•July 14, 2021•
Clint A. Hector, 37, of Sullivan, has been sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
At a hearing on July 8, 2021, Judge Jeremy Richey accepted a plea in which Hector pled guilty to the offense of: Criminal Damage to Property (Damage in Excess $10,000 but not in Excess of $100,000), a Class 3 Felony, Moultrie County case 20-CF-71 Read More
•July 14, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer
David Bowers, a trustee of the Moultrie County Historical and Genealogical Society, spoke to the council concerning a proposal from Metro Communications to purchase the society’s building. The organization believes they have found a location to meet their needs. They are applying for a loan through the USDA; however, they also want some assistance from the city of Sullivan. “We understand that the council members may be unaware of our situation until now,” he said, “but we feel we have undertaken our move as a benefit for the city of Sullivan and its citizens in order to provide Zac Horn and Metro Communications the opportunity to have space adjacent to the business headquarters in order for them to grow in Sullivan.”
Bowers continued to say they are asking for assistance in the way of a $100,000 revolving loan and a grant of $100,000 from the city. They also plan to have a capital campaign and multiple events to take place at their new location if they can secure the funds to purchase it. “Our museum space will be more than doubled,” Bowers explained, “so we will have many displays that have often been rotated or not yet been seen.” Read More
•July 14, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer
If you are looking for some live music, food trucks, vendors and fun activities for the kids, Sullivan First United Methodist Church has an event for you. They will host the Sullivan First Summer Music Festival on Saturday, July 24, from 3-8 p.m. outdoors under the recently constructed pavilion at the church which is located across from the Sullivan Firehouse.
There will be live music, food trucks, vendors, free fun activities for the kids, and three musical groups will perform including Jeff Mayberry, Collage of Faith and Mackville. Mayberry’s earliest and probably most influential memories of music come from the Baptist hymnal.
His first performance singing before an audience was at the Sullivan Southern Baptist Church. Mayberry sang acapella with his older sister. She became a great piano player, and they used to sing sacred and secular music together. His mother was an Elvis fan, and he remembers listening to those albums growing up. Read More
Photo by Ellen Ferrara
Left to right: Heather Beck, John Stephens and Bonner Church, along with Emily Bacino Althaus, headlined the Little Theatre July 2 concert.
•July 7, 2021•
by Ellen Ferrara
NP Writer
John Stephens, Executive Producer of the Little Theatre, peeked out at the June 4 free concert crowd and couldn’t hold back the tears. “We are performers,” he said, “and the audience is everything to us. For nearly two years we have come to a darkened theater and struggled to survive Covid-19. It was so emotional to see the large crowd waiting for our first post-pandemic performance and the chance to finally perform again.”
Continuing, John said, “The theatre has lost over a million dollars in revenues, and we have had to release valued staff during these 16 months. Our incredibly generous donors, sponsors and foundation grants have helped us survive so these three free concerts are our thank-you to an amazing community for their abiding support of this treasured theatre. With the grants we could bring our family of talented performers and not just put anyone on the stage.”
The July 2 crowd doubled the previous month’s size with the street fronting the theatre a sea of lawn chairs that flowed up and over the courthouse lawn. An estimated 400-500 people turned out to see perennial favorites, Heather Beck, Bonner Church and Emily Bacino Althaus sing their hearts out in a two-hour program of some 25 hit songs. Read More
Photo by Crystal Reed
Faux Stained Glass
Hannah Taylor paints her faux stained glass project at the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library last Thursday. In July, the library will be offering adult art classes on Thursday evenings. Contact the library for more information or to sign up.
Photo by Crystal Reed
Sullivan VFW Swears In New Officers
The Sullivan VFW Post 68 held a ceremony to swear in new officers on June 15. Pictured are the new officers: Bill Hagen, Commander; George Read, Senior Vice Commander; Roger Davis, Junior Vice Commander; Jeff Nichols, Quartermaster; Kent Spencer, 2nd year trustee; Serena Briscoe, Service Officer; and Lawrence Gregory, Judge Advocate. Not pictured are Shelly Feller, 3rd year trustee and Harry Woolen, 1st year trustee and adjutant.
Photo by Ashley Rincker Photography
Sullivan resident Jennifer Hobbs released her first book “CALMED. Growth After Trauma” on July 1. She will be at the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library on Tuesday, July 13 from 6 to 7 pm for a meet and greet and book signing. She will also be at 5 West Coffee and Wine Lounge on Thursday, July 15 from 5pm to 7 pm where she will be doing a reading from her book.
•July 7, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer
Jennifer Hobbs spends her days during the school year teaching third grade at Sullivan Elementary School, but in December 2003, life was very different. Hobbs and her husband are Army National Guard veterans and were deployed December 7, 2003 with the 1544th Transportation Company out of Paris. The book titled CALMED, Growth After Trauma, is told from the perspective of Jennifer, along with Ryan Hobbs, who is now her husband.
The book contains background on how they both ended up joining the military and serving in the same unit. The 1544th Transportation Company of Paris lost five people during that deployment which is indicated by five sets of combat boots in the book’s cover design.
Jennifer’s husband was hit by a roadside bomb on October 6, 2004. She says her husband went through a lot after being hit by the bomb, and she was hoping he would co-author the book, but his perspective is still contained in the text. “He spoke and I tried to write his perspective and tone as best I could,” she said. The book was available for pre-order during the month of June and had an online launch July 1. Read More
•June 30, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer
Commissioner Chuck Woodworth addressed complaints that the city of Sullivan has received about drinking water during Monday’s City Council meeting. “First thing I want to let everyone know is that the water is bacteriologically safe to drink. It has been tested for bacteria and passed each time, and we will continue to monitor for bacteria,” he said. “Your safety is our number one goal. The chlorine feed has been turned up to ensure it is safe.” Woodworth went on to say that first thing Tuesday morning another round of samples will be collected and sent to the lab to test for bacteria. Each month, several samples are collected and submitted to EPA for analysis for detection of chloroform or bacteria to confirm the water is safe. This is a monthly requirement of the IEPA. Read More
by Ariana Cherry
NP Writer
At the opening of the June 17th ALAH school board meeting, parent Stephanie Madis requested that masks be made optional for the children in school. “ISBE is giving a recommendation, and it isn’t a law,” she stated. She also showed a photo published in a local newspaper where it pictured children in a library sitting around each other unmasked. The board thanked her for her statements.
“We received two donations this month. One was from Masonic Lodge ($3,000) and the other MasterBrand ($1,200) which totaled $4200. We are very grateful for that,” reported Superintendent Shannon Cheek. Read More