•September 30, 2026•
1: Caregiver Support Group 12:30, Relatives/Grandparents Raising Children Support Group 2:00
2: Pool Tourney 1:00
5: Sewing/Quilting Group 1:00-3:00
6: Dine with a Doc: Peace Meal director Barbra Wylie, Guest speaker 11:00-1:00
7: Bridge 1:00, Hand and Foot 2:00
8: Exercise class 10:00, Amber Clark of the V.A. Suicide Awareness and V.A. Services 1:00
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•September 30, 2026•
2nd - Pumpkin bowling activity for kids from 3:30-4:30 p.m.
5th & 19th - Needle Night from 5-7 p.m. If you would like to learn to crochet, knit, needlepoint, or even how to sew we have people that can help teach you. If you already know how and just want to hang out come join us.
6th - Story time from 10-10:30 a.m. Bring the little ones in for a story and a craft.
9th - Halloween themed games from 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Read MoreWater, Water Everywhere
by Janey Roney
We’ve been reviewing the reasons Asa’s Point (the future Sullivan) was chosen as the site for the county seat of Moultrie County in 1845 instead of the thriving, well-established village of East Nelson. East Nelson had everything going for it with several businesses, a doctor, a Methodist church and parsonage, and a school, as well as the Purvis Saw and Grist Mill upriver from Nelson Ford where three major trails crossed.
Read More1966
Co-owner Leon Bechtel checked a new sign being installed at the Sullivan Eisner Agency store which had recently opened. The new building on Main Street, had floor space for more than 1,000 additional products. Co-owner with Bechtel was Stuart Jones.
The Moultrie County Mental Health Assn. had met and elected a permanent Board of Directors and officers for the coming year. Elected president of the group was Bill Heise of Lovington. The Rev. Alec Langford of Lovington was named vice president, Mrs. John English of Sullivan, secretary and the Rev. Robert Springer, treasurer.
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•September 23, 2026•
by Joshua Reinhart
For many adults who began college but did not complete a degree, leaving school was less about academics than it was about everything else happening in life at the time. A new national survey offers a reminder that stepping away from college does not have to mean closing the door permanently.
Study.com’s 2026 Finish Your Degree: New Survey on College Stopouts found that 80% of adults surveyed who left college without earning a degree attributed their decision to full-time work, cost, or family responsibilities. Academic challenges accounted for just 2% of respondents’ reasons for stopping out. So for adults who have thought about returning, the message is simple: It may be worth starting the conversation.
“Finishing a degree is not simply about receiving a diploma,” said EIU Interdisciplinary Studies Program coordinator Kimberly Redfern. “For many returning students, it is about expanding professional possibilities, gaining confidence, accomplishing a long-held personal goal or creating new options for the future.”
Study.com’s survey found that 55% of adults who returned to college said the desire for higher pay was a reason for reenrolling, while 41% cited a personal sense of unfinished business. Another 26% said encouragement from family influenced their decision to return.
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•September 23, 2026•
A nationally known pumpkin sculptor and “Halloween Wars” champion will bring his carving talents to Arthur when the Arthur Pumpkin Festival debuts Saturday, Oct. 3.
Mike Brown, a professional pumpkin sculptor, designer and builder from Springfield, Missouri, will be among the featured attractions during the daylong downtown festival, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. along Progress and Hickory streets.
Brown has gained national attention for transforming ordinary pumpkins into elaborate three-dimensional sculptures. Rather than relying on traditional jack-o’-lantern designs, Brown carves directly into pumpkins to create detailed faces, characters and other works of art.
His talents have also taken him to national television.
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•September 23, 2026•
Enrollment at Lake Land College has reached a new seven-year high, according to the College’s Fall 2026 Census Day Enrollment Report, which was presented to the Board of Trustees during the regular September meeting.
According to the report, 4,313 students are enrolled at Lake Land College for the Fall 2026 semester, surpassing last year’s headcount by more than 4%. Additionally, the report includes a 1.8% increase in Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) enrollment, which is the number of total enrolled credit hours divided by the conventional full-time workload of 15 credit hours per semester. For the Fall 2026 semester, FTE at Lake Land College reached 2,611.3, the highest level since 2019.
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•September 23, 2026•
Submitted
Illinois railroad workers are asking motorists, pedestrians and families to remember a few basic rules that can save lives as the state observes See Tracks? Think Train!® Week Sept. 21-27 — while highlighting a new Illinois law designed to make sure those lessons begin at a young age.
SMART-TD Illinois State Director Bob Guy said railroad employees see firsthand why vigilance around tracks and crossings matters.
“A train can’t swerve around you, and it can’t stop like your car,” Guy said. “By the time a locomotive engineer sees someone in the train’s path, there may be nothing that crew can physically do to prevent a collision. That’s why the safe decision has to happen before you enter the tracks.”
Read MoreChoosing the County Seat, Part 3
•September 23, 2026•
by Janey Roney
Last week, I left you wondering why after two years of wrangling, voters chose Asa’s Point (the future Sullivan) as their new county seat in 1845 instead of the well-established East Nelson village. Asa’s Point, a point of timber south of the center of the new county, was uninhabited possibly because it was too close to the mosquito and rattlesnake infested swamp and two-mile long lake known as Eagle Pond to be a healthy home. East Nelson was on the south bluff of the Kaskaskia above Nelson Ford where three main trails crossed the river since the beginning of time and connected it to the Mississippi and Wabash Rivers as well as Lake Michigan.
Read MoreOp-Ed By
DM Williamee
Recently, I received an automated call from the big-chain pharmacy that I use to fill my prescriptions notifying me that my prescription was ready for pick-up. Upon arrival, however, the pharmacy was closed. I located a store employee who shared that they did not know the why or when it would re-open. I was given the corporate phone number to call for more information. When I called, they provided no clear answers and were of limited help. Yes-my pharmacy was closed. When would it re-open? Hopefully soon. Why was it closed? Silence. I was then advised that my prescription could be transferred to the nearest open pharmacy in their chain, conveniently located in Springfield. What?
Fortunately, my pharmacy re-opened less than 48 hours later. When I went back to pick up my prescription, there was only one person working there who I recognized. A few days later, I was sharing my experience with another person, who uses a different chain pharmacy in a different town, who told me that they had the same experience in the last two weeks. After comparing notes, I decided to research the issue and what I learned was is concerning.
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