•September 4, 2019•
The Windsor FFA Chapter had their Tractor Raffle drawing on August 29th at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur. Many members of the FFA went to the Half Century of Farm Progress Show in Rantoul, IL and the Farm Progress Show to sell tickets. Read More
Category Archives: News Briefs
Arts in Central Park Offers Exhibits and Kids Activities
•September 4, 2019•
The Decatur Arts Council is bringing the arts to Central Park September 20th - 22nd.
Decatur hosts one of Central Illinois’ finest juried art shows on the third weekend of September. Featured are more than 60 exhibiting artists from several states. They provide a variety of artwork for sale including jewelry, pottery, metal sculptures, blown glass, fiber arts, paintings, and more. Read More
IDNR Activities Abound into Fall
•September 4, 2019•
Bobcat Permits: Hunters and trappers may apply for a 2019-2020 Illinois Bobcat Hunting and Trapping Permit online through Sept. 30. Applicants must submit a $5.00 non-refundable fee. A total of 1,000 permits will be allocated during a lottery and mailed to successful applicants. Successful applicants who receive a permit for the 2019-2020 season will NOT be able to receive a permit the next year to allow unsuccessful applicants a better chance to get a permit. The area open to bobcat hunting and trapping for the 2019-2020 season will be the boundary from the 2016-2017 season (see the map on Page 44 of the Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Documents/HuntTrapDigest.pdf). Season dates are Nov. 10, 2019 through Feb. 15, 2020. Bobcat hunting is closed during firearm deer season in counties open to firearm deer hunting. Bobcat research projects in central and southern Illinois are ongoing. IDNR asks that successful permit holders submit the lower jaw from harvested bobcats for this research. Details will be included with the permits. IDNR appreciates the cooperation from hunters and trappers in efforts to learn more about bobcat populations in Illinois. To apply for a 2019-2020 bobcat permit, go to the DNR Direct license and permit system at https://www.il.wildlifelicense.com/start.php. Read More
Illinois has been the Nexus for the Nation’s Labor Movement
•September 4, 2019•
By Phil Luciano
Of the Journal Star of Peoria
From organizing unions to effecting labor laws, Illinois has played a vital historical role as a flashpoint — sometimes involving violence and danger — for workplace fairness. These are some of the key figures and events of that struggle.
Mother Jones
She lost her own family, so she adopted a new one, a huge one, lifting up the cause of labor.
In the process, Mother Jones became perhaps the greatest labor force in the history of Illinois.
An Irish immigrant and dressmaker, Mary Harris landed in Memphis, Tennessee, where she met and wed George Jones, a foundry worker and union supporter. They’d had four children by 1867, when an epidemic of yellow fever claimed the entire household, save Mary. The 30-year-old widow relocated to Chicago to start anew with a dress shop, but it was lost in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
She scraped to get by, sometimes sewing piecework for wealthy Chicago families. As she’d gaze out their picture windows, she gained a keen eye and soft heart for disenfranchised. Read More
Are Sounds from the Past Forgotten, Maybe Not
•September 4, 2019•
Jerry L. Ginther
NP Guest Columnist
If you still live in the city or town where you were raised, pause for a few moments on a peaceful day and listen for the sounds of current activities.
Are they different from past years?
You may begin to contemplate the sounds you hear today and reflect on sounds from yesteryear. Are they familiar sounds from years past or are they new?
At first you may not be aware of sounds that are no longer there. As a matter of fact, if you are 50 or 60 years of age, someone your age or even an older person might remind you in a conversation of a sound that at one time was common to daily life in the community.
Such a conversation could start an avalanche of memories that lead to comments such as, “Yes, I remember that and do you remember…?”
In a small town you can often hear noises from nearby locations, sounds of industry or construction. Read More
Menu 9-4-2019
Senior Peace Meal
For additional information or for reservations, please call 1-800-543-1770
Monday, September 9 - Fish sandwich, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, fruit juice, bun, pears
Tuesday, September 10 - Beef and noodles, mashed potatoes, sweet cinnamon carrots, whole grain wheat (1), watermelon
Wednesday, September 11 - Turkey salad w/grapes, cucumber salad, fruit cocktail, roll, apple oatmeal bar
Thursday, September 12 - Taco salad w/beans, meat, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, sour cream and taco sauce, pineapple, taco chips, cake
Friday, September 13 - Fried chicken, mashed potatoes w/gravy, brussels sprouts, Texas toast, mixed melon salad w/grapes
How to Navigate Government and Politics
•September 4, 2019•
By Jim Nowlan
Capital News Service
I am giving a talk to long-term state prison inmates, soon to be released, about how to navigate government and politics. This, on the premise they will need licenses to drive and ply some trades, and maybe even want to get involved in politics.
Background: Illinois is divided into 10,000 voting districts called precincts, each with roughly 500 voters. Political parties have long used precincts to organize and contest elections. Precinct committeemen are elected at primaries to advocate for their respective parties (called “captains” in Cook County, where they are appointed by party higher-ups).
When I was in politics half a century ago, political party organizations were important in navigating politics. Citizens would go to their committeemen to find out who to contact to resolve their problems with, say, the DMV or other state agencies. That no longer happens, with rare exceptions.
Patronage jobs in government, which committeemen and captains once coveted, are mostly gone. So, why seek the post? In addition, television ads and money have basically replaced party as campaign tools. As a result, candidates for offices such as state legislator now must build their own personal organizations of volunteers and committees to raise money for campaigns. Read More
We’re at ‘War’ with China, and We’re Losing
•August 28, 2019•
By Jim Nowlan
Capital News Service
For millennia, war was how you did economic development. Today, economic and technical dominance are how you do war, and right now we’re losing something akin to a modern “war” with China.
When I first arrived in Shanghai 15 years ago, to serve as a “foreign expert” (visiting professor) at Fudan University, one of China’s best, I took a stretch-the-legs Saturday morning stroll along a street outside my guest quarters.
I came upon a gaggle of little kids in neat uniforms, gathering outside what was obviously a school building.
Later I asked my host professor about this. “Oh, of course, our children all attend school every Saturday morning, until noon.”
Indeed, Chinese children not only attend school about 210 days each year (versus our 174 days), but for an hour longer each weekday than in the U.S. Read More
Superintendent-Y Stuff: A Walk with Mr. Walk
•August 28, 2019•
By Ted Walk,
Supt. Sullivan CUSD #300
I wanted to take the opportunity this week to give an update on the number of students enrolled in Sullivan Schools.
Our enrollment has been trending upward over the past few years, and this year was no exception.
Last year, Sullivan Schools served 1,161 students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Read More
Remember When?
25 Years Ago This Week
A battalion of new teachers took their posts at Sullivan schools for the first day of the new school year. In the high school the new teachers are Renee Bone, math; Michelle Brister, P.E., health and girls’ basketball coach; Rob Smith, social studies, head boys’ basketball coach; Brett Gayer, English and girls’ assistant basketball coach; Marlene Wirth, unit librarian. At the middle school Colleen Van Deursen will teach fifth grade; Christine Grohler will teach third and fifth grade learning disabilities; Don Typer, kindergarten through fifth grade P.E.; Kathy Turner, library aide; Lance Schneiderman, fifth grade; Diane Pence, guidance counselor; Jim Gardner, social studies; Teresa Riggin, third grade; Arick Shoemaker, fifth grade; Karen Harpster, third grade; and Vicki Budde, fifth grade. New faces at Powers School include Ronna Albritton, second grade; Jane Beatty, kindergarten and Christine Kovacs, second grade. Read More