Photo by Darian Hays
Lovington native Daniel Ledbetter was one of the first to give the new skatepark a go Monday.

Children in abundance Monday night for ribbon cutting

by Florence Hallford
Lovington Reporter

On January 29, 2011, two families from Lovington received news of a car accident that claimed the lives of Michael Martin and his two sons, Bryson and Braxton, as well as the children’s friend Dakota Hoffman.

As soon as the families and friends could begin coping with the loss, Chris and Candi Bennett, parents of Hoffman, began researching a way to honor the children.

Almost a year after the accident, the idea of a skatepark had surfaced, a way to reflect the childrens’ favorite activity: skateboarding. That January, the fundraising process began, and after a little more than another year, the Bennett family had raised $50,000, thanks in part to the surrounding communities. Read More

Photo by RR Best
Two dry ears of corn rest beside an already harvested plot of farmland Saturday, August 31 just north of Sullivan. The recent dry spell has prompted some farmers to take to their combines a little earlier than expected, while soybeans remain in desperate need of rain.

Corn looks to benefit from recent spell, yet likely to see lower market prices

by Ian Murphy
NP Contributor

Wet and dry, cool and hot, up and down.

Inconsistent weather this growing season delayed the planting of corn and soybeans and could draw the crop harvest into late October

Clint Robinson, a member of the Moultrie County Farm Bureau board, said he waited until May 15 to plant corn and waited into June to plant soybeans because of the excess moisture in the soil.

Last year he planted during the last week of March and first week of April. Read More

Now to compete for statewide honor

Photo by Keith Stewart
Moultrie County Clerk Georgia England was honored recently with clerk of the year for zone three, which comprises 21 counties in central Illinois. She will now have the chance of being selected as Illinois’ Clerk of the Year as one of four finalists. If selected, she could go on to be chosen as Illinois’ elected offical of the year.

by Barry Featheringill
Sullivan Reporter

Moultrie county clerk Georgia England was overwhelmed when at the zone three monthly meeting of Illinois Association of County Clerks & Recorders (IACCR) she was named “County Clerk of the Year”. So overwhelmed in fact, that upon returning to her office in Sullivan, she almost forgot to tell her staff.

England had no idea that she would even be nominated for the honor.

Zone 3 is made up of 21 counties (of the 102 counties in the state of Illinois) covering the east central counties from Clark to Christian then north to Woodford and then back to the state line at Kankakee.

In September all 102 county clerks will be voting on the county clerks of the year from all four zones of the state of Illinois. The county clerk selected as clerk of the year for the state will then compete for elected official for the year for the entire state competing against elected officials such as county treasurer, county coroner, and circuit clerk from all four zones

In 2001, when England’s husband Gerald, who was county clerk at the time, passed away, Georgia recalls her former boss Steve Wood telling her jokingly that she could do the job as he knew her work ethic and “if she didn’t take the county clerk position, she was fired”. Read More

Seven area runners make commitment

Kirk Whitaker
Arthur/Sullivan Reporter

At the start, runners were greeted with crowds, balloons, and a spirited sendoff before heading west out of Mattoon the morning of August 2 en route to the Peoria St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has aided children and families for 50 years by trying to solve the traumatic and catastrophic diseases that particularly affect children. And for seven area runners, they made an effort to help St. Jude do just that, by committing a weekend full of running, not to mention fundraising done throughout the past year.

Read More