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Remembering Who We Are…….99

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Kickapoo Log Cabins


•March 4, 2026•

by Janet Roney

Sometimes genealogists find stories about their ancestors that they want to forget, and then some snoopy, mouthy local historian comes along and tells everyone about it anyway. How Dodge Grove Cemetery in Mattoon got its name is a story like that. It involves the Whitleys (who, the old histories imply, would rather race and bet on horses than eat), their “Dodge filly”, and a lost bet. I know and admire several descendants of the Whitleys, so I’m going to leave the rest of that story alone for now, okay?

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A Look Back…3-4-2026

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2016

Moultrie County Emergency Services and Disaster Management coordinated an Active Shooter Training exercise with Sullivan Schools. Local ESDA coordinator Jim Haegan said the full-size exercise involved radio chatter during the time period. “This is an active shooter attempting to enter the school,” Haegan said, explaining that the radio conversations were identified as a simulation, so the general public would not be alarmed.

Decatur Memorial Hospital celebrated its 100th anniversary. The January date was also a celebration of a Bethany woman who dedicated a significant portion of her time and energy to birthing the establishment a century ago. Sue Hagaman (1841-1919) was known as the “Mother of the hospital” by those who took up the task of finishing DMH’s construction after her.

2006

Can a small-town city council take on a communications giant? Maybe, and then again, maybe not. But for the last few years, the Sullivan City Council had been giving it a go. At Monday’s meeting, Sullivan Mayor Ann Short provided the Council with a timeline of the city’s struggle with the Mediacom cable system since she took office in the Spring of 2003.

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Narcan: better access can help save lives

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•March 4, 2026•

by Angela Hogan

Administrator - Moultrie County Health Department

Across the United States and here in central Illinois, opioid overdoses continue to affect families, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Narcan is one of the most effective tools we have to prevent opioid overdose deaths. This easily administered nasal spray can take effect within minutes, giving someone a second chance at life. 

Why Narcan access matters: Opioid overdoses remain a major public health crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 76,500 people died in the 12 months ending April 30, 2025, at a rate of 210 deaths per day. Most of these deaths involved opioids, including fentanyl. Illinois has also been affected, with thousands of overdose deaths each year.

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SBD’s support Senior Center

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•March 4, 2026•

Pictured are Mid-Illinois Senior Services Representatives Kathie Garvie, Nancy Ozee, and Serria Decker, second row on the left with the SBD.

The Sullivan Blue Dolphins partnered with the Mid-Illinois Senior Services to collect items for the center. 

This is SBD’s first year helping this organization, titling it, ‘Swimmers Supporting Seniors’. This collection was structured very similarly to the annual ‘Swimmers Supporting Soldiers’ that the Dolphins do every summer. 

Mid Illinois Senior Services sent the SBD a list of items that were much-needed. The team collected numerous items such as puzzles, paper towels, bathroom tissue, cups, sweeteners, Lysol wipes, plastic cutlery, and flower arrangement items. 

The SBD believes in giving back to the community that has so ardently supported them. 

Rick King to perform in Allenville

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•March 4, 2026•

Allenville Christian Church will host a concert featuring Rick Alan King from Carmi, Illinois, on March 14th at 6:00 p.m. at the Allenville Christian Church, located at 201 Allen Street in Allenville. Snacks and fellowship time will follow the concert. A free Will offering will be taken.

From his earliest childhood memories, Rick Alan King was in church singing harmony with his mother and looking at the faces in the audience, seeing tears streaming down someone’s face, a smile, a bowed head, or a hand raised in praise. These images speak strongly into his young life. He knew right then, in his heart, that singing Gospel Music, ministering to lives through this powerful medium, was how he was to dedicate his life. He had received a calling and a destiny.

As a teenager, Rick started singing professionally and has shared the stage and performed with many leading artists in Gospel Music. In the 1990s, after many years of performing with other vocal groups, Rick Alan King chose to embark on a solo career. Those many years have allowed him to share a variety of songs, moods, humor, and worship. His purpose is not strictly to entertain, but to entertain for a purpose and to extend the feeling he carries in his calling.

MoCo monthly quarter madness

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•March 4, 2026•

Moultrie County Monthly Quarter Madness will hold its March Quarter Auction on Wednesday, March 11th. The event will be held at the Sullivan American Legion. This month’s organization is the Tri-County Shrine Club. This group is composed of Shriners and Masons located in Douglas, Moultrie, and Piatt counties.  Shriners is a fraternity grounded in fun, fellowship, and the Masons in principles of brotherly love, relief, and truth. They support Shriners Children’s, a renowned healthcare system dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for children worldwide. Patients with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lips and palates receive care regardless of the families’ ability to pay or insurance status.

