•November 30, 2022•
The Decatur Audubon Society invites members and interested guests to a special meeting and holiday party with cookies and beverages at Rock Springs Nature Center, 3939 Nearing Lane, Decatur, on Saturday, December 3. Following brief announcements at 2:00 p.m., attendees will see a premiere showing of “The Magic Stump,” a documentary film about an isolated stump in a farm field in Eastern Illinois that attracts a variety of wintering raptors, including two rare Prairie Falcons. The film was directed by Bob Dolgan, a filmmaker and consultant who lives in Chicago, who will personally introduce the film.

•November 30, 2022•
Moultrie County has been issued a tentative property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, according to David Harris, Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue.
The property assessment equalization factor, often called the “multiplier”, is the method used to achieve uniform property assessments among counties, as required by law. This equalization is particularly important because some of the state’s 6,600 local taxing districts overlap into two or more counties (e.g. school districts, junior college districts, fire protection districts). If there were no equalization among counties, substantial inequities among taxpayers with comparable properties would result.
State law requires property in Illinois to be assessed at one-third (1/3) of its market value. Farm property is assessed differently, with farm homesites and dwellings subject to regular assessing and equalization procedures, but with farmland and farm buildings assessed according to standards based on productivity. Read More

•November 30, 2022•
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is hosting a public meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 1, 2022 at the Lake Shelbyville Visitor Center. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the current water control plan for Lake Shelbyville, water control operations, and dam safety. Engineering staff from the USACE St. Louis District office will present information about water control operations and procedures, and dam safety.
The Lake Shelbyville Visitor Center is located east of the Lake Shelbyville Main Dam at 1989 State Hwy. 16 Shelbyville, IL 62565. For additional information, call our project office at (217)774-3951 X 2 or email lakeshelbyville@usace.army.mil.

•November 30, 2022•
Though retailers may begin playing holiday tunes shortly after Halloween, for many people, no date on the calendar marks the beginning of the holiday season better than the day they pick up their Christmas tree.
There are many different ways to acquire a Christmas tree. Some people prefer artificial Christmas trees that can be stored and taken out each year. Others make a yearly expedition to a tree lot or a Christmas tree farm to find the perfect fir or spruce. Historians believe a man named W.V. McGallard planted 25,000 Norway spruce seedlings at his Mercer County, New Jersey farm in 1901, essentially establishing the first commercial Christmas tree farm. By 1908, customers could visit the farm and choose trees for $1 each. McGallard helped create an entirely new industry that now accounts for 350 million trees being grown and sold in the United States every year. Read More

25 Years Ago This Week

Rebekah Boddy and Wes Barlow were named the DAR and SAR award winners at Lovington High School. Students selected by DAR demonstrate outstanding qualities of leadership dependability, service and patriotism in their school, at home and in their community. SAR winners demonstrate dependability, as evidenced by the record of punctuality, truthfulness, honesty, loyalty, trustworthiness and self control; cooperation as evidenced by the record in respect for authority, property, the rights of others and courtesy; leadership as evidenced by what the pupil has done to make the school a better school; and patriotism, as evidenced by loyalty to and a knowledge of the purpose expressed in the preamble of the Constitution of the United States. Read More