Photo furnished
Okaw Valley Prom Candidates
Okaw Valley High School will hold the 2017 Junior/Senior Prom at Mason Point in Sullivan April 29. Queen and King candidates include (front) Kailyn Boyer, Sydney Hagerman, Madison Uhlrich, Jessica Robison (back) Ty Nichols, Seth Yeakel, Brendon Lane and Taylor Coleman.
Pictured above is the Poland-Powers grain mill in Sullivan. It was located on the north side of the tracks close to where The Restore is now. The first man is unknown, but it is known that the second and third man are Albert Powers and Clement Harshman. The year that this photo was taken is unknown. 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.
25 Years Ago This Week
A communications tower is under construction by Cellular One west of Keller Cemetery, south of Lovington on Route 32. Intermittent cell service in the area prompted the tower upgrade.
Joe and Joan Pound met Bob and Mary Ellen Hood who had lived in Manila in the Philippines for 14 years. The Hoods led the Pounds on a cultural and historic tour of the city.
Prize winners at the 40th Kiwanis Easter Egg hunt in Wyman Park included Jamison Miller, Lukas Golden, Tori McFarland, Drew Coslow; Michelle Manning, Amber Burgess, Jordan Stewart, Benjamin Netherton; Brandi Piatt, Derek VanWinsen, Dristyl Coon, Jimmy Slater; Shawn Reynolds, Brett Craig, Jennifer Roberts and Matthew Griffith. Winners’ ages range from two to nine years.
Lovington Kiwanis Club awarded fifth and sixth grade Lovington Grade School students for good grades. Included were Zachary Clark, Stephanie Eccles, Tim Roberts, Katie Van Pelt, Kristina Platz and Derek Wells. Presenters included Kiwanis president Dale Jones, treasurer Sally Foley and Lovington Supt. Dick Nelson. Read More
•April 26, 2017•
The American Red Cross Blood Drive hosted by the Findlay American Legion Auxiliary April 10 was very successful!
The goal for the drive was 20 pints of blood. Thirty people answered the call for blood donations, and 26 pints were collected.
Connie Dotson received a pin for donating a total of three gallons of blood, and Connor Dotson received a two gallon pin. The next blood drive is scheduled for June 6. Blood drive coordinator Chris Tippit will host the drive along with her husband Fred to celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary.
•April 26, 2017•
Moultrie County State’s Attorney Jeremy Richey will seek the Republican nomination for the resident circuit judge position for Moultrie County that is up for election in 2018 due to the retirement of Dan Flannell.
The primary election will be held March 20, 2018.
Richey is currently serving his second term as Moultrie County State’s Attorney. Richey resides in Moultrie County with his wife and son.
•April 26, 2017•
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond boys’ track and field team competed in the Tuscola Open Invitational Friday and the Tri-County Invitational last Tuesday.
During the Tuscola Invite, two athletes and two relay teams finished in the top five spots.
Austin Romine won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:59.26.
Kobe Wells took fourth and fifth place in the high jump and 200-meter dash, respectively, with a jump of 5 feet 10 inches and a time of 24.45.
The 4x400 relay team took third with a time of 3:45.23, and the 4x800 finished fifth at 9:25.30. Read More
Photo by Mike Brothers
Mike Rollins remembers his scouting days and a trip that made him a seasoned traveler. He is seated on the left in his Scout photo from the 1960s.
•April 26, 2017•
By Woody Hills
for the News Progress
When Sullivan Masonic Lodge Worshipful Master Mike Rollins presented Boy Scout Troop 39 a donation from the St. Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage fundraiser, it brought back one great scouting memory.
Rollins spent years on the road as a truck driver before retiring to Sullivan, but one road trip while he was a Boy Scout in the mid-sixties made him appreciate traveling as he still keeps a camper and truck at ready in his drive.
“During the sixties our Boy Scout troop was fortunate enough to have some parents connected to the Air National Guard in Springfield,” Rollins said of the beginning of the great Boy Scout Road Trip.
He explained that through those connections the scouts learned that prior arrangements would let them stay at military facilities free of charge on a planned trip west. Read More
Photo by Mike Brothers
OV’s Grace Harlin tries to distract ALAH shortstop Reagan Miller’s throw to first with a high-five.
•April 26, 2017•
The Okaw Valley softball team finished the week 4-1.
OV split a double header Saturday, shut out Mt. Pulaski Friday and Ramsey Thursday and knocked off Shiloh Wednesday.
OV defeated Tri-County/Shiloh 11-1 at Crowder Park.
Tri-County jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with a long home run
which was the only run of the day for Tri-County.
Okaw Valley tied the game in the bottom of the first on Paige Coleman’s 1-out single to left.
Paige Robinson walked to put runners at first and second.
Jess Robinson and Kayla Wheeler had back-to-back walks to force in Coleman to tie the game.
OV erupted for four runs in the second to take command of the game. Read More
•April 26, 2017•
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond girls’ track competed in two meets this past week.
ALAH participated in the Tri-County Invitational in Sullivan last Tuesday and the T Tuscola Open Invitational Friday.
At the Tuscola Open, ALAH several athletes in the top five spots.
Kenli Nettles took first places in 110-meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles and the long jump.
She ran the 100 hurdles in 16.98, the 300 hurdles in 50.77 and jumped 5 feet 7 inches.
Makenna Green took second in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 13:10.35, and she ran the 1,600-meter run in 6:07.69 for fourth place. Read More
•April 26, 2017•
A public meeting was held April 25 in the Lake Shelbyville Visitors Center auditorium to discuss a proposed fish habitat project through the Friends of Reservoirs. The US Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Shelbyville, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Chip’s Marine, and the Lake Volunteer Association are soliciting the help of anglers and angling groups dedicated to protecting and restoring fisheries habitat at Lake Shelbyville. Recently, a new fish attractor called the “Lake Shelbyville Cube” was built and placed into the lake to increase fish habitat as well as catch rates for anglers. With the success of the first two builds and drops (approximately 50 structures placed) and the interest received from the cube structures it is planned to expand the program significantly. Read More