Category Archives: Top Stories

City Council Approves Purchase of Utility Poles, Discusses Employee Clothing Allowances

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•February 22, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

The Sullivan City Council held a regular meeting Tuesday, February 14.
Commissioner Abbey Sherwood reported that at the park they removed stumps from the playground and have been working on cleaning up Tabor Park. She estimated they are about two months out on a bid package for the splash pad.
Concerning the city building, she noted that the demolition has taken place. She noted that the process had gone relatively smoothly. Sherwood also read a prepared statement.
She said that the council had been asked to slow down or delay the project. “We cannot slow this project down,” she said. “It’s not been a slow process, and it has taken three years to get to where we are today.” Sherwood noted that the building has been severely neglected for decades and hundreds of dollars spent to band-aid serious issues. Read More

County Board Hears Update from Central Illinois Public Transit Representative

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•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

Arthur Public Library Teams Up With U of I Extension for Program

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Caitlin Mellendorf tests a dial gauge pressure canner lid to see if it is accurate at Arthur Public Library after the program held on February 4.

•February 8, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

Approximately a dozen people interested in learning about preserving food through canning attended Yes! You Can: Preserving Safely at the Arthur Public Library Saturday, February 4. The program was led by Nutrition and Wellness Educator Caitlin Mellendorf.
She began the program by explaining the two ways that food usually spoils. The first is through microorganisms causing food spoilage including molds, yeast and bacteria. Controlling the growing conditions for these harmful microorganisms is the best way to prevent food spoilage and decrease the risk of foodborne illness. Another way is through enzymes; she gave the example of bananas that change color over time. Read More

TLTOTS Wins Four Broadway World Regional Awards in Chicago Region

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•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

Shawnee Communications makes Donation to Habitat For Humanity

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Photo furnished
Shawnee Communications presented a $5,750 donation to Moultrie County Habitat for Humanity on Tuesday, January 17.

•January 25, 2023•

On Tuesday, January 17th, Jamie Franklin, Customer Service Manager for Shawnee Communications, presented Moultrie County Habitat for Humanity with a jump start to the new year in the form of a $5,750 donation. The donation was collected through Shawnee employee contributions, which were matched individually by Shawnee’s four shareholders and that new amount was matched by the company. On hand to receive the donation were Moultrie County Habitat for Humanity board members Roger Glazebrook, Gene Meuller, Caran DeVore, Howard Sanders, Sandy Sanders, Dee Ann Daily, Cheryl Thomas, Gary Smith, Denise Smith, Bob Vail, and Mike Aikman. Read More

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