Pictured above is a photo postcard of the Lovington park taken from the south side looking northeast. This photo is believed to have been taken in the late ‘50s to early ‘60s. No date on the card. 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.
Photo furnished
Special Olympic Hornets front row, L-R Cassi Connley, Tyler Hahn, Jerry Klein, Bradlee Todd and coach Leslie Todd. Back row, L-R Coach Brad Duncan, David Conklin, Curtis Covington, Eric Fulton, Austin Jones and Brooke Whitrock.
Alpha Bears Win
•March 28, 2018•
By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress
The Region I Alpha Bears defeated the Chicago Independent Wolves 55-23 in a stunning upset on Sunday, March 18 in Bloomington, Ill. to win the Illinois Special Olympics state basketball championship.
Region I of Special Olympics covers the heart of central Illinois from Champaign to Effingham and west to Lincoln and has 130 Special Olympic teams. The Alpha Bears is a coed team with members from Sullivan, Mattoon, Arcola, Neoga and Shelbyville.
Sullivan residents Bradlee Todd and David Conklin, who works at Habitat, are members of the team. The coed team has two girls and seven boys. Read More
•March 28, 2018•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond softball team handed Cumberland its first loss of the year in Arthur last Thursday.
The Knights jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning when Marissa Herschberger and Reagan Miller scored in the third inning.
Cumberland tied the game in the fifth inning 3-3, but ALAH took back the lead in the bottom of the inning when Herschberger and Macy Hollingsworth scored.
Cumberland took the lead 6-5 in five in the top of the sixth inning, but the Knights battled back and scored three runs in the bottom of the inning for the 8-6 lead and eventual win. Read More
Photo by RR Best
Pictured are UIS Chancellor Susan Koch, Kathy Best, and UI President Timothy Killeen.
•March 28, 2018•
Editor’s Note: Kathy Best is a Sullivan High School alumna and daughter of the late Robert E. and Marion Best, founders of Best Newspapers, and brother of News Progress and The Fish Wrap publisher Robert R. Best.
Kathy Best was honored Feb. 23 at the University of Illinois Springfield Alumni Gala with the university’s 2017 Alumni Achievement Award.
Best earned her master’s degree from UIS in public affairs reporting in 1990.
The award recognized “outstanding success and national or international distinction in one’s business, profession or life’s work.’’ It was presented by UIS Chancellor Susan Koch and U of I President Timothy Killeen. Read More
•March 28, 2018•
The Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg softball team overwhelmed Arcola 18-1 in five innings last Wednesday.
The Hatches scored in all five innings, busting out for five runs in the fourth inning and eight runs in the fifth inning to put the game away.
WSS totaled 15 hits in the game and played errorless in the field.
Madision Everett led WSS with three hits, two runs and two RBIs. Read More
•March 28, 2018•
Faith Lutheran Church in Sullivan is holding Maundy Thursday communion service at 7 p.m. March 29 and Good Friday Service at 7 p.m. March 30.
There will be no Saturday service this week.
Photos furnished
Honored Swimmers
Anna Wooters - Most Improved and High Point Sectional Winner. Natalie Drury and McKenna Kull selected as Co-Team Captains.
Photo by R.R. Best
Sullivan Chief of Police Jim Waggoner directs students a safe distance from Sullivan schools with city administrator Dan Flannell in background joining teachers, additional city employees and first responders to help keep the situation under control last Friday afternoon.
•March 28, 2018•
A threatening note led to early dismissal of Sullivan Schools for Easter break Friday. No credible threat was discovered with the responsible student taken into custody.
According to a press release from Supt. Ted Walk a note was discovered Friday, March 23, indicating a possible bomb threat to Sullivan High School. The credibility of the threat could not be immediately determined, and Sullivan schools dismissed students starting at 1:15 p.m.
Students were relocated to the American Legion and Sullivan Civic Center for parent reunification.
Law enforcement and school administration conducted a search of the buildings and grounds, and no evidence of a bomb was found. Read More
•March 28, 2018•
Eagle Creek Resort site is now open for proposals from potential developers.
State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) and State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) announced March 14 that the site of the state-owned Eagle Creek Resort in Shelby County is now officially open for vendors to submit a development proposal to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
The resort closed in 2009 due to financial problems and environmental issues and has since sat vacant.
Officially called a Request for Proposal, registered vendors with the state have from now until near the end of April to submit their plans for how they would develop the site on Lake Shelbyville.
“All we’ve asked for is a good old-fashioned college try to see if there is legitimate interest in redeveloping this property,” Rose said. “It’s my hope someone with an excellent vision and plan comes forward, and we can one day return Eagle Creek Resort to the crown jewel it once was for the region.”
“This has been a top priority of mine, Sen. Rose, and local officials for years,” Halbrook said. “I am excited about the prospects for the redevelopment of this beautiful piece of property on Lake Shelbyville. I am hopeful a resort at Eagle Creek can return, which will not only provide a spectacular destination for visitors from across the country, but also a much-needed boost for the local economy.”
The current Eagle Creek procurement represents a solicitation for private development, and no public funds would be used in redeveloping Eagle Creek.
Bernard Whitlow, Sr.
Bernard Russell Whitlow, Sr., 83, of Hillsboro died at 8:25 a.m. Wednesday, March 21, 2018 in St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield.
Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. today (Wednesday, March 28) in Bass Patton Dean Funeral Home in Hillsboro officiated by the Rev. Ralph Ward. Burial with military rites by V.F.W. Post #1306 and American Legion Post #425 was in Oak Grove Cemetery in Hillsboro. Read More