•July 16, 2025•

by DM Williamee

We all bear the detestable chore of housekeeping, to whatever extent we consider clean enough. To each his/her own. When I was raising my children, I had the 3-second rule in our house, and in hindsight, I have my regrets at setting that precedent. To many of us who are busy with jobs, shuttling kids back and forth, managing calendars, paying bills, cooking, doing laundry, and innumerable other day-to-day tasks, a standard of “good enough” suffices. Perhaps we are retired and just don’t care, preferring to live our lives, go places, and do things, which is perfectly acceptable *cough* preferable, in my opinion. For the neat-freaks, below are the items most people (whoever they may be) forget to clean. Mind you, I am one hundred percent certain it is not an all-encompassing list (I did not see one mention of air fryers in my research), but I’m not going to let that keep me up at night. Very late.

•July 16, 2025•

Submitted by MCHS

The Moultrie County Historical Center, located at 1303 South Hamilton Street, will hold its monthly meeting on July 17th at 7:00 p.m. Their presenter this month is David Traxler, who is the Executive Secretary of the Wabash Historical Society. Mr. Traxler is from Hammond and lives in the same house his grandparents built in 1875, across the street from the Wabash rail-road tracks. As a child, Mr. Traxler developed an interest in the history of the Wabash Railroad.

Photos by DM Williamee

•July 9, 2025•

The Moultrie County Outreach - CEFS - is offering school supply assistance to those in need. If your family could use a little extra support getting ready for the new school year, they are there to help. The deadline to apply is July 31st, and the pick-up date is August 8th, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Moultrie County Outreach Office, located at 114 E Harrison Street in Sullivan.

•July 2, 2025•

by Ariana R Cherry

A large crowd of unit teachers filled the room at the regular meeting of the Arthur CUSD #305 school board on Wednesday, June 18 in the high school cafeteria. During public comment, Heather Strack, a Special Education teacher, approached the board with grievances regarding Superintendent Shannon Cheek. She opened her speech. “I am passionate about my job. We work hard for the kids, and we are here for the kids.” 

Heather then began to tell her story, mapping it out as a timeline. “In August 2021, Shannon Cheek assigned Mrs. Amy Hooten and me to split the job of a third special education teacher. There were other options, but he felt two veteran special education teachers with 40+ years of experience were the best option. We were both given $6,000 per semester. Amy and I were compensated $24,000; a first-year teacher at the time would have been paid $42,000. Our hard work, 55+ meetings that school year, out of the classroom and instruction two periods a week, saved the district $18,000. Two special education teachers helped the district and were completely undercompensated, and no thank you for stepping up,” she passionately stated. 

Strack continued, “Fast forward two years, August 2023. You (Superintendent Cheek) entered my classroom at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, August 30th, and closed the door. You proceeded to tell me that I was placed incorrectly on the salary schedule, and I would have to take a reduction in pay because I was being overpaid?” she stated questioningly. Heather informed the crowd that she had not been placed inappropriately on the salary schedule seven years prior. This unprofessional abuse of power and intimidation violated multiple federal and state laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (42 USC and 7000e), workplace discrimination, hostile environment, and the Illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5/2-102), gender-based intimidation, Illinois State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (5 ILCS 430)- misuse of position, and Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/10-22.4 & 10-21.4)- improper discipline or compensation decisions.”