At the March Quarter Madness, vendors could include Plunder, Pampered Chef, Scentsy, Avon, jBloom Jewelry, Tastefully Simple, Color Street, plus different craft and food vendors with tumblers, t-shirts, crafts, earrings, signs, garden stakes, décor, sourdough baked goods, meat bundles, and more. Come shop with the vendors and stay for the Quarter Auction. Bring your quarters for charity items and extra bidding. All-In-Paddle will be $20. 

Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and the Quarter Auction begins at 6:30 p.m. All ages are welcome to attend. A bake sale to also benefit Tri County Shriners will have goodies for purchase. Highway Heartburn food truck will be in the parking lot with food available for purchase. Drink purchases can be made through the Legion as well. For more information, visit the “Mo Co Monthly Quarter Madness” Facebook page.

MC History Center writing group

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•March 4, 2026•

The Moultrie County History Center writing group, led by Jeannie Barnes, meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month from 10:30 to noon in the History Center library. The center is located at 1303 S. Hamilton Street in Sullivan. 

This group is free and open to all. You can join in any or all sessions. It’s never too late to get started. For more information, call (217) 728-4085, or visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MCHGS

Recent Obituaries: Karen Coe

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Karen Coe

Karen D. Coe, 70, of Sullivan, passed away Monday, February 23, 2026 in St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur.

Celebration of Life services will be 11:00 a.m. Monday, March 2, 2026 in the Reed Funeral Home with Jeannie Ruppert officiating. Burial will be in the Bolin Cemetery, rural Sullivan. Visitation will be from 10:00 until service time on Monday at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to the New Life Pregnancy Center, 1698 E. Pershing Rd, Decatur, Illinois 62526. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.

Karen was born May 28, 1955 in Versailles, Kentucky, the daughter of Charles and Juanita Mae Nixon Hill. She had been a homemaker, school teacher and helped her husband David in their ministry. Karen married David L. Coe on January 9, 1976 in Sullivan and he preceded her in death on September 27, 2020.

Survivors include her children Michael (Beth) Coe of Sullivan, James (Stephanie) Coe of Granite City, Sarah Coe of Sullivan and Ruth (Anthony) Taylor of Sullivan; grandchildren Jonathan (Nicole) Coe, Keegan Coe, Zachery Coe, Ethen Coe, Jazzlynn Coe, Tristan Davis, Alyssa Taylor, Hannah Taylor, Michael (Bridget) Will, Justin (Jocelynne) Will and Nicholas Will; greatgrandchildren Emma, Piper, Arya and Knox; sister Debbie (John) Allen of Jefferson City, Missouri and a brother Charles Richard Hill of Ruther Glen, Virginia.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and two grandchildren.

Remembering Who We Are……….98

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Parties on the prairie #3


•February 25, 2026•

by Janet Roney

In the mid-1820s, when white settlers first began arriving in Moultrie, they found most of the county covered with swampy tall grass prairie, which was too wet to farm and almost impossible to travel across except on a few trails. However, the southern part of the county was different. It was covered with a much drier prairie because from Whitley Creek south, the elevation of the land gradually rises towards the Shelbyville Moraine that runs along the south boundary with Shelby County. 

Along the south side of the moraine in Shelby County, there were several groves of trees with freshwater springs feeding little creeks flowing south. The largest was Cochran’s Grove (located a mile or two southeast of the present Shelby County town of Windsor), where Samuel Little settled in the fall of 1825. (Please note. Samuel Little was not John Whitley’s son-in-law, as I wrongly stated a couple of weeks ago. Two of Samuel Little’s sisters were married to two of John S. Whitley’s sons, Mills and Sharp Whitley, making Samuel Little their brother-in-law. Sorry for the error.)

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Singers season continues, set to host Sullivan Singers Invitational

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•February 25, 2026•

On Friday, February 20th the Singers Jr competed at the El Paso-Gridley Show Choir Showdown and had Maverick Foster take home the honor of Best Performer. Then on Saturday, February 21st, the Sullivan Singers danced their way to a 1st runner up finish in their division, as well as winning Best Choreography. Will Miller was awarded Best Performer. 

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