•June 6, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

The trees in Tabor Park are alive with the sounds of four pairs of nesting bluebirds.  They are there because Bill Burger saw one while running one day and set about to attract more. To date, he has built and installed 14 bluebird boxes in the park and Greenhill Cemetery.

A retired speech pathologist from Mattoon High School, Burger has always been an avid outdoorsman and does a lot of woodworking. It was natural to combine his two interests to benefit the park where he runs almost every day.

In the process he has learned a lot about bluebirds. He notes, “They are fun to watch. The male will show the female several boxes, but she makes the selection of which box to use. The male gathers the preferred pine needles or prairie grasses, but the female weaves the most exquisite little nest with every strand perfectly in place.” Read More

•May 30, 2018•

By Ariana Cherry
for The News Progress

School is out, summer is here and the kids are home for the next couple of months.

Before the summer “boredom” kicks in make sure they pick up a book and join in the reading fun at the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library in Sullivan.

The summer reading kick off is 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, June 1. There will be no cost to the public-everything is free!

The kids will have plenty of fun with kid carnival type games, two inflatables, a life-sized Candyland game, a book walk, crafts, cotton candy and snow cones. During the reading kick-off, the public is invited to join in all the activities and sign up their children for the summer reading program. This will be a wonderful way to make reading fun and build up excitement for the kids. Read More

Photo by RR Best
Devoted St. Jude Runner training at 3 below zero.

•May 23, 2018•

By Mike Brothers

St. Jude Dash n Bash in Sullivan kicks off its fourth year Saturday, June 2 in Wyman Park with more than 90 percent of everything raised going to the St. Jude, Memphis and Midwest Affiliate in Peoria.

Over the past three years the event has given $32,000 to St. Jude Hospital Stephanie Helmuth, Sullivan event founder, said of the success.

St. Jude’s no cost treatment for children with the most serious health issues is offered regardless of race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.

Helmuth’s realization of what that meant came after the birth of her youngest child River who required infant heart surgery at the St. Jude Midwest affiliate in Peoria.

“Sitting in that hospital room let me understand what others faced,” said Helmuth of her incentive to start the run in Sullivan to help St. Jude.

She and other Sullivan area runners had participated in the St. Jude Mattoon/Peoria run so eight volunteers got together the first St. Jude Dash n Bash. Read More

Photo by Mike Brothers
OVHS agriculture teacher and ag complex creator Wes Wise explained the inspiration for the collegiate styled facility and thanked all those who helped make this day possible. In background high school principal Matt Shoaff and Supt. Ken Stauder listen along with students, Corp representatives and community representatives gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony.

“Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why’? I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not’?”
Robert F. Kennedy.

•May 23, 2018•

Why not OV? Reflects on the possibilities referred to by Kennedy. Okaw Valley CUSD #302 is a school district willing to dream.

On Thursday, May 17 Okaw Valley High School entered a new era of education breaking ground on a new 5000 sq. ft. agricultural complex.

Along with a classroom and lab the school will initiate animal husbandry, putting the 170 student high school in Bethany in the collegiate level of agricultural learning.

Supt. Kent Stauder told a crowd of students, educators, U.S. Corps partners and members of the community of how the school board asked him to come up with a “dream project”following the district’s success as a U.S. Corps of Engineers partner.

Stauder went to agriculture teacher Wes Wise, who came up with a hands on agriculture concept that incorporates the classroom and real learning modeled from a collegiate approach to learning natural resources, agronomy, animal husbandry and much more. Read More

•May 16, 2018•

Storms wreaked havoc in Moultrie County with a cell hitting Bethany around 3:45 Tuesday afternoon, breaking a utility pole causing traffic delays on Hwy 121 then moving on toward Sullivan with high wind and water damage reported.

A slow-moving cold front triggered widely scattered strong to severe thunderstorms across south-central Illinois during the afternoon of May 15th.  One of the most significant cells formed over southern Macon County at around 3:30pm...then tracked SE across portions of Moultire, Coles, and Clark counties.  This particular storm downed numerous trees, large tree branches, and powerlines in Sullivan and Mattoon...and overturned three semis on I-70 near Martinsville.

The Mattoon Airport measured a wind gust of 71mph as the storm blew through.  Other cells impacted portions of Christian, Sangamon, and Dewitt counties with strong winds and heavy rain.  Due to the very slow movement of the storms at only 10-20mph, copious amounts of rain fell in a short period of time, creating flash flooding in a few locations.