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St. Jude Dash n Bash is Coming

News Progress Posted on by

•May 9, 2018•

St. Jude’s Dash N Bash held Saturday, June 2 at Wyman Park in Sullivan will have a car show with registration from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the Sullivan American Legion parking lot.

Awards will be presented at 2:30 p.m. with 100 percent of the registration fees donated to St. Jude’s Hospitals. Earth Scapes along with the American Legion are event sponsors and all vehicles are welcomed.

Sons of American Legion are serving sandwiches and drinks from 7:00 a.m. which is when registration for the 5K run begins. The 5K starts at 8:00 a.m., one mile Fun Run begins at 9:00 a.m. and the Tot Trot (quarter mile) follows the Fun Run.

Coed softball tournament is all day, 3 on 3 basketball from 10:00 a.m. and bags tournaments are 2:00 p.m. for 20 and under, and 7:30 p.m. for adults.

The Beer tent is open from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. featuring The Northerners; The Brothers Odd and Them Gringos.

Sheep to Clothing Event Spins at Illinois Amish Heritage Center

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154 year old Spinning Wheel Displayed

Photo by Mike Brothers
Bernadine Yoder displays the spinning wheel made by E.J Miller in 1864 and found in the attic of the Moses Yoder home. The oldest home in the Amish community is on display at the Illinois Amish Heritage Center near Arthur. Inset photo shows spinning wheel parts that will also be on display June 2.

•May 9, 2018•

By Shag Wooley
for the News Progress

As the spinning wheel turns the history of Illinois Amish Heritage is revealed in a Sheep to Clothing event Saturday, June 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There is no charge for the event, but donations will be accepted at the Illinois Amish Heritage Center on Route 133, east of Arthur.

The fascinating process behind spinning wool fibers into thread will be demonstrated live that day as the Amish family histories revealed in the patchwork of the quilts.

A spinning wheel made by E.J. Miller in 1864, traveled from Somerset Co., Pa. with the founding three families of the Amish settlement in the Arthur area.

It was recovered from the attic of he Moses Yoder home and will be on display during the Sheep to Clothing event.

That spinning wheel spent many years in the attic of the oldest home in the community, the Moses Yoder home, and will be on display.

“It’s a wonder it’s together at all,” Ervin Yoder, grandson of Moses said. “When we were kids, we used to play with it all the time.”

Ervin’s father Abraham was one of nine children in the Moses Yoder family and his wife Bernadine has joined Wilmer Otto, Brian Karrick, Troye Kauffman, Beth Elgelbrecht Wiggans, Karen Miller, Myrna Madigan, Merle Gingerich and Marie Kuhns to make the spinning event possible at the Illinois Amish Heritage Center. Read More

Moultrie Moment of the Week

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Pictured above are the Bert Moore children in front of their home south of Sullivan dated around 1910. Oldest to youngest include Mildred, Roselle, Donald, Gladys and Lucy. 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.

Understanding Illinois: John A. and Mary Logan Gave Us Memorial Day

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•May 9, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

We have the formidable Southern Illinois couple John A. and Mary Logan to thank for our national Memorial Day, a remembrance of those who died serving in our nation’s armed forces.

Born in 1826, “John A.” (there was another senior Union officer named John Logan) grew up in Murphysboro in deep southern Illinois. Born 12 years later, young Mary Cunningham moved with her family from Tennessee to nearby Marion, Illinois, after her father had freed his slaves.

After service in the Mexican-American War, John A. returned to Southern Illinois to begin a political career as a Stephen A. Douglas Democrat. He stepped from county clerk all the way up the ladder to the U.S. Senate and as a vice-presidential candidate.

In between elective offices, Logan became arguably the most effective “political general” of the Civil War. Often elected officials, political generals lacked military training, but were important to President Lincoln.

They were appointed for several reasons: There was a shortage of West Point-trained officers; they had shown natural leadership abilities, and because of the political influence they wielded in their home states. Read More

Letter Carriers’ Food Drive

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•May 9, 2018•

The 26th annual letter carrier’s food drive is Saturday, May 12.

Helping gather food for the local food bank, Sullivan Post Office letter carriers will pick up non-perishable food donations on Saturday.

Place non-perishable items in a container on the porch or near the mail box to facilitate the pick up. The U.S. Postal employees have volunteered in the Stamp Out Hunger food drive for the past 26 years helping thousands of local agencies such as the Moultrie County Food bank provide help to those who need it most.

Best Performances Wrap Sullivan Girls’ Track Season

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Photo submitted

•May 9, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Sullivan girls’ track and field team finished fifth with 60 points at the Central Illinois Conference meet hosted by Central A&M in Moweaqua Friday.

They placed second with 97 points in the Redskin Invitational last Tuesday.

“We had several season best performances as we wrap up our regular season meets and now prepare for the sectional that we are hosting next Thursday,” said coach Kali Taylor.

In the CIC meet, Keelie Fleener won the 200-meter dash with a time of 30.60, and Mallory Nichols followed in second at 31.13.

Haley Rose ran the 100-meter dash in 14.45 for third place, and she placed fifth in the 300-meter hurdles at 51.30 Read More

Congressman John Shimkus Visits OVHS

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Photo furnished
Congressman John Shimkus Visits OVHS
Fifteenth District Congressman John Shimkus visted Okaw Valley High School May 2. He stopped by to discuss the corps partnership and to learn about the new ag facility that will be built this summer. He also addressed the ag students and answered questions pertaining to the agricultural field.

ALAH Boys Compete in Spartan Classic

News Progress Posted on by

•May 2, 2018•

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond boys’ track team competed in the St. Joseph-Ogden Boys’ Spartan Classic at Joseph-Ogden High School last Thursday.

The Knights had five top-five finishers.

Logan Hall won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:25.86, and Kobe Wells high jumped 6 feet 5 inches for first place.

Wells also triple jumped 40 feet 5 inches for second place. Read More

A Split Week for ALAH Softball Team

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•May 2, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond softball defeated Cerro-Gordo Bement but lost to Mattoon this past week.

Friday, April 27 against CGB, the Knights knocked off the Broncos 7-2 with a solid pitching performance from Shelby Frederick.

ALAH scored one run in the second inning, but the Broncos plated two runs in the third inning to take a 2-1 lead.

The Knights scored a run in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game and took a 3-2 lead with a run in the fourth inning.

From there ALAH took over the game, scoring three runs in the fifth inning and one in the sixth for the final 7-2 score.

Frederick (5-1) picked up her fifth win on the season. She pitched seven innings. Read More