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Austin Kelley wins Moultrie County Spelling Bee

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Photo submitted
Moultrie County Spelling Bee Champion Austin Kelley with a book he got to help prepare him for the bee. Austin is the son of RJ and Dawn Kelley.

•February 17, 2021•
The Moultrie County Spelling Bee was held last Wednesday virtually using the Scripps online platform. Students participating in the virtual bee were from Lovington Grade and the Sullivan School District.
Sullivan School District participants were James Conlin, Austin Kelley, Hannah Creek, Brady Stollard, Landon Jesse, Xandria Smith. Alternates were Rowan Mast and Nixon Dundee. Lovington Grade School participants were Isabella Menna, Brian Hadley, Rylie Pitts, Macelyn Boddy, Maxton Boddy and Jacob Hurt. Alternates were Makenna Liming and Samantha Fowler.
Austin Kelley from Sullivan School District was named the Moultrie County Spelling Bee Champion. Runner-up was Maxton Boddy from Lovington Grade School. Austin will advance to the Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 13 at 9 am at Richland Community College in Decatur.

Okaw Valley Boys Basketball Posts Wins

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•February 17, 2021•
by Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team improved its overall record to 4-1 and its Lincoln Prairie Conference with blowout wins against Tri-County and Blue Ridge.
Friday night, the Timberwolves took care of Tri-County 53-32.
Okaw Valley took an 18-14 first quarter lead and extended that lead to 30-22 at the half.
The Timberwolves extended that lead to double digits in the third quarter, then outscored the Titans 14-4 in the final period.
Every Okaw Valley player scored at least one point.
Eli Hagerman scored a team-high 17 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and Cale Roley hit double digits with 14 points. Read More

Windsor Jr/Sr High Students of the Month

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Halle Wright

•February 17, 2021•
Windsor Jr/Sr High School is pleased to announce our January Students of the Month, Halle Wright and Trinity Shupe.

Halle Wright is the daughter of Tina and Brian Wright. She is currently an 8th grade student and is involved in Volleyball. Her favorite subject is Math because she enjoys being challenged.

Trinity Shupe

Trinity Shupe is the daughter of Jessica and Nate Shupe. She is a senior and is involved in Cheerleading, National Honor Society, Student Council, Yearbook, and Shelby County CEO. After graduation Trinity plans to attend Lake Land College for a degree in business.

How To Improve Quality of Sleep

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•February 17, 2021•
Cheri Burcham
Extension Educator, U of I Extension
Extension Educator Diane Reinhold recently posted this article about sleep on her blog, and I felt like this would be great information to share. Diane says that adequate, quality sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing. Sleep helps the body to heal and restore itself. It is vital for brain and heart health, mood and physical function, and a healthy immune system. However, as we age, many people report issues related to the amount of time they sleep and their overall sleep quality. Older adults tend to wake more frequently and spend less time in deep sleep. Although total sleep time is decreased only slightly, from 6.5 to 7 hours/night, the perception of sleep time and quality will differ compared to younger adults. Older adults may have difficulties falling and staying asleep, spend more time in light sleep, and frequently wake due to anxiety, pain, discomfort, or the need to use the restroom. Read More

Board Approves Resolution Urging Governor To Veto Bill Regarding Criminal Justice Reform

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•February 17, 2021•
By Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Moultrie County Board met last Thursday night and approved a resolution urging Governor Pritzker to veto House Bill 3563 regarding criminal justice reform. “Most of us feel pretty strongly about the negative aspects of this legislation,” County Board Chairman Dave McCabe said.
The bill was passed by the Illinois House and Senate in January. The News Progress reported in January that the bill was concerning for local officials.
Some of the things included in the bill include eliminating cash bail, requiring body cameras to be in place by 2022 with all agencies having them implemented by 2025. Read More

SHS Places First In Academic Challenge Competition

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•February 17, 2021•
On February 3, Sullivan competed in this year’s virtual rendition of the Academic Challenge (formerly WYSE) competition sponsored by EIU. As a team Sullivan placed first in their division, which consists of other area schools with enrollments ranging from 300-700 students. Below is a list of the 14 students that represented the school as well as those who finished with one of the top three scores amongst all competitors in a given subject area for our division.
Logan Anderson - 3rd in English
Noah Bates - 2nd in Biology, 3rd in Engineering Graphics
Paul Bates - 3rd in Biology Read More

National Children’s Dental Health Month

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•February 17, 2021•
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and the C.E.F.S. Head Start 0-5 Program health services are based on the premise that a child must be healthy to be ready to learn and good oral health is essential to a child’s behavioral, speech, language, and overall growth and development. Head Start works to ensure that children receive oral health assessments, follow-up and any needed dental treatment by helping families establish a dental home, as an ongoing source of preventive and primary care. Head Start program activities promote good dental hygiene in the classroom and at home visits. If interested in the C.E.F.S. Head Start 0-5 program, please call/text 217-663-7822.

Lake Land College Now Accepting Forms

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•February 17, 2021•
Lake Land College is pleased to guarantee a Presidential Scholarship to all eligible in-district high school graduates who have demonstrated outstanding academic performance. The scholarship covers the full cost of tuition for up to two consecutive academic years.
Students who are in the top 15 percent of students in their senior class or have an ACT composite score of 26 or higher/SAT total score of 1230 or higher are eligible for the Presidential Scholarship.
Qualifying students must also: Read More

Remember When? 2-17-2021

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25 Years Ago This Week

The Sullivan school district announced an open house and dedication ceremony for the new elementary school. The public was encouraged to tour the new school upon the completion of the ceremony.
A much-debated science course finally got a tentative green light from the Bethany school board. Late last year, board members sent a proposal for an introductory science course back to the district’s curriculum committee for consideration. The science course proposal was voted down. The opponent complained that the course was “watered down” and that the science curriculum should be more challenging for students. The introductory physical science/chemical science class—geared more towards application than theory—was back before the board after having been approved again by the district’s curriculum committee. A motion was made that the course be adopted for a year while being evaluated, and that it count as a science credit. Read More

Sullivan Boys Basketball Wins Against Central A&M and Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg

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•February 17, 2021•
by Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Sullivan boys’ basketball team lost its home opener against Meridian High School, but bounced back to win a conference and non-conference game to finish the week 2-1.
After losing to the Hawks, Sullivan defeated Central A&M Friday and Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg Saturday.
Against the Hatchets Saturday, Sullivan was consistent in the first two quarters with 11 points each to take a 22-16 halftime lead.
The Hatchets came out in the third and outscored Sullivan 9-5 to cut the lead to 27-25.
But Sullivan held off WSS in the final period for the 38-33 win. Read More