Mobilizing for Real Change

•June 24, 2020•
By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

On June 17 Mitchell Esslinger announced his Democratic candidacy for the Illinois House of Representatives District 102 seat with a speech outside the Moultrie County Courthouse.
Born in Champaign and raised in Strasburg, Mitchell attended Stewardson-Strasburg High School, Lake Land College, and the University of Illinois. At the University of Illinois, he worked with local law enforcement to protect student safety.
As a property renovator, Mitchell started at age 12 working for his family’s rental properties. As a tutor, he saw how important it is that we give our schools what they need to succeed.
He has volunteered to work in the campaigns of Barak Obama, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Read More

•June 17, 2020•
By Sarah Hudson Pierce,
NP Guest columnist

My Father, Roy Earnest Hudson, a native of Bethany, Illinois, an only child, born in 1895, the son of George Washington McClellan Hudson, a circuit riding minister who met and married my namesake, Sarah Alice Ritz, while on a revival in Licking, Missouri.
What a treasure trove of information in the first paragraph!
I knew so little about our daddy because he was so sick during my childhood up until he died, from congestive heart failure, at home in bed in what was then called the front room on March 19, 1958.
Also he was afflicted with chronic appendicitis for years.
I felt rootless and drawn to delve into the old family trunk because I sensed that there was much to be learned about our genetic lineage. I was very productive after the age of thirty, in 1978, while I located living long lost relatives with the aid of directory assistance and our old family trunk which was full of old family pictures, letters and other memorabilia. Read More

•June 17, 2020•
By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

Their May 23 wedding date was postponed but on Saturday, June 13 at 11:30am Shania Whitrock and Bradlee Todd were united in marriage in the first wedding at New Life Church since its closure in March.
To the skirl of a lone bagpiper Shania was accompanied to the pink and silver balloon-decorated altar by her father-in-law to be, Leslie Todd.
Her attendants were twin sister Brooke Whitrock, Mary Canroy, Suzzanne Reimer and Kelsey Knopp.
The attendants wore pink chiffon, floor-length gowns and carried bouquets of multi-colored summer flowers. Read More

•June 10, 2020•
By Mike Brothers

Sullivan City Council approved a program to kickstart businesses and help citizens with their utility bills.
At the June 8 city council meeting Commissioner Abbey Sherwood moved the RIPPLE (Resident Incentive for Purchases to Promote the Local Economy) program be implemented for two months (June 15-Aug. 15).
Adapted from a local economic incentive plan from Frankfort in northern Illinois, any utility customer of the city of Sullivan is eligible.
Sherwood proposed that utility customers who present $100 in local restaurant receipts are eligible for a $25 utility credit from the city. Read More

•June 3, 2020•
As of June 1, 2020 the Moultrie County Assessment Office will be open to the public. For the safety of YOUR health and Assessment Office Staff we are asking that you call or email us first. Read More