Category Archives: News

An English Influence from This Mason Point Knitter

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Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Jean Dulik is always on the move.

•January 18, 2017•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

The little English garden outside with miniature gnomes, birdhouses, whirligigs and such is the first hint an artist of sorts lives here.

Jean Dulik welcomes you in with her lovely, lilting English accent. Attention immediately focuses on the many beautiful artificial flower arrangements in equally beautiful containers throughout her home.

“Oh, it’s nothing, you just get some flowers and stick them in,” she said modestly. “I just love anything “crafty” to keep me busy.”

Jean married a G.I. and came to America at age 20, moving around to various military bases, arriving in Sullivan to be near a son in Mt. Zion and a daughter in Lovington.

That’s a long way from where she grew up in Faringdon, England - the oldest village in England. A brother, sister, aunt and uncle still live there.

Her sister lives in the village of Bampton, famous as the place where “Downton Abbey” was filmed. “The town you see on TV is completely fake - just sets that they take down after filming.” Jean misses the show and all the gossip her sister provided on the movie stars. Read More

Sullivan Faculty Face Harlem Wizards in Sports Fundraiser

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Harlem Wizards come to Sullivan High School

•January 11, 2017•

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED. IT WILL BE RE-SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY.

The Sullivan High School boys’ basketball team is scheduled to host the Harlem Wizards for an exhibition fundraiser game against Sullivan teachers, coaches and community members from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, January 14.

The game will be played at the Sullivan High School, and doors will open at 6 p.m.

“This event will be like no other event that has ever been at Sullivan High School,” said Sullivan head coach Chester Reeder. The Wizards are an amazing group of people that really know how to make it fun for everyone.”

The game is a fundraiser for the boys’ basketball programs and will consist of 30 players and volunteers.  Read More

City Replies to Attorney General Request

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•January 11, 2017•

By Mike Brothers

Sullivan replied to an Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor (PAC) request concerning details of the Nov. 21 special city council meeting that led to the appointment of Dan L. Flannell as city administrator.

Kirk Allen of the Edgar County Watchdog entered a Request for Review with the AG office taking issue with items eligible for action at the Nov. 21 meeting.

Mayor Ann Short stated she, the city clerk and city attorney had prepared a response to the PAC request from the attorney general’s office on Friday, January 6.

“We have replied to the Attorney General’s request,” Mayor Short said, explaining they were awaiting a response from the PAC.

At question was a claim that the special meeting agenda did not set forth the “general subject matter” of awarding the city manager a five-year contract, according to the request sent to Sullivan by Joshua Jones, PAC supervising attorney. Jones’ letter was dated January 4, 2017 and requested a response in seven days.  Read More

Bethany Library Displays Yearbook Collection

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Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Librarian Sally Ascenzo next to class picture file of the first Bethany High School class of 1889

•January 4, 2017•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

When I was growing up in Bethany, the library was a dingy, musky storefront in a block of buildings that isn’t even there anymore. Imagine this librarian’s surprise when I entered the new Marrowbone Public Library with its bank of computers, community room and comfy chairs for casual reading. What a joy to find such a library in a small community such as Bethany.

The head librarian, Sally Ascenzo, ushered me into a side room, and there on a large stand was a collection of all the high school senior class pictures from the first class in 1889 to 1993. The class pictures forward are in a scrapbook nearby.

This collection was originally housed in storage in the high school and was beginning to deteriorate badly.

It was also unavailable to the public. Glenn Austin, Jim McLaughlin and Virginia Weakly rescued the collection and lovingly restored it before giving it to the library for permanent display Ascenzo told me. “There are some pictures in the scrapbook with unidentified students, and we are hopeful that someone will come in and help us identify these classmates,” she said. Word on the street is that every time Glenn Austin comes in, he flips the pictures to his class and leaves it there. I flipped it to my class. Read More

Mentors Put A Little Love In The Hearts Of SES Students

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Photo by Ellen Ferrera A Little Time is all it Takes SES Mentoring Program Poppy Graham (l) and mentor, Janet Pasley.

Photo by Ellen Ferrera
A Little Time is all it Takes
SES Mentoring Program Poppy Graham (l) and mentor, Janet Pasley.

Extending A Helping Hand

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

My assignment today is to interview Poppy Graham, social worker with Sullivan Elementary School. As she ushers me into her tiny office I notice that her door is covered with children’s drawings-almost all of them expressing love for Mrs. Graham.

Don’t we all remember the first teacher with whom we fell in love?

She offers me a seat and affectionately begins to describe her mentoring program which has 24 children in grades K through 5.

“These are children who need extra love, support both emotionally and academically, and someone to help facilitate their personal growth,” Graham said. “They are identified by either me or their teacher, and we then ask permission from the parents to pair them with a mentor.”

The program was actually begun by two other teachers, and Graham has been with it for six years.

