News Progress

Illustration furnished
Drawing of the Titus home by Francis Elder while Winifred still lived there.

•September 4, 2019•
By Mike Brothers

Although the Sullivan City Council purchased the Winifred Titus Manor at 513 Worth St for $210,000, it won’t cost the city anything.
At a special city council meeting held at Elizabeth Titus Library Thursday, Aug. 29 Mayor Richard Glazebrook moved to purchase Titus Manor from Titus-Sentel estate trustee Busey Bank at private sale for the appraised amount of $210,000. Mike Fowler seconded with Abbey Sherwood, Chuck Woodworth and Peggy Hargis unanimously approving the purchase. Read More

•August 28, 2019•
The 2019 Miss Sullivan Pageants will be held Sunday, September 22 at 1:00 p.m. in the Sullivan Elementary School gymnasium.
A Little Miss, Junior Miss, and Miss Sullivan will be crowned and represent the city of Sullivan over the next year and will compete in the Miss Moultrie-Douglas Pageants in July 2020. Read More

•August 28, 2019•
By Ariana Cherry
for the News Progress

At the beginning of his superintendent’s report during the ALAH School Board meeting on Wednesday, August 21, Superintendent Shannon Creek noted that he had visited all the schools in the district during registration, and they were all very busy with a lot of activity going on.
Amanda Romine reported that the online registration was very successful for the district. Arthur Grade School had 141 students who had preregistered online, Atwood: 114; Lovington: 66 and ALAH had 161.
High school principal Steffanie Seegmiller noted that more than 50% of the high school students had registered online before August 7. Staff members said that overall it was a positive experience for parents who registered their students for school and that they would reevaluate for next year to see what would need changed, etc. Read More

Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Okaw Valley Ag instructor Wes Wise and student inoculate calf at Friday open house

Okaw Valley Has A Farm E-I-E-I-O

•August 21, 2019•

By Ellen Ferrera
for The News Progress

The Okaw Valley High School erg program held an open house and media opportunity on August 16 to showcase their new one million dollar ag building and state-of-the-art ag educational program Friday, August 16.
The ag building’s color compliments the school colors. It is located behind the high school and looks somewhat like a fire station until an earthy aroma tells you that farm animals are inside.
Housed within is a large classroom, a lab, four large holding pens and another large work area. Future plans call for the addition of four pens to house more animals.
Ag instructor and farm owner, Wes Wise, welcomed the visitors and outlined the morning’s activities which included a tour of the facilities, animal viewing, equipment demonstrations and animal care.
Wise explained the provenance of the program.
‘We are extremely grateful to ADM Cares and BLDD for the grants to initiate this unique educational opportunity. ADM recognizes the importance of farm crops which fuel their industry, and they invest in their own future by creating programs like these to introduce students to a farming career at the high school level.’
“We have 160 students in the high school and 95 are enrolled in the erg program. Only one of the 95 students comes from a farm family so it has been an eye-opener for many of the students,” he continued. “Many of them are now planning careers in the agri-business field as a direct result of this program.” Read More