News Progress

March 4, 2015

Training is available for individuals interested in educating themselves on the issues surrounding domestic violence. The training will take place May 4-20, Monday through Thursday afternoons from 1-5 p.m., in Decatur at Dove, 302 S. Union, Dean Simcox Conference Center. This 40 hour training is approved by ICADV (Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence) and facilitated by Dove and other community agencies’ staff members. There is a fee for the training and some scholarships available.
To register, contact Barbara Blakey at (217) 428-6616. A pre-registration phone interview needs to take place by noon Monday, April 27 and there is a meeting to complete the registration on Tuesday, April 28 at noon. Read More

March 4, 2015

The 26th Annual Deer Hunt for People with Disabilities, hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Wolf Creek State Park will be held November 20 through November 22. Applications are available for pickup at the Lake Shelbyville Project Office, online at http://tinyurl.com/LakeShelbyville-Hunting, or mail by contacting the Environmental Stewardship Department at 217-774-3951 Ext. 7049. Read More

Submitted
Pictured, from left to right, are a few of the Moultrie County Longhorn 4H club members along with their new sign for the Purvis Cemetery: Alexa Hauser, Sydney Mulligan, Tim Hauser, Coen Foster, Makayla Graston-Garland, Brett Bushue, Dawson Foster & Brad Foster

February 25, 2015

As part of the values that 4-H routinely teaches, the Moultrie County Longhorns 4-H club is carrying on the tradition with their current service project, restoring the Purvis Cemetary near Allenville.
The club was recently awarded a grant from Farm Credit Illinois (FCI).  FCI awards grants to 4-H clubs and FFA chapters throughout central and southern Illinois to implement valuable improvement projects in their communities. FCI awarded 38 4-H clubs and FFA chapters with $250 grants this year to establish projects that will make their communities better places to live.
Purvis Cemetary, established in 1818, is located southwest of Allenville on corps ground next to Lake Shelbyville. Many who wonder upon it, may not even notice the overturned stones because of the weeds. After creating a new sign for the cemetary and cleaning up some of the trash and debris, the club’s goal is to research the graves and restore or replace some of the more damaged markers.  The club has divided into two workgroups, those working on the landscaping and others doing the research.
The group has also, so far, compared a list of graves at the site to an online database and discovered nine names listed are not online. The 1820’s were a big era for the start-up of organized burials in graveyards in America.  Many times the graves from that period are in the middle and radiate from the center outward as the years progress.  A reading is a listing of who is buried in a graveyard.  Many are now listed online.  The earliest markers are made of field stone or wood, a trend that lasted into the 1830’s. Before that, limestone was used, but in 1855, marble became fashionable with the advancement of the railroad across America. In turn, graveyards tend to be near water, a symbol of peacefulness and continued life.   Read More

Siegman

February 25, 2015

Tracy Siegman of Bethany was officially seated as a board member on the C.E.F.S. Economic Opportunity Corporation Board of Directors during a recent meeting in Effingham.
Siegman was designated to serve on the C.E.F.S. Board of Directors by the First Christian Church of Bethany and will represent the private sector for Moultrie County on the C.E.F.S. Board of Directors. Siegman was appointed to serve on the personnel committee, membership committee, and the economic development and employment committee.
Siegman, pastor of the First Christian Church in Bethany and member of the Bethany Ministerial Alliance, is an active member of her community and county. Siegman indicated her goal is to encourage others to reach out to those who are vulnerable and economically disadvantaged in society, helping them to realize a more stable and sustainable life. As a community leader, Siegman works to influence and encourage others to participate and engage in assisting their neighbors, and she feels that her service on the C.E.F.S. Board of Directors will compliment her ministry of outreach. Read More

February 25, 2015

Submitted by Georgia England

Registered voters who are not able to vote on election day April 7 are able to vote before that date either by absentee voting or early voting in the county clerk’s office at 10 S. Main in Sullivan.
Absentee voting is February 26 through April 6 weekdays between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the clerk’s office remaining open until 5 p.m. April 6.
Early voting is 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 23 through April 2 weekdays, with the clerk’s office remaining open on April 2 until 5 p.m. with special Saturday hours March 28. A voter must present valid identification but does not have to have an excuse to participate in either of these methods of voting. Read More