ALAH High School Teachers Receive Anonymous Donation

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•January 1, 2020•
By Ariana Cherry
for The News Progress

A public hearing on the 2019 tax levy took place at the ALAH School Board meeting on December 18.
Last year, due to a new increased balance in the IMRF funds, a balloon levy was proposed. The levy will continue to be stable at a relatively low tax rate. Before the hearing, the levy had been on public file for 30 days and a notification was also put in the newspaper. There were no public calls concerning the levy during that time. A motion was made to approve the 2019 tax levy of 3.54 and it was approved.
“Compared to last year at this time, we have $137,000 more in expense items. That is really good, because we’ve had an increase in salaries,” Supt. Shannon Creek explained. “When you consider the increase in salaries and the roof project, we are in really good shape.”
In the Treasurer’s Report he noted “We’ve accumulated 24% expenses up to this point for this fiscal year, so we are right on track if not a little bit ahead.” Read More

Correction

News Progress Posted on by

•January 1, 2020•
In the December 18 News Progress front page story on Genny Sutton’s 102 birthday honor some names were unintentionally omitted. They included Jacob Moritz, great grandson; Jonathan Inman, grandson and Mary Lou Kidwell, sister.

SHS Spanish Club Collects Food Twice for Families in Need

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Photos by Señora King
SHS Spanish Club members collected food and delivered Nov. 22.

•January 1, 2020•
By Seth Mayberry
for The News Progress

Twice over the past two months, the Spanish Club has collected food to be given to five different families in the surrounding Sullivan area.
Each member of the club was assigned a group and everyone signed up for one or more food items to be gathered and delivered on November 22 and again on December 12.
The seniors who are apart of Spanish Club went along with Amy Eller and Jodi Elzy to assist in delivering the food boxes to the families. Mrs. Eller and Mrs. Elzy work at Bright Start which is an organization that helps out families that are less fortunate.
A couple of those seniors who helped distribute the boxes had the following to say about their experiences: Read More

Sullivan Spark’s Big Vision: A New Baseball Complex

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Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Spark is helping the community move forward with the ideas like a new sports complex. Austin Hunter has approached the city council along with Chamber Ameri Corp representative Kathleen Preissing.

•January 1, 2020•
By Ellen Ferrera
for the New Progress

Sullivan has always been a baseball kind of town. A men’s team has existed at least since 1901 and 102-year-old Genny Sutton coached the first girls’ team as early as 1939.
Wyman Park was built in 1945 and Park Recreation Board was appointed. In 1946 Frank Shack was hired as Recreation Director of the park summer program which included baseball on the newly built baseball field.
Now the Park and Recreation group of the community action group Spark is proposing a four-diamond baseball/softball complex with a concession stand for Sullivan.
Committee leader Austin Hunter explained the need and outlined the development of the plan.
Two years ago Hunter and seven other parent coaches formed the Sullivan Sizzle which is a traveling baseball team of 25 girls in the 12 years and under group. Another 25 are in the 14 and under age group.
The teams travel to places such as Olney, Mattoon, Arthur and as far as Santa Claus, Ind. to play in 12-16 tournaments during the summer months.
Some of the tournaments involve five games played over the entire weekend. Read More

Sullivan School Board Approves Tax Levy, Schools Report on Holiday Activities

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•December 25, 2019•
By Ariana Cherry
for The News Progress

The cash balance for the Sullivan School District stated at the most recent board meeting was $335,169.88. The balance of the Education fund was $4,637,824.83 and transportation funds sat at $1,431,386.20. Bills totaling $155,675.75 along with the treasurer’s report was authorized.
Last month, the board also authorized Superintendent Ted Walk to prepare the 2020-2021 annual budget.
Supt. Walk presented the tentative tax levy mentioning that there would be a slight decrease in the IMRF, Social Security and Tort funds. The tentative tax levy for 2019 payable in 2020 is $4,780,928. The estimated 2019 tax rate payable in 2020 is 4.1213% which was an estimated decrease of 0.0389%. Read More

County Board Learns of Property Tax Changes, Prohibits Cannabis Sales

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•December 25, 2019•
By Mike Brothers

With the quadrennial assessments published and county tax notices in the mail Supervisor of Assessments Lori Barringer pointed out Moultrie County Board members may be questioned about property tax bills.
Barringer explained that the Assessments office staff had logged some 237 hours transferring hand completed Real Estate Transfer Declarations into an electronic format. She emphasized transferring documents into electronic data would improve accuracy as well as save office time in the future.
The Supervisor of Assessments reported the Equalized Assessed Valuation of property in the county is $282,990,701 before the Board of Review accepts challenges. This is a seven percent increase over last year. Read More

Secret Sleigh Project Brings Santa To Homebound Arthur Child

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Photo by Ellen Ferrera
The Santa Secret Sleigh project came to the area recently visiting Alicen Wooley of Arthur.

•December 25, 2019•
By Ellen Ferrera
for The News Progress

Three years ago Sarah Portillo in Loveland, Colo. realized she was unable to take her homebound daughter, Lilly, to see Santa. Lilly is a wheelchair bound child who communicates by blinking her eyes. Sarah was thinking how wonderful it would be for Santa to walk through their front door.
She talked with other parents in her situation, and they began to solicit volunteer Santas to visit homebound children.
On December 15 Alicen Wooley, a homebound child in Arthur received a visit from the most wonderous Santa who was dressed in sartorial splendor with a bejeweled cap, long, red velvet coat, a plaid vest and shiny black boots with bells all a-jingle.
The snow from outside still frosted his bushy eyebrows and long flowing beard. His moustache trailed into a curlicue on either side of his cherry red mouth. He kneeled by Alicen’s wheelchair and drew out a book from which he began to read, “The Night Before Christmas”. When he finished, I joined Santa and Alicen’s parents, Christina and Darreld, in singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. Santa then spent time talking with Alicen about her Christmas wish list. Read More

Sparrows Wraps

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Photo by Dennis Garman
Sparrows Wraps
Lovington based volunteers for Sparrows gathered at the Church of God Community Center in Lovington Saturday morning to wrap gifts and make deliveries to more than 144 local children.

Christmas Hams Donated

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Photo by Mike Brothers
Christmas Hams Donated
Christmas dinner will be much better for families served by the C.E.F.S. Moultrie County Food pantry thanks to one couple who takes the spirit of Holiday giving seriously. Sullivan IGA provided 100 hams to go along with Christmas dinners prepared for county families in need. Delivering the hams to the Food Pantry located in Sullivan from the Sullivan IGA meat department on Friday, December 20 were from left: Mason Harner, Emmalee Hortenstine, Meat Dept. manager Barry Golden, Julie Delpino, Seth Cobb and Blake Eller.