Photo by Crystal Reed
Snow removal was being done by equipment in the parking lot of the Bethany Village Hall on Friday morning. Removal of snow was complicated by high winds that caused drifting on Thursday.

•February 9, 2022•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

Last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the local area received rain, freezing rain, sleet and heavy snow. The situation was complicated when paired with winds gusting 30-35 mph causing blowing and drifting snow, which resulted in dangerous travel conditions. According to the National Weather Service at Lincoln, the highest snowfall totals ranged from 8-15 inches within a swath situated between the Illinois River and I-70.
NWS also reported that ice amounts were brief for most areas, with the largest accumulations situated south of I-72 where one to three inches were reported prior to the heavy snowfall. Over the weekend, the area saw bitter cold with wind chills in the negatives Friday night into Saturday. Ben Deubelweiss, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Lincoln, said the extended forecast had no precipitation expected through the middle of this week.
When it comes to snow totals, Debelweiss reported that the totals they had recorded for our area included Lovington at 9.9 inches of snow, Sullivan with 5.8 inches of snow and Windsor with 10 inches of snow.
According to Moultrie County Sheriff Chris Sims, during the period of time of the storm there were large amounts of slide-offs, vehicles that spun out and stranded motorists to which the department responded.
Sullivan Township Road Commissioner Rich Rutledge said his crew of five came in Thursday afternoon, but because of snow and wind, they ran emergencies only. At 10 p.m. Thursday, they began poking holes in the accumulated snow on the roads. On Friday at 4 a.m., they ran all roads and pushed back snow. Sullivan Township is responsible for 95 township and 16 county miles. Read More

Photo by Crystal Reed
Rick Davis donates blood during a blood drive at the Sullivan American Legion on Tuesday, January 18.

•January 26, 2022•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The American Red Cross is facing a national blood crisis -- its worst blood shortage in more than a decade. The American Red Cross supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood which includes many local hospital partners. The organization has experienced a 10% decline nationally and locally in the number of people donating blood since the pandemic began and continues to confront relentless issues due to COVID-19, such as ongoing blood drive cancellations and staffing limitations.
According to a press release, in recent weeks the organization had less than a one-day supply of critical blood types and has had to limit blood product distributions to hospitals. At this time, as much as one-quarter of hospital blood needs are not being met. The low blood supply levels are also posing a concerning risk to patient care and forcing doctors to make difficult decisions about who receives blood transfusions and who will need to wait until more products become available.
An American Red Cross Blood Drive was held Tuesday, January 18, at Sullivan American Legion. According to event coordinator Jeri Davis, a total of 45 units was collected during the drive. This can help 135 patients. The Red Cross has also seen a 62% drop in blood drives at schools and colleges since the pandemic began. As a result, Gen Z, which accounted for nearly one-quarter of donors in 2019, made up just about 10% in 2021 due to the drop in on-campus opportunities. Read More

File Photo
Call counts have come in from fire, police and ambulance departments in our local area. Some towns have seen an increase in calls while others have not.

•January 12, 2022•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

Our local fire departments, ambulance services and police departments work hard to keep citizens safe, and in case of emergency, extinguish fires, respond to car accidents and other life happenings. They work long hours, and at times, their plans for the day will change at a moment’s notice. Agencies in Windsor, Findlay, Arthur, Bethany, Sullivan and Lovington were contacted for their call counts in 2020 and 2021.
The Sullivan Police Department received 2,030 calls in 2020 and 1,930 in 2021. Sullivan Fire Department separates their call counts by ambulance transport and fire and rescue calls which include things such as fires, motor vehicle accidents and lift assists. They calculate by fiscal year which ends on June 30. Read More

Photo by Crystal Reed
For the last few years Country Financial agent Elizabeth Houser has helped make Christmas brighter for local families. This year’s Christmas crew was from left to right: Elizabeth Houser, Kyler Houser and Jorjia Clements.

•December 29, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

Country Financial Agent Elizabeth Houser and her Christmas Crew helped out Moultrie County families by providing Christmas gifts. The crew, made up of Elizabeth, Jorjia Clements and Kyler Houser, served 23 families and 50 children.
As in previous years, Houser gave people the opportunity to adopt a family for whom to buy gifts, and some people offered to donate money toward buying gifts for families in need. “There was an outpouring of love this year for these families,” Elizabeth said. An anonymous donor provided $75 gift cards to IGA for each family this year. Read More

•December 15, 2021•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

View the photos here

A tornado touched down south of Windsor Friday, December 10, at about 9:50 p.m. According to the National Weather Service in Lincoln, when the tornado touched down, it caused a loss of roof panels to a farm outbuilding. At that point the tornado strengthened, causing total destruction of a farm outbuilding and breaking wood power poles southeast of Windsor. South Central FS saw significant damage west of Gays with numerous buildings damaged or destroyed and three large tanker trucks flipped.
The tornado continued into Coles County, causing more damage. It finally lifted at 10:04 p.m., four miles north-northeast of Mattoon. The National Weather Service has issued a rating of EF2 for the tornado. Read More