Photo submitted

Allied Capital Title branch manager April Daily recently presented Sparrows Unlimited president Pam Anklam the Sullivan branches’ quarterly donation.

•September 17, 2025•

Submitted

The presence of numerous, problematic, feral cats was recognized in Lovington, and locals Pam Anklam and Kelly Creek discussed the problem, trying to arrive at a solution that was effective and humane. Pam had had a feral mother with four kittens show up at her home, and after speaking with both the Kaskaskia Valley Animal Hospital (KVAH) and Moultrie County Animal Control (MCAC), she had them spayed/neutered. She then released the mother feline back to her colony and found homes for all four of the kittens. Both Pam and Kelly Creek came to the conclusion that there was a need for a TNR program in Lovington, and they took action.

2015

Paul Hinson played the “Flowers of the Forest” on Scottish highland bagpipes for the Patriot Day assembly in Sullivan on September 11th. For Hinson, who lived in Oakland, his interest in the bagpipes started when he heard his first one played in St. Louis. “That was 37 years ago,” Hinson said, noting he started buying records and then gained enough skills to start playing.

Fifty years of Sullivan Blue Dolphins swimmers have trained at the Civic Center, and on September 18th, an open house commemorated the occasion. Everyone was invited to the Sullivan Civic Center to help the Blue Dolphins celebrate their Golden Anniversary.

The Monday night scramble results for Timberlake Golf Course: September 7th: First place with five under par and winning playoff hole: Brent Effner, Josh Thouvenin, Kevin Elder, and Gage Elder. Second place with five under par: Shane Russell, Tim Coy, Adam Dillard, and Clint Marshall.

•September 10, 2025•

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Shelbyville will hold the 15th Annual Youth Firearm Deer Hunt on October 11th and 12th. To apply for the hunt, youth applicants must be less than 18 years old on October 11th and be accompanied by an adult on the hunt. Applications must be received by 8:00 a.m. on September 22nd. Applications can be picked up at the Lake Shelbyville Project Office Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., or online at: https://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lake-Shelbyville/Recreation/Hunting/.

The plowed furrow
•September 10, 2025•

by Janet Roney

After Amos Williams surveyed the route of the Springfield Road across the northern part of Moultrie County in 1825-26, they blazed the trees in the timbered areas and plowed a furrow with a team of oxen and a breaking plow across the open prairie to mark the route. Thereafter, “the Plowed Furrow” was a name for the Springfield Road along with the “Terry Haute Road”.

Before three years had passed, they were resurveying and changing parts of the route. In 1833, the Macon County commissioners changed it again and ordered another survey of the road to find a crossing over the West Okaw River suitable for a bridge. (Macon controlled the north half of Moultrie in those days.) That’s when the road shifted north to pass through the future site of Lovington and along a string of cabins leading to the site of the new Stringtown Bridge. A few years later, in 1838, the Blackhorse Tavern inn was built along the road, which was the beginning of the village of Lovington.