Boy Scout Troop 39 and Cub Scout Pack 39 will hold their annual “Scouting for Food” food drive Saturday, November 9 to benefit the Moultrie County Food Pantry. Sullivan residents are asked to place nonperishable food items or paper products in grocery bags in a visible location at their front door or porch by 9 a.m. Saturday for pick up.
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Area Veterans Day Events
Each of the following events encourages the public’s attendance, including, in particular, those who are U.S. veterans:
Okaw Valley High School Assembly
•Fri., Nov. 8, 9:15 a.m.
A biscuit and gravy breakfast will begin at 8:15 a.m. for any veteran in attendance
Lovington Grade School Assembly
•Mon., Nov. 11, 8:30 a.m.
Will feature Lovington American Legion Post 429 color guard.
Sullivan Elementary School Assembly
•Mon., Nov. 11, 8:30 a.m.
Arthur-Lovington High School Assembly
•Mon., Nov. 11, 9:30 a.m.
The FCCLA will provide refreshments to those veterans in attendance. It is asked of anyone planning on attending to RSVP to Wendy Leenerts at 543-2146, ext. 245.
Sullivan VFW Breakfast
•Sun., Nov. 10, 7-11 a.m.
A free breakfast will be provided to veterans, consisting of biscuits and gravy, sausage links, scrambled eggs, farmer’s casserole, doughnuts, orange juice, coffee, and more. Any member of the public wishing to eat may do so for a fee.
Arthur Cemetery Wreath Laying Ceremony
•Mon., Nov. 11, 11 a.m.
Will feature both the Arthur and Lovington American Legions.
Free Suits for Veterans Until November 11
In their commitment to supporting the nation’s armed forces, especially as they enter the civilian work force, the Gary Sinise Foundation, along with Jos. A. Bank are providing a free suit to qualifying veterans and service members through a national promotion.
In order to qualify for a Jos. A. Bank free suit, applicants must provide the proper documentation by faxing 818.432.8999 or emailing contact@garysinisefoundation.org a DD214 form, a statement of service if still active duty, or make a copy of the front and back of the military ID.
The suits will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, so information should be submitted in a timely fashion. Applicants should keep in mind that the voucher must be redeemed at a Jos A. Bank location before the expiration date, November 11.
Additionally, applicants should include their full name as it appears on their identification, address, city, state, and zip code along with the best contact phone number and email address. For additional questions, email: contact@garysinisefoundation.org.
Halloween Parade Relocated to SHS
With today's weather forecast, the AmBucs Halloween parade has been relocated from outside on Sullivan's square to indoors at the Sullivan High School gymnasium.
Lineup will still be at 5:45 p.m. with the parade beginning at 6 p.m.
For more information or questions, contact the Sullivan Chamber and Economic Development at 728-4223.
Community Night November 5 at Monical’s Pizza
The SES PTO will sponsor a community night at Monical’s pizza in Sullivan Tuesday, November 5.
For all dine-in and carry-out orders, 20 percent of the total will be donated to the SES PTO, if presented with the fundraiser’s flyer, which may be picked up at any of the local schools, the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library, IGA, and various other locations in Sullivan.
For carry-out orders, customers should notify Monicals’ staff that he or she has a flyer before picking up their order.
For more information, visit the fundraiser’s Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/430640993697773/. There, viewers may also access the flyer.
Topinka Opens the Warehouse to Illinois Taxpayers
Portal puts local finances at residents’ fingertips
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka on Monday launched The Warehouse, a comprehensive online database that puts local government financial information and tens of thousands of records at a single location for taxpayer review.
Speaking in Chicago at the first stop of a three-day, seven community announcement, Topinka explained that the comptroller’s office collects financial reports from 5,200 counties, municipalities and special taxing districts across the state. In creating The Warehouse, she has made those records and other pertinent local financial information collected by her office immediately available to residents.
The Warehouse is available at warehouse.illinoiscomptroller.com.
“This user-friendly database allows taxpayers to scour our office ‘Warehouse’ from wherever they are located,” Topinka said. “There is no reason that residents should have to file Freedom of Information requests or sort through mountains of paper to see how their money is being spent. That information should be at their fingertips, and that’s what The Warehouse accomplishes.”
Warehouse visitors are able to search records by report type, unit of government or community name. Once a local government is selected, users will be taken to a landing page where they may view a snapshot of local finances, annual financial reports and audits. The site also offers a “compare data” feature allowing visitors to see how one government stacks up against another.
The unveiling of The Warehouse follows Topinka’s launch last year of a similar transparency website for state finances, The Ledger, which allows taxpayers to click their way through everything from the state’s daily receipts and bill backlog numbers to state agency budgets and an employee salary database.
Both initiatives are part of Topinka’s ongoing effort to increase transparency and accountability in state and local government. In 2012, she successfully pushed for legislation requiring local governments to file annual financial reports electronically and implementing penalties for late reports. Last spring, she worked to pass similar legislation for TIF Districts.
“The fact is that government acts more responsibly when it knows people are watching,” Topinka said. “The Warehouse builds on the tremendous success of The Ledger - and let me assure you, we’re not done yet.”
Fall Back Sunday
Need some much-needed extra sleep? As part of daylight saving time, Sunday will mark just the occasion when individuals should turn their clocks back one hour, beginning at 2 a.m.
Prairie Winds to Perform Salute to Vets Nov. 3
The local performance group Prairie Winds will present, “Salute the USA” on Sunday, November 3 at the Little Theatre in Sullivan.
The performance will begin at 2 p.m. and is free to the public. A tribute to veterans will be included.
Obituaries Online
The News Progress has decided to begin offering obituaries that are received after we go to press, online and for free Wednesdays through Fridays.
Since the NP often times receives obituaries after we print the paper on Wednesdays, we formerly held those obits to run the following week. The dilemma, however, was if the visitation and/or funeral was held prior to our next issue, readers were not being given the information in a timely manner.
To alleviate this issue, we will be posting all obituaries received between each Wednesday through Friday on our website, www.newsprogress.com. These obituaries will include minimal information, including name, age, place of birth, and any visitation/funeral information. The complete obituaries will still run in our print edition the following week.
For more information or questions, call the NP at 728-7381 or contact Keith Stewart at keith@newsprogress.com.
Halloween in Windsor
The village of Windsor will have several Halloween events at the American Legion Saturday, October 26. The schedule is as follows:
2-3:30 p.m.–Scavenger Hunt, Sponsored by W.H.A.T. Signup is from 1:30-1:50 p.m.
4:30-6:30 p.m.–Cake Walk, Sponsored by the Girl Scouts
4:30-6:30 p.m.–Various Contests
Mini Purnpkin Decorating, Sponsored by Kris Marsland Art Class
Jack-O-Lantern Contest-Pre Decorated
Adult Class-Scary, Scariest, Funniest, Most Intricate
Children's Class--Scariest, Funniest, and Cutest
People's choice of all Jack-O-Lanterns to be judged between 4:30-6:30 p.m..
4:30-6:30 p.m.–Garrett-Baldridge Unit 725 American Legion Auxiliary Soup Supper (will include chili, vegetable, and potato soup, sandwiches, desserts all for a donation).
6:30 p.m.–masked parade. Those wishing to participate should meet at the library; the parade will conclude at the American Legion. Prizes will be given for first, second, and third places with a grand prize of $25. Categories are youngest, most original, TV and movie characters, ghost and goblins, witches, princesses, super heroes, military, oldest, and miscellaneous.
For more information including cost to enter the above mentioned events, visit windsorillinois.net.