News Progress

•February 4, 2026•

by DM Williamee

Beginning on January 1st through to June 2026, Sullivan’s First United Methodist Church has an interim pastor, Mike Smith, a busy man. Pastor Smith is a retired UMC pastor with over fifty years of pastoral experience in local churches, serving in numerous conference leadership roles through the years. After retiring in 2020, he was appointed by three different bishops to serve several churches that needed short-term, transformative leadership. He has also developed an innovative/experimental program for churches to turn their stories around, with five churches currently engaged. He is also a part-time professional (certified) tour guide for Chicago, writes a blog, speaks at conferences, and has published a book (with more writing in the works) titled “Teaching the Preacher to Curse.” His wife Jie is the pastor of the Mansfield United Methodist Church, and they have three daughters and four grandchildren. 

•January 28, 2026•

by DM Williamee

On December 24th, 2025, the United States Postal Service (USPS) officially implemented new procedures for dating mail—reflecting when it is processed at a Regional Processing and Distribution Center (RPDC) rather than when it is dropped off at a local post office. Ballots also will no longer be automatically considered priority mail, increasing the amount of time it will take to deliver them. These changes are part of the “Delivering for America” (DFA) plan to consolidate processing into regional hubs, which began implementing service standard refinements on April 1st, 2025. The new rule, which updates Section 608.11 of the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), became effective December 24th, 2025. Sweeping changes to regionalized, automated postmarking is part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year modernization plan. 

•January 21, 2026•

by DM Williamee

There is a name for nearly everything. Who names what and how it is used (or abused) is often a mystery- sometimes it’s Latin in origin, or at times a word wholly created by an author that goes mainstream. Other words sound so offensive as to border on obscene, yet are innocuous in meaning. No matter how you stir your alphabet soup, words are rarely dull. Below are the names of a few of the whatchamacallit thingmajigs that you may or may not have ever wondered about (and may score you points in your next Scrabble game).

Agraffe: the wire cage that keeps the cork in place on a champagne bottle.

Anglet: the small plastic or metal tip on a shoelace.

•January 21, 2026•

Residents are invited to attend a public Candidates Forum on Wednesday, February 4th at 6:00 p.m. at The Little Theater on the Square to hear from local officials and candidates and receive important information about issues on the ballot. The agenda includes the following: information on the referendum to change the City of Sullivan’s form of government to a managerial form of government, remarks from Scot Wrighton, former City Manager of Decatur, and City Managers Association Advisor Volunteer, reintroductions from Moultrie County Board members running unopposed for their current seats, remarks from the Moultrie County Treasurer Stephanie L. Helmuth running unopposed, candidate presentations from Moultrie County Sheriff candidates - Gary D. Carroll and Jared Hayes, and candidate presentations from Moultrie County Clerk candidates - Linda S. Qualls and Kristie Russel. 

This event will be live-streamed on the News Progress Facebook page, and the forum, hosted by Sullivan Chamber and Economic Development, is free and open to the public and will be moderated by Sullivan CUSD #300 Schools Superintendent, Dr. Ted Walk.