Category Archives: Top Stories

Hope House in Windsor to Hold Open House

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•January 18, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

A new place for teens to spend time after school in Windsor will be opening on Wednesday, February 1, but will have an open house on Saturday, January 28, for the community. According to Lara Owens, Hope House is a place to go after school for children entering seventh grade through their senior year. Owens and her husband Ken and Amy Greuel have teamed up to take the idea from a concept to reality.
Lara remembers moving to Windsor from Evansville, Indiana years back. Her daughter attended Windsor schools from sixth grade to high school and during that time realized there was nowhere in town for kids to go after school. “We just want them to have a place where they feel safe being,” she said. Lara noted that often times as a society we focus on athletes and straight A students and sometimes forget about other students. Read More

Cravatta Comes in First at CrossFit Legends Championship in 55-59 Age Group

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Photo courtesy of Guy Cravatta
Guy Cravatta of Sullivan competed at the CrossFit Legends Championship in the 55-59 age group in Cookeville, Tennessee in December. He took first place in his age group.

•January 11, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

Guy Cravatta of Sullivan earned first place at the CrossFit Legends Championship in the 55-59 age group in early December. The competition was held in Cookeville, Tennessee. He entered the Legends Championship online, qualified in mid-August to qualify for the championship and had to finish in the top 10 worldwide. He had to perform six workouts over a three-week period.
“I told myself if I did not place in the top three, I would not go to the championship,” Cravatta said “I would only go if I had a chance to win.” Once the scores were posted, the leaderboard showed him with a second place finish and qualifying for the Legend Championship. He said he and the remaining top nine qualifiers, joined 14 other regional champions to compete for the Legends Championship in Cookeville, Tennessee. Read More

City Council Approves Purchase of 2023 Ford Explorer for Police Department

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Water Plant Construction Progressing
The new water plant out on Route 32 South is starting to take shape. The plant is anticipated to be online by June.

•January 4, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

The Sullivan City Council held their last meeting of 2022 Wednesday, December 28. The only item of new business was waiving the bidding and approving the purchase of a 2023 Ford Explorer for the Police Department. Commissioners Abbey Sherwood and Doug Booker were absent.
Bob Ingram addressed the council in regard to why they did not go out for bid on the purchase.
They previously ordered the car, but it was nixed because there were not enough of the vehicles available.
The car they approved was the original one they voted to buy. Ingram asked about other dealers in the area. Police Chief Andy Pistorius said this was the lowest bid. Read More

Aschermann Concludes 22nd Year on Moultrie County Board

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•December 28, 2022•
by Crystal Reed

Arlene Aschermann concluded her 22nd year on the Moultrie County Board December 8, 2022, capping 38 years of service as an elected official in Moultrie County. She is a lifelong resident of Moultrie County and graduated from Sullivan High School in 1955. She moved to Arthur with her husband Lawrence and has been an active member of the Arthur Methodist Church for more than 60 years and served many years with the Arthur Woman’s Club as well.
Aschermann is a fixture in Arthur, serving three terms on the school board of the Arthur Community Unit School Dist. #305 from 1981 to 1995. During her tenure on the school board, a new gymnasium was built. She has also been active in the Arthur community and was part of the committee that raised the funds and constructed the community pool.
From 1994 to 1998 Aschermann served as the Moultrie County Clerk. Prior to that she had worked in the Moultrie County Clerk’s office for six years. Her nephew Kevin McReynolds said that since she had worked in the office prior to becoming clerk, she already knew how county government worked so it let her hit the ground running. Read More

MCHGS Receives $10,000 Illinois Humanities Foreground Rural Initiative Grant

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Photo by Crystal Reed
A quilting display in the museum space at the Moultrie County Genealogical Society Library and Museum. Volunteers are currently working on setting up exhibits among other tasks.

•December 21, 2022•
by Crystal Reed

The Moultrie County Historical and Genealogical Society recently received the news that they are a recipient of a Foreground Rural Initiative Grant in the amount of $10,000. The society is one of 27 partners who are receiving funding and resources through the new Illinois Humanities Foreground Rural Initiative. Partners are located across 19 counties in Illinois.
Gallery 510 Art and Framing, an Illinois art gallery in Macon County, is also an organization that is receiving one of the grants. According to a press release, grantee partners will participate in skill and resource sharing programs. Illinois Humanities will also partner with grantees on the co-creation of place-based “hubs” that will host community events in 2023 in the regions where they are located.
According to Fairouz AbuGhazaleh, director of statewide programs at Illinois Humanities, the initiative is for small and rural towns and are given to organizations and individuals to give them a platform to share their stories and successes. The program is a three-year initiative. AbuGhazaleh said they were surprised to receive double the amount of grant applications. Read More

