Photo by Keith Stewart
Heather Dore Johnson (left) as Gladys and Alex Jorth (middle) as Billy Lawlor dance away in the Little Theatre’s season opener “42nd Street.”

By Dan Hagen
NP Theatre Critic

When you think of the generic term “Broadway musical,” the Little Theatre’s 2014 summer season opener — “42nd Street” — is probably the kind of show that springs to mind.

It’s that “You’re going out there a youngster, but you’re coming back a star!” musical. Yes, that very bit has been a cliché for 70 or 80 years now, at least since the deep Depression debut, in 1933, of the Dick Powell/Ruby Keeler film that inspired this 1980 stage musical. 

And that’s the problem I always have with this show, the paper-thin plot we’re stuck with. It’s not so much a plot, in fact, as a skeletal dramatic scaffolding on which to hang a number of crowd-pleasing tap-dance numbers.  Read More

Photo by Keith Stewart
State Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) speaks with Sullivan mayor Ann Short (center) and Sullivan
Chamber and Economic Development Director Stephanie McMahon (left) just outside the Eagle Creek
Resort Friday, April 25. They along with several other local offi cials toured the perimeter of the facilithy
after holding a public meeting in Findlay discussing the future of the resort.

IDNR reps. say demolition not in their plans

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

In a meeting Friday, April 25 in Findlay, local officials along with members of the public and IDNR representatives met to discuss the long-condemned Eagle Creek Resort and its future.

In the face of recent speculation about demolishing and/or handing the resort back to the US Army Corps of Engineers, the meeting didn’t offer up much in the way of specifics but instead hinged on hope that the resort would not only remain just outside Findlay but that it would see the necessary improvements to reopen, in time.

“DNR at this point is focused on reopening the resort,” said Todd Rettig of the department. “What we want to make sure we’re doing when we reopen it is we have a successful pathway forward. We’ve had a number of operators in there that struggled. We don’t want to repeat that. I just want to ensure you that DNR’s focus as we stand here today–we came over here because we’re interested in making sure you understand that we do want to reopen the resort.” Read More

Photo by Keith Stewart
Sullivan school administrators and staff leave the high school Tuesday morning and head north on Main Street in search of a female student who had gone missing around 10 a.m. The student was later found safe by a resident volunteering in the search effort.

Found within two hours by local resident

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

A female student at Sullivan Elementary School went missing briefly Tuesday morning before being found on the west end of town.

According to Sullivan police chief John Love, the approximately 10-year old girl was originally seen running out the east doors of the school around 10 a.m. Tuesday. Sullivan PD were then contacted by the school to help in locating the child. Officer Andrew Pistorious was then dispatched. The girl’s father, who lives near the school, was contacted by both Pistorious and Sullivan superintendent Brad Tuttle. Love then notified all city utility workers, providing a description of the girl, in the event they came across a similar child. Read More

Photo by Keith Stewart
Moultrie County Historical Society family researcher Kaye Webb sorts through files at the heritage center in Sullivan.

One man’s genealogical search to find long-lost great-aunt brings surprise discovery

by Jake Dilley
Reporting in Sullivan

Peter Strandberg was in search of his great aunt, Orianna. He had never met her, but now he was in search of her. He had a birth certificate and knew that she had passed away in Sullivan. But that was about it.

Unable to locate an obituary for her, the Scottsdale, Ariz. resident reached out to the newspaper in Sullivan and contacted managing editor Keith Stewart, asking if they could locate Orianna’s record in their archives. To Strandberg’s misfortune, none could be found. But all was not lost yet. He was then directed to Kaye Webb, a local family researcher in Sullivan, who would end up helping Strandberg unearth the ultimate genealogical discovery. Read More