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Gabe Benning teaches students about space during one of his visits to a local school. He has developed a three day space unit designed for grade schools and has shared his knowledge in several local districts.

•November 29, 2023•

by Crystal Reed

Gabe Benning has loved space and astronomy since he was a child, whether it’s meteor showers, stars, black holes or planets he knows about it. Benning is a senior at Okaw Valley High School in Bethany and last semester this past April he was thinking about what he could do for the community and our area about his interest in space. He saw a Tik Tok that sparked an idea to create a three day space unit designed for grade schools.

The space unit is broken down in 30 minute sessions each day. Read More

photo by Crystal Reed
City Council members, contractors and water plant employees gathered to cut the ribbon on the City of Sullivan’s new water treatment plant on Thursday, November 16.

•November 22, 2023•

by Crystal Reed

An open house was held at the City of Sullivan’s new water treatment plant in the evening of Thursday, November 16. A ribbon cutting by the Sullivan Chamber of Commerce and Economic Opportunity kicked off the event. Construction on the plant began June 6, 2022. 

Commissioner Chuck Woodworth said the planning and designing of the plant began around August 2019 but it took 14 months for the EPA to issue a construction permit because of COVID. At that time EPA employees were working at home remotely.

Woodworth said that the major factor in building the new water treatment plant was several changes with EPA regulations. “Meeting the new requirements would have been almost $9 million and there was not enough room around the old plant to build the new requirements, which was another softener unit,” he said “The condition of the wood frame buildings and several other factors.” Woodworth said the options were to spend $9 million in updates to a 30 year old plant or $12 million on a new plant. Read More