Category Archives: News

Windsor Residents to Compete in Shelby County Pageants

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Submitted photo
The 2021 Miss and Junior Miss Shelby County Pageants will be taking place on June 27. The pageants are not open to the public. Pictured above are Windsor contestants with the outgoing Miss Shelby County, who is also from Windsor. From left to right: Junior Miss contestant Payton Shupe, 2019 Miss Shelby County Adilyn McCray and Trinity Shupe all of Windsor.

•June 23, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Miss and Junior Miss Shelby County Pageants are making a comeback after taking a year’s hiatus due to COVID.
Trinity Shupe, 18, of Windsor is competing for the title of Miss Shelby County. She is a 2021 Windsor High School graduate and will attend Lake Land College this fall majoring in business. Shupe has been competing in pageants since the age of 15.
In 2019, she was crowned Miss Cowden Pioneer Days. Shupe won People’s Choice at the 2019 Miss Shelby County Fair pageant. She said, for her, pageants are about the experience, public speaking and making friends.
In her free time, she likes to take photos and be outdoors. “I took a CEO class and created a photo business so I’ve been taking photos for a year,” Shupe added.
Her sister Payton Shupe is also competing in the pageant, seeking the title of Junior Miss Shelby County. This will be her first pageant. “I had watched a few pageants because of my sister and thought it looked fun,” Payton said. Her favorite part of the pageant so far has been meeting all the girls and making new friends. Read More

Sullivan American Legion Post 68 Honors Flag Day With Ceremony

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Photo by Ellen Ferrara
The Sullivan American Legion Post 68 Honor Guard and Boy Scout Troop 39 retire worn flags during a Flag Day ceremony held the evening of June 14.

•June 23, 2021•
By Ellen Ferrara
NP Writer

Every year on June 14 Americans celebrate Flag Day. Not surprisingly, it is considered the most appropriate day to hold flag disposal ceremonies which are often held in the evening.
And so, on June 14 at 6 p.m., the Sullivan American Legion Honor Guard with assistance from local Boy Scout Troop 39 conducted a flag retirement ceremony in accordance with the United States Flag Code.
Just as there is etiquette for displaying Old Glory, there is also proper etiquette for the respectful disposal of torn, faded and worn-out flags no longer suitable for display. Read More

Fourth of July Celebrations in the Local Area

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•June 23, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Sullivan 4th of July celebration will be held July 1 through 4 at Wyman Park and is sponsored by the Sullivan Area Merchants and Sullivan American Legion Post #68. The carnival will be Thursday through Sunday. Hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday 5 p.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m.- 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. On Sunday the carnival provided by Conner Family Amusements will open after the parade. Read More

City Council Sets Sewer and Water Rates

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•June 16, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Sullivan City Council approved an ordinance revising sewer and water rates for the city of Sullivan during Monday’s meeting. Commissioner Chuck Woodworth said the rate changes within this ordinance include the four percent discussed and authorized at the last meeting. It also includes a tiered rate for those who use more than 4,000 gallons a month. The reason for adding the tiered rate is to make the city eligible to qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollars of grant money from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for water main replacements and other water projects. If they are not awarded a grant, they can remove the tiered rate at that time. Read More

County Board Fails to Pass Remapping of Sullivan Township Precincts

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•June 16, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Moultrie County Board failed to pass a motion to approve remapping of Sullivan Township precincts. The current existing map of the precincts was set up by County Clerk Richard Purdeu in June 1989. The proposed map put to the board was drawn up by Bruce Harrison and Associates which is a firm that does considerable work for the county through the assessor’s office.
John Fayhee made a motion which died for lack of a second. Brad Graven, a former county board member, expressed concerns about how the proposed map is put together. “A committee of citizens could have sat down with a voter registration list, and I can tell you how many voters are in each one of those sections,” he said. “I’m not sure why a consultant had to be hired to do that.” Read More

Girl Scout Cadettes Donate LEGO STEM Kit to Library

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Girl Scouts cadettes from Troop 3070 present Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library staff with a robotics kit and iPad. From left to right: Madison Flexser, Addison Brush, Library Director Michelle Nolen and Assistant Director/Children’s Librarian Laura Davison.

