•January 4, 2023•
The Illinois Department of Labor’s (IDOL) On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program is joining with local, state and federal partners, including Downstate Illinois Occupational Safety and Health (DIOSH), to promote a four-part safety series webinar.
DIOSH is comprised of private businesses, local governments and, state and federal agencies focused on a range of health and safety issues in the workplace. Read More
Category Archives: News Briefs
2023 Quadrennial Assessment Year for Moultrie County
Brief explanation of Assessment Office duties and Township Assessor duties
•January 4, 2023•
The Chief County Assessment Office and Township Assessors, by Illinois Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/1-55), must assess property based on 33.33% of the fair market value. The fair market value is set based on “good” sales in Moultrie County. Read More
Facts for Families: Sending gratitude has wonderful benefits
•January 4, 2023•
By Cheri Burcham
Family Life Educator
When was the last time you received a handwritten thank you note? Or sent one to someone else? How did it make you feel? This is a very timely article by Extension Educator Emily Schoenfelder about the importance of sending thank you notes and how to do it. Emily says: Here at the Connection Corner blog, we talk a lot about connection. We also talk a lot about gratitude. So, it should come as no surprise that any opportunity to combine both of these amazing things brings me particular joy. Thank you notes are just that! And as we enter the holiday season, we have so many opportunities to utilize them. Read More
Why Newspaper Writing Is Important
•January 4, 2023•
by Sarah Hudson Pierce
Columnist
One of the best lectures I’ve heard about writing was at the East Texas Christian Writer’s Conference held at Marshall, Texas a few years ago.
The speaker emphasized that if a writer really wants to develop his talent the best place to start is newspaper writing.
I heartily agree, although I began writing poetry in 1981, while going through a nervous breakdown. At that time I didn’t realize that therapists highly recommend writing and journal keeping as a coping technique. Read More
Letter to the Editor 1-4-2023
Dear Editor,
As a lifelong resident of Moultrie County, I was interested in reading what positive things the newly elected republicans were going to do for Moultrie County. However, my interest quickly changed to disgust upon reading the headline about the board meeting. Read More
Resolving To Write Better With No Negative Effects
•January 4, 2023•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer
This week is a time for reflection and rejuvenation and of shame and penance for whatever high-jinks you got up to on New Year’s Eve..
I won’t add to the pressure in your heads. But when you’re good and ready, consider dropping me a line with a personal resolution regarding what you’d like to work on this year to improve your communication skills.
Like publicly setting a weight-loss goal, it’s sure to cause a shame spiral by February. Come on, it’ll be fun.
I’ll get the conversation started. Read More
Remember When? 1-4-2023
25 Years Ago This Week
Bethany’s urgent storm sewer renovation project received a $200,000 boost from the federal government. Before an audience of about 25, Congressman Glenn Poshard and U.S. Dept of Agriculture representative Wallce Furrow presented Bethany’s present and former mayors, Joann Grove and Don Gibbons, with a check symbolizing the award. The money was used to help replace a disintegrating storm sewer system in Bethany’s business district. Read More
So, What do Honeybees do During the Winter?
•December 28, 2022•
By Jerry L. Ginther
In a word, they consume. They consume the product of their summer long labors. Honey is the product and is the fuel for heat, nutrition, and the colony’s survival during the cold winter months.
The colony’s preparations for the long winter months begins long before the last nectar producing blooms fade and disappear. House cleaning is in order, and one of those procedures is the removal of all male (drone) bees from the hive. The days of plenty are ending and the drones are denied rights to food and housing. As this process intensifies, the sisters that once fed them will literally deny them entrance to the hive. From that point only the worker bees (female) and the queen will occupy the hive. Read More
Area Agency on Aging Announces Final Grant Awards for FY 2023
•December 28, 2022•
The East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging (ECIAAA) recently announced the Older Americans Act (OAA) and Illinois General Revenue Fund (GRF) awards for FY 2023. Funding supports programs that help over 23,000 vulnerable older adults live with independence and dignity in their homes and communities in East Central Illinois. A total of $7,769,326 in OAA/GRF funding was awarded to community-based organizations in the counties of Champaign, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Livingston, McLean, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby and Vermilion. Community based organizations in our area that received funding are: Read More
Have a Dope New Year
•December 28, 2022•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer
Happy New Year, if that’s your gig.
My gift to you this week is some help in facilitating conversation with the young people in your life. If you’re like most of us and recently celebrated some combination of the birth of Jesus, capitalism gone wild, and the love of family and friends, odds are pretty good you found yourself in proximity to someone ranging in age from 12 to 30.
This can be scary territory. In what language do you speak with them? More importantly, in what language do they speak?
I’ve had a few opportunities during the holidays to converse with people a fraction of my age. And given that a reporter is always a reporter and it’s always better to know than not know, I ask young people a lot of questions.
My wife and I had Thanksgiving dinner with the Atwells of Barrington this year. What set this column in motion was something 14-year-old Bridget repeated throughout the evening: “Slay!” Read More