Floyd “Bob” Donnell
Floyd Robert “Bob” Donnell, 75, of Sterling, died Thursday, July 14, 2022, at home surrounded by family. Bob was born January 6, 1947, in Decatur, the son of Floyd and Emma (Fair) Donnell. He married Bonnie Simpson September 15, 1990, in Rock Falls. Read More
T. Leslie Colclasure
T. Leslie ‘Les’ Colclasure, 93, of Sullivan, passed away at 5:46 a.m., Thursday, July 21, 2022, in St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur. Read More
•July 27, 2022•
Straight A’s
Freshmen: Grey Brault, Annabelle Cheatham, Chase Creviston, Aly Douglass, Reese Nichols, Lindsey Ozier, McKenna Phelps, Jorja Plummer, Ella Roley, Amelia Shonkwiler, Grady Sparks, Ivy Williams.
Sophomores: Gabe Benning, Cannon Bernstein, Averi Ehrmann, Jaydon Johnson, Delaney Miller.
Juniors: Grace Moeller, Stacey Orris, Karson Park, Danielle Simpson.
Seniors: Evelyn Ashley, Ikra Gunsoy, Savannah Hagerman, Mikhayla Ward.
High Honors
Freshmen: Rase Bennett, Benjamin Brown, Regan Coleman, Seth Forlines, Cameron George, Ulrich Harshman, Luke Jones, Landyn Porter, Carson Rucker, Reagan Russell.
Sophomores: Kaleb Burns, Gibson Dickens, Garrett Ferguson, Ryan Forlines, Hunter Garvin, Jacob Harlin, Madison Whitney, Ashton Wilderman, Aiden Williams. Read More
•July 27, 2022•
I, Julie Kinert, as of July 21, 2022, have officially withdrawn my candidacy for the Moultrie County Board.
I decided to get involved with county politics after watching our tyrant governor during the pandemic, dictate and bully Illinoisians; especially those with small businesses. I felt that we, the public, no matter what party you support, needed to take back our rights and freedoms. During this time, I was given a unique opportunity to volunteer with our State Representatives and Senators.
The knowledge I gained was important and it lit a fire within me to share with the county. Many times, people, myself included, sit back and complain and think they can do a better job than the current elected officials. But most of the time, they don’t do anything about it. People want change but they don’t want to BE the change. I decided that I wanted to be the change. That included the change that was desperately needed in my own Republican party. Read More
Pictured above is Wendall Dahm’s drug store window in Lovington showing paintings by Florence Long around 1965. Please submit photos to the News Progress for future consideration. Originals will be saved for return or forwarded to Moultrie County Historical Society. If you have any other information, please contact the Moultrie County Historical Society at 217-728- 4085.
•July 27, 2022•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer
The headline read: “5 workers electrocuted while hanging gutter at LaSalle County home.”
Not our headline, mind you.
My first thoughts were: I wonder whether that many people have died in one electrical accident before; what a tragedy for that town; whether there are any connections to our coverage area.
A couple of paragraphs in I learned that none of the five workers — who were standing on aluminum ladders and holding the aluminum gutter when it came into contact with the power line — had died.
In addition to receiving a tremendous shock, all of them fell about 25 feet. Still, none of them died.
It’s a miracle. And I wish them all well in their recovery. Read More
25 Years Ago This Week
A 100-year-old two story house traveling from Lovington to Bethany slowed traffic on Routes 32 and 121. Dick and Tonya Bone were the proud owners of the white two story house that used to occupy land on the farm owned by Don Hamblin of Lovington. The new location of the house was just east of Bethany off Rt. 121.
The third annual Bethany Academic Foundation Golf Outing raised $5,000 for technology for the Bethany school district--$500 more than the previous year. Read More
Photo by Crystal Reed
Bounce House
Children enjoyed a variety of activities including a bounce house, bags and other activities during the Sullivan First United Methodist Church Music Festival on Saturday, July 23.
Photo by Crystal Reed
Live Music
Jeff Mayberry was another performer at the Music Festival held on Saturday. Also playing were Michael Dean Lewis and Jake and Mikayla with full band.
Photo by Crystal Reed
Music Festival
Michael Dean Lewis plays during the Sullivan First United Methodist Church Music Festival held Saturday, July 23.
•July 27, 2022•
by Ariana Cherry
NP Writer
The recent ALAH School Board meeting was shorter than usual as there were no principal reports, and it had to be held on a different evening since there were a few board members who needed to arrange their summer schedules. Despite the public portion of the meeting being brief, there were still a few comments about the school referendum that didn’t quite get enough votes to pass during the local election.
“We can all be proud of the process we developed. I’ve had several people from the community asking me where we are going to go from here, and I tell them I am not sure just yet. We will take a breath, regroup and talk about how we want to move forward. I appreciate everyone who turned out to vote, and I know there was a lot of passion. Perhaps next time we will encourage more participation and provide more education. I commend our communities in our district that were involved with the referendum, but I think we will have to go back to the drawing board,” Superintendent Shannon Cheek said. Read More
•July 27, 2022•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer
Colton Davis of Utz and Associates was at Monday night’s city council meeting to answer questions in regard to the city building just off the square. The latest decision was to demolish the existing building and build a new two-story city hall building in its place. Utz said the existing building has mold and fungus issues, air quality issues and asbestos containing materials throughout the building. He continued to say that it would cost more to renovate the existing building than build a new one.
A member of the public asked about the cost of demolition for the old building. Davis said that they don’t have an exact estimate. “I would say somewhere in the range of $100,000 to $125,000,” he said. Read More