Category Archives: News Section

Little Theatre Is Alive Again With The Sounds of Music

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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

Faux Stained Glass

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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.

Sullivan Couple Creates Free Little Library in Memory of Son

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Pictured is Nathan’s Little Neighborhood Library which was established by Roger and Michelle Campbell in his memory. The Free Little Library is located at 1450 E. Jackson in Sullivan.

•July 7, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

A Sullivan couple has recently placed a structure in their yard which they hope draws young and old to either take or bring books and encourage a love of reading. Roger and Michelle Campbell have built and stocked a Free Little Library in their yard in Sullivan. The concept of the library is that people may either bring or take books from it at no charge.
The library holds approximately 30 books now depending on how large the books are, and there are a variety of books from which to choose including titles for children, youth and adults. There are also books from a variety of genres, and the more people participate, the more variety there will be. The Moultrie County Habitat ReStore has offered to donate books to help keep the free library stocked. Read More

Sullivan VFW Swears In New Officers

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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.

Sullivan Resident Jennifer Hobbs Releases First Book

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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

Tommy Houser Memorial Golf Tournament

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Tommy Houser Memorial Golf Tournament
The Tommy Houser Memorial Golf Tournament was postponed to Saturday, July 3 due to rain and wet conditions at the golf course. However, the silent auction, steak dinner and music from Identity Crisis was still held on Saturday, June 26 as planned at the Sullivan VFW. Proceeds from the event go towards the Thomas Houser Memorial Scholarship Fund. To inquire if there is room to play during the golf tournament contact Elizabeth Houser at 217-962-0189. Pictured are Curt and Jackie Welch perusing the silent auction items at the Sullivan VFW during the event.

Moultrie County Board Election Committee Moves to Approve Resolution

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•June 30, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Moultrie County Board election committee met last Wednesday to address revisions to the proposal for Sullivan Township election precinct adjustments. According to County Clerk Georgia England, this transpired because they have a couple of precincts that number over 800. “The first proposal we had last month was readjusting the precincts to level out the number of voters and to eliminate one precinct to reduce the cost to the county,” she said. “More machines will be needed, and this way we wouldn’t have purchased more machines, and it would be evenly distributed giving us 100 more voters growth over the next 10-15 years.”
England continued to say that after the county board meeting in June, they returned the proposal to Bruce Harris and had him do up another few examples, readjusting so the precincts would be down to 600. She indicated that they do not want to add cost to the county. England said, knowing the growths in the precincts, it shouldn’t increase that much in the next 10,15, 20 years. In the new proposed map, the majority of the precincts at their highest are around 590. Read More

Complaints About Drinking Water Addressed

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•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

ALAH District Adopts Mystery Science and Open SciEd Curriculum for K-8

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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