Morris D. Luck, 87, of Bethany, passed away at 3:00 a.m. Thursday, June 19, 2025 in St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur.
Celebration of Life services were held Monday, June 23, 2025 at the Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan with Adam McReynolds officiating. Burial was in the Marrowbone Twp. Cemetery, Bethany. Memorials are suggested to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Bethany. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.
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Gerald Dean Elzy, 92, of Sullivan, joined his beloved wife in Heaven at 1:45 a.m. Friday, June 13, 2025.
Memorial graveside services will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Greenhill Cemetery, Sullivan. McMullin-Young Funeral Home is in care of the arrangements.
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Daniel Leslie Bathe, 70, of Sullivan, passed away Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at his home.
Services will be held at a later date. McMullin-Young Funeral Home is in care of the arrangements.
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•June 25, 2025•
by R. Eden Martin
Rick Atkinson is one of America’s most highly acclaimed historians. Known for both his scholarly rigor and his narrative skill, in the field of military history, he surely has no contemporary equal. He is perhaps best known for his widely-praised liberation trilogy — his three books which tell the story of the Allied invasions and campaigns in Europe during World War II: North Africa, Italy, and Normandy.
Atkinson is now well into his next trilogy, which tells the story of America’s battles for independence from Great Britain, as well as the related political and military struggles in Europe involving France and Spain. The first of these volumes, published in 2019, The British Are Coming, received high praise for weaving the large picture of events and strategy with the day-to-day lives of soldiers and civilians caught up in the conflict. The second volume, entitled The Fate of the Day, was published two months ago and has already received equally enthusiastic praise from reviewers. The New York Times called it “great history … compulsively readable … There is no better writer of narrative history than the Pulitzer Prize-winning Atkinson.” This new volume covers the middle of the war, 1777–1780, from Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston.
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The Sullivan Bakery returned! Two hours after opening its doors, they were sold out. The bakery was owned and operated by the Risley family - JoBeth Risley, her daughter Danielle Risley LaBarbera, husband Jerry Risley, and daughter Drew Zbinden.
Sullivan High School baseball team held their awards banquet, recognizing the following individuals: Nick Frerichs-offensive award and first team all-Central Illinois Conference; Matt Sparrow-Redskin award and second team all-CIC; Drew Harris- most improved; Zach Hrvol- pitching award and second team all-CIC; Dylan Hart- offensive award and first team all-CIC; and Jacob Piper- defensive award and all-CIC honorable mention; Levi Nadler-Redskin award and all-CIC honorable mention.
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•June 25, 2025•
by DM Williamee
Progress is continuing on the new Sullivan High School building. As this two-year construction project wraps up, the following projects are in process, per Dr. Walk:
The new flooring material is in despite a few delivery delays. Flooring for the second-floor classrooms is nearing completion. Once finished, work will begin on the cabinetry for the science lab classrooms.
The exterior windows are almost completely installed. There is still an unfinished window space on the second floor of the gymnasium, which is being used to deliver materials to the interior of the building.
The classroom portion of the new building is anticipated to wrap up by the end of July, with classrooms ready for use at the start of the school year. This is the most critical step, as it allows the 6th-grade students and staff to move back into the Sullivan Middle School Building, relocate the four teachers from the media center to classrooms, and eliminate the sharing of classrooms by a number of high school teachers.
Read MoreLocal Seniors enjoy equestrian visitors
•June 25, 2025•
by DM Williamee
On Tuesday, June 17th, Andra and Bill Ebert of Taylorville, who own “Heartland Mini-Hoofs,” brought their American Miniature horses to the Mid-Illinois Senior Services in Sullivan. Accompanying them were 14-year-old Jasper and 4-year-old Ollie. Andra advised the group they visit day cares, nursing homes, children’s hospitals, homes for the blind, and have an anti-bullying program that they take to schools, free of charge. Jasper has had well over 1,300 visits under his reins and is one of the top service horses in the country.
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•June 25, 2025•
American Legion Post 68 has selected Sullivan Native and United States Military Veteran Mike Keown as this year’s 4th of July Parade Grand Master. Mr. Keown has been a member of the American Legion for 56 years, becoming a member in 1971 and becoming active in 1978, and began moving through the Chain of Command in 1980-1981, serving as Commander. Mr. Keown has served on the Honor Guard since 1978 and is active in funeral military rights for veterans. Mr. Keown has also headed the Fireworks fundraiser since 2014, began managing the American Legion’s scholarships in 2007, was elected to the board in 2013 and has served since that time, continuously, as a board member, and is also very active in multiple local community activities as well as his duties with the American Legion. Mr. Keown considers his most important work to be that of the rights of Military Veterans.
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•June 25, 2025•
The parade will begin at 12:00 p.m. (begins at SHS). Food and lemonade trucks as well as Xtreme inflatables, including rock wall, zip line, Xtreme air, slide, 3 piece obstacle course, wrecking ball, and a toddler zone, will be in the American Legion parking lot from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Wrist bands for the inflatables will be $30.00. Park games: at approximately 2:00 p.m. in Wyman Park, there will be turtle races, a watermelon eating contest, and sack races. The fireworks show begins at dusk.
•June 25, 2025•
Mackville will perform at the Allenville Christian Church at 6:00 p.m. on July 12th. There will be a free will offering and refreshments, and fellowship afterwards. Mackville’s music is a true mix of bluegrass and gospel music. They tell stories of song with their unique sound by alternating vocal leads with strong harmonies, along with instrumentals. They play a variety of traditional bluegrass music and gospel hymns. They hope that their music will inspire or encourage faith, as they enjoy helping and encouraging others.
About the band: Jeff Lee plays mandolin and clawhammer banjo and sings lead/harmony.; Gary Schlabach plays guitar and sings tenor/harmony; Larry Schlabach plays fiddle and sings baritone/lead; Lori Schlabach sings lead/harmony; Mike Waddell plays banjo, mandolin, dobro and sings bass; Terry Schlabach plays upright bass and sings lead/harmony; Pam Waddell, Mike’s wife, takes care of the sound, merchandising, and many behind the scenes tasks; and Amy Lee, Jeff’s wife, takes care of promotions, bookings and website design.