Eagle Creek Contract Terminated by BMDD

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Photo by Keith Stewart Eagle Creek Resort’s fate is once again up in the air after BMDD Resorts, the vendor who was awarded the bid to renovate the resort in 2010, officially packed up earlier this week and walked away from the project after what they cite as a frustrating relationship with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Eagle Creek Resort’s fate is once again up in the air after BMDD Resorts, the vendor who was awarded the bid to renovate the resort in 2010, officially packed up earlier this week and walked away from the project after what they cite as a frustrating relationship with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Agreement to effectively dissolve March 15

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

The vendor that IDNR chose in 2010 to renovate and ultimately reopen Eagle Creek Resort has issued the state agency a notice of termination effective later this week.

The contract that BMDD Resorts and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources entered into in July 2010 will be terminated effective March 15, according to Dennis Ballinger, CEO of BMDD Resorts out of Decatur.

“We’ve tried not to make this a public issue, but finally, it had to,” said Ballinger in a phone interview Tuesday evening. Read More

Visiting Booth

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Submitted Visiting Booth Students from Sullivan High School visited Booth Library on the campus of Eastern Illinois University recently. The students who were conducting research for argumentative papers on social issues took a tour of the library and were given a demonstration on finding resources both on the bookshelves and through the library’s online database. Pictured, front row from left to right: Noah Workman, Walker Byers, and Travis Hanson. Second row: Adam Davis, Macy Cornwell, and Hailey Moyer. Third row: Liz Inman and Alex Love. Fourth row: Baylee Cohan, Tori Floyd, and Kathy Albin. Fifth row: Christina Brown, Gaby Uphoff, and Rachel Stutzman. Back row: Patrick Hogan, Jesse Parra, and Alex Davison

Submitted
Visiting Booth
Students from Sullivan High School visited Booth Library on the campus of Eastern Illinois University recently.
The students who were conducting research for argumentative papers on social issues took a tour of the library and were given a demonstration on finding resources both on the bookshelves and through the library’s online database.
Pictured, front row from left to right: Noah Workman, Walker Byers, and Travis Hanson. Second row: Adam Davis, Macy Cornwell, and Hailey Moyer. Third row: Liz Inman and Alex Love. Fourth row: Baylee Cohan, Tori Floyd, and Kathy Albin. Fifth row: Christina Brown, Gaby Uphoff, and Rachel Stutzman. Back row: Patrick Hogan, Jesse Parra, and Alex Davison

This Winter, Fourth Coldest in Ill.

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The average statewide temperature for the three core winter months of December, January, and February was 20.8 degrees. It was 8.2 degrees below avg. and the fourth coldest December-February period on record, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel at the Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois. Read More

Sullivan Restricts Garbage Contracts to One Year Max

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Photo by Keith Stewart An Advanced Disposal garbage truck is seen in the parking lot of McDonald’s Tuesday afternoon in Sullivan.

Photo by Keith Stewart
An Advanced Disposal garbage truck is seen in the parking lot of McDonald’s Tuesday afternoon in Sullivan.

Ties contract term to license term

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

At their second meeting last month, the Sullivan city council approved an ordinance, amending a section on garbage regulations meant to curb the length of contracts with which collectors could provide customers.

Ordinance 14-4, which passed unanimously at the February 24 meeting, simply ties the length of any contract garbage collectors issue customers with the term of their license they receive from the city. Since garbage collection licenses enjoy a one year shelf-life before expiring each May, contracts with customers are now stipulated to the same one year time-frame. Read More

Liquor Ordinance Amendment Formally Passed Monday

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Special meeting sees both support and opposition to longer hours

by Joash Tiarks
Bethany Reporter

The Bethany village board formally approved the wording to one of last month’s proposed amendments to the liquor ordinance Monday in a special board meeting.

Last month a motion was passed, in the absence of trustee Steve Ozee, to amend the village liquor ordinance to allow for longer serving hours and to remove the prohibition of gambling devices within the village. At that time there were several members of the community present to voice their support of any actions the board could take to benefit local businesses, in particular Hired Hand Winery and Saloon. That motion, however, was to go before the village’s attorney to be proofread and refined for language before being formally accepted. Read More

Students in Arthur-Lovington, Atwood-Hammond Select New School Name

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by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

A new school name has been chosen for next year’s annexation of Arthur-Lovington and Atwood-Hammond school districts, and the victor isn’t much of a stretch.