Sullivan City Council Approves Ordinances Related to TIF District

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•December 14, 2022•
by Crystal Reed

The Sullivan City Council meeting began with a public hearing on the levy and assessment of taxes for the fiscal year beginning May 1, 2022 and ending April 30, 2023. The total levy is $1,204,613 which is up from prior years because TIF 1 has expired. Treasurer Sarah Golden said the tax rate is no higher than it was 10 years ago and the public will not see their tax bills go up.
The council addressed several items in regard to TIF District 4. The first item authorized the execution of a Professional Services Agreement with Jacob and Klein, LTS, The Economic Development Group and city of Sullivan. The group will provide technical advice to assist the city with the TIF.
Another resolution was a third amendment to Sullivan Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District 4 Central Properties and Investments, LLC Redevelopment Project. Mayor Richard Glazebrook said the area is located on Hamilton Street on the east side across from Industrial Way Road and will be apartments. The third item was another proposed third amendment to TIF 4 Legacy Post Frame Home, LLC Redevelopment Project. Read More

Windsor School District to Renovate 1980 Addition of Junior Senior High

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•December 7, 2022•
by Crystal Reed

The Windsor School Board made the decision to renovate the 1980 Addition of the Junior Senior High during their November 16 school board meeting. For four to five months, Windsor Superintendent Erik Van Hoveln and the board had been tossing around the idea of whether to renovate or build an addition onto the school. It was determined that it would be a better option to renovate.
Renovations will include upgrades to the ladies’ restroom near the gym making it ADA compliant, new flooring, new sinks, new stalls, new paint and ceiling. The gymnasium will get new bleachers, and the floor will be resurfaced, making it ADA compliant, and the new Hatchets logo will go on the floor. Van Hoveln said that in 2006 the volleyball lines were painted in the gym and that over the years they have blended into the floor due to fading and the oil-based seal of the gym floor. Read More

The Little Theatre On The Square Preparing for White Christmas, Nominated for Broadway World Regional Awards

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•November 30, 2022•
by Crystal Reed

It may not look like it’s going to be a White Christmas outside, but inside The Little Theatre On The Square, it will be. Rehearsals for the theatre’s production of White Christmas began Saturday, November 26. The theatre’s last production of White Christmas was in 2017. The show will be onstage December 9-18, and some shows are already selling out.
This year’s production will be directed by Clint Hromsco with choreography by Kaitlyn Frank. The female lead Gretel Scarlett is back. She was also in the 2010 production of the show. Read More

Virginia Weakley Celebrates 102nd Birthday

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Photo submitted
Virginia Weakley, formerly of Bethany celebrated her 102nd birthday with a gathering at Copper Creek in Mattoon on Thursday, November 17. Pictured in front is Virginia’s daughter Jan Stevens, Virginia Weakley and in back is her grandson and son John.

•November 23 2022•
by Ellen Ferrera

On Thursday, November 17 some 20 friends and family members gathered at Copper Creek in Mattoon to help Virginia Weakley, formerly of Bethany, celebrate her 102nd birthday.
Her daughter, Jan Stephens, and son, John Weakley, were in attendance along with a grandson and longtime friends. Guitarist Bobby Reynolds serenaded Virginia with songs and led everyone in singing “Happy Birthday”.
This interview was conducted Saturday the 19th in her apartment where the tops of two dressers were completely covered with bouquets and more than 100 birthday cards. She found a large envelope and pulled out a handful of colorful, crayon-decorated birthday cards – one from every kindergarten student at Okaw Valley Elementary School and all handmade. These cards were an obvious delight for the former kindergarten teacher as she brought them out several times to admire them. Read More

Meet Gauge, Windsor Elementary School’s Comfort Dog

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Photo courtesy of Denise Sentel
Gauge, the comfort dog’s first day of school photo from early this fall.

•November 16, 2022•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

Windsor Elementary School has a furry, friendly student that has been attending the school for the past three years. That student is Gauge, a six-year-old goldendoodle breed dog who is an official comfort dog at the school. This is his third year serving the school in this capacity.
When Denise Sentel decided to adopt Gauge, her son had just turned 16 and wanted an active, energetic dog. They already had a rescue pit at home. She wanted a younger dog to ride around with her, and from the beginning, he has traveled everywhere with her.
It started with her bringing Gauge in every once in a while to visit students. Sentel knew about therapy dogs and how they were a benefit to those who have experienced tragedies and traumas. After the tragedy in the Sullivan School District a few years ago, her interest was renewed in training Gauge to help others. Read More