The mentors are usually retired teachers or other people in the community who meet once a week with their wards during PE or music classes so they don’t miss regular classroom work.  Read More

New C.E.F.S. Transportation Director for Area Public Transit

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Susan Love

Susan Love

•December 28, 2016•

C.E.F.S. Economic Opportunity Corporation announced the hiring of Susan Love of Mattoon as the Central Illinois Public Transit (CIPT) Program Director. As CIPT Director Love will serve as a key member of the agency’s management team and will be responsible for the day-to-day leadership and operation of the C.E.F.S. Central Illinois Public Transit and Effingham County Public Transportation Programs. Love will ensure effective program accountability, oversight, leadership, and performance outcomes of the transit operations with funders, grant recipients, partners, local communities and most importantly with the riders.

Love had previously been employed at Camp New Hope in Mattoon as the executive director responsible for day to day oversight and leadership of the not for profit agency. Prior to that position she was employed by Addus Healthcare in Charleston as the agency director responsible for leadership, program development, oversight and management of staff. Prior to that position, Love was employed at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Systems in Mattoon as a clinical applications specialist. Love obtained her Bachelor of Science degree at Millikin University in Management and Organizational Leadership and her master’s degree from Eastern Illinois University in technology with an emphasis on training and development. Read More

A Holiday Beacon Still Shines Outside Sullivan

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Photo by Mike Brothers Paul Feist has decorated his home southeast of Sullivan since 1959. Above he puts the finishing touches to the display that may be seen from the city limits.

Photo by Mike Brothers
Paul Feist has decorated his home southeast of Sullivan since 1959. Above he puts the finishing touches to the display that may be seen from the city limits.

•December 21, 2016•

A beacon shines southeast of Sullivan city limits just as it has since 1959.

That’s when Paul Feist decided to decorate three Christmas trees at the corner of his property south of Mason Point.

“Those trees were 15 feet tall when I started decorating,” Feist recalled, noting those three original white pine trees are now 100 feet tall.

“This year Herb Flannell brought his 100 ft. lift truck out, and we still needed a pole to get the lights to the top,” Feist said of the three cornerstone trees that mark the entrance to the former cut yourself tree farm.

After more than 40 hours working in the cold weather, Feist threw the switch December 14 to illuminate his yard just as he has every holiday season since 1959.

At a rate of about $12 per day for electricity the display stays on until the first of the year. Read More

What Is the Problem Here?

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•December 21, 2016•

By Stu D. Baker
for the News Progress

An editorial in the News Gazette has stirred up some people in Sullivan, and I can’t help but wonder why.

The piece was the paper’s opinion on public servants accepting retirement from one job while doing another.

Specifically cited was the city of Sullivan’s recent hiring of retiring judge Dan L. Flannell as city administrator.

First of all, those who follow the News Progress know this search has been going on for some time. The city has tried over the past two years to get someone to oversee the various departments while watching budgets. Read More

County Board Finalizes Supervisor Appointment

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Photo by Mike Brothers The Moultrie County Board reorganized after the election with the first meeting held Dec. 15. Pictured from left: Kevin McReynolds, Arlene Aschermann, Gary Smith, vice chair Ron White, Mike Barringer, County Clerk Georgia England, board chair Dave McCabe, Bill Voyles, Tim Rose and Todd Maxedon.

Photo by Mike Brothers
The Moultrie County Board reorganized after the election with the first meeting held Dec. 15. Pictured from left: Kevin McReynolds, Arlene Aschermann, Gary Smith, vice chair Ron White, Mike Barringer, County Clerk Georgia England, board chair Dave McCabe, Bill Voyles, Tim Rose and Todd Maxedon.

•December 21, 2016•

The reorganized Moultrie County Board met Dec. 15 appointing Lori Barringer supervisor of assessments.

On a motion by new personnel committee chairman Bill Voyles, Barringer was appointed to a term from December 16, 2016 to December 16, 2020 increasing her salary to $50,000.

County board member Gary Smith questioned the second salary increase since October since it was different than the originally approved motion.

Barringer, who was appointed interim supervisor of assessments Oct. 5 following Cindy Kidwell’s death, was originally slated to fulfill Kidwell’s unexpired term through Feb 28, 2017.

Board chairman Dave McCabe explained the interim appointment for 60 days would expire before the Feb 28 date, which prompted the recommended change by the personnel committee. Read More

Sullivan Library Ushers in the Year with a New Director

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•December 21, 2016•

By Sam L. Clemons
for the News Progress

Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library ushers in more than a new year on January 1, 2017. That’s when Director Clemens Uptmor retires and Michelle Nolen takes on those duties.

The city library has long been one of Sullivan’s best kept secrets. Although serving a small community, Elizabeth Titus gives it patrons services many larger libraries lack.

For example no other library in the area offers a 3D printer. Elizabeth Titus Library purchased one in September 2014 for public use which has been utilized for many student projects and is open for public use.

“Many of the services offered by the library were in place before I was director,” Uptmor said, explaining program expansions and creations were brought about by staff getting together responding to requests from the patrons. Read More