25 Years Ago This Week

Bethany school district joined Lovington in rejecting an offer to combine with the Sullivan School District. Declining enrollment prompted Bethany schools to cut staff by four and look into ending the high school Mustang football program.

Sullivan residents Lewis and Ruth Holt were married Feb. 29, 1924 (Leap Year Day). They celebrated 68 years of marriage at the Masonic Home.

Bethany basketball Mustangs honored seniors Ben Osman, Greg Dickens, Sean Harshman, Wes Russell, Chris Smith and Dave Snyder prior to the final regular season game with Windsor.

Sullivan Lady Redskins win Regional title in a 66-23 game with Arcola. Tiffinie French, Stephanie Monroe, Angie Sphar, Allyson Glazebrook and Carinna Elder were among contributing teammates. Read More

•February 15, 2017•

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has announced an updated consumption advisory for sport fish caught in Illinois waters. These changes are the result of continued sampling by the Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program and do not suggest that Illinois fish are becoming more or less contaminated.

“The advisories are not meant to discourage people from eating fish but should be used as a guideline to help anglers and their families decide the types of fish to eat, how frequently, and how to prepare fish for cooking to reduce possible contaminants,” said IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D.  Read More

•February 15, 2017•

Legislation designed to grow Illinois’ bio-based economy has been introduced by Senator Chapin Rose and Senator Andy Manar. Senate Bill 1656 provides incentives to Illinois businesses to produce and sell new renewable products made from biomass and other renewable sources.

The legislation builds upon Illinois’ strong agricultural base and seeks to provide new products and markets derived from grain commodities and their by-products. Universities and private companies are investing in a race with other states in research and development to introduce these products to the marketplace. Read More

•February 15, 2017•

Millikin University’s Percussion Ensemble will present its annual Synergy concert on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Kirkland Fine Arts Center. The concert is free and open to the public.

Synergy showcases the distinctiveness of Millikin’s ubiquitous, interdisciplinary alliances through a collaborative concert featuring performances by students and faculty across the College of Fine Arts.

This year’s Percussion Ensemble Synergy concert sets out to examine the relationship between music and the cognitive sciences. The program will explore a variety of interesting musical corollaries including, entrainment, swarm intelligence, dreams and the mind-brain problem. Read More

Photo submitted
Members of the 2017 Cheers! committee are: (front row, left to right) Karen Littleford, Tricia Dye and Kim Lockart, special event coordinator; Back row (left to right) Amanda Yost, Debra Sandercock, Jerri Pine, Beth Catt and Colleen Stoner, Volunteer Services Director. Committee members not pictured are Catherine Bovard, Eva Higgins, Jodi Hildebrandt, 2017 committee chair, and Lissa Skocy.

•February 15, 2017•

Katelyn Ruholl of Teutopolis and Brett Miller of Toledo are two of many that have benefited from Sarah Bush Lincoln’s Volunteer Guild scholarship program.

“This scholarship has made it less stressful and allowed me to focus more on school rather than finances,” Ruholl said. She is currently a junior nursing student at St. John’s Nursing School in Springfield and aspires to be a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA). “I have always loved taking care of others by putting their needs before mine. I also love learning about all of the amazing ways our body works,” she said.

Miller obtained a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and then worked for three and a half years before deciding to return to school to pursue a degree in nursing. “Being a non-traditional student has given me many life experiences that have prepared me for nursing. I wanted a career where I could make a difference,” he said. Read More