•March 29, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

During the last city council meeting Jan Haegan approached the council about permitting and inspections for the new water plant and whether a demolition permit was obtained for the demolition of the city building. At this week’s meeting, Kristi Hart, Planning and Zoning Director for Moultrie County and the City of Sullivan spoke during public comment. In regards to the city pulling permits for city projects, Hart noted that since the city charges for permit to generate revenue, as well as to regulate what is being built, for the city to pay itself for a permit is not necessary. “However, going forward I would like to see the city pull a no-fee permit to have on file in case there is a question as to whether the city is following its own rules. This should clear up any confusion in the future,” she said.

As far as the water plant project, Hart and Commissioner Woodworth had spoken several times over the past few weeks. She noted that the project was brought before the council and therefore the public several times for different aspects of the project. Hart noted again that pulling a no-fee permit would have been the right thing to do to make sure all the bases were covered. Read More

Photo furnished
Natalee Hunter (second from left) received second place in the high school film division of the Holocaust Art and Writing Contest. She traveled to California with former teacher Rebecca Lawson (far left) and her parents Nathan (second from right) and Lee Hunter (far right).

•March 15, 2023•
Natalee Hunter, a senior at Sullivan High School, received a second place award in the high school film division of the Holocaust Art and Writing Contest on March 10 in Orange, California.
The contest, sponsored by Chapman University and The 1939 Society (an organization for Holocaust survivors, their friends, and families), had 241 registered schools from the U.S., Canada, Poland, Romania, South Korea, India, South Africa, Mexico, Ireland, Germany, and Philippines. After the awards ceremony Hunter and other students in attendance had the opportunity to meet Holocaust survivors and their family members.
“This experience has been incredible, and I want to encourage any other high school or middle school students to look into competing in competitions like this one. It opened up a lot of doors for me along with providing an experience like none other,” noted Hunter. Read More

•March 1, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

The Sullivan City Council approved a memorandum of understanding between the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (IFOP) Labor Council and the City of Sullivan. Commissioner Mike Fowler was absent.
Mayor Richard Glazebrook said this is something they are trying to use to keep and not burn out officers. The city is supposed to have nine officers. They currently have six full-time trained officers and two untrained. “We have a lot of rules and regulations we have to follow through the state of Illinois, and we are trying to make this easy as we can for these guys and still give us the protection we need in Sullivan,” Glazebrook said.
Police Chief Andy Pistorius reported they lost two good officers whom they sent to training due to scheduling. Each officer doing a 12- hour shift has four hours of overtime every two weeks. Once they bec0me full-staffed, there would not be any overtime. It would be a rotating schedule with every other weekend off. Read More

•February 15, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

The Moultrie County Board held a regular meeting Thursday, February 9 where they heard an update on Central Illinois Public Transit from representative Nathan Nichols. So far this year they have 45 new riders and 23 last year.
Nichols said they are on target to see a 32 percent increase in trips from FY 22. Trip purposes include general business, medical, employment, education, nutrition, shopping and social/recreational. “Moultrie County has one full time driver and two part time drivers,” Nichols said. “We have substitute positions open currently.”
The Effingham County Health Department received a grant which allowed them to hire a new position and a driver in Effingham County. The dispatcher will also be able to be utilized in Moultrie County. They are a non-emergency medical transportation provider.
He mentioned over the holiday season they took a group to Shelbyville, and they attended a concert at the Chautauqua building. Nichols added that they work with the senior center quite a bit as well. The transportation is offered through CEFS. He noted that in this county they transport students to school on a regular basis. Read More

•February 1, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

The Little Theatre On The Square has won four BroadwayWorld Regional awards in the Chicago Region. According to Executive Director John Stephens, this is the first time they have been nominated for these awards. They were nominated in nine categories and won four of them.
The awards won are Best Music for Always...Patsy Cline, Best Actor in a Musical for Brittany Ambler as Louise in Always...Patsy Cline, Best Director of a Musical for Clint Hromsco with La Cage Aux Folles and the biggest Best Neighborhood Theatre. They received runner up for Best Costume in La Cage Aux Folles, Best Ensemble for La Cage Aux Folles and Best Theatre for Young Audiences for Junie B. Jones Jr.
According to the awards website www.broadwayworld.com, the awards honor the best in regional productions, touring shows and more which had their first performance between October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. While there is no awards ceremony or physical awards given out, the winners of each category receive online acknowledgement. Read More