•January 31, 2018•

An early grist mill has been donated to the new Illinois Amish Heritage Center located one mile west of Chesterville.

Grist mills in the form of three-story buildings with large water-driven wheels were a central part of most 19th century communities. Often a mill was the first development in a new land, and a community sprung up around it. Farmers brought their grain, usually corn or wheat, to the local mill to have it ground into cornmeal or wheat flour. The miller kept a portion of the meal or wheat as his payment.

With the advent of steam-powered tractors in the late 19th century and gasoline powered tractors by the 1920s, portable, belt-powered grist mills were developed, and farmers then had the ability to grind their corn or wheat without leaving the farm. These portable grist mills provided even better-quality cornmeal and wheat than the water-powered mills of the past.  Read More

Photo by Rebecca Lawson
Freshman Carly Voegel as Delilah and freshman Chris Lancaster as Russell practicing their Romeo and Juliet death scene for their school’s English class. They are doing a “country or hick-i-fied” version of the scene.

•January 24, 2018•

If Mirror Images is anything, it is a labor of love. That’s what motivates Rebecca Lawson, the advisor of the Sullivan High School prevention theater group.

Perfectly Imperfect will have one public performance at 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 26 at The Little Theatre on the Square in Sullivan.

“Each year students work with me to produce a show that focuses on prevention messages - messages that they hope will help their peers and messages that all hit close to home,” she noted. “The students who write the show select issues that they feel are currently important for students in Sullivan schools. They really want to help their peers by letting them know they are not alone, showing them the potential consequences of their choices, and even inspiring them to make positive choices. For the past several years we have written original scripts, and this year we are very proud of our new show, Perfectly Imperfect.”

“We began writing this year’s show in October, and it has a lot of powerful messages,” Lawson added. Read More

Photo furnished
Shawnee Communications donates to Sparrows Unlimited: (from left ) Shawneee Communications Customer Service Jamie Franklin, Pam Anklam and Cheryl Murphy representing Sparrows Unlimited, and President of Shawnee Communications Mike Grisham.

•January 17, 2018•

Spreading holiday cheer Shawnee Communications gave a big boost to Lovington’s Sparrows Unlimited charity by matching Shawnee employee donations.

Mike Grisham, President of Shawnee Communications and Jamie Franklin, Customer Service Supervisor for Shawnee Communications, presented Sparrows Unlimited with a much needed donation. The $3,864 donation consisted of a $644 employee contribution that was matched by the company and individually by Shawnee’s four shareholders. On hand to receive the donation was Pam Anklam and Cheryl Murphy. Read More

•January 17, 2018•

By Ariana Cherry
for the News Progress

The city of Sullivan is working with Sullivan McDonald’s Restaurant owners to take advantage of a TIF I qualified renovation.

For the past five or six years, McDonald’s has weighed the possibilities of either rebuilding or renovating the existing restaurant.

Mayor Short announced at the last city council meeting that the current restaurant will be renovated. The estimated $724,000 renovation project is inside the city’s TIF I district, but TIF I expires in 2022.  Read More

•January 10, 2018•

By Mike Brothers

A bond issue refinancing $492,300 of Sullivan Unit 300 debt should save district taxpayers $137,000 Supt. Ted Walk told school board members at the January 8 meeting.

Tim King of Kings Financial Consulting of Monticello explained the issue of $492,300 Taxable General Obligation Refunding School Bonds would pay down the district debt one year early for the $137,000 savings.

King noted since the district is purchasing the bonds from the education fund they will also earn interest on the payback.  Read More