Category Archives: News Section

Police encourage the MCRTA

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Atwood Police Chief Duncan guest speaker

•April 9, 2025•

Wednesday, April 3, was the first meeting of the year for the MCRTA (Moultrie County Retired Teachers Association). Twenty-five members attended the meeting at the United Church of Atwood. President Vickie Newberry opened with the Pledge and conducted the business meeting.

Membership milestone awards were presented for 5, 10, 20, and 30 years of retirement. Six, 2025, Moultrie County new retirees were announced. Monical’s Pizza once again will work with the MCRTA on a Community Day fundraiser; Tuesday, April 15, will be the first of three. Sullivan and Mattoon’s Monical’s Pizzas will donate 20% of your bill to the MCRTA if you mention this fundraiser at the time you order. This money helps the MCRTA provide teaching scholarships and teachers’ supplies to our county schools. “Digital Dough” is a new online way to enjoy Monical’s Community Days. Using “Digital Dough” allows customers to purchase gift cards and still contribute to the MCRTA; order online from April 7th – 14th at monicals.com. A good idea for older kids’ Easter baskets! 

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Consolidated Election results

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Election judges play an important role on Election Day protecting the integrity of our elections. Taking time out of their morning duties at the Sullivan polling location to pose for a photo are seated, (l-r) Cindy Haegen, Leroy Fifer, Joe Cohan and standing, (l-r) Karen Goss, Cheryl Thomas and Dan Fultz.

Low turnouts, few contested in Moultrie County

•April 9, 2025•

This year’s April 1 Consolidated Election results reflect a low turnout in Moultrie County races, with few contested and fewer surprises. Official Moultrie County statistics show just 1,596 ballots cast of the 8,807 total voters, just an 18.1% turnout. In the few contested races however, turnout was a little higher.

In the Village of Bethany trustee race, Gene Mueller, Karen Jeffers and Greg McLain were elected to fill the three available seats. The Village of Dalton City saw Shelby Hutchens defeat Michael Couch 83-48 for the mayors seat. The Village of Lovington turnout at the polls was increased by a race for Village President between April Daily and Brittany Bates. Bates took the seat with a 164-79 vote. William (Bill) Richardson was re-elected as Township Highway Commissioner in Dora with 80.8%  of the vote over challenger Alex Ballweg. Dora Township also elected four trustees, Larry Crawley, Steven Smith, Bill Chandler and Jeffery Watts emerged in the seven person race.

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Strong weekend storms

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Photo by R.R. Best The Moultrie County Sheriff’s Department responded to a downed tree in the North Worth area during Sunday’s local storms in Sullivan. According to the City of Sullivan, there were scattered and intermittent power disruptions impacting approximately 28 customers, all of which were quickly resolved.

Sullivan library hosts traveling exhibition

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Free “Harry Potter” themed activities for the community

Harley Turner, 10, reviews the care instructions on her seedlings as she plants her selected herbs at the library’s NLM exhibit.

•April 2, 2025•

From now until April 17th, the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library will be displaying the NLM (National Library of Medicine) Traveling Exhibition titled, “Renaissance, Science, Magic, and Medicine in the World of Harry Potter” which includes free activities. For those not familiar with the Harry Potter series, Harry is 11 years old when he discovers he is a wizard and can attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Readers follow Harry and his friends as he grows up and discovers the world of magic. The popular fictional book series by J. K. Rowling was also produced into 8 movies - all of which are available to check out at the library. 

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Heritage Woods’ lively Centenarians

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Family, humor, and gratitude key to quality of life at any age

•April 2, 2025•

by DM Williamee

"Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.” – Walt Disney.

Only 0.027 percent of the US population will live an entire century, making the three centenarian ladies at Sullivan’s Heritage Woods a standout in any community. Bright, cheerful, and friendly, these ladies shared some insights into what quality of life means to them.

