Category Archives: News Section

Sullivan School District Introduces iSullivan

News Progress Posted on by
December 10, 2014

Submitted by the
Sullivan School District

The Sullivan school district will be holding a series of public meetings beginning next week to discuss iSullivan, the district’s 1:1 digital device learning initiative.
School districts have witnessed a major shift in the role technology plays in instruction. Instead of students having access to technology only when the school’s computer lab is available, more school districts are providing access to students as needed. Sullivan School District has been working on a plan to give students this daily access. Money was awarded to the district through a combination of grants from the Sullivan Community Education Foundation and the federal government. With that funding in place, the implementation of iSullivan began. Staff members began working together to create a vision for students’ futures. The district feels that in  order to prepare students for a technology enriched world, it needs to give them the tools to experience a technology enriched education. Read More

Fixing 911?

News Progress Posted on by
December 10, 2014

County to vote on 911 improvements Thursday

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

The Moultrie County Board will decide Thursday whether to sign off on 911 upgrades totaling more than $45,000.
Given the current state of 911 here in Moultrie County, the board and its public health committee have long struggled with how to address the issues with both the lack of automatic location information as well as the extra time it takes in paging out emergency responders.

Photo by Keith Stewart A.J. Roley, a 911 dispatcher at the Coles County Emergency Communications Center, handles an emergency call last Thursday night.

Photo by Keith Stewart
A.J. Roley, a 911 dispatcher at the Coles County Emergency Communications Center, handles an emergency call last Thursday night.

Right now, if you dial 911 from your cell phone in the county, here is what happens:
Your call gets sent to CECOM, the 911 center in Coles County, where a dispatcher will ask for and record your emergency information, including your address. From there, your call becomes a three-way conversation as the dispatcher then calls either the Moultrie County sheriff or the Sullivan Fire Department depending on the nature of the call. CECOM verbally relays the emergency information to the county and then typically disconnects unless further needed. Either Sullivan fire or the county sheriff’s department takes over, and sometimes, requests either more or the same information that the caller gave CECOM before then paging out the appropriate responders, whether that be Lovington Ambulance, Bethany Fire, or Sullivan Police, to name a few.
That whole process can take several minutes–minutes that can make a difference in life-threatening situations and minutes that the county is trying to eliminate by making improvements to its 911 service. Read More

SOV Football Awards 2014

News Progress Posted on by

Submitted SOV Football Awards Pictured, left to right: Nick Frerichs, most valuable offensive back, Ill. high school football coaches association 3A all-state team quarterback; Levi Nadler, most valuable defensive back, Dakota Clayton, most valuable offensive lineman, Zach DeVore, most improved defensive player, Ross Metzger, most valuable offensive scout squad; Brandon Fleshner, most improved offensive player; Max Todd, most valuable defensive scout squad; Dalace Ray, most valuable defensive player.

Submitted
SOV Football Awards
Pictured, left to right: Nick Frerichs, most valuable offensive back, Ill. high school football coaches association 3A all-state team quarterback; Levi Nadler, most valuable defensive back, Dakota Clayton, most valuable offensive lineman, Zach DeVore, most improved defensive player, Ross Metzger, most valuable offensive scout squad; Brandon Fleshner, most improved offensive player; Max Todd, most valuable defensive scout squad; Dalace Ray, most valuable defensive player.

City Finances Reported as Solvent for Previous Fiscal Year

News Progress Posted on by
December 3, 2014

Annual audit shows city finances reported accurately

by Barry Featheringill
Sullivan Reporter

Sullivan’s annual audit was presented at last month’s later city council meeting, and it signaled a comfortable financial situation.

The type of opinion issued by West & Co was an ‘unqualified opinion,’ which means the numbers presented to West & Co. and to the public April 30, 2014 were done so fairly and in accordance with most general accounting principles. It is the highest opinion an auditor may make on financial reports.

