News Progress

•July 16, 2025•

by DM Williamee

We all bear the detestable chore of housekeeping, to whatever extent we consider clean enough. To each his/her own. When I was raising my children, I had the 3-second rule in our house, and in hindsight, I have my regrets at setting that precedent. To many of us who are busy with jobs, shuttling kids back and forth, managing calendars, paying bills, cooking, doing laundry, and innumerable other day-to-day tasks, a standard of “good enough” suffices. Perhaps we are retired and just don’t care, preferring to live our lives, go places, and do things, which is perfectly acceptable *cough* preferable, in my opinion. For the neat-freaks, below are the items most people (whoever they may be) forget to clean. Mind you, I am one hundred percent certain it is not an all-encompassing list (I did not see one mention of air fryers in my research), but I’m not going to let that keep me up at night. Very late.

•July 16, 2025•

Submitted by MCHS

The Moultrie County Historical Center, located at 1303 South Hamilton Street, will hold its monthly meeting on July 17th at 7:00 p.m. Their presenter this month is David Traxler, who is the Executive Secretary of the Wabash Historical Society. Mr. Traxler is from Hammond and lives in the same house his grandparents built in 1875, across the street from the Wabash rail-road tracks. As a child, Mr. Traxler developed an interest in the history of the Wabash Railroad.

Mid-Illinois Senior Services helping caregivers

•July 9, 2025•

In Illinois, it’s estimated that over 263,890 children under 18 live in homes headed by a relative, with more than 71,000 grandparents caring for their grandchildren. A significant portion of families in Illinois involve grandparents or other relatives raising children, with some estimates suggesting that over 85,000 children in Illinois are being raised by kin with no parent present. Numerous studies and data collected estimate a long-term upward trend in grandparents taking on the role of primary caregiver for their grandchildren in Illinois, with numbers increasing dramatically over the past 25 years. The reasons for this trend vary, but many have been linked to parental substance abuse, mental health issues, incarceration, and death. Many grandparents take on this role due to the challenges faced by their adult children, often needing to re-enter the workforce to support the added financial burden.