Photo by Mike Brothers
The Illinois Solar Tour travels through Sullivan Saturday, Sept. 22 featuring the solar powered home of Mike Fowler on S. Patterson Road.

•September 19, 2018•

By Reddy Kilowatt
for the News Progress

Mike Fowler installed solar panels two years ago and on Saturday, Sept. 22 his Sullivan home will be part of the Illinois Solar Tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. when solar energy users from all over the state open their homes for the public to learn about renewable energy.
The statewide tour including 200 locations is coordinated by the Illinois Solar Energy Association.
Fowler became the first home in Sullivan to operate on dual solar power and conventional electric service in September 2016.
Not only does he save money utilizing the sun to generate electricity for his home, but he can sell excess electricity back to the city of Sullivan’s electric utility.
“I am really appreciative of the cooperation from the city council on agreeing to the solar contract,” Fowler said, noting he gets wholesale credit on the excess electricity produced by his solar system.
“The system has operated with no problems,” he said, emphasizing the company he chose not only did professional work but helped direct him to financial incentives that will almost pay for the whole system in five years. Read More

Photo by Mike Brothers
The rebar sculpture of an Eagle holding on to a fish while perched on a branch is located at the entrance of Tabor Park in Sullivan. St. Joseph Sculptor Tim Summerville (left) set the Eagle up at its new home with some help from Park Supt. Herb Bricker Jr. and City Commissioner Mike Mossman. Not only did the sculptor deliver and set up the Eagle, he has agreed to wait for the $4000 payment until the next city budget year.

•September 12, 2018•

Tabor Park has a new sentry with impressive credentials.
An American Eagle sculpture was placed in the center lawn at the entry of the park on August 30.
Park Supt. Herb Bricker Jr. explained he was planning a feature for the entrance to Tabor and local sculpture Tim Summerville had the rebar constructed eagle sitting on a branch with fish in talons on display in a downtown Champaign museum.
“Tim was best man at my wedding so we’ve known each other a while,” Bricker began. “We were discussing plans for Tabor while having dinner with our wives, and he mentioned the sculpture in Champaign might be what we were looking for.”
Summerville explained he had just completed a rebar sculpted bison commissioned by the city of Decatur for the Sculpture Park near Scovill Musuem.
“He took me over to Scovill to see the rebar bison sculpture which fit the look I was after,” Bricker continued.
So he went to Champaign to check out the eagle perched on a tree branch with the fish in its grip. Bricker noted it was like a scene you could see from the Findlay Bridge on Lake Shelbyville.
An artist all his life, Tim Summerville’s rebar sculptures are standing in central Illinois because of a vacation to North Dakota where he first saw a rebar Buffalo. “While everyone else was admiring the art, I was busy looking inside to see how it was put together.” Read More

•September 12, 2018•

By Ted Walk,
Sullivan CUSD #300

Providing a quality, well-rounded education for all students has always been a priority and a point of pride for the Sullivan School District.
For a district of our size, we have a wide array of opportunities, both extra-curricular and in the classroom.
Today, I want to highlight our Art Program. We have 156 students enrolled in various Art courses this semester, which represents about half of our total student population. Read More

Photo furnished
Kim Adamson is pictured.

•September 12, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

With 500,000 children under the age of 18 in Illinois currently living with a relative guardianship requirements have shifted.
Previously, the majority of these children were living with grandparents, but the burden of care has shifted more to other relatives as grandparents age or are unable to care for the children.
“Because of this shift the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) changed to the new title of Relatives Raising Children (RRC),” Kim Adamson, Caregiver Advisor and Relatives Raising Children Director for the program, said. “And the change has been somewhat confusing to our clients.
“We need to let them know it is the same program with same services,” she continued. “Only these services are now available to any relative who is raising another relative’s child.” Read More

Photo by Mike Brothers
Sullivan Chamber & Economic Development offices are now located at the corner of Jefferson and Washington streets in Sullivan. Above Moultrie County Board Chairman Dave McCabe stopped by the new location to visit Executive Director Laurrie Minor. The new office entrance is on Washington Street.

•September 5, 2018•

Sullivan Chamber and Economic Development is operating in new offices at 101 W. Jefferson St. and is kicking off Spark, a community based initiative for future planning.
For Executive Director Laurrie Minor juggling economic planning initiatives while working on the next community festival, Oktoberfest, is all in a day’s work.
Sullivan Spark, with direction from the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western University, includes local citizen volunteers to help create a long-range plan for the community.
Minor recently completed Professional Community and Economic Developer certification through Western and is one of 600 certified in the country. The national accreditation connects Sullivan to materials designed for rural community development.
One opportunity SCED is focused on is marketing land for development south of Sullivan on Route 32. Minor emphasized the 18 plus acres of city owned property is located in a new TIF 4 District, intact until 2040.
The city of Sullivan is prepared to offer incentives to developers for the project with major utilities already located at the site.
“The property is on the Lake Shelbyville corridor and would be a great location for a hotel,” Minor said, noting the marketing plan presented to the city council will target light industrial, lawn and garden, outdoor adventure stores and possibly a variety store such as Tractor Supply Company.
On the tourism front SCED and the Lake Shelbyville Corp of Engineers partnered at a trade show in Chicago that produced results in a few weeks. Read More