News Progress

Williamsburg Hill

•April 2, 2025•

by Janet Roney

We were feeling pretty blue one Sunday afternoon in late August 1988, when my husband and I took a little drive to check out the crops elsewhere. We were in the midst of the worst drought since the awful one we remembered as kids in 1954. Everywhere we looked the pastures were brown, the corn was stunted and curled, and the soybeans were wilted. 

It would have been a very depressing drive had we not had another goal in mind…a drive up Williamsburg Hill southwest of Shelbyville. My artist friend, Katie West from Cowden, had taken me there several years before to show me the old cemetery on top of the hill and the view from there, and I wanted Roger to see it. 

•March 26, 2025•

Lovington has enlisted the help of the MAPPING The Future of Your Community program through the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University to take a proactive approach to planning for community and economic development. 

 The MAPPING program is a participant-driven strategic visioning and planning process whereby local leaders and citizen volunteers create a long-range vision for the future of our community and a plan of action for achieving it. A series of five, three-hour sessions, involving community members will be held to discuss: Where are we now? Where do we want to be? How are we going to get there? How do we make it happen? How do we make it happen and maintain momentum?

•March 26, 2025•

The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) is advising taxpayers to be vigilant when preparing tax returns in order to avoid several common errors which can lead to delays, rejections, or even penalties.

“We encourage taxpayers to file electronically and review their information carefully in order to ensure their returns are complete and accurate,” said` IDOR Director David Harris. “Mistakes on returns can have negative consequences, such as delays in processing refunds, or even the rejection of returns.”

The following are common filing errors to avoid:

Gives students flexible options for attending class 

•March 26, 2025•

Lake Land College is offering courses that follow an innovative HyFlex format, which gives students flexible options for attending class. 

The HyFlex format provides students with three options to attend class: in-person, online live and online recorded. In-person students attend traditional classes at a Lake Land location. The classrooms are equipped with high-tech streaming equipment that allows students who are attending remotely to engage with the class live from anywhere with an internet connection. Students who are unable to attend in-person or participate live online can also access recordings of each class session.

•March 26, 2025•

Briar Rincker and Halle Wright in the spotlight for February

Windsor Junior and Senior High Schools have announced their February Students of the Month: Briar Rincker and Halle Wright. 

Briar is the son of Rusty and Heather Rincker. Briar is currently in 8th grade and is involved in Basketball. 

Halle is the daughter of Brian and Tina Wright. Currently a senior, Halle is a National Honor Society Vice President, Student Council President, and cheerleader. After graduation, she plans to attend the University of Mississippi as a Business major.