Lorraine Livesay

Lorraine Livesay, 100, referred to as the “baby of the bunch”, shared that the happiest times of her life were her 40s and 50s. She was still working, was in good health, and enjoyed the company of her children and grandchildren. Some of her happiest memories as a child and teen were visiting friends and families on their local area farms (she was a town girl), where she would see the animals and help out however she could. These days, the things that make her the happiest are good jokes and happy people. Lorraine is also a sports fan who particularly loves basketball and baseball (never having been a fan of football). “Go Cubs! Like they say, maybe next year…” she chuckled.

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Preparing for safety as Spring weather arrives

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Readiness for spring weather is crucial to keep yourself and your family safe

•March 26, 2025•

by Angela Hogan

Spring brings warmer temperatures, longer days, and the chance to enjoy the outdoors. However, spring weather can also bring unpredictable conditions, including severe storms, heavy rain, and even late-season cold snaps. 

Here are five steps you can take to prepare for the season: Stay informed About Spring Weather Patterns -Spring weather can change quickly, often bringing thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flash floods. Here’s how you can stay aware and informed: check weather forecasts daily through reliable sources like local TV stations, the National Weather Service (NWS), or a weather app. Moultrie County residents can sign up for CodeRED, the county’s emergency warning system. Enable emergency alerts on your phone to receive notifications about severe weather. Understand weather warnings. A “Watch” means conditions are favorable for threatening weather to develop. A “Warning” means severe weather is happening or imminent.

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OV School Board discusses youth football Co-Op, anticipated impact of the dismantling of the DOE

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•March 26, 2025•

by DM Williamee

The Okaw Valley CUSD #302 school board held its regularly scheduled meeting on March 20th at 7:00 p.m. at the Okaw Valley Middle School in Findlay. 

After a call to Order, the first order of business was the public hearing, “Conduct of Public Hearing concerning the intent of the Board of Education to sell not to exceed $2,500,000.00 School Fire Prevention and Safety Bonds” of which no public comments were offered. It was then tabled for closed discussions.

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Growth, cashflow, and graves: Discussion at City Council

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•March 26, 2025•

by Sharon Barricklow

"When is a good thing too much of a good thing?” was on the minds of the Sullivan City Council Monday night. 

Rapid growth, including new apartments and businesses, has caused the city to worry about the cash flow of different city departments. That concern led Accounts and Finance Commissioner Abby Sherwood to urge the city departments to consider budget cuts. “With all the projects going on, we have a cash flow problem,” she said.

Commissioner Mike Kirk said departments like electrical services and water have little room to make cuts, especially in personnel. “These are skilled workers with certifications and licenses,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do to reduce those costs.” Kirk said the impact of Covid-era price jumps is still being felt for electrical department purchases. “Things went up 20, 50, even 100 percent,” he said. “And they never went back down.”

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Empower Academy breaks ground

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New facility will expand studio and local childcare

•March 26, 2025•

by DM Williamee

Empower Academy held a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, March 21st. Owners Ryan and Melissa Krieger are planning to build 20,000+ square foot building that will expand Sullivan Dance Studio’s operations, as well as provide 126 licensed childcare spots in the future. The studio and facility will be licensed and accepting childcare assistance funding.

The new name was inspired by Melissa’s passion of empowering our community’s youth. The facility will house multiple dance spaces, tumbling, childcare, and parties/events as well as the childcare spots. Ryan and Melissa experienced first-hand the local childcare crisis when looking for care for their 3 daughters. The frustrations of lack of availability and non-conducive operating hours inspired Melissa towards change. 

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Free breakfast draws crowd, elicits smiles

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Pictured (L-R) Susan Conner, Lisa Haggen, Kyler Smith, and Yvonne Workman spent the entire day cooking and serving the crowd that arrived for the much-anticipated breakfast.

by D.M. Williamee

The free Shrove Tuesday Breakfast at Sullivan’s First United Methodist Church drew a good crowd despite the uncooperative weather. This was their first pancake breakfast since the pandemic. Along with traditional fare, there was a “Crazy Cake” station manned by Allison Haggen which included cinnamon roll pancakes and just about any topping or concoction you could ask for.