To the editor —
I want to congratulate Bob and Kathy Best on the sale of their family newspaper to Paddock Publications. The phrase “the end of an era” is overused, but it certainly applies here.
No community can stay honest and strong without a local source of dedicated, professional journalism, and the Best family has provided that for Moultrie County since JFK was a new president. It wasn’t easy, but I never heard any of them complain.
Dan Hagen
Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Jamie McFarland brought granddaughter Loretta Bickell to Toddler Tuesday to get used to the water.
•March 11, 2020•
By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress
The new Toddler Tuesday program at the Sullivan Civic Center is attracting moms and grandmothers with toddlers to the kiddie pool in growing numbers.
On March 2 Suzy Crawford brought her grandson, Jack Grooms, to the pool and was chasing a red rubber ball in the water.
“He is just loving it,” Crawford said. “This is such a great program for moms and grandmothers especially in winter. He will be ready for a nap after this workout!”
Another grandmother, Janice McFarland, was in the pool with granddaughter, Loretta Bichel. Read More
•March 11, 2020•
The 7th annual Celebrate Agriculture Breakfast will be held on Saturday, March 21, 2020 in Atwood.
The breakfast featuring scrambled eggs, biscuits, gravy, sausage, milk, juice, and coffee will be served from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. at United Church of Atwood, located at 210 N. Main Street.
This is a great opportunity for you to come out and support the FFA Chapter and celebrate agriculture. The breakfast is sponsored by the ALAH FFA Alumni Chapter. Donations are encouraged and accepted.
Funds are used for scholarships for ALAH FFA Chapter members
Photo by Mike Brothers
One Book, One Sullivan middle school students Ivan Moxley and Callie Standerfer look over pivotal passages in 2020 OBO read “Wild Bird” by Wendelin Van Draanen.
•March 11, 2020•
One Book, One Sullivan community discussion of Wild Bird is 6:00 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at the Sullivan First United Methodist Church.
Wild Bird takes readers on 14 year old Wren Clemmens’ journey at wilderness therapy camp in Utah.
A troubled Wren had gone off the rails when the family moved and her attempts to find friends at a new school landed her into a life of drugs and anger at the world.
Middle School OBO committee members Callie Standerfer and Ivan Moxley promoted different community reads this year, but both appreciate the issues faced by trying to gain acceptance.
“In Wild Bird, Wren learned that people could change,” Standefer said of the hope contained in a story that began with her getting involved with the wrong people which led to drugs and an uncontrollable spin.
OBO coordinator Rikki Ray, noted as a parent, she was concerned that Wren’s involvement in drugs had kept her from getting back.
At 3:47 a.m. one morning Wren was whisked away to wilderness therapy camp in Utah by strangers, her parents last resort to hopefully bringing their middle child back.
Moxley was an advocate for the Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, where a girl with no arms meets challenges of coping.
“I liked the mystery in Insignificant Events in the Life of the Cactus,” Moxley began, but pointed out he started appreciation Wild Bird when Wren was trying to set up her makeshift tent the first night in wilderness camp.
“That is when things started getting real,” he continued. Read More
•March 11, 2020•
A Matter of Balance is being offered from 9:00-11:00 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from March 31 through April 28 at the Elizabeth Titus Library in Sullivan.
Anyone concerned about falls; anyone interested in improving balance, flexibility and strength or anyone who has fallen in the past and has restricted activities because of falling concerns are encouraged to attend.
Many older adults experience concerns about falling and restrict their activities. A Matter Of Balance is an award-winning program designed to manage falls and increase activity levels.
This program emphasizes practical strategies to manage falls.
You will learn to: view falls as controllable, set goals for increasing activity, make changes to reduce fall risks at home, exercise to increase strength and balance.
Light snacks and refreshments are provided
A donation is requested -To register please contact: Kim Freund 217.428.3458 ext. 238 freund_dec@cc.dio.org
Class number is limited, so call today! This program is made available with the generous funding of Catholic Charities.
•March 11, 2020•
The Central A&M Superhero Club is presenting Raider Con from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday, April 4 in Moweaqua.
Enjoy the friendly atmosphere with a variety of activities: Cosplay, comic books, artist alley, concessions.
Guest artists include: Bill Reinhold, Linda Lessmann, Kyle Strahm, Baldimar Rivas, Buster Moody, Jake Smith Jeremiah Lambert, Zac Atkinson, Ed Lozano, and Charles Simpson.
Janet Young
Janet Mae (McMullin) Young, 80, of Sullivan, passed away at 2:12 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, 2020, in her home surrounded by her family.
Funeral services were held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8 at McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan. Burial was in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan. Read More
•March 11, 2020•
By Ellen Ferrera
for The News Progress
Six very talented classy, sassy and a little “smart-assy” women light up the Little Theatre stage as they prance, strut, laugh, dance, flirt and sing their hearts out through a stunning and electrifying program of 54 songs celebrating women.
And that’s just for starters.
The first thing you will notice before the ladies even begin to sing is their various gorgeous glittering costumes in red, black, lavender and gold among other colors.
Each sparkly costume looks as if it were dipped in glitter, sprinkled in rhinestones and showered in baubles, bangles and beads. Every glitter store between here and New York must have been depleted. This is visually the most stunning show I have ever seen at Little Theatre. Read More
Photo furnished St. Columcille Hears Sheen Plan St. Columcille parishioners met with Dr. Peter Howard, international speaker and founder of the Fulton Sheen Institute, who is a leading authority on the life and teaching of Venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen. Dr Howard visited the Immaculate Conception Parish Center on Sunday, March 8th, to share his presentation of “Visions of Our Future: Fulton Sheen’s Plan for a Great America.” As his cause for canonization continues to move forward, Bishop Sheen remains one of the best known Catholic figures of the last one hundred years. During the engaging 3-hour event, Dr Howard discussed the heart of the cultural war in America today, a war that Sheen prophesied over 80 years ago.
•March 11, 2020•
Tax bills will be mailed on March 13, 2020 and are due on May 15, 2020. Taxes may be mailed to Moultrie County Collector, 10 South Main, Suite 10, Sullivan, IL. 61951.
Taxes may also be paid at all Moultrie County Banks: Scott State Bank Bethany/Dalton City/Sullivan/Mt. Zion, State Bank of Arthur a Division of Morton Community Bank, Arthur Community Bank, First National Bank of Arthur, First Community Bank of Moultrie County in Sullivan and Lovington and First Mid-Illinois Bank Sullivan. Read More