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Obituaries 4-3-2024: 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.

Shed Fire

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Photo by R.R. Best
Shed Fire
A small brush fire was suspected of catching the wooden shingles of a nearby storage shed on fire at the former Masonic Home last Friday. When the Sullivan Fire Department arrived on scene, the deck gun knocked down most of the roof, saving the structure from being a total loss. Bethany was called in for mutual aid. Pictured is Bethany Fire Chief Mike Jennings.

Community Blood Drive

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•April 3, 2024•

Agri‑Fab Inc. will host a Community Blood Drive with ImpactLife, the provider of blood components for local hospitals. The blood drive will be from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm on Friday, April 12 at 809 S. Hamilton St., inside the Gold Classroom

All presenting donors get their choice of gift card, ImpactLife store bonus points, or a donation to Best Friends Animal Society. To donate, contact ImpactLife at (800) 747‑5401 or visit www.bloodcenter.org and use code 71025 to locate the drive.

Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 with parental permission form available through www.bloodcenter.org) and weigh more than 110 pounds. A photo I.D. is required to donate. For questions about eligibility, please call ImpactLife at (800) 747‑5401. Donors who last gave blood on or before 2/16/24 are eligible to give at this drive.

A Look Back…

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2014

Nathan Riley is 12 years old. He’s been fishing for only a couple years. He is mostly self-trained too, having watched dozens of YouTube videos on the sport. And it was he who was by himself at little ol’ Wyman Lake when he caught a 20-inch, 5-pound., 7-ounce large mouth bass on a cold March morning.

Earlier this month Shelby County residents passed a new one percent sales tax aimed at helping area schools maintain their often-aging buildings. The referendum, which passed on March 18 and goes into effect April the following year, could bring Okaw Valley schools as much as $50,000 in increased revenue according to district superintendent Kent Stauder. Read More

Remembering who we are…. 3

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•April 3, 2024•

by Janet Roney

In Robert Frost’s poem, Fire and Ice, he wonders whether fire or ice will destroy our world. He thought fire would, but “…I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice is also great…” 

Yes, ice certainly destroys, but the last glacier that came down from Wisconsin and Canada during our current ice age did some very good things to Moultrie County. Let’s review. 

It left a flat surface with a fresh new covering of glacial drift that filled in old river valleys that are the aquifers that give us water. Because it stopped just beyond Gays at the southern edge of the county, our soil has weathered for just 18,000 years instead of the 300,000 years of weathering of soils to the south. Our growing season is longer than anywhere else on earth the glacier covered. All of this contributed to making some of the most valuable farmland in the world here in Moultrie County.   Read More

Angler’s Tribute to Veterans

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•April 3, 2024•

The annual Angler’s Tribute to Veterans Crappie Tournament will be held this Saturday on Lake Shelbyville. Early registration will take place Friday at the Sullivan VFW beginning at 5 p.m.. Take-off and weigh in will take place at the Bo Woods Ramp. Saturday registration will be at 5:30 a.m. with lines in at 7. Weigh-in will begin at 2:30 p.m.

2024 Fish Habitat Day

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Photo furnished
2024 Fish Habitat Day
Many individual volunteers and several volunteer groups showed up Saturday, March 23 and made quick work of the donated Christmas trees, placing them in Lake Shelbyville to continue efforts of Fish Habitat Improvement. The trees were tied together in bundles and then dropped into the lake along with cubes and stumps that were built during recent Fish Habitat Build Events.

Music Bingo

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•April 3, 2024•

The Okaw Valley music program will host a Music Bingo on Saturday, April 6 at the Findlay Legion. Doors open for the event at 5 p.m. with games starting at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance by contacting Mr. Guzman at guzmane@okawvalley.org or will be available at the door.