Roiling Springs

•April 9, 2025•

by Janet Roney

I remember the moment clearly. It was a cloudless summer day about forty years ago. Our family was eating lunch on the screened back porch after spending the morning walking beans.

First, we heard a low rumble. Then, in quick succession, the work clothes drying on the line in the backyard began bouncing up and down, the table shook, the spoons rattled in the serving dishes, and, finally, our dog, Ernie Bob, howled and ran under the bushes by the back door. 

Someone yelled “Earthquake!” I remember holding onto the table to keep the dishes from rattling without success. Long after the rumbling stopped and the dishes settled down, the clothesline continued to shimmy.

•April 9, 2025•

The 2025 application and affidavit for Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption is available at the Moultrie County Assessment Office, Moultrie County Courthouse, 10 South Main Street, 2nd floor Sullivan, Illinois or by calling (217)728-4951 between the hours of 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, except for legal holidays. The applications are also available on the County’s website at moultriecountyil.gov. 

Reinvigoration of the “Health IT” initiative

•April 2, 2025•

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced today a renewed emphasis on expanding opportunities for organizations to join the agency’s Health Information Technology (Health IT) program. Health IT allows SSA to use electronic data exchanges to obtain medical records directly from the provider, resulting in faster disability determinations for people applying for benefits. Faster allowances means putting much needed benefits in the hands of people in critical need. Additionally, expanding Health IT helps save taxpayer money, as each year SSA receives over 3 million new applications for disability benefits and spends over $500 million dollars to collect medical records for applicants. Health care organization partners benefit through cost reduction, streamlined operations, and providing better customer service to their patients.

•April 2, 2025•

In observance of safe digging month, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is reminding citizens they can reduce utility outages by calling 811. The state’s annual proclamation is a reminder to professional excavators and DIY homeowners alike to call 811 to safely mark utility lines before starting a digging project.

“The warmer weather can inspire us get started on home improvement projects, but underground utility lines can be unintentionally damaged during a digging project. Remember to call 811 before you dig for projects of any size,” said ICC Chairman Doug Scott. 

•April 2, 2025•

Combining brain power and teamwork, the Sullivan High School Scholastic Bowl Team’s competitive season comes to a successful end. Scholastic Bowl is a fast-paced, quiz-based competition where teams of five students from different schools compete by answering trivia questions on a variety of academic subjects. The team that correctly answers a toss-up gets control of the bonus set. There are 24 toss-ups in each match, and each bonus set has three questions. All correct answers are worth 10 points. 

In conference matches, the Varsity’s record was 11-1, and the JV’s record was 7-3. The Varsity team placed at every tournament, earning third place at the Turnabout Tournament and the Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl. They had a second-place finish in the Lincoln Prairie Conference, losing to Cumberland. During the Regional Championship against Marshall, Sullivan was down by 110 points at the half, but made a comeback to win Regionals with a final score of 380-330. At Sectionals, they won against Dieterich and Cisne but lost to Cumberland.