Compiled by Bekki Ferguson-Stevens

25 Years Ago This Week

Steven W. Casteel of Fairfax, Va., a 1967 graduate of Sullivan High School, was named to Sullivan High School’s Hall of Fame during the SHS Alumni Banquet Saturday in the high school gym. Casteel, a federal agent for the Federal Government’s Drug Enforcement Administration, has received numerous commendations during his tenure with the DEA and was recently featured on the CBS program 48 Hours.

This year’s recipient of the Who’s Who Award at Sullivan High School has distinguished herself through the concern of others. People who need help but cannot help themselves have become a focal point in her life. Sally Hood Clark of Mattoon, a 1954 graduate of Sullivan High School and the daughter of Christine Hood of Sullivan and the late Don Hood, spends many hours of her time assisting the blind and elderly and is particularly known for her support of the deaf and for special children.

Christie Edmonds was crowned homecoming queen during halftime activities Friday evening at Sullivan High School. The daughter of Mike and Joyce Edmonds, she rode off the football field after the ceremony with last year’s queen Stacey Anderson.  Read More

•September 28, 2016•

The rainfall reporting season in Moultrie and Douglas counties, which ran from March 27 to September 4, has wrapped up for 2016.

Moultrie County rain reporters were Dean Creviston, Topflight Grain, Robert Riley, T. L. Sheehan Jr., Tom and Sara Gale, Duane and Kim Voegel, John and Jo Watkins, Julian Black, Rick and Lucille Crawford, Cliff Yoder at Yoder Drainage Systems, Lyla Riley, Nick and Linda Roussey, John Doty, and Todd Maxedon. Read More

•September 28, 2016•

Leslie Wood, a former Sullivan resident, will be honored as the 2016 Pro Bono

Attorney of the Year for her work in Madison County.

Wood is an SHS alumna of the class of 1985. She attended the University of Illinois in Urbana and SIU Carbondale School of Law. She is the daughter of Steve and Kathy Wood of Sullivan.

“She’s a good girl,” father and Sullivan attorney Steve Wood said. “We are extremely proud of her.”

Leslie has provided many of her legal services such as pro bono bankruptcies and divorces for Land of Lincoln clients, handled pro bono cases as part of the Veterans Pro Bono Project, as well as providing legal consultations to low income clients at the Legal Advice Clinic.
Read More

•September 28, 2016•

Officials at Decatur Memorial Hospital and Springfield Clinic announced a collaboration that will expand patient access to primary care and specialty services on the DMH campus.

The newly-renovated medical office building Springfield Clinic will occupy is located at 250 West Kenwood Avenue and includes approximately 14,000 square feet of medical office space. Springfield Clinic will also offer laboratory services in the new facility along with X-ray services provided by DMH.

Springfield Clinic Decatur’s family medicine team includes: John DiMondo, MD; Dennis Heim, MD; Cynthia Marschner, DO; Dennis Rademacher, MD; Tammie Buzan, APN, FNP-BC; Mercedes Kent, LCSW; Nicole Mason, PA-C; Jennifer Norton, APN, FNP-BC; and Sara O’Brien, APN, NP-C.  Read More

•September 21, 2016•

By Tyler Harvey
Douglas-Moultrie Farm Bureau Manager

With half of September behind us the days are getting shorter, the air crisper, and the start of harvest for the year is in progress. Farmers around the area started harvest in the last couple weeks and continue to harvest what could potentially be the largest corn crop on record. The USDA came out with their September crop progress report on Monday, September 12 and surprised many people in agriculture.

The report lowered corn projected acreage 1% to 15.1 billion bushels. The report also confirmed a lower average yield of 174.4 bushels per acre. This average is only a modest change from the August report where the average was slated at 175.1.

Soybean projected projection in the report was dialed in at a record 4.20 billion bushels, up 3% from the August report. Average bushel yield was also raised to a record 50.6 bushels per acre. If these numbers hold true, this will be a record year for both corn and beans.  Read More