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Obituaries 1-24-2024: Dennis Johnson

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Dennis Johnson

Dennis E. Johnson, 91, of Sullivan, passed away at 6:05 a.m. Thursday January 18, 2024 in St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur, Illinois.

Memorial services will be at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday April 13, 2024 in the Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan. Military Honors will be conducted after the service by the Sullivan American Legion Post #68. Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. until service time. Memorials are suggested to the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library or to St. John’s Lutheran Church in Mattoon. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net. Read More

Illinois Ranks as No. 1 Soy, No. 2 Corn Producing State for 2023

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•January 24, 2024•

by Daniel Grant

FarmWeek

Illinois once again produced some of the largest crops of any state in the nation despite drought and other weather challenges last year, according to USDA’s crop production report re-leased Jan. 12.

Prairie State farmers produced 648 million bushels of soybeans in 2023 (down from 2022 but the most of any state nationwide) and 2.27 billion bushels of corn (up slightly from the previ-ous year and the second-most nationwide behind Iowa).

Statewide, yields averaged 206 bushels per acre for corn in 2023 (up 3 bushels from the No-vember estimate but down 8 bushels from the 2022 record) and 63 bushels for beans (up 2 bushels from November and even with last year). Read More

Pay Down Debt, or Invest my Money

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•January 24, 2024•

Cheri Burcham

Extension Educator

University of Illinois Extension

Should I pay extra on my student loan or invest in a Roth IRA? Build up an emergency savings fund or pay off my credit card debt? Pay off my mortgage or put more money in my 401(k) re-tirement plan? These are great and common questions. Kathy Sweedler with University of Illi-nois Extension has written this great article to address that trending question - “Is it better to pay down debt or build up savings and investments?”

Kathy says that like many real-life questions, the answer is not black and white. The answer is likely to be based on both objective information as well as personal values. Here are two ques-tions I suggest asking yourself: “How can you get the most out of your dollars and what’s im-portant to you?”

Best buy for your dollar. Read More

A Look Back…1-24-2024

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2014

Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond held an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter against Cerro Gordo-Bement and sprang to a 62-55 win and third place title.

Okaw Valley had its second consecutive victory, a 63-41 blowout of Atwood-Hammond. 

The Arthur-Lovington Knights overtook Okaw Valley in the LOVC tourney opener. The Knights rolled to a 61-37 finish after beating OV 60-25 two weeks prior.  Read More

Fire Destroys Allenville Home

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•January 24, 2024•

The Sullivan Fire Protection District responded to a structure fire at 7:04 pm on Friday, January 19 at 303 State Street in Allenville. Fire crews arrived on the scene at 7:17 pm and reported smoke coming from the front door of the residence. Occupants of the residence were able to escape after calling 911. Crews quickly deployed a handline and made entry to the structure and began attacking the fire. Crews were ordered to a defensive attack when the fire extended above them in the attic and below them in the crawlspace. The structure was a complete loss. The occupants are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Sullivan Fire District and the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Crews remained on scene until 12:53 a.m. 

The Sullivan Fire Protection District was assisted by Coles-Moultrie 911, Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office, Bethany, Lovington, Findlay and Windsor Fire Protection Districts and the American Red Cross.

Sullivan School District Spelling Bee

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photo by Crystal Reed
Sullivan School District Spelling Bee
The Sullivan School District Spelling Bee was held on Wednesday, January 17 in the Sullivan High School Commons. Students from third through eighth grade participated in the bee. In previous years several students were chosen as finalists and moved to the next round. This year there was only one finalist. Raylan Roe, fifth grade, will go on to the next step which is a 50 question test that will be taken online in February.

Superintendent Cheek Prioritizes Facility Repairs

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photo by Ariana R. Cherry
During the ALAH school board meeting, AGS Principal Andrew Peralta, highlighted the grade schools’ emphasis on literacy, with live demonstrations during the meeting’s visitors portion. Two tables were set up for board members and attendees to observe classroom lessons.

•January 24, 2024•

by Ariana R. Cherry

During the latest ALAH School Board meeting, Superintendent Shannon Cheek directed attention to the district’s facilities, emphasizing repairs, associated costs, and the pursuit of funding to cover them.

“I would like to start being proactive in the buildings and get ahead of things before they start to become a problem,” stated Cheek, highlighting his commitment to addressing issues preemptively. The immediate focus on district buildings centers on roof repairs, particularly at Atwood Hammond Grade School, where leaks have been identified. The estimated cost for these repairs is $235,000. Cheek expressed the need to explore additional funding sources to cover these expenses and aims to present recommendations to the board for approval. Read More

Shawnee Communications Makes Donation to Lovington Grade School Backpack Program

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•January 24, 2024•

On Friday, January 12th, Jamie Franklin, Sales & Marketing Manager for Shawnee Communications, presented the Lovington Grade School Backpack Program with a jump start to the new year in the form of a $9,780 donation. The donation was collected through Shawnee employee contributions, which were matched individually by Shawnee’s four shareholders and that new amount was matched by the company. On hand to receive the donation was Lovington Grade School Principal, Marla Graham.

The Lovington Grade School Backpack Program became a vision for Principal Graham shortly after her arrival at Lovington Grade School. With nearly 70% of her students categorized as “low income” and qualifying for free or reduced lunches, her mission became to help ensure that the basic needs of the students were met so that they could be more focused on receiving an education. Read More

Lybarger Named to Dean’s List

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•January 24, 2024•

Brett Lybarger, a freshman at Greenville University, was named to the dean’s list for the fall 2023 semester. To qualify for the Greenville University Dean’s List, a student must successfully complete a minimum of 12 hours for the semester. Freshmen (0-29.5 credits) must have a semester GPA of 3.5 or above. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors must have a semester GPA of 3.7 or above.

Bateman Named to Dean’s List

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•January 24, 2024•

Kennedy Bateman of Mattoon made the fall 2023 dean’s list at Missouri State University. For undergraduate students, criteria include enrollment in at least 12 credit hours during the fall semester and at least a 3.50 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.