News Progress

Photo by Mike Brothers
OVHS agriculture teacher and ag complex creator Wes Wise explained the inspiration for the collegiate styled facility and thanked all those who helped make this day possible. In background high school principal Matt Shoaff and Supt. Ken Stauder listen along with students, Corp representatives and community representatives gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony.

“Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why’? I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not’?”
Robert F. Kennedy.

•May 23, 2018•

Why not OV? Reflects on the possibilities referred to by Kennedy. Okaw Valley CUSD #302 is a school district willing to dream.

On Thursday, May 17 Okaw Valley High School entered a new era of education breaking ground on a new 5000 sq. ft. agricultural complex.

Along with a classroom and lab the school will initiate animal husbandry, putting the 170 student high school in Bethany in the collegiate level of agricultural learning.

Supt. Kent Stauder told a crowd of students, educators, U.S. Corps partners and members of the community of how the school board asked him to come up with a “dream project”following the district’s success as a U.S. Corps of Engineers partner.

Stauder went to agriculture teacher Wes Wise, who came up with a hands on agriculture concept that incorporates the classroom and real learning modeled from a collegiate approach to learning natural resources, agronomy, animal husbandry and much more. Read More

•May 16, 2018•

Storms wreaked havoc in Moultrie County with a cell hitting Bethany around 3:45 Tuesday afternoon, breaking a utility pole causing traffic delays on Hwy 121 then moving on toward Sullivan with high wind and water damage reported.

A slow-moving cold front triggered widely scattered strong to severe thunderstorms across south-central Illinois during the afternoon of May 15th.  One of the most significant cells formed over southern Macon County at around 3:30pm...then tracked SE across portions of Moultire, Coles, and Clark counties.  This particular storm downed numerous trees, large tree branches, and powerlines in Sullivan and Mattoon...and overturned three semis on I-70 near Martinsville.

The Mattoon Airport measured a wind gust of 71mph as the storm blew through.  Other cells impacted portions of Christian, Sangamon, and Dewitt counties with strong winds and heavy rain.  Due to the very slow movement of the storms at only 10-20mph, copious amounts of rain fell in a short period of time, creating flash flooding in a few locations.

•May 16, 2018•

By Mike Brothers
For the News Progress

Moultrie County Board is looking into revising the county website with chairman Dave McCabe appointing an ad hoc committee to guide that revision at the May 10 meeting.

Neil Bryan was named chair with Georgia England, Lori Barringer, Mike Barringer, and Laurrie Minor serving. The board approved appointments unanimously. Special events T-1 liquor licenses were approved for a Wine Tasting by 5 West Coffee and Wine Lounge during the Crappie Tournament at the VFW May 12 and one for the Little Theatre on the Square for the annual Back Forty Market wine tasting at the Great Pumpkin Patch June 1. Read More