•July 20, 2022•

New Beginnings Apostolic Church Children’s Ministry Department will be holding vacation bible school from Monday, August 1-Thursday, August 4 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. For more information call Lacie Gutierrez at (812) 698-9949. The church is located at 311 S. Washington Street in Sullivan.

•July 20, 2022•

The descendants of George and Magdalena (Loos) Luck will meet for their 99th annual reunion to be held at the Lions Club building in Forest Park on Sunday, July 31, 2022 at noon. Attendees are asked to bring a main or side dish and their own table service. Tea, lemonade and water will be provided. For more information, contact Donna Lupton at 217-774-3879.

•July 13, 2022•

Charles W. Shuman of Annandale, Va. formerly of Sullivan, will present “Our Kaskaskia River Adventure” July 21 at 7 p.m. at their new History Center.
This will the first meeting held at the society’s new location at 1303 S. Hamilton, Sullivan.
In June of 1953, Shuman and his brother’s, John and Paul, along with their father, Charles B. Shuman floated down the Kaskaskia River from Findlay to Chester on the Mississippi in their wooden outboard motor boat, “Ida”. It was an eight day boating and camping adventure that became a trip of a lifetime for these three teenagers and their father. Their pictures from the trip depict the Kaskaskia River before the Us Army Corp of Engineers dammed the river at Shelbyville and Carlyle, and before it was straightened at its mouth on the Mississippi.
Shuman is a former Moultrie farmer, administrator of the Illinois and US Farmer’s Home Administration, and retired stock broker. He is also a charter member of the Moultrie County Historical Society from 1967.
Those attending will be invited to share any of their own Kaskaskia River adventure stories. The public is invited to attend.

•July 13, 2022•

The 12th annual Dalton City All Wheel Extravaganza will be held on Sunday, July 31 from Noon to 5 pm in downtown Dalton City. This is a car, truck, motorcyle and tractor show. Registration is $15 and each entry includes a free t-shirt. Goody bags for the first 75. There will be food and entertainment, vendor booths, 50/50 drawing, silent auction and door prizes. There will be participant choice trophies and best of show. For more information contact Harley’s Hideout 217-874-2309, Shamrock Pub at 217-874-9701 or Bob Weltig at 217-413-9292.

•July 6, 2022•

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) announced today that Future Farmers of America (FFA) dues for every student taking agriculture education classes across the state will be covered starting this fall. The $550,000 appropriation is spearheaded by State Senator Doris Turner. FFA is a national organization for young adults interested in leadership and agriculture. It has been a priority of the Pritzker administration to make farming and agriculture more accessible, and these dollars help to diversify the make-up of the FFA organization.
The elimination of dues makes Illinois a FFA affiliation membership state, ensuring every student that is enrolled in agricultural education will have FFA membership dues automatically paid, making them a FFA member.
“In Illinois, we’re making it so students can choose their extracurriculars based on what interests them the most, not what they can afford,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “It’s been a priority of mine to make agricultural education more accessible and widely recognized throughout my administration. It’s why I signed into law two measures to include ag classes in our state college admission requirements, and it’s why I’m proud to implement Senator Doris Turner’s initiative to waive FFA membership fees for all Illinois students.”
“I am proud to support the next generation of Illinois agricultural enthusiasts by helping alleviate the financial burden of membership dues,” State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) said. “The more bright minds we can bring in to help solve the agricultural problems of tomorrow, the better we all will be in the future.”
“In 2022, nearly 37,000 students across the state were enrolled in ag classes, but the state’s FFA membership was 23,000 members,” said IDOA Director Jerry Costello. “By removing the cost barrier, this opens up the doors for thousands more students to benefit from what FFA provides, which goes well beyond what can be taught in the classroom.”

“This news couldn’t come at a better time,” said Illinois FFA Executive Director Mindy Bunselmeyer. “Illinois’ number one industry touches so many beyond traditional family farms. FFA continues to expand its mission to prepare our Ag leaders for tomorrow. To announce before students prepare to enter school allows even more future leaders to join our ranks. To have Director Costello share the news with our FFA convention attendees and their families was a great capstone to our week.”
In 2021, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 3218 and Senate Bill 1624, two measures that add “agriculture education” to the list of acceptable electives that qualify a student for admission to state universities, and “agricultural sciences” to the list of acceptable science courses for admission. The FFA agriculture education program is for students in 7th-12th grade. Currently, over 350 schools across Illinois have a FFA chapter.