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Monthly Historical Meeting Thursday

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June 17, 2015

The Moultrie County Historical and Genealogical Society will hold their monthly general meeting Thursday, June 18 at 7 p.m. in the Heritage Center in Sullivan. The speaker for the evening will be  Andy Brantner, Illinois NRCS District Conservationist for Douglas and Moultrie counties. Brantner will use a Power Point presentation to explain how the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the primary federal agency that works with private landowners to help them conserve, maintain, and improve their natural resources. A social hour will follow the program with refreshments being served.

Sullivan Kiwanis, Back in the Business of Serving

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Photo by Keith Stewart Sullivan Kiwanis Club President Cindi Reed (right) is presented the club’s gavel by Jim Dooley as part of the charter ceremony Monday night.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Sullivan Kiwanis Club President Cindi Reed (right) is presented the club’s gavel by Jim Dooley as part of the charter ceremony Monday night.

June 17, 2015

Local chapter receives charter Monday

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Nearly nine months of meetings, soliciting, and discussing came down to Monday evening’s charter celebration as the local Kiwanis group officially reemerged in Sullivan after shuttering several years ago.
Held in a packed side room of the Red Apple Family Restaurant, the charter presentation not only included the installation of 16 members, but also three officers, and saw a show of support from various neighboring Kiwanis groups from Mattoon, Charleston, Decatur and Tuscola.
And two of those groups–the Decatur Golden K Club and the Tuscola club, were instrumental in reviving the Sullivan branch, that, according to member and local historian Paul Stone, was originally founded in 1929.
Dave Butler, who is not only from the Tuscola club, but also the current Kiwanis lieutenant governor for district 27, along with Jim Dooley, the 2014-2015 Kiwanis Governor for the Illinois and eastern Iowa district, and others began by going door to door, soliciting membership late last fall. Read More

Hypnotized by “Hairspray”

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Photo by Keith Stewart Pictured is Sara Reinecke as Tracy Turnblad, the teenage girl who has aspirations to make it on to the Corny Collins Show.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Pictured is Sara Reinecke as Tracy Turnblad, the teenage girl who has aspirations to make it on to the Corny Collins Show.

June 17, 2015

By Dan Hagen
NP Theatre Critic

The dress rehearsal for the Little Theatre’s second show of the season reminded me just how well Hairspray works as a musical.
The John Waters story about outsiders (persecuted for their pounds and pigmentation) who are trying to get inside a local TV dance program in 1964 provides a perfect excuse for dance after dance. You realize that the large cast must be exhausted by the end of director Kevin Long’s brisk, high-energy show, although their smiles never show it.
Colorful costumes by Sherri Milo are shown off to good effect against a terrific set by Noel Rennerfeldt.
From the moment Tracy Turnblad (Sara Reinecke) emerges from her dramatically vertical bed to sing the life-affirming anthem Good Morning Baltimore, the comic book colors of the set catch and please the eye. I particularly enjoyed the big vari-colored light panels surrounding the stage and the angled, Seuss-like buildings.
Double kudos go to Lee Ann Payne as actor and choreographer. The Equity performer (Reno in 2014’s Anything Goes) brings stage presence and assurance to the role of mean mom Velma Von Tussle, glorying like Cruella De Vil in the memory of her triumph as Miss Baltimore Crabs. Read More

Obituaries 6-17-2015: Janet Dudley

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Janet dudleyJanet Dudley

Celebration of Life services for Janet A. Dudley, 84, of Shelbyville, formerly of Bethany and Decatur, were held at 7 p.m. Monday In Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan. Graveside services were at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Hickory Hill Cemetery in Broughton.

She died at 1:07 p.m. Thursday June 11, 2015 in Shelby Manor in Shelbyville.

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Obituaries 6-17-2015: Earline Schuetz

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Earline W. SchuetzEarline Schuetz

Earline W. Schuetz, 73, of Sullivan, passed away at 9:35 a.m. Thursday June 11, 2015 in Decatur Memorial Hospital.

Celebration of Life services will be at 7 p.m. Friday in Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan with Pastor Rodney Houser officiating. Visitation will be 6-7 p.m. Friday.

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Obituaries 6-17-2015: Anna Malloy

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Malloy, Anna 001Anna Malloy

Graveside services for Anna Bell Malloy, 93, of Sullivan were held at 11 a.m. Monday in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan. McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan handled arrangements.

She passed away at 8:40 a.m. Thursday June 11, 2015 in her home in Sullivan.

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Lovington 8th Grade Class Promotion

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June 10, 2015

The Lovington Grade School eighth grade class promotion ceremony was held Thursday, June 4. The following students were promoted: Isaac Ashenfelter, Gabriel Hallford, Paul Brodnansky, Jon Marquis, Kyle Carnahan, Dalton McDaniel, Veronica Chambers, Caleb Nettles, Adam Day, Taylor Powell, Hunter Day, Daniel Reedy, Ciara Emrick, Jessica Renfro, Molly Fort, Angela Robinson, Lauren Foster, Alexia Stanley, and Katelynn Gingerich. Read More

Carle Auxiliary Scholarships to Local Students

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June 10, 2015

The Carle Auxiliary recently awarded $1,000 to each of 15 full-time, high-achieving students who are pursuing careers in the healthcare field. More than 90 students submitted applications for an opportunity at this year’s scholarships.
Local recipients included Addison Frederick and Brittany Hart, both of Sullivan, as well as Brooke Tabb of Arthur. Read More

Bethany Receives IMUA Safety Recognition

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June 10, 2015

Village of Bethany municipal utility employees were recently honored with a special safety achievement award in recognition of an outstanding safety record for 2014 during the Illinois Municipal Utilities Association’s (IMUA) 2015 Annual Conference.
The annual conference was held early last month (May 7-8) at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel & Conference Center in downtown Springfield.
The award was announced by IMUA President & CEO Kevin M. Gaden May 7 at IMUA’s 67th Anniversary Annual Conference dinner and awards banquet. The award recognizes village of Bethany employees for an outstanding safety record in 2014 and for earning a first-place designation in the group A division of the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) 2015 Safety Awards of Excellence competition. Bethany earned the designation by logging 4,640 hours of worker exposure with an accompanying incidence rate of 0.00. Those winners were announced by the APPA at its 2015 Engineering & Operations Conference, held May 17-20 in Sacramento, Calif. Read More