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Recent Obituaries: Bettye Dawson

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Bettye Dawson

Bettye Katherine Dawson, 100, of Ankeny, IA, formerly of Lovington, Decatur and Tuscola, passed away Thursday, April 10, 2025, Rock Creek Senior Living, Ankeny, IA.

Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Saturday, April 19, 2025, at the McMullin-Young Funeral Home, Lovington. Graveside services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, in Keller Cemetery, Lovington. Memorials may be made to the First Christian Church, Lovington.

Bettye was born on March 6, 1925, in Decatur; the daughter of Durward and Frances (Massengill) Dillow. She spent a lot of time with her only living grandparents. She married Kent E. Dawson in 1949; he preceded her in death on September 1, 2017, they raised 3 sons. Bettye graduated from Millikin University and went on to receive her Masters in Education from Eastern Illinois University. She was a teacher at Atwood-Hammond School for 27 years. Bettye enjoyed dancing, traveling around the world and teaching children. She was a member of the Lovington First Christian Church and National Education Association.

She is survived by her sons, Michael Dawson of Carmel, IN, and Mitchell (Teresa) Dawson of Ankeny, IA. She is also survived by 5 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, 1 son, Mark, 2 sisters and 1 brother.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mcmullinyoung.com

JFL Early Registration Open

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•April 9, 2025•

Registration is now open for the Junior Football League (JFL). Tackle Football and cheer: Jr. Lightweight, 4th and first year 5th. Lightweight, second year 5th and 6th. Heavyweight, 7th and 8th. Flag Football and Cheer, K-3rd.

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Windsor community Easter egg hunt

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•April 9, 2025•

Windsor Christian Church will be sponsoring a “Community Easter eggstravaganza” on April 19th, from 10:00 a.m. until noon. There will also be a petting zoo, candy and eggs, blow-ups, photos with the Easter Bunny, and food trucks. The event will be held at Windsor Park. For more information, call (217) 459-2834.

Methodist Church Easter eggs nearing completion

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Photo by DM Williamee Mardi Gott, hard at work preparing to mix another batch in the early a.m.

Made-to-order delights a community tradition

•April 9, 2025•

Sullivan First United Methodist Church’s group of 30 volunteers are still hard at work completing their yearly Easter Egg orders. This year, over a thousand eggs will be crafted for those who placed their advance orders and who will be called as soon as they are ready for pick up. 

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4-H Multi-County Public Speaking Contest

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Jenavieve Welsh presents her topic.

4-H members from Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, and Moultrie counties competed in public speaking on Saturday, March 29, at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center’s Lumpkin Center.

Members could compete in formal, illustrated, or oral interpretation speech presentations. The members presented in front of judges from the University of Illinois, who scored them on physical presence, clarity of purpose, relatability to the audience, originality, use of visual aids, use of voice, and use of gestures and space.

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Helping teens build self-esteem: Tools and tips to make a difference

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•April 9, 2025•

by Cheri Burcham
Extension Educator
University of Illinois Extension

One of the best ways to lead a happy, healthy, and successful life is to have good self-esteem. As youth are developing socially, emotionally, and physically, it’s important to develop good self-esteem building habits early on. According to the Child Development Institute, youth with high self-esteem tend to be more confident, try new things, handle their emotions better, and treat others with more kindness. Youth with low self-esteem often lack confidence, avoid new things, struggle with their emotions, and struggle in their relationships with others.

Help teens build self-esteem by showing support and encouragement. Let youth know when they’ve done something well to help them develop a more positive view of themselves. Make it a point to focus on their strengths and point out the things they can do. Perfection should not be the goal. “It’s okay if I didn’t get a perfect score on that test. I did my best, and I’ll try again on the next one!”

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Cherry-almond ice cream is a scoop above the rest

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Ice cream is a beloved dessert. The extraordinary number of flavor combinations that can be achieved simply by mixing together a few ingredients undoubtedly contributes to the popularity of ice cream. 

For those partial to cherries and almonds, there’s nothing better than combining those flavors in this recipe for “No-Churn Cherry Bakewell Ice Cream” from “Jane’s Patisserie” (Sourcebooks) by Jane Dunn.

No-Churn Cherry 

Bakewell Ice Cream

Serves 10

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April “Dine with a Doc” at MISS a hit

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IL Attorney General’s PSA resonates

•April 9, 2025•

Last week’s monthly “Dine with a Doc” at Mid Illinois Senior Services was a presentation, timely for April Fool’s Day, by Heather Calcara of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office on how to avoid becoming a victim of frauds and scams. The presentation was very well-received, with a healthy Q&A after her presentation and many nods and affirmations throughout.   

The monthly lunch and learn was opened with a heartfelt statement of gratitude to all Veterans, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, and a fine lunch served to all in attendance. Patty Hood from Sarah Bush Lincoln led the luncheon and introduced Heather Calcara and the topic. A table was set up with numerous informative flyers, brochures, and resources for those in attendance.

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Mobile DMV at Elizabeth Titus

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•April 9, 2025•

On Thursday, April 17th, the Illinois Secretary of State’s Mobile DMV will be at the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library, 2 W. Water Street, Sullivan, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Services available include driver’s licenses and state ID cards, (both standard and ‘Real ID’), vehicle registration, and license plate stickers. For a full list of acceptable documents, go to ilos.gov (re-quired for first-time, renewals, and corrected). Written and road tests are not available at Mobile ID events.

Pre-registration is required by stopping in at the library and signing up by April 15th, or call (217) 728-7221. Payment methods accepted: Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover Debit, credit cards, personal checks, and money orders. (Debit/credit payments are subject to a service fee).

Healthcare Academy provides healthcare career exposure

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•April 9, 2025•

Sophomores, juniors or seniors interested in a career in healthcare can apply now at https://bit.ly/4jdGvzU (search academy) for the Sarah Bush Lincoln Healthcare Academy. The Academy aims to equip high school students with the knowledge, skills, and practical experience necessary for success in the healthcare field. The program runs from 8:30 am - noon, June 16 - 20 at SBL in the Lumpkin Education Center. Participants will be exposed to a broad range of healthcare careers and connect with Sarah Bush Lincoln staff and local colleges to learn about education and career pathways. Participants will learn more about careers in:

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