25 Years Ago This Week

Dee and Wayne Claytor won first place in the Bethany Lighting Contest. Second place went to Carroll and Sandy Ray, and third place winners were David and Kathy Doty. Mark and Judi Seeley won the award for best decorated outdoor tree, and Crowder Insurance won top honors as best decorated business.
The overall winner of Lovington’s Lighting Contest is Carl Elzy. Lloyd Long was the winner of the contemporary division, Karen and Tom Webb took second, and third place went to Murray and Lisa Kidwell. In the religious category Guy and Joyce Elder were the first place winners while Alma Fair won second, and third place went to Dick Nelson.
Over 30 Sullivan citizens recently chartered an Optimist Club to serve the youth of the area. Officers in the organization were the first to become charter members of the international club. They include Lisa Muirheid, Jamie Isaacs, Debbie Preston, Laura Sutton, Jon England, Rick Dunscomb, Gerry Wood, Wayne Turner and Mary Ann Hargis. Read More

•January 9, 2019•

The 43-voice nationally recognized Millikin University Choir will embark on a 16-day tour this January with stops in Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. The 2019 Winter Tour began with a performance on Jan. 5 at Central Baptist Church in Springfield.
The tour concludes with a finale concert on Sunday, Jan. 27 at 3 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church located at 407 E. Eldorado St. in Decatur.
All concerts are free to the public and free-will offerings are accepted.
The flagship of the Millikin choral fleet, the University Choir features upper-class students from a variety of majors. In recent years, the choir has also toured internationally to Spain, Ireland, Scotland, England, China, Taiwan, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The Millikin University Choir has gained national recognition, due in part to six invitations to perform at national and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). Their performances have fostered new conversations in response to their approach to tone, style and programming. The choir has six recordings on Millikin’s First Step Records label. Read More

•January 2, 2019•

By Trudy Lieberman
Rural Health News Service

Right before Christmas a U.S. District Court Judge in Texas ruled the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, was unconstitutional. What’s more, the judge didn’t just throw out the controversial provision that nearly every American is required to carry health insurance, he tossed out the entire law with its myriad provisions.
“Nearly everyone would be affected in some way if the Texas judge’s ruling that the entire ACA is unconstitutional is upheld,” said Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation. “It would also be a big deal if only the ACA’s preexisting conditions were thrown out as the Trump administration has argued.”
Indeed, it would. Although I’ve argued there are many flaws in the Affordable Care Act, its greatest contribution may be that it opened the door for sick people to get insurance. Until the ACA came along, anyone who needed to buy coverage in the individual insurance market had to pass tough medical scrutiny by insurers. Even a seemingly minor condition like an ear infection could disqualify someone from getting a policy.
There’s no going back to the past on this one. The principle that everyone needs health insurance, whether sick or well, and has a right to get it is now becoming more firmly planted in American health insurance. As proof, we have to look no further than the public outcry that surfaced when Congress tried to repeal the law in 2017, and the importance it took on all over the country in the November midterm elections. Candidates who were on record as opposing the ACA tried to convince voters they really were for letting sick people buy health insurance after all. Read More

25 Years Ago This Week

Powers School students will present “ How the Penguins Saved Christmas”. Among the featured performers are Jaclyn Creek, Jennifer Starr, Frank Austin, Ben Richter, and Lacy Florey. Lara Seelhoefer will play Suzy Snowflake. Megan Coy will give the welcome. Christina Tomczewski and Ryan Becker will rap their way through “The Rap of the Presents”. Santa will be played by Ben Kuhns. His reindeer are Evyn Flannell, Morgan Miller, Jason Martin, Nathan Becker, Sydney Shook, Ashley Wood, Whitney Parrish and Sarah Musser.
Ruth and Forrest Adams will reign as King and Queen of the Holidays at Sullivan Living Center. The couple has been married for 78 years.