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•October 7, 2015•

Shawn Mowry of Windsor is the watermelon man.

When he showed the folks at church the 127 pound watermelon he grew in his garden this year, Marlene Brotherton had to take a picture.

”We were all really impressed that Shawn had grown a larger watermelon than before ,” she said.

Two years ago Mowry harvested a 109  pound watermelon. “It started out as a personal goal to grow a bigger one,” he said of the effort which came up short last year when his vines died.

“I had two seeds from the 109 pounder come up this year,” he continued, pointing out that the vine containing the monster melon produced two at first, but one was damaged by mice and died.

By the end of July the fruit of the prize winner was as big as Mowry’s thumb, then he started seriously watering.

I placed a flag at the end of the plant and watered every day. “I’d go out, turn the sprinkler on, go inside and set the oven timer for an hour and let it soak,” he said, noting the water from his well made the watermelon grow noticeably every day.

“I set the flag a quarter inch from the watermelon, and it grew to meet it each day,” he continued. “It was fun to watch it grow.” Read More

Compiled by Bekki Ferguson-Stevens

25 Years Ago This Week

All four Redskin harriers turned in personal bests during the St. Joseph-Ogden Invitational Cross Country meet last Saturday. Sophomore Katie Tice led Sullivan with a 13th place finish and a time of 12:30. Kristy Jesse completed the course with a time of 13:05. Her run was good enough for 33rd place. Also competing were freshmen Emily Patrick and Brandie Riley who finished 106th and 114th respectively.

This year’s recipient of the Who’s Who award at Sullivan High School has retired in his hometown after a career with the American Fly Ash Corp. which saw him rise from field engineer to chief operating officer of the company. Joseph H. “Joe” Pound is a 1955 graduate of SHS.

Donald L. Elzy of Greenwood, Ind. became the 22nd inductee into the Sullivan High School Hall of Fame Saturday night during the annual alumni banquet. Elzy, currently staff assistant purchasing engineer for the lison Gas Turbines Division of the General Motors Corp. (GMC) in Indianapolis, Ind., is a 1949 graduate of SHS.

After 25 years of owning Kaskia True Value Hardware on the square in Sullivan, Dick Isaacs has decided to close the business and has accepted a job with the State Bank of Sullivan. Isaacs said he tried unsuccessfully for several months to find a buyer, and there was some interest, but, apparently, economic conditions worried potential owners.

Denise Hortenstine of Sullivan recently passed Part A of the official court reporters proficiency examination which was given July 21 in East Peoria. She is a 1990 graduate of the court reporting course at Sparks College in Shelbyville. Read More

•October 7, 2015•

By Ariana Cherry
Reporting from Sullivan

The recycling program was the topic of discussion at the past Sullivan City Council meeting.

With increasing costs, it was making it harder for the council to decide whether or not to keep the program.The council is paying $16,848 per year for two containers that are getting delivered twice a month. Also, once those containers are full, there are times items are left on the ground, creating extra clean-up.

Another question arose whether it is worth the cost to invest in a third container, which would be a total of $25,920 per year. Commissioner Bill Hagen commented, saying that it was necessary for a third container since trash is getting thrown on the ground.

There was speculation that not just Sullivan residents are adding items to the recycling bins. Since other communities have discontinued their recycling program, residents are bringing their items to Sullivan. With increasing costs and the possibility of more tax dollars having to pay more for the program, the council voted to discontinue the recycling program.

“It is something that we can’t really afford anymore,” Hagen noted. The last days for the program will be November 13-15.

In other matters, the council heard or acted further: Read More

•September 30, 2015•

By Derek Pope
Reporting from Bethany

During their September regular meeting, Okaw Valley’s board of education will vote on whether or not to confirm their 2015-2016 school year fiscal budget. Prior to the meeting, the board held a public hearing to notify the public and field discussion of the budget in its entirety, as well as matters related to the increase or decrease in its ending balance.

Previously the News Progress reported that Okaw Valley’s “final estimated ending budget” for the 2014-2015 would end with a roughly $145,000 deficit—this turned out to not be true. In fact, the district’s final budget ended up in the positive as of its closing date on June 30. Its four major operating funds totaled roughly $4,896,000 versus the approximately $4,528,000 it started with, entailing an actual surplus of almost $380,000. Okaw Valley’s previous tentative budget did not include revenue accrued as of June 30 for operating funds budgeted for but not used during the 2014-2015 school year. The entirety of the budget voted on this month will “not be the same” as the district’s ending budget though according to Okaw Valley superintendent Kent Stauder, “due to the rising cost of salary, insurance, and capital projects.” Following the board of education’s vote, the complete 2015-2016 budget will be made available to the public and posted on the district’s website. Read More

Compiled by Bekki Ferguson-Stevens

25 Years Ago This Week

Sullivan High School will crown a new queen this Friday during homecoming festivities. Senior candidates are Stacey Anderson, Laura Pound, Angie Johnson and Misha Coy. Princess attendants Mandy Collins, Jennifer Daily and Nicki Wood will also take part in homecoming festivities all week at Sullivan High School.

Bryan Yoder of rural Lovington recently took home seven prizes for his corn exhibits at the Illinois State Fair. He dedicated his prizes to Howard Phillips of Arthur, superintendent of the Moultrie-Douglas Fair for many years.

Sandi Cameron was recently elected president of the United Way Board of Moultrie County for 1990-91. Also elected were Terry Shaw, vice president; Sheila Muzzy, secretary; Margaret Ann Smith, treasurer; and Darrell Davis, campaign chairman.

Bethany’s Ben Osman was just a few yards from catching a pass from Burl Coclasure during the Mustangs 14-2 victory Friday night over Maroa-Forsyth.

After 27 years as chief cook, bottle washer and owner of Wilson’s Cafe in Dalton City, Dorothy Wilson recently hung up her apron and leased the family style restaurant to a young Dalton City woman. Michele Phelps, 22, who previously worked at the restaurant as a teenager before she launched her own career in the food industry, leased the business Sept. 1 and has renamed it Michele’s Cafe.

Two more military service personnel with local ties are reported to be serving in the Middle East as part of Operation Desert Shield. Army Pvt. 1st Class Robert S. Hale, son of Robert Hale and Carol Hale Bolin of Sullivan, was recently dispatched to Saudi Arabia. He is a 1989 graduate of Sullivan High School. Linda Hall of Harrisburg, Pa., a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard and the daughter of Warren and Dorothy Hall of rural Sullivan, left last week for Saudi Arabia. She is a 1966 graduate of Sullivan High School. Read More