Decatur Memorial. “His years of experience as a chief medical officer and his professionalism will be tremendous assets.”[/s2If]

Obituary 7-4-2018: Jim Matthews

News Progress Posted on by

Jim Matthews

James Elliott ‘Jim’ Matthews, 82, of Sullivan, passed away at 3 a.m. Friday June 29, 2018 in his residence.
Mass of Christian Burial was 10 a.m. Monday in St. Columcille Catholic Church in Sullivan with Fr. John Titus, Celebrant. A Prayer Service was at 4 p.m. Sunday in Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan. Rite of Committal and Burial was in Arthur Cemetery.
Jim was born September 22, 1935 in Glen Dean, Kentucky, a son of Elliott Z. and Sylvania M. Berry Matthews. He married Ruth C. Taylor June 12, 1954 in Decatur. Jim retired from Illinois Masonic Home as the laundry manager. He was a member of St. Columcille Catholic Church in Sullivan and the Knights of Columbus. Read More

Knee High Plus 35

News Progress Posted on by

Photo by R.R. Best
Knee High Plus 35
Colleen Zenk is pictured with Boo and Little Theatre Executive Director John Stephens beside Tony Sager’s crop in this year’s annual News Progress Knee High by Fourth of July photo monitoring central Illinois corn yields. Zenk starred in “Hello, Dolly!” at the Little Theatre in 2018. In 1983 she was headlining “They’re Playing Our Song” along with Michael Crouch and was photographed by R. R. Best on Guy Little’s farm south of Sulilvan.

Recent Obituaries: James Matthews

News Progress Posted on by

James Matthews

James Elliott ‘Jim’ Matthews, 82, of Sullivan, passed away at 3:00 a.m. Friday June 29, 2018 in his residence.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 a.m. Monday in St. Columcille Catholic Church, Sullivan with Fr. John Titus, Celebrant. Visitation will be 4-6 p.m. Sunday with Prayer Service at 4:00 p.m. in the Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan. Rite of Committal and Burial will be in the Arthur Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to St. Columcille Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus or to Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.
Jim was born September 22, 1935 in Glen Dean, Kentucky, the son of Elliott Z. and Sylvania M. Berry Matthews. He married Ruth C. Taylor on June 12, 1954 in Decatur. Jim retired from the Illinois Masonic Home as the Laundry Manager. He was a member of St. Columcille Catholic Church, Sullivan and the Knights of Columbus.
Surviving are his wife Ruth of Sullivan; children Patty Cazel of Cadwell, Rick (Janine) Matthews of Sullivan, Scott (Bonnie) Matthews of Decatur, Jean (Steve) Hazel of Decatur, Joan (Joe) Matheson of Sullivan, Julie (Terry) Cox of Moweaqua; brother Charles (Carol) Matthews of Springfield; sisters Loretta Mercer Matthews of St. Petersburg, Tennessee, Laurita (Rollin) Goodrich of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Carolyn (Dave) Laudenback of Alton, Darlene (Jim) Biggs of Elburn; 20 grandchildren; 34 great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.
Jim was always a very happy and pleasant person to be around, always wise and caring. He loved to go fishing and especially enjoyed watching his children catch fish. One of his greatest joys was spending time in his garden and making various wind driven toys for his kids and grand kids. He would get very excited about any St. Louis Cardinals Game whether at the stadium or at home with Mom. Jim devoted the last years of his life spending quality time with his wife of 64 years.
His greatest accomplishments are loving his family of six children and their families whom he cherished greatly.
Jim wanted to express his gratitude toward the Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants, especially Dr. Caceres and Ellen Zindel.

Obituaries 6-27-2018: Edwin Kirkwood

News Progress Posted on by

Edwin Kirkwood

Edwin Robert Kirkwood, 94, of Sullivan, passed away at 9:58 a.m. Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at his daughter’s home in Sullivan.
Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 23 in McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan. Burial with military rites by Sullivan American Legion Post #68 were in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan. Read More

Moultrie Moment of the Week

News Progress Posted on by

Pictured above is the Bethany Fire Department fire truck. This photo is believed to be from the 1920s. 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.

Getting Your Kicks on Route 66

News Progress Posted on by

The Mother Road offers amazing sights as it winds through Illinois

•June 27, 2018•

By The State
Journal-Register staff

Perhaps it is the yearning for yesteryear that endears so many to Route 66.
Who wouldn’t want to jump into a classic car and explore the United States, stopping at shiny new service stations to pump gas into your vehicle, or sip a cold drink from the soda shops that dot the roadway? Such sepia-toned wishes of driving the Mother Road in its heyday could prompt many of us to start packing for a trip.
Ford had been mass-producing vehicles for a little more than a decade when Route 66 was commissioned on Nov. 11, 1926. It was one of the original highways within the U.S. Highway System, its 2,448 miles starting in Chicago before arriving on the West Coast in Los Angeles (and later the Santa Monica Pier).
By 1985, Route 66 had been removed from the federal highway system, as the entire road had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System.
But it’s still possible to get an idea of what the roadway looked like: Just stop in Lexington to take a trip down “Memory Lane,” a 1-mile stretch of the original 1926 alignment of Route 66 pavement. It was turned into an interpretive trail and is open year-round to pedestrians and bicycles. There, people can delight in the restored vintage billboards and signage. Read More

“Hello Dolly” Keeps the Music Flowing At The Little Theatre on the Square

News Progress Posted on by

•June 27, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

Acclaimed actress and Emmy award winner, Colleen Zenk, commands the stage as that scheming matchmaker and compulsive meddler, Dolly Gallagher Levi, in “Hello Dolly” currently playing at the Little Theatre.
The musical is replete with colorful costumes, gorgeous sets and some of the most memorable music in American Theatre. This is a polished and well-chosen cast who will sing and dance their way into your heart.
The plot for “Hello Dolly” originated in an 1835 play, and Thornton Wilder adapted it into a play entitled “The Merchant of Yonkers”, a flop which he revised to “The Matchmaker”. David Merrick turned it into the musical with the late great Carol Channing who made it her signature role. It is one of the longest-running musicals on Broadway and currently in its fifth revival.
The time is late 1900s, and the brassy Dolly Gallagher Levi is in town. She is a meddler – making her living as a matchmaker, dance instructor, mandolin teacher and numerous other sidelines. She is looking for a wife for the grumpy Horace Vandergelder (Gus Gordon), but she makes it clear that she intends to snag Horace for herself. Ambrose Kemper (Luke Rose) wants to marry Horace’s niece Ermengarde (Shannon McEldowney) but Horace opposes the union so Ambrose has enlisted Dolly’s help. Read More