•June 24, 2020•
Lake Land College will present Wesley Wise, Bethany, with the 2020 Alumnus Achievement Award. Wise is also nominated to receive the 2020 ICCTA Distinguished Alumnus Award. Wise was recognized at the college’s Virtual Commencement Ceremony on June 18.
The Lake Land College Board of Trustees annually presents an Alumnus Achievement Award to an individual who has achieved outstanding success in his or her field of endeavor, has gained favorable statewide or national recognition or has performed services proven beneficial to society.
This year’s recipient, Wesley Wise, received the National Partnership Award from the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 2016 and the Emerging Buildings in Education Award from the Illinois Association of School Boards in 2019. Read More
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Mitchell Esslinger Launches Campaign for District 102 Seat
Mobilizing for Real Change
•June 24, 2020•
By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress
On June 17 Mitchell Esslinger announced his Democratic candidacy for the Illinois House of Representatives District 102 seat with a speech outside the Moultrie County Courthouse.
Born in Champaign and raised in Strasburg, Mitchell attended Stewardson-Strasburg High School, Lake Land College, and the University of Illinois. At the University of Illinois, he worked with local law enforcement to protect student safety.
As a property renovator, Mitchell started at age 12 working for his family’s rental properties. As a tutor, he saw how important it is that we give our schools what they need to succeed.
He has volunteered to work in the campaigns of Barak Obama, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Read More
Okaw Valley Player Signs
Twitter photo
Okaw Valley Player Signs
Cameron Sharp (gray shirt) signs to play basketball at Quincy University June 10.
Two Okaw Valley alumni committed to playing collegiate sports these past weeks.
Cameron Sharp signed to continue his basketball and academic career at Quincy University.
Camden Coleman, whose senior year of baseball was lost to the pandemic, signed to play baseball at Fontbonne University in St. Louis.
Coleman signed on as a pitcher.
In his junior year, Coleman eight games as a pitching and with a 5-1 record, pitching 34 2/3 innings.
He totaled 43 strikeouts and 11 walks with a 1.01 ERA.
Moultrie Moment of the Week
Pictured above is the Sullivan Boy Scouts circa1960’s. Front row: Steve Hollenbeck, unknown, Mike Watt, Steve Booker, Albert Allen. Middle row: Don Warren, Luke Pedigo, Ralph Oliver, Phil Volkman, John McLaughlin, Barry Golden, Bill Standerfer, Greg Graham. Back row: Rick Hutchcraft, David Waddell, Jim HIghland, Chuck Hess, Mike Butt, Eldo Fifer, Bob Hansen, Lynn Bear.. 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.
Obituaries 6-24-2020: Timothy Lee Edwards
Timothy Edwards
Timothy Lee Edwards, 47, of Sullivan, passed away 1:06 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2020, at Aperion Care in Olney.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 27, 2020, at Smyser Christian Church, rural Gays, with Pastor Richard Coen, Pastor Bob Vail and Pastor Jason Kinder officiating. Visitation will be held an hour prior to the services Saturday at the church. The family requests casual attire. Face masks are suggested and please practice social distancing for the services. Burial will be in Smyser Cemetery, rural Gays. Memorials may be made to the Smyser Christian Church.
Timothy was born September 7, 1972, in Mattoon; the son of Roger L. Edwards and Ruby June (James) Edwards. He was a member of the Smyser Christian Church. Timothy was fan of NASCAR and the CUBs. He enjoyed Star Wars, his Ford Mustang, country music and fishing.
Timothy is survived by his father, Roger Edwards of Sullivan; step-mother, Patrice Edwards of Sullivan; sister, Tammy (Neil) Snyder of Harrodsburg, KY; nieces, Olivia Snyder of Harrodsburg, KY, Lindsay (Troy) Shain of Oakland and Marissa Snyder of Lawrenceville.
Timothy was preceded in death by his mother, Ruby June.
Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mcmullinyoung.com
75 years for Booths For Murder Attempts
•June 24, 2020•
Alvan Booths was sentenced to 75 years with the Illinois Dept. of Corrections by Judge Hugh Finson in Moultrie County Circuit Court Tuesday.
Booths was previously convicted of two counts of attempted first degree murder and home invasion with a 15 year firearm enhancement.
State’s Attorney Tracy Weaver pointed to the great bodily harm suffered by victim Otha Phillips during the Feb. 4, 2019 home invasion, which helped Judge Finson decide on consecutive sentences for Booths.
State releases new guidelines for return to in-person education
Schools told to prepare for return to remote learning in case of surge
•Tuesday, June 23, 2020•
(This story has been updated to include more details on yesterday's developments.)
By JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois
jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois released new guidelines for schools, colleges and universities to return to in-person learning in the fall, but leaders warned those plans could change if health metrics related to the COVID-19 pandemic stop improving.
“This fall will not be business as usual, and we will update our guidance as needed,” State Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala said during a news conference Tuesday in Chicago. “In response to challenging and changing public health conditions, schools and districts must be prepared to return to remote learning if the virus surges again.”
Students and teachers will be required to wear face coverings if they are medically able, gatherings in one place will be limited to no more than 50 people and schools must adhere to stricter cleaning and disinfecting guidelines as well as conduct regular symptom checks.
