•March 29, 2023•
The American Legion Auxiliary units of Arthur, Lovington and Atwood have announced the 2023 Department of Illinois Americanism Essay Contest that is sponsored locally. This year’s essay subject and title were “Who Are Our Modern Day Patriots?” Essays were judged by a team of local judges one each from Arthur, Lovington and Atwood. The three classes were Class I- 7th and 8th grades, Class II-9th and 10th grades and Class III-11th and 12th grades. Read More
Category Archives: News
ALAH Board of Education Approves the District to Seek Bids to Repair School Parking Lots
•March 22, 2023•
by Ariana R. Cherry
Superintendent Shannon Cheek spoke with members of the Board of Education about the school parking lots and their condition at the most recent meeting held Wednesday, March 15. What, originally, he thought would be a simple fix at the Atwood-Hammond Grade School will actually be much more of a significant repair after a closer look.
The area near the playground and east lot where most people usually park is estimated to be around $61,000. Cheek also said the staff area parking lot was estimated to be a bit lower at just $10,500. He feels that the parking lots at the Atwood-Hammond Grade School are in need of some major repair and by doing so, could extend their life much longer. The ALAH High School parking lot is also not in the best condition, but Cheek said it could get by another year by just simply filling in some of the cracks and holes. The Arthur Grade School’s parking lot east of the building has been estimated to be at $43,000. The board approved Cheek to collect bids and see what the total costs would be. He informed the board that it may not be a reality that all three parking lots can be repaired. Read More
Tales and Tunes with Trudy Incorporates Music, Reading and Movement
Photo by Crystal Reed
Trudy (Beauchamp) Feyerisen, a Lovington native, leads an activity at Arthur Public Library recently during Tales and Tunes With Trudy. The program is held on Thursdays at 3:45 pm at the library and incorporates reading, music and movement.
•March 22, 2023•
by Crystal Reed
Trudy (Beauchamp) Feyereisen, a native of Lovington, has been leading a children’s program at the Arthur Public Library for around 2 months now that incorporates reading, music and movement. Tales With Trudy has a theme every week and the theme incorporates holidays, seasons and other concepts. One recent program focused on friendship.
Feyereisen spent four years as a kindergarten-fifth grade music teacher in northern Illinois. Then she left to go to seminary. After she met her husband she moved to California. Read More
Arthur Home and Garden Expo Held
Photo by Crystal Reed
Arthur Home and Garden Expo Held
The Arthur Home and Garden Expo was held at the Otto Center on Friday, March 10 and Saturday, March 11. There were 61 exhibitors at the event.
County Board Approves Moultrie County Employee Handbook
•March 15, 2023•
by Crystal Reed
The Moultrie County Board heard from County Treasurer Stephanie Helmuth that the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) ad hoc committee has not been meeting because they have deployed most of the funds. There are two items still in progress. One is a maintenance project and the other an ongoing animal control project. Helmuth stated that the interest earned on the ARPA funds is general fund revenue which will be transferred to that fund and is just under $14,000. She said there are $194,000 of the ARPA funds still in their possession which account for the remaining animal control project and the Stanley jail lock project.
Helmuth noted that there would be a final ARPA meeting when all the funds are fully exhausted which could be another six to nine months.
Also approved was the updated Moultrie County Employee Handbook. Michelle Liddiard said it was proposed to update the personal days from two days to five days to come into compliance with a new law which will be in affect in 2024. The personnel committee wanted to do vacation, but they went with personal days because they can’t be carried over year to year, and if someone quits, they don’t have to be paid out. Read More
City Council Amends Ordinance Regarding Truancy of Minors
•March 15, 2023•
by Crystal Reed
The Sullivan City Council approved an ordinance amending part of an ordinance concerning minors and parental responsibility regulations during Monday night’s meeting. Sullivan Police Chief Andy Pistorius explained that the ordinance is for the school resource officer and the police officers to help enforce underage drinking, truancy and other things. This will have the offenses kept within the city and will not go on criminal records and put a fine to offenses.
He stated there are students who are missing 15-30 days which are way too much for them to graduate. Mayor Richard Glazebrook feels students will have to suffer consequences for missing school. “It’s difficult for them to do their job in keeping these kids in school,” he said. Glazebrook said they are mirroring what Charleston has done, and they have had good outcomes from implementing a similar plan. Read More
Windsor Storm Memorial Library Welcomes New Children’s Librarian
Photo by Crystal Reed
Windsor Storm Memorial Public Library’s new children’s librarian Amanda Elliott with the Dr. Seuss display in the library’s children’s section. The library has several activities going on currently and coming up this summer.
•March 8, 2023•
by Crystal Reed
Windsor Storm Memorial Public Library has a new children’s librarian and a variety of activities for children coming up this spring and summer. The new librarian is Amanda Elliott of Shelbyville. This is her first time working as a children’s librarian. She was formerly a teacher but then spent a decade at home with her children before re-entering the workforce. Read More
Son of Holocaust Survivors Speaks at Arthur Library
Photo by Crystal Reed
Alex Kor, son of two Holocaust survivors, spoke about his parents Eva and Mickey Kor to a packed room at Arthur Public Library on Saturday, March 4.
•March 8, 2023•
by Crystal Reed
Alex Kor of Terre Haute spoke at Arthur Public Library Saturday, March 4, to a packed room. Both his parents were Holocaust survivors who passed away in the last 3-1/2 to 4 years. His mother was Eva Kor and his father, Mickey Kor.
Mickey Kor was born in Riga, Latvia and was the youngest of four boys. Because his father was a shoemaker, their family did not have the resources to escape when the Nazis invaded and were forced into the Riga ghetto. His father was murdered by a guard on the same day the family was forced into the ghetto, leaving his mother to move them in alone.
When the ghetto was liquidated, his mother saved his life by pushing him into the group of older boys who would be selected for slave labor. This was the last time he ever saw her. His mother and the rest of the ghetto inhabitants who were not selected for forced labor were murdered in a mass shooting. Read More
OV Celebrates FFA Week 2023 with Activities
Photos by Crystal Reed
OV Celebrates FFA Week with Activities
Okaw Valley High School FFA celebrated FFA Week last week. On Tuesday there were school wide donuts in the cafeteria, Wednesday there was a petting zoo, Thursday there was Ag Olympics and lunch and Friday students had pork burgers for lunch and it was anything but a car day. The highlight of the petting zoo was the first OV baby calf born this year. His mother was the first calf ever born at the OV Ag complex. A second baby calf was born later in the week.
New Water Plant on Schedule for July 2023 Start Up
•March 1, 2023•
by Crystal Reed
One of the current projects for the city of Sullivan is a new water plant which is currently under construction. The original cost estimate was $8.5 million, but with the cost of equipment and supplies after COVID, they are close to $9.5 million.
According to Commissioner of Public Safety and Health Chuck Woodworth, the determination of the need for a new water plant was done by the Illinois EPA. They evaluated the current plant and pointed out the deficiencies of no redundancy of the main treatment process equipment. “There is only one softner, currently,” he said. “If it breaks down or needs to be taken out of service for cleaning or repairs, the water would not be able to be treated.” Read More