News Progress

Oktoberfest Enjoyed

  I would like to say to the Sullivan Chamber and Economic Development that the Oktoberfest was a great idea. Oktoberfest is a good idea that gives people who have been working all week something to enjoy over the weekend. Read More

An Argument for School Facility Sales Tax

What do the counties of Shelby, Douglas, Macon, Christian and Champaign all have in common?  Each of them is collecting large funds as a result of having the county school facility sales tax in effect for each one of their schools and most of them border Moultrie County.  That means each time we shop in any of these counties we are contributing to the funding for their school buildings.  I encourage all of us to drive by and check out the new schools and/or new additions in Macon, Maroa, Decatur, Arthur, Champaign and other districts because you have invested in each of them. Read More

October 8, 2014

by Keith Anderson,
Director of news, ECM Publishers, Coon Rapids, Minnesota

There are hundreds of beautiful towns in the United States. And each of them has a claim to fame. Whether it’s the Fire Hydrant Capital of the world in Albertville, Alabama, the giant statue of Paul Bunyan welcoming visitors to Brainerd, Minnesota, or the giant ice cream sundae statue in LeMars, Iowa, every city has a desire to be known for something.

It’s part of what makes living in a community so special. Everyone wants to have a sense of home, a place where they can be involved and where getting to know neighbors is a blessing, not something to be avoided. Read More

October 1, 2014

by William C Bailey
Professor, Western Illinois University

It is said that records are made to be broken. In my undergraduate days, a classmate set a record when, at one sitting, he ate 24 breaded jumbo shrimp at the local Friday seafood buffet. As noteworthy as that seemed at the time, Illinois corn and soybean farmers are on track to set four records this year – now that is really impressive and makes one marvel at today’s agriculture.

In recently released estimates on the size of this year’s Illinois corn and soybean crops, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) set the state corn yield at 194 bushels an acre with soybean yield projected to be 56 bushels an acre. Both of these yields, if harvest goes well, will be records. 2004 was the year the previous Illinois corn yield record was set – 180 bushels an acre. The 14 bushel increase in corn yield is testimony to contemporary farming technology, farming skill and, of course, some excellent weather. It is a similar situation for soybeans – the new record yield of 56 bushels an acre is almost nine percent higher than the previous record. Read More

October 1, 2014

by Jerry Ginther
NP Guest Columnist

One thing that comes to mind when I reflect on the schools in Sullivan was what was located at the top of the stairs at the east entrance of Lowe School. On the wall at the top of the stairs there was a plaque depicting the Ten Commandments. If memory serves, I believe an identical plaque was posted on the opposite wall as well, so, no matter which side of the stairs you ascended you would see one or the other. I suppose that sticks in my memory because I do not recall there being such a display in the other school buildings in town. There may have been, but if so they were not so prominently displayed. At Lowe you would see them each morning or any other time you topped the stairs. I’m unaware if they remained as long as the building was in use, but they were there in 1955, the year I entered the fourth grade. Those plaques are in part responsible for the remainder of this article. Read More