Barbara J. Johnson, 93, of Bethany, passed away 12:02 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at the Arthur Home in Arthur.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at the McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan. Visitation will be held an hour prior to the services Wednesday, at the funeral home in Sullivan. Burial will take place in Mt. Zion Cemetery, Mt. Zion. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Moultrie County Food Bank or to the Sullivan High School Football Program.
Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story. Celebration of Life services were held Monday June 2, 2025 in the Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan with Pastor Rob Roy officiating. Burial took place in the Marrowbone Township Cemetery, Bethany. Memorials are suggested to the Bethany United Methodist Church. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.
Ramona was born December 2, 1928 in Shawneetown, the daughter of Gordon and Beulah Hatcher Ozee. She had worked at the Bethany Grocery Store, Peters Market in Decatur, Svendsen Florist in Decatur and the Sullivan Senior Center. Ramona married Robert ‘Bob’ Lesley on September 13, 1947 and he preceded her in death on April 17, 1977. She then married Eugene ‘Gene’ Hertlein on May 10, 2011 in Bethany and he preceded her in death on April 23, 2014.
Surviving are her daughters Helen (George) Levi of Effingham, Patti (Rieck) Kendall of Sullivan and Brenda Kirk of Sullivan; sister Doris Murphy of Shelbyville, brothers Roger Ozee of Shelbyville and Larry (Judi) Ozee of Arcola; grandchildren Lori (John) Thomas, Jennifer Levi, Alison Yoder, Kari (Troy) Rogers, Katy (Bryan) Fogerson, Adam, (Leann) Lesley, Michael (Marci) Kirk, Alyssa Kirk and Erin (Tim) Fricke; twelve great grandchildren and three great great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husbands, five brothers and a sister.
Lefty Devon Still had a game to remember Tuesday night in Champaign, pitching all seven innings to tally 14 punch-outs and earning his 11th victory on the season. Still also drove home the game-winning run in, walk-off fashion, sending Okaw Valley to the team’s first final four state qualifier.
Following the county board’s amendment of the zoning ordinance to allow for special use permits for zoos, one such application was filed. Aikman Wildlife, LLC. filed their application on May 15, requesting a special use permit for a zoo for a tract of property located one mile west of The Great Pumpkin Patch, southwest of Arthur.
At their monthly meeting in May, the Sullivan school board accepted the resignation of middle and high school show choir director Connie Mulligan, who also served as the elementary school teacher. Mulligan had been with the district for five years.
As Amazon’s great text stats had calculated, the average length of a book is around 64,000 words. But for Lovington seventh grader Joshua Zander, that’s hardly a big deal. And he would know.
Photo by DM Williamee
Pictured is Klaire Cursell, face-painting Fitz Weaver at the ETML Summer Reading Program Kickoff party on Friday, May 30th with cooperating, sunny weather in abundance. The free event included bounce houses, face-painting, flavored icees, cotton candy, and other treats as the children signed up for the Summer Reading Program and checked out their books. Peals of laughter were heard inside and outside the library. Maternal Child Health Assistant Suzy Edward with the Moultrie County Health Department was on hand, providing dental treat bags and information for the summer readers and their parents.
The first responders of Moultrie County are looking for donations to assist in the acquisition of school supplies for Sullivan, Bethany, and Lovington Elementary Schools. These donations can be monetary and/or physical supplies, as listed by each school district. The monetary donations will assist in the purchase of school supplies, as well as needs requested from each school district.
Sullivan Schools 2024-2025 Interim Band Director, Chris Keniley, has been selected as a quarterfinalist for the 2026 Grammy Music Educator Award. This is a significant honor recognizing his contributions to music education. When asked about the nomination, Chris shared, “I didn’t know how significant it was; I learned more after I got a letter a month ago saying that I had been nominated, and could I fill out a few more details about what I’ve done at the school.” There is supplemental material he needs to submit, a video interview, and he will find out later this summer if he made the top 10. “I’m hoping for that, because you receive a grant for your school music program. I think that would be the greatest thing in the world. I’m doing what I can to help students achieve success. Although I am now handing the torch over to someone else, that was my mission this year.”
On Sunday, June 8th, at 6:00 p.m., renowned Gospel singer Rick Allen King will be performing at the Allenville Christian Church, 201 S. Allen Street in Allenville. Rick began his musical journey singing with his mother at age six. Still a young boy of twelve, he started singing professionally and has shared the stage with many leading artists in Gospel Music. Even now, Rick sings his songs for concerts, churches, banquets - any event where good Gospel Music is appreciated. For more information, visit his website at http://rickalanking.com.
Fellowship and light refreshments will follow after the concert, with love offerings welcomed.
On June 20th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Heritage Woods of Sullivan will be holding an Alzheimer’s Awareness Fundraiser. Hot dogs, chips, cookies, and bottled water will be provided for a nominal $5.00. These lunches will be prepared in “to go” fashion, making for a quick lunch break while raising funds for Alzheimer’s awareness. Questions? Call (217) 728-4300.
On Thursday, June 5th, at 6:00 p.m. in the meeting room, the Windsor Storm Memorial Public Library Book Club will be meeting.
This month’s conversation and tea will be about their May selection, “Wild Dark Shore,” by New York Times bestselling author Charlotte McConaghy. You can also check out a copy of their June title of choice, “The Book Club for Troublesome Women,” by Marie Bostwick.
For more information, see the Library’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stormlibrary, or send an email to WindsorLibraryJess@Gmail.com.
In the late afternoon of Saturday, May 31st, there was a single-vehicle accident, with the vehicle making contact with the Sullivan Agri-Fab factory signage located at the factory frontage on Hamilton Street. Per Sullivan Police Department’s Chief of Police, Andrew Pistorius, the airbag was deployed in the incident, and the driver refused medical treatment. No further information is available at this time.
