•September 9, 2015•
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) announced today the registration of its first medical cannabis dispensary. Harbory, located at 8195 Express Drive in Marion, IL, successfully completed the DFPR business dispensary registration process and inspection and is now licensed to operate as a medical cannabis dispensary. Read More
Photo by Jeni Yantis
Homecoming king and queen candidates at Okaw Valley High School are (front to back - left to right): Front row: Gretchen Macklin, Hannah Dicken, Charli Uhlrich, and Nicole Miller. Back Row: Alex Martin, Justin Johnson, Nick Tipsword, and Race Underwood.
•September 9, 2015•
Okaw Valley High School student council has announced their annual Homecoming Week activities September 14-19. The overall theme to this year’s festivities is “Under the Big Top”. Each day will highlight a special theme at OVHS, and students are encouraged to participate accordingly. The week kicks off with Monday as “Pajama Day” day and Tuesday as “Crazy Dress-Circus Side
Photo by Jeni Yantis
Homecoming attendants at Okaw Valley High School are: Front Row: Sydney Hagerman (junior), Grace Harlin (sophomore), Gracie Weybright (freshman) Back Row: Jon Gentry (junior), James Burnes (sophomore), Sam Hagerman (freshman).
Show” day. Wednesday’s theme is “Class Color Day” with the “Powder Puff” football games beginning at 11:30 am. The Marching Timberwolves will perform their competition show at halftime of the powder puff game. Thursday is “Clown Day”, where students are to dress as their favorite clown. Thursday evening will be the annual bonfire. The bonfire along with a pep rally will begin immediately following the Okaw Valley varsity girls’ volleyball game vs. Villa Grove. Friday is “SOV Spirit Day”.
The classes will compete with homecoming float building during the day along with a school wide cookout. Other events on Friday will include the annual homecoming parade at 3 pm (line up at 2:30 behind the high school). This year’s parade will use the same route as the Bethany Celebration. The varsity SOV football game will begin at 7 p.m. on the Sullivan High School football field. The SOV jr. varsity football team will play at 6 p.m. Monday on the Okaw Valley High School football field. Read More
•September 9, 2015•
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Shelbyville will hold the sixth annual youth firearm deer hunt October 10 and 11. To apply for the hunt, youth must be less than 16 years old on October 10, 2015 and be accompanied by an adult on the hunt.
Applications must be received by 4 p.m. September 16. Applications may be picked up at the Lake Shelbyville Project Office Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or online at: www.tinyurl.com/LakeShelbyville-Hunting Read More
•September 9, 2015•
by Jerry Ginther
NP Guest Columnist
Scrubbing road oil from the sides of our cars and those old white walled tires was an annual, summertime job in our small, central Illinois town of Sullivan. Try as we may we could never avoid the inevitable; the day the road oil would come to our particular street or would be applied to a street on which we must drive. Everyone searched for new routes to get as close to their destinations as possible without having to drive on the black, stinky goop, only to discover their plan had been defeated. The city crews had cut off their escape route by beating them to the other road they had contrived to use.
On those hot, summer days the city and township crews were laying the oil on thick and covering it with a thin layer of sand. The sand, of course, was next to useless in keeping the oil off of anything, especially after a few cars had passed over it. However, we did learn a couple of minor, mitigating procedures. If we drove very slowly over the oiled surface, the tires didn’t throw the oil quite as high, and we could drive with the right two wheels on the shoulder where possible. The latter option wasn’t always available but utilized where practicable.
It seems that the older kids in the family were summoned to the task of road oil removal. As an incentive, we were told that the sooner we got at the chore the easier the removal would be. Maybe, but I don’t recall that we were allowed the option of testing that theory. My theory was a little different. Adults just wanted it off sooner rather than later. Detergents, kerosene, gasoline and other home remedies were employed for the project, but I don’t remember any of them really making the scrubbing process much easier. It was never a wipe on wipe off operation. Read More
•September 9, 2015•
The Knights volleyball team traveled to Monticello Monday, but a spirited effort fell short. The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond Knights lost the first match 24-26,then rallied in the second game 25-17.
The third playoff gave the win to Monticello 21-25. The Knights record is 1-0 conference and 1-3 overall. Read More
Photo by Mike Brothers
Sullivan Cruise Night enjoyed one of the best turnouts ever with 110 cars gathering around the Sullivan square for the 35th annual event Saturday, Sept. 5. Bill Platzbecker’s rare Ford GT drew rave reviews during the show which featured a night cruise of Sullivan at 7 p.m. by members of the Sullivan Street Machine Association which cosponsored the event with AmBucs. Rick Montague of the Sullivan SMA noted the Cruise Night over Labor Day weekend and Car Show in Wyman Park over Memorial Day weekend are the club’s biggest events. Kids enjoyed a bounce house, adults listened to music by Shovelhead and everyone enjoyed free popcorn from the Sullivan Boy Scouts.
Ernie Simmons
Celebration of Life services for Ernest “Ernie” Simmons, 89, of Mishawaka, Ind., formerly of Decatur and Sullivan, were held at 6 p.m. Saturday in Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan. Masonic rites were conducted by Stephen Decatur Lodge #979 AF & AM. Graveside services were at 11 a.m. Monday in Camp Butler Cemetry in Springfield with military rites by Sangamon County Intervets. Read More
•September 9, 2015•
With over a million students returning to colleges and universities throughout Illinois, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal urges students to familiarize themselves with the risks of fire and the simple steps they can take to stay safe in on-campus and off-campus housing.
According to the Center for Campus Fire Safety, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness for fire safety issues at colleges and universities, August and September are the most common months for fatal campus-related housing fires. Many college students have not had proper fire safety education since elementary school. This frequently results in students overlooking the real dangers of fire. Nationally, 126 people have died from fires that occurred on a college campus, in Greek housing, or in off-campus housing within three miles of campus since 2000.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), dormitory fires are more common in the evening hours between 5 and 11, and on weekends. NFPA research indicates that cooking equipment is involved in more than five out of six of these dormitory fires. Read More
Ray Shain
Opha “Ray” Shain, 67, of Sullivan died at 9:15 p.m. Monday Sept. 7, 2015 in Sarah Bush Lincoln in Coles County. Read More
Photo by Sonya Brewer
A good year for camping
•September 9, 2015•
By Joash Tiarks
Reporting for News Progress
“A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature.” - Henry David Thoreau
Formed nearly 50 years ago, Lake Shelbyville is now certainly a beautiful and expressive feature of the region, and many local businesses depend heavily on the people and activities involved with the lake.
With an apparent excess of rain in June and unseasonably cooler temperatures throughout the spring and into summer, there might have been occasion for concern that the summer season surrounding the lake would be negatively affected.
According to an Illinois State Water Survey press release, this was the wettest June on record for Illinois at 5.33 inches above the average June precipitation. This left the lake as much as 10 feet above pool, or normal level, through June and July and into August. While this presented certain challenges for ease of access, John Fayhee, owner of Sullivan Marina and Campground, said that for him and the marina it has been a great season even with the weather. Read More