“The overall financial condition of the city is solvent as of April 30, 2014,” added Russell. “It is healthy and stable as it was last year.” Read More

Bethany Advances Towards Major Road Project

News Progress Posted on by
December 3, 2014

Still, much of Robinson Street improvements up in the air

by Derek Pope
Bethany Reporter

At last month’s regular village board meeting in Bethany, city officials approved a measure that would provide initial funding for a major roadwork project that was previously reported could cost the village up to $1 million to complete.

In reference to Robinson Street, that $1 million price tag is now expected to be considerably less, prompting the village to approve $45,000 in preliminary funding that could ultimately be wasted if officials decide not to further pursue the project. The vote, which passed 4 to 2, was just one in a series of decisions that Bethany’s village council will make in coming months concerning the reconstruction of Robinson Street. Read More

OBOS 2014 Selection

News Progress Posted on by

Photo by Keith Stewart OBOS 2014 Selection Pictured is Sullivan Middle School’s reading club One Book One Sullivan who unveiled their book selection for the school and city November 24. This year, the club chose “Unstoppable” by former NFL defensive end Tim Green. The novel surrounds a jr. high student named Harrison who has aspirations to one day play in the pro football league, but is faced with an almost insurmountable challenge. The book club is encouraging the public to read the novel and then join them early next year for book discussions.

Photo by Keith Stewart
OBOS 2014 Selection
Pictured is Sullivan Middle School’s reading club One Book One Sullivan who unveiled their book selection for the school and city November 24. This year, the club chose “Unstoppable” by former NFL defensive end Tim Green. The novel surrounds a jr. high student named Harrison who has aspirations to one day play in the pro football league, but is faced with an almost insurmountable challenge. The book club is encouraging the public to read the novel and then join them early next year for book discussions.

Kiwanis Reforming in Sullivan

News Progress Posted on by
November 26, 2014

After a few years, international outreach organization makes a local comeback

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

After dissolving a couple years ago, the Sullivan Kiwanis is reforming.
Starting at the end of September, meetings began being held in an effort to recruit a strong nucleus of local members and to begin molding the group’s focus based on local needs.
“Meetings are set up now, but that will likely change as the club reaches charter strength,” said Jim Dooley, the 2014-2015 Kiwanis Governor for the Illinois and Eastern Iowa district. “I have a strong belief that with Kiwanis local members need to determine what the rules are and what the needs are of the community.” Read More

Okaw Valley School Report Card Shows Gains and Declines

News Progress Posted on by
November 26, 2014

Test results still shaky as state moves towards common core

by Derek Pope
Bethany Reporter

This month Okaw Valley School District’s annual school report card has been made available by the state’s board of education at www.illinoisreportcard.com. The school report card, which is released at roughly the same time every year, is a metric that gauges student academic growth from year to year based on state standardized testing. In addition to this, the school report card also provides useful data to the public such as graduation rates, attendance rates, and even data such as the school district’s racial makeup. The school report card is designed to be a valuable tool internally within school districts for making academic and instructional improvements to school environments, as well as for the public, which may include families considering moving to the area or parents concerned about their children’s education.
The results of this year’s school report card, much as last year’s, are mixed for Okaw Valley—containing examples of both improvements and declines in academic growth. Read More

ALAH Schools Present 7.98 Percent Levy Increase

News Progress Posted on by
November 26, 2014

Truth in taxation meeting to be held next month

by Ariana Cherry
Arthur/Sullivan Reporter

A proposed tentative tax levy increase was presented to the Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond school board Wednesday, November 12.
With this year’s EAV estimated at $193, 490,228 and last year’s total $183,286,949, an increase of 7.98 percent was figured. A total of $6,517, 231,000 in taxes was received from both districts in 2013. Presently, the proposed amount to receive is $6,905,829. Because the increase represents more than a five percent increase over last year’s levy, a truth and taxation hearing is planned before the next school board meeting in December. Read More