January 2018

January 3

Dalton City Monster truck driver Brianna Mahon designed the new Monster Jam “Whiplash” truck. In January Mahon debuted the 12 foot tall 10,000 lb. Monster truck in Anaheim,Calif. Mahon is a Sullivan High School graduate who raced dirt bikes until getting sidelined by injury in 2011. By 2013 she started driving for Monster Jam Trucks, winning rookie of the year honors in 2015.
Larry Edwards was promoted to assistant chief of the Sullivan Fire Protection District. A captain since 2005 Edwards started as a volunteer in 1997.
The Sullivan law offices of Wood and Mayberry merged with Decatur law firm Bolen, Robinson and Ellis as founding member Steven Wood began thinking about cutting back his schedule.
Pastor Paul McGhgy was recognized as 2017 Citizen of the Year during the Sullivan Chamber and Economic Development annual awards luncheon.
During the ALAH Knights Classic Holiday tournament the team finished in second place with senior Hannah Wallen scoring her 1000 career point during the Cumberland game. In the championship game with St. Teresa Wallen tallied a team high 16 points including three 3-pointers, Marissa Herschberger scored five 3-pointers for 15, Janette Comstock tallied 12 points, Kyla Carson nine points, Marcy Petersheim six points, and Abi Duzan three points.
The Okaw Valley girls’ basketball team won the 17th annual OV Holiday tournament, defeating Martinsville in the championship game 59-24. Paige Robinson scored 23 points, Danielle Hill and Kate Jeffers each scored eight, Ciera Perry seven, Natalie Jeffers added six and Hope Ruppert four points.

January 10

The Little Theatre on the Square in Sullivan started showing movies with Goodbye Christopher Robin playing the matinee and Murder on the Orient Express shown in the evening on the weekend.

•December 19, 2018•

Moultrie County Clerk Georgia England organized a food and fund drive for the food pantry and Moultrie County Interagency.
From the November county board meeting when the board took away an annual $500 donation to the Interagency until the Dec. 13 meeting England and courthouse employees raised a total of $1450.
Of that amount the Food Pantry received $550 plus a table full of donated food and the Interagency received a $900 donation.
“A big “thank you” to everyone who contributed to the food pantry and interagency,” England said Friday when the donations were distributed. “Your generosity will help provide many families with a Christmas dinner and help where it is needed. This is truly the Christmas spirit!”

Photo by R.R. Best

•December 12, 2018•

Well, one of my favorite memories from growing up was holiday baking with my mom.
She was a great cook and baker. After her passing, I didn’t want to lose that tradition so I decided to do a cookie exchange with some friends.
We each bring several dozen of one type of cookie or candy, and I supply the containers, then we all share.
The first year I think we only had three or four. The next year we had a few more and decided to do enough for ourselves as well as the fire department and our city and county police.
This year was our sixth year of the cookie exchange, and Jennifer Voegel has done it with me each and every year.
While planning this year’s we decided that since the fire department and police get so many things brought to them, let’s do some for our local nursing homes instead. Read More

Photo by R.R. Best
Gingerbread houses are a tradition with Nina Martin of Sullivan, and she uses that tradition to help support The Little Theatre on the Square. Above Chef Regina Johnson presented Phillip and Nina Martin with their annual gingerbread creation on Dec. 7.

•December 12, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

Our story begins with Nina Martin’s favorite Christmas memories of the beautiful gingerbread houses her mother, Roberta Tabor, made from scratch every year – no two of which were ever alike.
The gingerbread houses were famous and graced the front page of the Sullivan newspaper each Christmas season.
On Sunday, Dec. 9 Phillip and Nina Martin hosted a benefit for the Little Theatre on the Square in their home featuring this year’s gingerbread creation.
While the Sullivan High School Madrigal Singers performed in the living room, the star in the dining room was the enchanting gingerbread Santa’s workshop which elicited many expressions of delight.
As part of her holiday decorations Nina has always ordered an original centerpiece creation for her dining room table. Her special muse for many of these creations has been bakery chef, Regina Johnson of RegCakes, who loves nothing more than “to take raw ingredients and create something unusual and special.”
In the past Johnson has created medieval castles and Harry Potter themed structures, but this year Nina wanted a gingerbread Santa’s workshop with an ice- skating scene and a fire pit for making s’mores.
This holiday season masterpiece is a lovely little house with a red icing roof featuring Santa’s office, a loading place and a portico for the sleigh. There are skylights, and the back has been cut away to expose the interior which is illuminated with tiny blinking lights. Santa is relaxing in his easy chair. The outside chimney is made of jelly bellies.
The skating pond rotates and is surrounded by gingerbread trees and a bridge. The fire pit has gingerbread children roasting the tiniest marshmallows. Everything is edible except for the platform, the lake and the tiny wire roasting forks. Johnson made nine batches of cookie dough for the entire scene. Read More