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Lovington Library “Ag in the Classroom”: conservation

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by DM Williamee 


Photo by DM WIlliamee
Linda Henry discusses conservation with attendees.


•July 30, 2025•

On Tuesday, July 22nd, Linda Henry from the Moultrie County Soil and Water Conservation District provided a fun and educational water conservation activity for local youth at the Lovington Library, focused on water conservation. Mrs. Henry used a terrarium-building project to demonstrate water conservation, hands-on. Many of the youth have been learning about space, and Mrs. Henry shared the mnemonic “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos” (which elicited smiles and giggles) to help the children remember the order of the planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Those present were eager to ask questions, share their thoughts on the subject, and discuss what they had learned. All were especially excited to build their terrariums. 

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Toy Bar’s “Allwheels Run for ALS”

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Photo by R.R. Best Toy Bar’s “Allwheels Run for ALS” On July 26th, the Toy Bar of Sullivan, the VFW of Shelbyville, Strasburg’s 32 Below, Windsor’s Old No. 1, and Mattoon’s The Castle participated in the “Allwheels for ALS” run, with proceeds going to Trevor Storm, who was raising awareness for ALS. The theme was sports-related, as Greg Dirk’s favorite team was the Cardinals, so all came dressed in their favorite baseball team’s attire.

“Echoes of Grace” to perform

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•July 30, 2025•

On August 9th at 6:00 p.m., the band, “Echoes of Grace”, a Southern Gospel Group based out of Decatur, comprising of Gary Perry and Glenda Weldy, will be performing at the Allenville Christian Church, located at 201 Allen Street in Allenville. The band performs in the Central Illinois area at churches, festivals, and private events. and come on a love offering basis. A love offering for the band will be taken, and refreshments and fellowship will follow the concert.

Back-to-School Prayer Walk

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•July 30, 2025•

The Sullivan Area Ministerial Association and Liz Dolan are sponsoring a Back to School Prayer Walk in Sullivan on Monday, August 11th, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Sullivan Victory Field, concluding before 7:30 p.m. This event is open to everyone - students, families, parents, church members, clergy, and community members. The prayer walk will be a meaningful and uplifting experience as we focus on spiritual support and blessings for the new school year ahead. Once the prayer walk begins, participants can leave at their leisure after they have walked and prayed. The purpose of this Prayer Walk is to come together as a community to support and uplift our schools as they embark on a new academic year, praying over our schools, administration, students, and more.

Sullivan Preschool open house

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•July 30, 2025•

Sullivan Preschool will have an Open House on Friday, August 1st, from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. at its facility located at 10 Hawthorne Lane in Sullivan. The public is invited to tour the school and meet the staff and Board of Directors. The children’s creative work will be displayed, and refreshments will be served. Applications for child enrollment will also be available. For more information, call (217)728-7511.

Recent Obituaries: Patrick Louie Williams

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With his niece, Linda, and brother-in-law, Steve, at his side, Patrick Louie Williams went to Glory to meet his Savior in the early morning hours of July 26, 2025, at Memorial Medical Center. He was born on March 14, 1950, to Louie and Elizabeth (Spears) Williams. Patrick was the youngest of five children. 

Patrick or “Pat” as many knew him, grew up in the countryside of rural Bingham. He was proud to tell people that he was Tex Williams’ nephew. He loved all his family dearly and always found time to talk about them. If you had questions about the family tree, he was the person to ask. 

He was quite a fierce competitor when playing dominoes and Uno. He was sharp as a tack; for he was a killer with the draw four card. To the chagrin of his family, he was a Chicago Cubs fan. He redeemed himself in loving Peanuts and Harry Potter.

Patrick was a member of Mount Carmel Baptist Church and Fillmore Baptist Church. He was a proud lifetime member of the Illinois Masonic Lodge Fillmore Chapter, where he served many positions most notably past master. He lived for over 20 years at the Illinois Masonic Lodge Home in Sullivan. There, he thrived working in the ice cream shop and men’s store, as well as participating in their various activities. 

Surviving are his big brother, Dale Williams, three beautiful sisters-in-law, one devoted brother-in-law, many nieces and nephews, as well as Linda and Ashton Williams whom he thought of as his daughters. Proceeding him in death are his parents, Louie and Elizabeth, his brothers, Bobby Jo and Richard, and his twin sister, Peggy.

A visitation will be held on Friday, August 1, 2025, from 10:00-11:00 a.m. at Fillmore Baptist Church in Fillmore, IL. A funeral service will begin at 11:00 a.m. Pastor Mike McKinney officiating. Interment will follow at Mount Carmel Baptist Cemetery in Ramsey, IL. 

