•July 23, 2025•

On Saturday, July 19th, at approximately 11:18 a.m., CECOM dispatched the Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office to the Coal Shaft Bridge area of Lake Shelbyville for a report of an unoccupied boat. Moultrie County then requested assistance from the Moultrie County Dive Team, the Shelby County Dive Team, the Sullivan Fire Department, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Illinois Department of Conservation Police to locate a missing boater. 

The missing boater was Billy J. Briscoe of Hidalgo Illinois. He was recovered by divers at 9:16 p.m. and pronounced dead at the scene at 9:21 p.m. by Moultrie County Coroner Lynn Reed. The drowning is being investigated by the Illinois Department of Conservation Police, the Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Moultrie County Coroner.

Same Road, different view

•July 23, 2025•

by Janet Roney

I have a 180-year-old couch sitting in my basement. My great-great-grandparents brought it from Kentucky to Moultrie County in a covered wagon over the Charleston Road. It was in the parlor of their “Kentucky T” house, southeast of Sullivan, forty years, where they seated guests visiting their two sons who were home on leave from the Civil War, participants in their frequent neighborhood “sings”, and mourners at the wakes of four of their children.

It spent the next sixty years in the parlor of the great-grandparents’ big red brick house in Sullivan; then, it was sent to the garage where Grandpa used it for his afternoon naps. In the 60s, it was back at the old farm in my brother’s garage where the dog slept on it, and a decade of kittens were born in its springs. In the 1970s, my brother heard me say, “You can’t burn that!” …and it was mine. 

•July 23, 2025•

Lake Land will be hosting a Fast Track to Fall registration event on Wednesday, August 6th, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the College’s new Effingham Technology Center. 

The event will serve as a one-stop shop for students to enroll at the college, register for classes, and apply for scholarships. Lake Land College staff members from Admissions, Counseling, Perkins, TRIO, and Financial Aid will be present to answer questions and guide students through the onboarding process. 

“If you’re planning on joining us this fall, or even just considering taking a class or two, we definitely recommend you come by for this event,” Pam Hartke, Associate Dean of Recruitment & Enrollment Management, said. “This is the perfect opportunity to make sure you’re all set for the new semester, and you’ll also get a chance to check out the brand-new Effingham Technology Center.”

The Lake Land College Effingham Technology Center is located in Effingham at 1201 Althoff Drive. To learn more about the Lake Land College Fast Track to Fall event, contact Hartke at 217-238-2705 or phartke@lakelandcollege.edu.