Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Pictured is the Mason Point Chapel Garden.

•August 16, 2017•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

With a grant from the Chapel Fund, the maintenance and ground staffs at Mason Point have been able to create a new flower garden and reinstall the entrance lamps to the Mason Point Chapel.

The right side of the walkway was edged in concrete blocks, and a raised flower bed complete with a stone bench was created on the left side of the walk. My Garden staff designed and supervised the plantings while the ground crew filled in the soil and mulch. The original Gothic entrance lamps were refurbished and reinstalled on either side of the entrance steps to complete the makeover.

In 1925 the original chapel was created at the end of a corridor in what was the Royal Arch Hospital and had a pulpit and the newest moving picture screen and projecting equipment obtainable. The chapel was used for religious services, weddings, entertainment and funerals.

This arrangement soon proved unsatisfactory as anyone entering the chapel had to pass through the hospital. The board of directors made the decision that a new chapel would be built and would be independent of the hospital and dormitories. At that time, before automobiles, the Masonic Home staff lived in dorms or small rooms within the complex. Read More

•August 16, 2017•

Lovington Village Board held a meeting July 10 and followed up with a special meeting July 24 as a planning session.

Two hours of the planning session were spent in executive session, returning to open session to discuss seeking bids on the village insurance coverage including health and liability and vehicle converge.

The condition of some properties within the village were discussed, and a guest to the meeting Dennis Day asked for village assistance with property across the street from him. Read More

Photo furnished
The Music of Mamma Mia comes alive at The Little Theatre on the Square through August 20.

•August 9, 2017•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

Mamma Mia closed on Broadway in 2015, but it’s open now at The Little Theatre on the Square in Sullivan through August 20.

The 14-year run on Broadway grossed over $2 billion worldwide and was seen by more than 60 million people.

With words and music written by Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, former ABBA band members, it showcases the legendary hit songs of ABBA.

This is a happy, fun-filled musical essentially about a young girl (Sophie) searching for her father, but it is also about reunions – Sophie reuniting with her friends, Donna and her former pop group members and Donna and her former lovers, Sam, Bill and Harry – one of whom is Sophie’s father. Read More