•June 16, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

Madison Flexser and Addison Brush, Cadettes in Girl Scout Troop 3070, have donated a LEGO STEM kit and iPad to Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
They donated the kit and iPad as their Girl Scout Silver Award project. The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest achievement a Cadette can achieve. It requires identifying an issue in the community about which they care, building a team and developing and completing a project related to the identified issue. Read More

St. Jude Dash and Bash 2021

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Photo by Crystal Reed.
Kids Bags Tournament
The Kids Bags Tournament at the St. Jude Dash and Bash this past Saturday attracted several competitors. From left to right: Kaley Herschberger, Caysen Dringenberg, Rhett Lehman and Kaden Herschberger.

Photo by Crystal Reed
Duck Derby
St. Jude Dash and Bash Duck Derby was held on Saturday afternoon at Wyman Lake.

Photo by Crystal Reed
5k Run/Walk
The 5k run/walk was held bright and early at Wyman Park on Saturday morning for the St Jude Dash and Bash. The top two finishers were Ailey Mitchell, age 19, and Antonio Chavez, age 22. In addition to the 5k run/walk there was also a 1 mile run/walk and a tot trot. Pictured above are runners on the course at Wyman Park.

Village Of Bethany To Make Water System Upgrades

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•June 9, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Village of Bethany has plans to make upgrades to their water plant, water tower and water lines. According to Village President Jonathan Book the project is estimated at $3.6 million.
Book said that the project is being funded by the United States Department of Agriculture rural development program that will be part grant and part loan. The village is currently awaiting their award letter to find out how much will be grant and how much will be loan. Read More

ALAH School Board Approves Amended FY2021 Budget

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Photo by Ariana Cherry
Newly hired Arthur Grade School Principal Andrew Peralta was introduced during the recent ALAH school board meeting.

•June 2, 2021•
by Ariana Cherry
NP Writer

Before the school board began their meeting Wednesday, two ALAH High School students, Wyatt Shonkwiler and Michaela Powell, shared a landscaping project for the high school greenhouse complete with slides showcasing their ideas and examples. Their hope is that this project will motivate students to use work skills outside of school and encourage them to learn working in smaller groups as well as make the greenhouse more pleasing to the public eye.
Working in the greenhouse will help high school students get the service hours they need as well. Some of the landscaping ideas include purchasing a new trellis, stepping stones, containers and plant pots. The students are looking for an estimate of anywhere from $961-$1,000 in donations, with most of the purchases being made at Home Depot.
“I think it’s really amazing how you’ve taken ownership, initiative and pride in your school. It’s really well done. I am proud of both of you,” said Superintendent Shannon Cheek. Read More

Sullivan Residents Find Box of Family Memories in Old Barn, Return Them to Decatur Resident

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Siobhan and Austin Hunter of Sullivan recently found a box of family photos and memorabilia in a barn and returned them to Wayne Carter of Decatur. The Hunters were able to find Carter through a Facebook post that featured some of the photos and newspaper clippings in the box.

•June 2, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

Siobhan and Austin Hunter of Sullivan were cleaning out her grandfather’s barn and found a cardboard box with a protective fabric cover sitting in the loft area. Siobhan said they opened the box and didn’t recognize any of the photos or newspaper clippings.
A few of the items inside included a picture of a soldier and a document tube that held a purple heart certificate for Wayne Loeb. The couple went to the Sullivan VFW and Moultrie County Historical Society to see whether anyone had information that could help them discover whether there were any relatives still around to whom they could return the box of photos, newspaper clippings and other family memorabilia.
The document tube had a Sullivan address on it so they tried to see if they could find a lead that way. The Hunters made the decision to make a post on Facebook to see if someone recognized the name Wayne Loeb or any of the photos in the box. “Through Facebook and continued efforts, we found the person to give the box back to,” Austin said.
That person happened to be Wayne Carter of Decatur. Carter said that when he saw the post, he initially thought that he had been hacked. Some of the items in the box are from the mid to late 30’s. Read More