The Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library will be closed on Friday, April 3rd.
Story times: Every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. The bounce house will be available after the story and craft project.
Every Monday at 9:00 a.m., a Memory Café will be hosted. This is a social gathering for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Get helpful information and support from others who also have loved ones who struggle with memory loss.
Homeschoolers: April 2nd (this is the last meeting this school year)
For the last two years, this weekly column has been telling the early history of our Moultrie County in the Sullivan New-Progress by sharing stories about its early trails. The term “trackless prairie” certainly does not apply to our county, for prehistoric animals and early man left several well-traveled trails all over its surface. They led to prairie groves for shelter and along the break between the edge of the prairie and timber land that bordered the Kaskaskia and West Okaw rivers, where movement over the land was easier. In some places, these trails became “sunken roads” that were worn deeper into the surface by thousands of years of passing hooves and feet as they led down to the best gravel-bottomed and shallow river fords.
Moultrie County Monthly Quarter Madness will hold its April Quarter Auction on Wednesday, April 8th. The event will be held at the Sullivan American Legion Post #68. Moultrie County Beacon, Inc. is the organization of the month. The Moultrie County Beacon has been providing services to individuals with intellectual disabilities in Sullivan since 1968. Doors open at 6:00, and the Quarter Auction begins at 6:30. All ages are welcome to attend. For more information, visit the “Mo Co Monthly Quarter Madness” Facebook page.
Area youth will have the opportunity to sharpen their livestock knowledge and showmanship skills at the upcoming Multi‑County Livestock Workshop, scheduled for Saturday, April 18, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Shelby County 4‑H Junior Show Fairgrounds. This hands‑on educational event is open to all youth ages 8–18 who are interested in beef, swine, sheep, or goat projects. This event is being put on by Moultrie-Douglas, Coles, Cumberland, and Shelby County 4-H Programs.
The Arthur Quilt Show Committee is accepting entries for the 35th annual ‘Arthur Quilt Show’ to be held April 30th through May 2nd at the Otto Center, south of Arthur on the County Line Road.
To obtain an entry form, entry rules, vendor space, or any other additional information, contact Jolene Stutzman, committee chairperson, at (217) 543-2287 or email at stitchandsew20@gmail.com. The deadline for entries is April 17th, and there is a small entry fee per item.
Photo by DM Williamee Pictured L-R, back row: Zak Hunnicutt, Joyce Bell, Clayton Mudd, Kelly Lane, Avery Willoughby, Landon Willoughby, Kathy Smith, Leland Willoughby, and Jo Willoughby. Front: (kneeling) Brandon Babb, Austin Babb, Alice Moore, Lucy Shepard, and Tracy Willoughby.
On Saturday, March 28th, at the Sullivan American Legion, the community showed its support for local Avery Willoughby, who is currently battling metastatic carcinoma. Metastatic carcinoma is a cancer that originated in epithelial tissues (carcinoma) and has migrated, most commonly to the bones, liver, or lungs. Despite the grueling treatments and long road ahead, Avery keeps his spirits high, always with a ready smile for anyone.
Wearing custom T-shirts with #AveryStrong, locals supported Avery and his family through T-shirt sales, a silent auction, and a 50/50 raffle, while enjoying a pulled pork and spaghetti dinner. All proceeds will go directly toward Avery’s medical expenses, travel for treatments, and recovery care. As Tracy shared, “Family Strong backed by surrounding communities; we will win this Fight.”
A bald eagle in a severely weakened state due to being kept illegally in captivity was euthanized. Illinois Conservation police officers Jason Moody and Brandon Barnes responded to a call about an injured eagle in a field near the Lake Shelbyville Wildlife Management Area in Moultrie County. The eagle made several attempts to fly but was unable to fly more than 20 yards.
Sullivan redskins baseball team topped the Heritage Hawks 4-3 in Sullivan action. Tom Schibur was the winning pitcher for Sullivan varsity, allowing three earned runs and throwing ten strikeouts in seven innings.
Senior Education Ministries, Inc., in partnership with the Sullivan community, has announced the upcoming Dine with a Doc® program on Tuesday, April 7th, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The event will be held at the Moultrie County Senior Center (Mid-Illinois Senior Services Inc.), located at 113 E. Jefferson St., Sullivan. This event is free, and for those wanting to attend, call (217) 728-8521 to reserve your seat.
If there is one thing Sullivan Economic Development Director Laurrie Minor knows, it is that the best projects sometimes take the longest to fruition. So Minor was happy to be at the Sullivan City Council on Monday, March 23, to share an update to an eight year long housing development designed to bring affordable housing to the community.
“This process started eight years ago in 2018,” Minor told the council. “We began identifying uninhabitable houses in the community.”
Minor told the council she and others had entered abandoned homes, researched records and ultimately identified 30 properties in the city limits targeted for demolition and new construction. The properties were purchased in partnership with a developer and the lots cleared for new construction. The project then stalled out after a grant application was denied in 2020.