According to Arthur-Lovington superintendent Travis Wilson, students voted last week on four possible school names, including Grand Prairie High School, Heartland High School, John A. Timm High School, and, the eventual winner, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond. Read More

Moved Back Into Moultrie

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MAPTestHigh-voltage transmission line approved to run through county

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

The future location of a high-voltage transmission line has been moved back into Moultrie County after a hearing last Thursday.

Known as the Illinois Rivers Transmission Project, the $1.1 billion, 375 mile long, 345 kV transmission line, Ameren’s largest-ever transmission project, will span from near Quincy, Ill. and the Mississippi River all the way across the middle of the state to the Indiana border near Terre Haute. The project, which is the longest single transmission line project in state history, also represents four of six multi-value project here in Illinois that will allegedly strengthen the reliability of the power-grid within the Midcontinent Independent System Operation’s north and central regions, which is a regional transmission organization that serves all or parts of 11 states. Read More

Artic Blast

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Submitted by Don Rousser Arctic Blast Swim Meet The Sullivan Blue Dolphins traveled to Terre Haute, Ind. Feb. 14-16 to compete in the Arctic Blast Meet hosted by the Terre Haute Torpedoes at Terre Haute South High School. High point winners included: 6 and Under–1st place Mason Booker, 2nd place  Jonathan Iacobazzi. 7-8 year old division–1st place Ethan Schmohe, 2nd place Madalyn Booker. 9-10 year old division–1st place Gabrielle Spain, 2nd place Noah Spain. 11-12 division–1st place Natalie Drury. 13-14 division–1st place McKenna Kull, 2nd place Dylan Sanders; Open Division–1st place Brynna Sentel, 2nd place Michaela Donnel, 1st place Grant King, 2nd place Bryce King.  The next stop is Regionals February 28 – March 2 for swimmers who qualified and then on to State Age Group March 13-16.

Submitted by Don Rousser
Arctic Blast
Swim Meet
The Sullivan Blue Dolphins traveled to Terre Haute, Ind. Feb. 14-16 to compete in the Arctic Blast Meet hosted by the Terre Haute Torpedoes at Terre Haute South High School. High point winners included: 6 and Under–1st place Mason Booker, 2nd place  Jonathan Iacobazzi. 7-8 year old division–1st place Ethan Schmohe, 2nd place Madalyn Booker. 9-10 year old division–1st place Gabrielle Spain, 2nd place Noah Spain. 11-12 division–1st place Natalie Drury. 13-14 division–1st place McKenna Kull, 2nd place Dylan Sanders; Open Division–1st place Brynna Sentel, 2nd place Michaela Donnel, 1st place Grant King, 2nd place Bryce King. 
The next stop is Regionals February 28 – March 2 for swimmers who qualified and then on to State Age Group March 13-16.

OVHS Accepts Two Resignations

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by Joash Tiarks
Bethany Reporter

The Okaw Valley school board voted to accept the resignations of two staff members, effective at the end of this 2013-14 school year; that of cheer coach Jennifer Crowder and that of long time school librarian Sharon Lowry as she retires.  Read More

Moultrie County Spelling Bee Winner

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Submitted by Nichole Hendry Moultrie County Spelling Bee Winner The 2014 Moultrie County Spelling Bee was February 12 at the Little Theatre on the Square. Six students from Lovington and six students from Sullivan advanced from their school district spelling bees to participate in the county competition. The Moultrie County Spelling Bee champion is Dylan Sanders (pictured right). The alternate is Spencer Johnson (pictured left). Judges for the county spelling bee were Karen Smith-Cox of Lovington, Eudora Drollinger and Jonathan Harwood, both of Sullivan. Nicole Garrett, a Sullivan Middle School teacher, served as the pronouncer. The regional spelling bee is scheduled for Saturday March 22, at Eisenhower High School in Decatur.

Submitted by Nichole Hendry
Moultrie County Spelling Bee Winner
The 2014 Moultrie County Spelling Bee was February 12 at the Little Theatre on the Square. Six students from Lovington and six students from Sullivan advanced from their school district spelling bees to participate in the county competition.
The Moultrie County Spelling Bee champion is Dylan Sanders (pictured right). The alternate is Spencer Johnson (pictured left).
Judges for the county spelling bee were Karen Smith-Cox of Lovington, Eudora Drollinger and Jonathan Harwood, both of Sullivan. Nicole Garrett, a Sullivan Middle School teacher, served as the pronouncer.
The regional spelling bee is scheduled for Saturday March 22, at Eisenhower High School in Decatur.