•December 3, 2025•
by Sharon Barricklow
Sullivan city employees will have Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance during 2026 under a plan approved last week by the city council. The council learned health insurance costs would be rising 6.1 percent under the new plan, a lower-than-expected increase. The lower rate is partially because Sullivan had only five claims the previous year, costing more than $50,000. We need to go ahead and get this done,” said Mayor Mike Mossman.
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•November 26, 2025•
by DM Williamee
On Monday, November 17th, Sullivan resident Virginia Weakly celebrated her 105th birthday at Heritage Woods, surrounded by family, friends, caregivers, former students, and well-wishers from the community. The atmosphere was one of joy, with the traditional birthday accouterments, including live music, balloons, and Mrs. Weakly looking lovely and demure as always, while holding court under a banner of balloons.
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•November 26, 2025•
by Ariana R Cherry
The ALAH School Board received updates on the district’s ongoing high school building project during its regular meeting this past week, including a review of three potential design options that will soon require board direction. Representatives from BLDD Architects and CORE Construction—architect Damien Schlitt and construction manager Britt Steffen—attended the meeting to share progress on planning the new high school facility. After a two-day feedback process involving teachers and students, three building options were presented, with square footage ranging from approximately 48,000 to 58,000 square feet. While the layouts differ, all three prioritize creating spaces that support instruction, collaboration, and small-group learning.
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•November 26, 2025•
The Giving Place, in conjunction with Allied Capital Title, is holding a winter coat drive. They are accepting clean, gently worn, or new winter coats as well as other winter gear. Drop off locations are at Allied Capital Title between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., 18 W Harrison Street in Sullivan, or The Giving Place between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., at 1102 W Jackson Street, Sullivan.
These coats are available for anyone in Moultrie County or the ALAH School District. If you need a coat, come to Allied Capital Title during business hours.
•November 26, 2025•
The Lovington Working Women’s Collective will host their annual Christmas in the Park event on Saturday, November 29th, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Tom Conn Park in Lovington. The community is invited to join in as they kick off the holiday season with an afternoon filled with festive cheer, community spirit, and magical moments for all ages. This event is free and open to the public. Bring your family, friends, and holiday spirit to celebrate the season with the Lovington community.
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•November 19, 2025•
by DM Williamee
On Friday, November 14th, a retirement was held at the Moultrie County Courthouse for Chief Deputy County Clerk Pam Wittkowski, after her over twenty-five years of service. Many of her friends and colleagues came to the party to wish her well, thank her for her service, and many an eye teared up as hugs, handshakes, laughter, and stories went around. As Pam said, “Many of the people I have worked with have become like family, and we support each other both at work as well as at home.”
Pam moved to Sullivan in 2000, and when she began looking for work outside of the home, after spending time first working on her home and volunteering with her church, the position was a perfect fit for her strong bookkeeping skills. “Georgia needed a lot of help,” she said. Pam shared that the position kept her very busy, from hearings, ongoing law changes, helping employees, servicing the board and election judges, as well as the community.
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•November 19, 2025•
On November 11th at 2:10 a.m., a Sullivan Fire Protection District Ambulance was involved in a collision with another vehicle on Illinois Route 121 and approximately 300 feet east of Moultrie County Road 1600E. Both firefighters/EMTs were taken to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center for non-life-threatening injuries, and both have been released. There were no occupants in the other vehicle.
The crew was returning to quarters after completing a transport to a local hospital. The ambulance sustained heavy fire damage and is considered a total loss. The Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office completed the investigation and report. The Sullivan Fire Protection District was assisted by Coles-Moultrie 911 and the Bethany Fire Protection District.
Photos by RR Best
•November 19, 2025•
The Christmas Crew in Sullivan is gearing up to help local families as the holiday fast approaches. An offshoot of the local “Giving Place” Facebook page created by Elizabeth Houser when she saw the needs of the community and wanted to be able to help bridge those gaps, the Christmas Crew helps local families enjoy the season by meeting the needs of those families during the holidays.
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On Tuesday, November 11th, Sullivan High School held its annual Veterans Day celebration at the Sullivan Middle School gymnasium. The event began with a brunch for Veterans, followed by the assembly celebration.
The celebration included the Sullivan American Legion Color Guard, performances of branch songs by the SMS choir and Singers Jr., a reading of the winning Veteran’s Writing Contest held by the American Legion, a performance of TAPS followed by a reverent moment of silence, and a speech by Principal Dan Allen. In his speech, Mr. Allen’s topic focused on how to show appreciation to our veterans, and paralleling the popular movie, “Saving Private Ryan,” he shared the pivotal two words from the movie: Earn This. Mr. Allen continued to emphasize this point by sharing what that meant: thanking Veterans, being a patriot, respecting the rights of others, serving others and not just ones self, being productive and working hard, being grateful, learn how to disagree respectfully, and last but most importantly, not to take freedom for granted- to earn it.
Photos by DM Williamee
•November 12, 2025•
by DM Williamee
On Tuesday, November 4th, the Mid-Illinois Senior Services hosted their monthly ‘Dine with a Doc.’ Their guest speaker was Asad Sohail, MPH, DPM, with Decatur Orthopedic Center. This highly engaging and accredited guest informed diners about the importance of proper foot care, covering a wide variety of issues such as neuropathy and other common maladies, selection and wearing of proper footwear, medications, effective over-the-counter remedies, and the tremendous advancements in surgical procedures with much quicker healing times, less scarring, and better end results.
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