•May 15, 2019•

The 5th Annual St. Jude Dash & Bash is Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1 at the Sullivan American Legion.
The event kicks off Friday with a softball tournament, food, huge indoor raffle, a kids’ bags tournament, and beer tent with music provided by Ten-Seventy Entertainment.
Two new events have been added to Friday evening; power wheels derby for kids ages 3-9 and a kiddie tractor pedal pull.
Saturday starts off with a softball tournament, bake sale, 50/50, indoor raffle, 5K at 8 a.m., 1 mile fun run at 9 a.m., and a safe tot trot. All of this is followed by the Kid’s Corner from 1 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Enjoy inflatables, a dunk tank, carnival games, and a magician.
St Jude’s 3 on 3 basketball tournament kicks off at 10 a.m. Earth Scrapes is back with their car show starting at 11 a.m.
The duck derby is returning to Sullivan after many years. Rubber ducks will be dropped into Wyman Lake at 3 p.m. The first three winning ducks will receive cash prizes.
Plus don’t forget the delicious grilled food cooked by Sullivan American Legion’s own SAL. They will have the grill going all day starting with breakfast sandwiches.
St. Jude Dash & Bash Director Stephanie Helmuth emphasized the Sullivan event has been able to raise more than $50,000 for St. Jude in four years at this event.
The best part about this whole event is that 100% of all the proceeds will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago.

•May 15, 2019•

Young ladies wishing to participate in the 2019 Miss Moultrie-Douglas pageants - Miss (16-21), Jr Miss (11-14), Little Miss (5-7) (New age for Little Miss Contestants) should contact Sandy Hoke 493-3583 or visit their website www.moultriedouglascountyfair.com and download the applications. Deadline for turning in applications is June 2. The new Miss Moultrie-Douglas will receive a $2000 scholarship. Scholarships will also be given to the first and second runners-up.

•May 15, 2019•

As summer kicks off and travel increases, Sullivan Police Department is partnering with the Illinois Department of Transportation to remind motorists to Click It or Ticket. The seat-belt enforcement campaign will take place May 10 through 28, concurrent with one of the busiest travel and holiday weekends of the year. Click It or Ticket enforces the proper use of seat belts and car seats to keep all motorists safe.
“Our officers see firsthand the tragedy when people do not buckle up,” said Interim Chief Andrew Pistorius. “It’s such a simple and effective way to protect yourself while traveling. As the Memorial Day weekend approaches, we want to make sure people are doing everything they can to stay safe when traveling.”
In Illinois, nearly 95% of motorists use seat belts, but a disproportionate number of fatalities still involve unbelted motorists and passengers. Seat belt use decreases even more for back seat passengers and for people traveling at night.
Sullivan Police Department will be taking a no-excuses approach, writing citations day and night. Motorists and passengers not wearing their seat belt will be ticketed, and those caught driving impaired will be arrested.
“Please help us spread this lifesaving message before one more friend or family member is killed simply because they failed to buckle up,” said Interim Chief Pistorius. “Seat belts save lives, and every vehicle occupant—front seat and back, child and adult—needs to remember to buckle up, every trip, every time.”
For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, visit BuckleUplllinois.org.

•May 8, 2019•

A ‘Car, Truck, Bike and Tractor Show’ will be held Saturday, May 18 in downtown Lovington.
Sign-up will be from 10 a.m. to noon in the middle of town with the fee being a new unwrapped toy to be given away to a child this Christmas. Vehicles will line State Street, and several local vendors will be lined up on Broadway Street showcasing what Lovington has to offer.
Delicious food will be available from Possum Lodge 812, music will be pumped throughout downtown by DJay’s DJ Service and the Masonic C.H.I.P. program will be done by George A. Sentel Lodge 764 in Zancha’s building.
“Sparrows Organization provides assistance to families in need, primarily at Christmas providing warm coats, hats, gloves, boots/shoes if needed along with new clothing and toys,” explained current Sparrows’ president Pam Anklam.
“In addition we have provided support and assistance to families displaced by fire, tornado, etc. Sparrows delivers fruit baskets to the elderly as a way of saying thank you for being part of our community, and we also hold fund-raisers for various organizations and individuals when needed. I believe Sparrows is a fundamental tool/organization for our community,” Anklam said.
Sparrows Unlimited is a non-profit 501c3 organization in Lovington.
For more information visit sparrows-unlimited.com.

•May 8, 2019•

Secretary of State Jesse White in cooperation with Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library in Sullivan is offering drivers a chance to renew their driver’s license or vehicle registration renewal sticker, obtain a duplicate or corrected license, or obtain an Illinois identification card. White’s mobile unit will be available at the Sullivan library, located at 2 West Water in Sullivan, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. May 16.
An applicant renewing a current Illinois driver’s license or identification card need only present a current valid driver’s license or identification card. If the applicant is applying for either a duplicate or corrected driver’s license or identification card the applicant must present two forms of identification. To find out what documents are considered acceptable identification, call 217-782-7044 or visit the Illinois Secretary of States website at:
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_x173.pdf.