A Century of Fourth of July Celebrations

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Cool rides are in store for Sullivan kids when Conner Family Amusements opens the Fourth of July Celebration from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 3 through Sunday, July 7 (1:00 - 5:00 p.m.).

•June 26, 2019•
A century of Sullivan fireworks is celebrated during the July 3-7 Fourth of July celebration.
American Legion Post 68 continues its 100 year tradition with Central States Fireworks of Athens unloading $17,000 in fireworks into the July 4th sky above Wyman Park in Sullivan on July 4.
That is the finale to a celebration that begins with the arrival of Conner Amusements carnival from Beardstown on July 3.
At high noon July 4th the celebration parade kicks off thanks to coordination by Justin “Bubba” Farris and his crew of Legion, Sons of American Legion and Auxiliary volunteers. Terry Warren will prepare lunch for parade participants (more than 350 were served last year).
At 2 p.m. the watermelon eating contest, sack races and turtle races occur. Read More

Fourth of July Crackdown by SPD on Impaired Drivers

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•June 26, 2019•
Sullivan Police Department announced plans for July Fourth traffic enforcement with a focus on impaired and unbuckled drivers.
The safety campaign will run from June 17 through July 8 to encompass three summer weekends leading up to and after Independence Day.
“We’re asking all of our residents and visitors to celebrate Independence Day safely,” said Chief Andrew Pistorius. “It’s simple: If you’re driving, don’t drink or use drugs. Our officers will be out in full force to keep impaired drivers off the road.”
Sullivan Police Department will join the Illinois State Police and more than 160 local police and sheriff’s departments for the increased statewide enforcement effort. Read More

ALAH School Board Presented Random Drug Testing Proposal

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Supt. Schwengel’s Last Meeting

•June 26, 2019•
By Ariana Cherry
for the News Progress

At the last board meeting the Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond school board looked into changes to the student handbook which included drug testing, student parking and use of electronic devices.
The ALAH School Board held a hearing for the FY 2019 amended budget after it had been available to the public for the past 30 days. A few minor adjustments were made to supplies and expenditures as well as transferring money from the education department to transportation.
Superintendent Kenny Schwengel commented that funding for transportation may come in after July. After the hearing, board members voted on the budget and passed it for approval.
Schwengel informed the board that the district’s current balance is $4,525,647.87 and that the funds were in pretty good shape.
High school principal Steffanie Seegmiller discussed some of the changes to the high school student handbook. Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, students will be required to register their car and pay for a $2.00 parking tag. They also increased parking spaces for faculty and reserved parking space for visitors. Read More

Electric Dept. Salaries Improve, Still No Chickens in Sullivan

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•June 26, 2019•
By Mike Brothers

Sullivan’s City Council improved Electric Dept. salaries and removed employee residency restrictions but said no to chickens in the city.
Public Property Commissioner Mike Fowler proposed the journeyman lineman base rate increased to $39.05 per hour. Fowler explained lack of competitive wage for journeymen has made it difficult to hold skilled electricians in the department.
The wage restructure is based on the entry journeyman lineman rate with first apprentice 65% at $25.38; up to fourth step apprentice $33.19.
Fowler noted seven day on call service was set at a flat $275 along and removal of residency were also approved changes to the current IBEW Local 51 contract. The modified IBEW contract was unanimously approved by the council. Read More

Bethany Celebrates

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Photo by R.R. Best
Bethany Celebrates
Saturday morning was parade time at the Bethany Celebration as the Boy Scouts flag corp lead the way. The Celebration endured threatening weather over the weekend with mud volleyball following the parade on Saturday. Inflatables, kids’ games and a petting zoo entertained the young crowd with live entertainment in the beer tent for adults. Bethany Celebration, a non-profit volunteer group, organizes and raises funds for the annual event.

A Hard Rain Falls, Flooding Part of Bethany Last Wednesday

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Photo by Mike Brothers
Shelby County Dive Team rescues Brittany Landreth and her two daughters from flood waters that threatened their home on N. Church Street in Bethany.

•June 26, 2019•
What happens when four inches of rain falls in half an hour?
Bethany was hit with four inches of rain within half an hour on June 19 that left streets flowing like an angry river and residents still dealing with flood conditions.
With a torrent of water rushing down North Church Street, Bethany Fire District called on the Shelby County Dive team to rescue Brittany Landreth and her two daughters by boat, while Bethany personnel escorted son Alex from Tamara Lillico’s house next door, utilizing guide ropes to steady the team against the rushing water.
“It came on all at once,” Bethany Fire Chief Tom Rucker said of the 1 p.m. deluge of water. “Firefighters turned out well for the middle of the day, and we first went to the grade school where water got inside the building.” Read More

AmBucs Scholar

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AmBucs Scholar
Shelby Freeman recently received a $1000 Scholarship from the AmBuc Chapter in Sullivan. Pictured right to left are mother Kim, Shelby, father Bob and AmBucs treasurer Dick Burcham. Freeman will be studying speech therapy at Eastern Illinois University.

Sullivan School Board Ok’s High School Band Trip

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•June 19, 2019•
By Ariana Cherry
for the News Progress

The Sullivan School Board was presented at their recent meeting with a proposal from the Sullivan High School band for a field trip to New Orleans for the 2020-2021 school year
Some of the opportunities presented for this trip include playing at a public venue, receiving a clinic from a collegiate institution, watching a performance of the Preservation Jazz Band and learning about the culture, history and architecture in the New Orleans area. The band also has plans to visit some of the museums and go on a few tours as well. The trip is scheduled during spring break of April 5-9, 2021. By planning and scheduling the trip for another year, it will enable families the ability to financially plan and give students some chances to do some fundraisers as well. School board members Erik Stollard, Jason Florey, Tyson Grooms and Jeff White unanimously passed the proposal stating that students would need to set up accounts in which to place money for the trip. Norm Wood, Zak Horn and Steve Poland were absent. Read More

County Remains in Good Financial Shape

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•June 19, 2019•
Moultrie County is in good financial shape according to the audit presented by West and Company at the regular June 13 meeting of the Moultrie County Board.
According to the FY2018 audit the county enjoyed a $1.5 million net increase with $760,000 in cash. An increase of $130,000 in detention income from the Moultrie County Detention Center and a one time Ameren payment of $477,000 account for most of the increased income.
Health insurance coverage grew to $350,000 keeping with a $100,000 per year increase experienced recently. The audit was approved unanimously.
An additional $150,000 was approved for special projects for the Highway Dept. Committee chairman Kevin McReynolds explained some road and bridge project bids came in higher than anticipated requiring the extra funds. Read More

Junefest Fryers

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Photo by Darian Hays
Junefest Fryers
Working hard are Junefest fish fryers (l-r) Jacob Bettinger and Steve Fleming. Jacob, a junior at ALAH high school, carried the fried fish to the servers.