Submitted photo
Gary and Kathy Crowe in Sullivan School District work shirts.

•May 26, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

Gary and Kathy Crowe retired last week from the Sullivan School District. Gary retired after 35 years with the district and Kathy after 25 years. Gary was the custodian at the high school, and his wife Kathy worked as custodian at the Sullivan Elementary School.
Sullivan High School principal Daniel Allen said that Gary is pretty close to being a perfectionist. “He has a routine, and he does everything he can to make things clean,” he said. One of the things Allen has observed about Gary is that he could always be heard whistling in the hallways.
Besides making sure that the school was clean, he also did maintenance on occasion. “If he had time and the tools, he would take care of it,” Allen said.
He added that Kathy was an extremely hard worker, one of the hardest workers he knows, and was always willing to help out where needed. Read More

Photo by Crystal Reed
Mackenzie Wright, a student at Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond High School, holds a few of her candles from her business Moonlit Sky Candles during the Illini Prairie CEO Trade Show held last Wednesday.

•May 19, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Illini Prairie CEO class showcased their businesses during a trade show last Wednesday at Arcola High School. This year’s class had 13 students from the school communities of ALAH, Tuscola, Arcola and Sullivan that participated in this year’s course.
“CEO” stands for Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities. It is a year-long, experientially learning based course, designed to utilize partnership in the community to provide an overview of business processes and development.
Throughout the program year students have visited local businesses, heard from guest speakers, participated in operating a class business, written a business plan and from concept to reality built their own legal, functioning entity.
Mackenzie Wright, 16, a student at Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond is one of the students showcasing their business during the trade show. Her business is called Moonlit Sky Candles.
She makes and sells organic soy wax candles and wax melts. “I’ve always been really creative, and when it came to picking a business to do, I thought that I’ve never done candles before,” she said. Read More

•May 12, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Sullivan City Council approved a 75-cent per hour raise for full-time, non-union employees of the city with the exception of five employees at the water plant who are currently seeking union representation. Their pay rate cannot be changed at this time.
The council also approved funding in the amount of $75,000 for the Sullivan Chamber and Economic Development. According to City Administrator Dan Flannell, this is the city’s annual support payment to SCED which is used in conjunction with county funding for operations. This is the same amount provided in the previous fiscal year. Read More