Memorials may be directed to the Illinois Grand Masonic Lodge in Springfield. 

Sutton Memorial Home is in charge or arrangements. Please sign our online guestbook at suttonmemorialhome.com. 

Recent Obituaries: Luella Hughes

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Luella K. Hughes, 76, of Sullivan, passed away at 10:46 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, 2025 in the Willow Breeze Hospice House, Mattoon, Illinois.

Celebration of Life services will be 1:00 p.m. Saturday, July 26, 2025 at the Reed Funeral Home with Pastor Bob Vail officiating. Burial will be in Greenhill Cemetery. Visitation will be from Noon to service time. Memorials are suggested to the Sullivan Ambulance Service or the Sullivan Weekend Food Pac Program. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.

Luella was born October 5, 1948 in Decatur, Illinois, the daughter of Robert ‘Bob’ and Joan Matheson Hughes. She retired from the Mt. Zion K-Mart after 25 years. Luella was a member of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), participated in the Sullivan Pencil Pal Program for 2nd graders for over 20 years, was a member of the Sullivan American Legion Auxiliary and the Sullivan VFW Auxiliary and enjoyed league bowling at Sullivan and Decatur.

Survivors include her sister Barbara Hughes of Mattoon; brothers Bill Hughes and Jim (Katrina) Hughes, all of Sullivan; several nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother Arthur Hughes.

Sullivan Dance Studio’s competition team attends nationals

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Sullivan Dance Studio’s 2024-2025 Competition Team ended their year by attending “Positive Vibes” Nationals in Collinsville, Illinois. The team had earlier attended a “Positives Vibes” Dance Regional Competition held in Bloomington, Illinois.  

Positive Vibes Dance’s mission is to provide a dance haven for all of the performers with a positive and enthusiastic atmosphere. Besides the competition portion, most of the dancers participated in master classes, which were a great experience for all. On Saturday night, there was a Groovy Gala for the dancers and their guests to attend. On Sunday, special invitation dances based on rankings at the competition were invited to participate in the Showcase portion of the event, where, after their routine, they received verbal feedback from the judges.  

Members in attendance at Nationals included (in no particular photo order): Alayna Young, Zola Krieger, Tiffany Hostetler, Katie Plank, Sophie Elliott, Tinley Krieger, Abigail Plank, Caroline Hobbs, Emma Hostetler, Synthea Doss, Hadley Blakey, Vaeda Spencer, Alayna Ard, Elizabeth Plank, Aubrie Payne, Brinnley Hobbs, Blair Camp, Gianna Krieger, Knox Weakly, Aubrey Young, Mara Inman, Kaylee Hostetler, Lexi Yoder, Adalee Foster, Sophie Foster, Miah Voegel, and Zoe Lynch.  

Sullivan American Legion aids fire victim

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Mark Madson presented Lee Bishop with a check from the American Legion Department of Illinois Disaster Relief Program to help cover expenses incurred from his house fire, which caused significant damage to his home.

From left to Right: Mark Young, Illinois American Legion Fourth Division Commander, Lee Bishop Member of Sullivan Sons of American Legion Detachment 68, Wayne Madson, American Legion Department of Illinois Vice Commander, and a member of the American Legion Department of Illinois Disaster Relief Program, and Dave Selby Sullivan Sons of American Legion Adjutant.

Unrest continues at ALAH School District

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Collective bargaining agreement with the AEA passed


•July 23, 2025•

by Ariana R Cherry

Unrest continued at the Arthur School District #305 school board meeting on Wednesday, July 16th. Approximately thirty teachers were in attendance regarding the teachers’ contract. Sharon Chupp spoke first during the public comment section of the meeting. She felt she needed to share her story regarding Shawn Davison’s Letter to the Editor in the newspaper the prior week. Chupp said, “I have a student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP), and Shawn has been his one-on-one assistant for the last two years. When my child was ready for high school, I knew he was getting a new one-on-one. I was nervous, not knowing how that was going to go or what his last four years were going to look like. I have to say it has been the best thing ever. Shawn has gone out of his way to help Lance so many times, not that he had to, but because he wanted to.” She stated, “He asked if he could spend the last hour with him to help with his speech and other areas he needed help with, including his bathroom issues when no one else wanted to, and got him to where he knew the routine. On Christmas Eve, Shawn and his wife stopped by the house to give my child a Christmas gift because he wanted to.” And added, “My child has more confidence than ever before, talks so much more, and looks forward to going to school most days,” Chupp commented. “I would like to add, what would be a better way than to impact a whole classroom versus just one child?” she concluded.

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