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Remembering Who We Are….40

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Isaac Hill’s Mission for Jefferson…Part 2

•December 25, 2024•

by Janet Roney

In this series of articles, we’ve been following old trails into the past of Moultrie County and central Illinois. We’ve covered the Kaskaskia-Detroit Road used by the French in the 1700s, the path the Long Knives of George Rogers Clark used to cross Illinois during the Revolutionary War that secured Illinois, including Moultrie, for the United States, and I sickened some of you when you read about the Eagle Pond duck dinner a la’ feather observed by Indian captive William Biggs while traveling through Moultrie on the trail from Cahokia, Vandalia, and Shelbyville in 1788. All of these trails are discussed in history books.  

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More than 82,000 deer harvested during Illinois firearm deer season

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•December 25, 2024•

Hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 82,496 deer during the seven-day 2024 Illinois firearm deer season that concluded Dec. 8. Comparatively, hunters harvested 76,494 deer during the 2023 firearm season.

The preliminary harvest for the second segment of the 2024 firearm season Dec. 5-8 was 27,835 compared with 22,883 deer harvested during the second part of the 2023 season.

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Practice self-care during the holiday season

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•December 25, 2024•

by Cheri Burcham
Extension Educator, University of Illinois Extension                   

In the Illinois Extension publication Breakroom Buzz this month, Extension Educator Tessa Hobbs-Curley gives us some great tips on providing ourselves self-care during the holiday season. Tessa says: December can bring on many complex feelings. These feelings of excitement, boredom, joy, despair, comfort, worry, hope, etc., can be due to the hustle and celebration of the holidays. Self-care during the holiday season makes December less overwhelming.  

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SBL introduces self-scheduling service

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•December 25, 2024•

A new Sarah Bush Lincoln self-scheduling service will go live on Jan. 6, allowing people to schedule appointments with their primary care providers.  

SBL Specialty Clinic Director April Clark explained, “Self-scheduling is easy to use and it’s available whenever people have the time to schedule an appointment, even when the office is closed.”  

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Okaw Valley teacher sentenced to five years

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•December 25, 2024•

by Sharon Barricklow

A 45 year old former Okaw Valley school teacher was sentenced to a total of five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on December 12 after pleading guilty to Grooming, a Class 4 Felony, and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, a Class 2 Felony. 

Jason R. Engler of Shelbyville was a teacher and junior high cross country coach at the time of his arrest. He was sentenced in Moultrie County Court and still faces charges in Shelby County. Investigators said Engler sent pornographic pictures of himself to victims and a journal investigators entered into evidence showed he planned to take one student to his native Ohio and “make her his wife”. 

Lake Shelbyville Christmas Tree Recycling Program

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•December 25, 2024•

Don’t let your Christmas tree go to waste this year after the holidays. Extend your tree’s life by donating it for Fish Habitat Improvement Day at Lake Shelbyville. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Shelbyville Fish Habitat Alliance and Illinois Department of Natural Resources will place the discarded trees into Lake Shelbyville to enhance the fisheries for years to come. 

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Ham for the Holidays

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Photo by Megan Russell
Ham for the holidays Just like Thanksgiving, there is a special meal most have during Christmas consisting of sweet ham and many other furnishings. In reminder of what the holidays actually mean, giving back to the CEFS Moultrie County Outreach center with a generous donation of hams. The truck and supporting trailer of ham arrived in front of the Outreach center last Thursday. Delivering the donation ham, pictured from left to right, was Shawn Eccles, Seth Cobb and Blake Eller.

Third graders spread holiday cheer

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•December 25, 2024•

The Sullivan Elementary 3rd graders put on a special performance on the morning of Thursday, December 19th at the Mid-Illinois Senior Services center, singing Christmas songs, reading poems and wishing for gifts from Santa for all to see. 

The estimated 80 students filed into their lines and began their performance with seasonal favorites like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Deck the Halls.   

“Dear Santa Claus, it’s me again and I’m here to remind you I’m here and have a list of gift this year,” recited all the students, “A stack of comic books, a dozen apple pies, a box of chocolate brownies and an elephant that flies!”  

The program continued with groups standing to perform speaking parts thanking the audience for watching and wishing for gifts from Santa in between songs and poems.