Mary Grooms, 102, of Sullivan, died at 10:25 p.m. Monday, February 3, 2025 at the Odd Fellow-Rebekah Home in Mattoon.
Mary was born June 25, 1922 in Humboldt, the daughter of Oliver and Bessie Seeley Starwalt. She married John W. “Jack” Grooms in Humboldt on June 7, 1941; he preceded her in death on May 11, 2001.
Survivors include her daughter, Mary Ann Sphar of Phoenix, AZ; son, John R. (Debbie) Grooms of Sullivan; grandchildren, Leigh Anne Sphar of Phoenix, AZ; Angie (Steven) Avila of Mesa, Arizona; Kristen (Brad) Hubble of Leroy, IL; Nick (Dr. Heidi) Grooms of Sullivan; Tyson (Kasey) Grooms of Sullivan; great grandchildren, Haegan Baumann and Brooklyn Sphar; Kailey, Brayden, and Brock Hubble; Gabby, Grace, and Jack Grooms; Tucker and Kiley Grooms.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Jack; brothers, Willard and Rex Starwalt; sisters, Esther Clark, Mona Von Behren, Opal Borror, Charlene Young, Hettie Reece, and Alice Speck.
Graveside services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Friday, February 7, 2025 at the Humboldt Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 6, 2025 at Shrader Funeral Home, 204 N. Locust Street, Arcola.
Memorials are suggested to the Sullivan Sports Boosters or American Heart Association.
Online condolences to the family may be shared at www.hilligosssshraderfh.com
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Lovington participates in MAPPING program
•January 29, 2025•
Submitted
Lovington has enlisted the help of the MAPPING The Future of Your Community program through the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University to take a proactive approach to planning for community and economic development.
Read MorePork chop dinner
The Sullivan High school will be hosting the Boys’ Senior Night on Thursday, February 20th 5-7 p.m. Tickets for the dinner are $15, ticket sales are open.
For more information or to purchase tickets for the Senior Night, contact stinebring@sullivan.k12.il.us.
Basket Bingo
•January 29, 2025•
To raise funds for the 2025 Prom, the SHS Prom Committee will be hosting Bingo, including prizes, raffle, silent auction and a bake sale along with food and drinks available.
The Basket Bingo will be held on February 21st in the high school commons. Doors for the event open at 5:30, game will begin at 6:30. Tickets for Bingo are $15 if bought by February 17th and $20 at the door.
To purchase tickets contact a prom committee member or Marsha Kirby at kirbym@sullivan.k12.il.us.
Sullivan Dance Studio’s competition team hosts preview show
Sullivan Dance Studio Competition Team hosted their annual Preview Showcase in Sullivan Elementary School’s Gym on Sunday, January 19. Friends, family and the public were invited to attend. Competition season for the team begins in just a few weeks and will continue through June.
This year’s team members include (in no particular order): Hadlee Blakey, Sophie Elliott, Zola Krieger, Katie Plank, Aubrey Young, Natalia Beals, Blair Camp, Caroline Hobbs, Kaylee Hostetler, Tiffany Hostetler, Mara Inman, Gianna Krieger, Mia Lovett, Abigail Plank, Knox Weakly, Alayna Young, Sophie Foster, Tinley Krieger, Alayna Ard, Addi Finn, Brinnley Hobbs, Emma Hostetler, Aubrie Payne, Elizabeth Plank, Vaeda Spender, Lexi Yoder, Synthea Doss, Adalee Foster, Zoe Lynch, and Miah Voegel.
Educational Lunch for Girls
•January 29, 2025•
On February 22nd from 8:30am to 3:30pm, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in collaboration with Ameren Illinois will be hosting a “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day’ for all middle and high school students. Attendees can expect keynote speaker - Angela Heise, a SIUE computer science alumna who currently serves as Corporate Vice President for Microsoft Worldwide, public sector. There will be hands-on engineering activities in computer science, electrical/computer, mechanical, civil and industrial engineering. Continuing there will also be professional panelists, discussion with Q&A and intern/co-op info sessions.
The event is free to attend with registration, registration must be done by February 2nd. Lunch will be provided.
For more information contact SIUE at swesiue@gmail.com. To register for the event visit tinyurl.com/siueige.
Illinois Department of Revenue announces start of income tax season
Eligible taxpayers will be able to use free, direct file tax option
•January 29, 2025•
The 2025 tax season has started, and the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) announced recently it has begin accepting and processing 2025 tax returns.
Illinois is participating in the IRS Direct File program this year. Eligible taxpayers will be able to use the program to electronically complete their 2024 federal tax returns for free. Eligibility can be confirmed by visiting https://directfile.irs.gov . After filing a federal return using Direct File, the program will connect taxpayers to Illinois’ free state income tax filing system, MyTax Illinois, allowing them to file and complete their Illinois state returns.
Read MoreAlternatives to screen time
•January 29, 2025•
Cheri Burcham
Extension Educator
University of Illinois Extension
Like many things, there are positive and negative effects of screen time for all of us, and it can be hard to come up with that magic amount of time that should be spent interacting with a screen. We do know that too much time spent on screens can be detrimental to youth - they can experience sleep problems, lower grades in school, reading less, spending less time with family and friends, and can also lead to weight problems, mood problems, poor self-image and body image issues, fear of missing out and spending less time learning ways to relax and have fun! So, what are some other alternatives we can all try to incorporate in our lives to replace some of that screen time?
Read MoreLady Redskins are Lincoln Prairie Conference Champions!
by E. Scott England
After a week-long conference tournament hosted by Okaw Valley, the Lady Redskins prevailed victorious last Saturday night with their third tournament win that earned them the hardware.
The first win of the week came on Monday against Unity Christian. The strong defense really came out in the second quarter as the girls didn’t allow the Lions to score again until the third quarter. They also managed to never allow Unity Christian to score more than eight in a quarter. Shae Ellis exploded for 17 points in that game. Addison Stollard also had a great game with another nine points. Ellis and Stollard also drained two three-pointers each. Mae Dawkins added another three. The final in the conference tournament opener was 46-21.
Read MoreWindsor group to host “Souper Party”
•January 29, 2025•
by Sharon Barricklow
With the pro football Super Bowl coming, the Windsor Harvest Picnic Committee is getting ready to host a “Soup-er” bowl party before the big event at the Windsor Community Building on February 9.
The donation only lunch from 10:30 to 1 includes chili, oyster, and potato soups with hamburgers and pork burgers, desserts and drinks. Funds raised go to support the Windsor Harvest Picnic held annually with free entertainment and events.