Food Pantry Receives New Storage Shed

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•December 9, 2020•

by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Moultrie County Food Pantry received a gift the day before Thanksgiving, a brand new 6x8 storage shed that is secure. The previous shed that the food pantry had was small and there was no place to put anything but they now have tripled their storage area. The shed was given to the organization by Zak Horn.
The donation couldn’t have come at a better time according to Michelle Hooks, CEFS Outreach Coordinator for the Moultrie County said. “We just added two new offices so we didn’t have as much room to store items for the food pantry,” she said. Read More

Santa Arrives

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Santa Arrives
Santa travels to the Bethany Village Hall to greet and talk to local children in an antique fire truck.

Oath of Office

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Oath of Office
On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, Circuit Judge Jeremy Richey administered the oath of office to Moultrie County officials elected in the November election. The ceremony was held in Courtroom B on the third floor of the courthouse. Christa Helmuth was sworn in as Circuit Clerk, Lynn Reed as Coroner, and Tracy Weaver as State’s Attorney. Larry Baker, John Fayhee, Elizabeth Houser and Neil Bryan were sworn in as county board members. County board members in Moultrie County are elected on a county-wide basis. Following the swearing-in ceremony, the new county board met for a reorganizational meeting. David McCabe was re-elected as chairman and Larry Baker was elected as vice-chair.

Nevill Promoted

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Nevill Promoted
Ethan Neville of Sullivan was promoted to the rank of corporal Dec. 5 during a promotion ceremony at Combat Training Center-Yavoriv in Lviv, Ukraine.
Neville is an 89B Ammunitions Supply Specialist assigned to Task Force Illini, 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Lovington Grade School Students Receive Free Shoes

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Photo by R.R. Best
Lovington Grade School fifth grade teacher Mrs. Seal gives a new pair of shoes to student Gabriel Devenbaugh last week. All 160 students at the school received a brand new pair of shoes through the efforts of several faith based organizations and the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 68 in Sullivan.

•December 2, 2020•
By Crystal Reed
NP Writer

Last Tuesday, students at Lovington Grade School received an early Thanksgiving surprise, a brand new pair of shoes. All 160 students at the school received a new pair of shoes.
The Sons of the American Legion Squadron 68 of Sullivan purchased shoes for preschool students and several faith based charitable organization purchased the rest of the shoes for the students. According to Lovington Grade School secretary Jennifer Voegel, this is not the first time students have been gifted. She said that last year a major corporation donated socks and school supplies to every student at the school.
“This is a blessing that I’ve been asking for a long time,” Voegel said. Read More

Local Business Owners Create Thanksgiving Food Baskets

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Lisa Ozier, Michelle Young, Rob Young and Phil Ozier hold a few of the Thanksgiving baskets that they put together for 11 local families.

•December 2, 2020•
By Crystal Reed
NP Writer

For the last few years there has been a group of Sullivan business owners who have created Thanksgiving baskets for families that may not be able to afford the traditional holiday feast. On a recent weekend Phil and Lisa Ozier and Rob and Michelle Young gathered in a garage to fill the baskets with all the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal. Read More

Tentative Tax Levy Approved by ALAH School Board

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Truth and Taxation Hearing in December

•December 2, 2020•
By Ariana Cherry
NP Writer

I am pretty fired up about where we go from here,” noted Superintendent Shannon Cheek at the ALAH School Board meeting held November 18. Cheek was referring to a positive story shared by ALAH Principal Stephanie Seegmiller when she reported on recent accomplishments regarding SAT’s.
“For ten weeks - at five days a week, we were working with juniors last school year. They were three and a half weeks away from taking the SAT’s, and then our schools shut down because of COVID. Then in August, they had to take the test in order to graduate. When we reopened, we put together a review class and had some seniors who joined them after school and after hours to take it. We were five points from making the state average. It is our students and their commitments, but it is these guys (teachers and staff) who made it happen,” reported Seegmiller. “They are flexible, dedicated, smart, and they know their business,” she added. On November 19, they celebrated their seniors and all of their hard work which they hoped would inspire the juniors. Seegmiller named several members of the staff and teachers who were responsible for helping with the SAT’s. Included are Darcy Singer, Trisha Sluder, Guy Bates, Sarah Bailey, April Hart, Mark Smith, Kayla Huckleby and Kendall Huffman. Read More

Anglers Tribute To Veterans On Lake Shelbyville

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Boaters and veterans that participated in the Anglers Tribute to Vets on Lake Shelbyville on November 21. Twelve boaters and veterans went crappie fishing on Lake Shelbyville during the event. There was also a memorial service and fish fry for the veterans and their families.

•December 2, 2020•
By Crystal Reed
NP Writer

On November 21, 12 people and their boat drivers launched out onto Lake Shelbyville for a day of fishing. These weren’t just any 12 people these were veterans who have served our country in a variety of wars and conflicts.
The Anglers Tribute to Veterans on Lake Shelbyville was an event that organizer Travis Hughes created to show appreciation to veterans for their service. Over 100 veterans were nominated to receive this all day fishing trip and those veterans are from Chicago to Arkansas and Kentucky. Read More

One Book, One Sullivan Presents The Only Road

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•November 25, 2020•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

One Book, One Sullivan revealed this year’s book in a slightly different way last Friday morning. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic they were not able to have an all school assembly to announce the book. Instead the One Book, One Sullivan group gathered in the gym and through technology broadcasted the announcement to classrooms in the building.
The list of books that was chosen from for this year was narrowed down slowly until the group settled on three titles. Prior to the announcement of the chosen book students presented the other two books that were also being considered. Runners up included ‘Nowhere Boy’ by Katherine Marsh and ‘Resistance’ by Jennifer Nielsen.
During the presentation the One Book, One Sullivan group showed a trailer of the winning book, which featured students reading selections from the book and explaining some of the plot points. Students from One Book, One Sullivan were also sent out to each classroom to deliver a copy of the book to them. Read More