•August 7, 2024•

by E. Scott England 

Courtyard Estates of Sullivan has been sold following months of ongoing legal proceedings against Petersen Health Care. PHC filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, an action that came as a result of several loans that had been defaulted on dating back to February of this year.

After the loan default, about seven properties risked being foreclosed upon and shut down. At that time, it was reported that $51 million was owed to two separate companies. The filing of the chapter 11 bankruptcy allowed for PHC to keep locations open and in operation as well as continue paying employees. Read More

•July 24, 2024•

The second Sullivan City council meeting of the month happened on Thursday July 18 at 6pm. Commissioner Sherwood was one of the first to speak for the night, touching on the phenomenal job the new construction company did on the new park courts and splash pad stating “I can’t recommend them enough”. Sherwood also had very little to report on vandalism and graffiti within the park mentioning the vandalism within the park has been way less this year than in previous years. Continuing on with Sullivan’s improvements, Commissioner Shook reported that they secured a grant to fix the roads downtown, running from Water Street to Madison then down to the highway. The grant is to both make the roads look nice but also fix some flaws which makes the roads more difficult to drive on. This road work is expected to start as soon as clearance has been given. Read More

•July 10, 2024•

by E. Scott England 

The Sullivan CUSD #300 school board held their first meeting of the 2024-2025 school year. Only five of the seven members were in attendance. Justin Florey and Erik Stollard were the two absent board members. Those present managed to navigate the meeting in sixteen minutes due to little to no discussion on all agenda items. Zachary Horn was the only member to engage in some discussion outside of President Jeff White and Secretary Tyson Grooms performing their officer duties.

The meeting started off with the consent agenda. These are items that routinely make an appearance on agenda either monthly, annually, or somewhere in between. The idea of a consent agenda is to expedite meetings. Any item in the consent agenda can be pulled for further discussion by the board. This is typically done when reviewing bills or other items needing further clarification. This school board once again opted for no discussion on any of the items. Read More

•June 26, 2024•

by Sharon Barricklow

The Sullivan City Council moved forward last week with plans to renovate equipment at the City Electrical Plant. 

“We need to get on the stick here to get this done,” Commissioner Mike Kirk said. 

At issue is a Colt-Pielstick engine necessary for the operation of the electric plant. The engine, originally put in service in 1973, was last overhauled in 1989. With only one company in the country, Fairbanks-Morse, doing the work, the council agreed to waive the bidding process and accept the estimate of just over $500,000 to do a complete engine overhaul. 

Kirk said the engine will be off line for six to eight weeks during the process and that Fairbanks-Morse is estimating a 12 to 18 month time frame before they can begin work.  Read More

Photo furnished
Several students who were studying Maus in class, belong to the Future Educators club, entered pieces in the recent Through Their Eyes: A Holocaust Art and Writing Contest sponsored by the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation, were volunteer docents at Holocaust exhibits sponsored by the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation, or were nominated by a teacher to assist acted as guides and assistants to Dr. Gingold while he visited Sullivan Schools.

•June 12, 2024•

When Sullivan High School freshman Olivia Hullum was reading Maus for her English class, she wanted more than just to read about the Holocaust. She wanted to meet a Holocaust survivor in person and hear one share their story in person. So she asked if there was one who could come speak to her class.

On April 24, Holocaust survivor Dr. William Gingold of Champaign-Urbana came to Sullivan and spoke not just to Hullum and her classmates but to all SHS and SMS students and staff. Read More