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Obituaries 7-8-2015: Joan Pound

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poundJoan Pound

Joan R. Pound, 78, of Sullivan passed away in her sleep at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, July 5, 2015 at her new residence, 315 E. Harrison St., after battling cancer for the past two years.

Celebration of Life services will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. in Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan with Pastor Charliam Renner officiating. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to the time of the service. Private burial will be Monday August 10, 2015 at 2 p.m. in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.reedfuneralhome.net. Memorials are suggested to the Sullivan United Methodist Church or to Moultrie County Habitat for Humanity.

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Mo-Do County Fair 4-H Results 2015

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Submitted Pictured (left) is Janae Hopper of Allenville receiving her Grand Champion award from (right) Hunter Dyer Moultrie-Douglas Jr. Leader President.

Submitted
Pictured (left) is Janae Hopper of Allenville receiving her Grand Champion award from (right) Hunter Dyer Moultrie-Douglas Jr. Leader President.

•July 8, 2015•

The Moultrie-Douglas county fair held its general 4-H show earlier this week. Below are the local 4-H results by club:

Atwood-Hammond Prairie Dogs

Hunter Dyer, Extempore Speaking, Class Champion, State Fair Delegate, Grand Champion; Passport to the World, Individual Class Champion, Grand Champion; Elyse Harris, Citizenship III, State Fair Delegate;Communications III, State Fair Delegate; Emma Harris, Walk In My Shoes, Individual Class Champion, Grand Champion, State Fair Delegate; Emma Harris, Leadership II, Class Champion, State Fair Delegate, Grand Champion.

Awesome Arthur Clovers

Hannah Carter, Sewing / Textiles I, Grand Champion; Victoria Carter, 4-H Cooking 101- 3 cookies, Class Champion; Alexandra Edwards, Design Decisions - Advanced Class Champion, Grand Champion, State Fair Delegate; Chalk/Carbon/Pigment, State Fair Delegate; Jace Green, Bicycle I (not SF eligible), Class Champion, Grand Champion; Corn, Class Champion, State Fair Delegate, Grand Champion; Soybeans, Class Champion, State Fair Delegate.

Moultrie County Longhorns

Benjamin Bushue, Demonstration, Class Champion; Electricity 2, Grand Champion, Class Champion, State Fair Delegate; Junk Drawer Robotics I, State Fair Alternate; Brett Bushue, Pebble Pups I, Class Champion, Grand Champion; Plants / Soils I, Class Champion; Reagan Crouse, Design Decisions-Beginners Class Champion, State Fair Delegate; Photography I, State Fair Alternate; Coen Foster, Computer Science 1, Class Champion, State Fair Delegate; Electricity 2, State Fair Alternate; Read More

Bethany Bar Closes for the Summer, TIF Funds Revoked

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Village also hears petition concerning rental utilities

July 8, 2015

by Derek Pope
Bethany Reporter

At the end of May, Bethany’s first bar in decades decided to close—at least temporarily. The Hired Hand Winery and Saloon, located in Bethany’s downtown district, formally announced the closure on their Facebook page on May 31, pledging to return to business in August. The reason they cited for the closure was an extended family summer vacation, but the announcement came unexpectedly following the approval of a sizable loan from the village’s township investment funds (TIF) intended to aid in the business’s summer operations.
Prior to the village board’s approval of the loan in April, the owners of the Hired Hand and its sister business Echoes Studio, Shane and Erin Weybright, approached the village’s TIF committee with an appeal for funds that they deemed necessary for keeping the two establishments operational throughout the summer and ultimately in the months and years to come. They requested the necessary money to install a new heating, and more importantly, air conditioning system in the outdated downtown buildings that housed the businesses. The Hired Hand’s ownership said that during their first year of operation, the complete lack of an air conditioning system so badly hurt their summer business that it may ultimately be impossible to financially endure another summer without one.
Bethany’s TIF committee and village board ultimately agreed, approving a recommendation to award the Weybrights a $48,000 five-year forgivable loan, in part to improve the downtown buildings themselves, which must be repaid in part should the business permanently close or be sold within that time frame.
The decision was not without objections, though. Read More

LLC Presidential Scholars

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•July 8, 2015•

Lake Land College has awarded 142 students in the surrounding communities with the Presidential Scholarship for the 2015-2016 school year. This monetary award is offered to district high school graduates who have demonstrated outstanding academic performance in high school. The scholarship is good for two years with a value up to $4,625 per year or $9,250 total.
To receive the scholarship, a student must either rank in the top 15 percent of his/her senior class; or have an ACT composite score of 26 or higher. Additionally, students must enroll at LLC full-time the fall semester immediately following high school graduation and submit the Presidential Scholarship Acceptance Form prior to enrollment at the college. Read More

Obituaries 7-8-2015: Thelma King

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King photo for paperThelma King

Thelma Louise King, 89, of Sullivan, died at 9 p.m. Thursday July 2, 2015 in Mason Point in Sullivan.

Celebration of Life services were held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Elim Springs Church of Jesus Christ with Felix Hagerman and Vanessa Patient officiating. Burial was in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan. Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan was in charge of arrangements.

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Uphoff Crowned Miss Moultrie-Douglas

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Photo by Keith Stewart Pictured is Gabrielle Uphoff of Sullivan being crowned Miss Moultrie-Douglas Tuesday night by the former Miss Mo-Do Maria Meyer.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Pictured is Gabrielle Uphoff of Sullivan being crowned Miss Moultrie-Douglas Tuesday night by the former Miss Mo-Do Maria Meyer.

First Sullivan queen since 2006

•July 8, 2015•

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

She may have come off to the judges as a seasoned pro, but for Gabrielle Uphoff of Sullivan, Tuesday night’s pageant was her first.
So was her crown.
“I’m kind of in shock, but I’m very excited,” said Uphoff shortly after her crowning. “Fairs are my favorite.”
The two-hour pageant came after months of preparation that for Uphoff included, perhaps more than those with more pageant-going experience.
“It’s been practicing interview skills, and trying to calm my nerves when it came to my speech, and walking,” said the 2015 Miss Mo-Do. “I’ve never done anything like this, but it’s been a great experience. My mom and I went over pages of interview questions and speeches, and outfits. It’s been an all day, every day process.”
“She’s put quite a bit of work into it over the last few months,” added her father Phillip. “Practicing her speech and the whole wardrobe. I basically kept out of it. It was all her and mom and her friends. I’m just very proud of her.”
“It’s been very stressful and a lot of work, but it was fun too, kind of like prom,” said her mother Stacey. “The best part is the preparation. We’ve spent a lot of time together, practicing questions and walking.”
The last time there was a Mo-Do queen from Sullivan was in 2006 when Danielle Ketchmark was crowned. Read More