Gov. JB Pritzker said at the news conference every district must develop its own plan based on those guidelines. Ayala added districts and individual schools will soon send additional information to parents and students.
Pritzker said the Illinois Emergency Management Agency will provide public K-12 districts in Illinois with 2.5 million cloth face masks, allowing schools to provide one to all students and staff.
Universities and community colleges will have similar guidelines for a fall reopening, including social distancing and physical spacing requirements, hand sanitizing stations, face covering requirements and symptom monitoring. Schools are also developing policies around traffic flow, cleaning of public spaces and staggered schedules for the use of laboratories, auditoriums and other group facilities, according to guidelines.
At this time, the governor’s office said, colleges expect dormitories, cafeterias, libraries, bookstores and other amenities to be available to students provided they meet approved guidelines.
If someone in a school tests positive, those who were in close contact with them — that is, within six feet for 15 to 30 minutes without a face covering, according to Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health — would be expected to quarantine for 14 days.
Pritzker said local and county health departments will play a major role in deciding a path forward when such a positive test occurs.
Pritzker first ordered all public and private schools, including colleges and universities, to close for in-person instruction on March 13 and on June 4, schools were allowed to offer limited in-person instruction and summer school programs as part of Phase 3 of the reopening plan.
Ezike said the reopening being allowed this fall is the result of significant declines in new cases, deaths and hospitalizations since the peak of the pandemic in Illinois.
Those declines, she said, are the result of the vast majority of Illinoisans following basic safety guidelines that include frequent hand-washing, wearing face coverings when in public and practicing social distancing.
The fact that the state reports about 20,000 to 30,000 test results daily helps as well, she said. Nearly 1.4 million tests were completed in Illinois since the pandemic began, including 20,507 over the previous 24 hours.
Those yielded 601 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 — a 2.9 percent positivity rate. There were another 38 virus-related deaths over the previous 24 hours, bringing the statewide totals to 137,825 cases and 6,707 deaths. Ezike said the state has had five consecutive weeks of declining new cases and fatalities, and the statewide positivity rate from June 16-22 is 2 percent.
As of midnight Monday, there were 1,648 patients hospitalized for the disease including 424 in intensive care units, 236 of whom were on ventilators. While those all represent sharp declines from the peak of the pandemic in April and May, the total hospital beds in use increased by 20 from the previous day, and the total intensive care unit beds increased by five from the previous day while ventilators used continued to decline.
In advance of schools reopening, Ezike strongly encouraged parents and guardians to make sure their children are up to date on their vaccinations and that all Illinoisans get caught up on basic wellness procedures, including cancer screenings. She noted there have been steep declines in those procedures since the pandemic began.
“We need to make sure that the kids get checked out by their providers and get their life-saving immunizations,” she said. “Yes, there could be another surge of COVID-19 in the fall or perhaps earlier, but let's make sure we take this opportunity now to get to our doctors, let's get our immunizations, let's get our health screenings, let's get as healthy as we can. Your baseline health status affects how you fare against this virus.”
Pritzker also said the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, provided $510 million in relief directly to school districts to address local needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Dr. Ayala and I are encouraging all districts to use this funding to close the digital divide by providing devices and internet connectivity and are directing the majority of the remaining funding to purchasing laptops, tablets, virtual coaching for new teachers and internet connectivity to advance a vision of equity for our schools and keep our kids on track for success,” the governor said.
Pritzker’s office said the Illinois State Board of Education will use another $54.1 million in CARES act funding to provide funding to schools in six categories: laptops and tablets, internet connectivity, virtual coaching for teachers, professional development, and support for entities that cannot receive direct funds.
Peter Hancock contributed to this report
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Student Athletes’ Conditioning Regiment Adjusted for COVID 19 Safety Concerns
•June 17, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors announced guidelines that provide the first step in IHSA student-athletes returning to participation.
Monday, June 15th, Sullivan coaches implemented those guidelines into a new conditioning regiment for Sullivan athletes.
The football, boys basketball, volleyball and girls basketball began conducting voluntary in-person strength and conditioning workouts for the high school students that are interested in participating in those sports.
The football and boys basketball groups will workout on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 7-8 a.m.
The volleyball and girls basketball groups will work out from 10-11 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays.
“Groups of no more than nine students and a coach have been set primarily by sport, and those coaches have communicated that with their athletes,” said Sullivan athletic director Ryan Aiken. “The workouts that these groups do will be general in nature and will be conducted outside at various spots throughout our complex such as the football practice field, the high school track, and the grass lot east of the football field so that we can ensure that social distancing guidelines are being maintained.” Read More
Obituaries 6-17-2020: Chuck Hess
Chuck Hess
Charles Robert “Chuck” Hess, 70, of Sullivan, passed away at 2 a.m. Tuesday, June 9, 2020, in his home in Sullivan.
Private family services will be held at McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan. Read More
Obituaries 6-17-2020: Kent Emel
Kent Emel
Raymond “Kent” Emel, 79, of Sullivan, passed away at 6:05 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at Mason Point in Sullivan.
Funeral services were held at 1 p.m. Monday, June 15, 2020, at McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan with military rites by the Sullivan American Legion Post #68. Burial will be at a later date. Read More