Splash Pad success, power outage discussed at city council

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•July 10, 2024•

by Sharon Barricklow

The Sullivan City Council held their first meeting in July Monday night, after moving the date to accommodate the July 4 holiday. In a wide ranging agenda, the council discussed recent successes and potential changes in city services. With the opening of the Splash Pad earlier this month, Commissioner Douglas Shook said the new attraction was busy all the time. “If you haven’t driven through the park to see it you need to,” he said. “If they’re open, they’re busy.”  The council approved a $28,750 fee to Lane Services for completion of the Splash Pad parking lot and Americans with Disabilities Act parking at the sports courts.  During the public comment portion of the meeting, Commissioner MIke Kirk took questions about the recent city wide power outage. Kirk said the original problem was located on the east side of Bethany when an Ameren line had a computer malfunction.  Read More

Sullivan brother and sister become UTA National Champions 2 years in a row

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•July 10, 2024•

Submitted by Dawn Kelley

Austin and Annika Kelley of Sullivan went to the UTA (United Taekwondo Alliance) National Championships on June 21st and 22nd in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This was their second trip to nationals. Last year Austin was the 13 to 17 year-old boys board breaking National champion and this year he became 13 to 15 year-old Advanced Color Belt Traditional  Weapons National Champion. Weapons comes very natural to Austin. After being off of taekwondo for nearly 8 months, he decided to compete in weapons 4 days before the tournament, and with only 3 days of practice, he ended up winning the National title for his age rank and division. His precise moves and fast spins impressed the judges, and left the audience in awe.   Read More

‘Fairly Solid Budget’ presented for upcoming year

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•July 10, 2024•

by E. Scott England 

The Sullivan CUSD #300 school board held their first meeting of the 2024-2025 school year. Only five of the seven members were in attendance. Justin Florey and Erik Stollard were the two absent board members. Those present managed to navigate the meeting in sixteen minutes due to little to no discussion on all agenda items. Zachary Horn was the only member to engage in some discussion outside of President Jeff White and Secretary Tyson Grooms performing their officer duties.

The meeting started off with the consent agenda. These are items that routinely make an appearance on agenda either monthly, annually, or somewhere in between. The idea of a consent agenda is to expedite meetings. Any item in the consent agenda can be pulled for further discussion by the board. This is typically done when reviewing bills or other items needing further clarification. This school board once again opted for no discussion on any of the items. Read More

Arthur’s Freedom Celebration: A day of rain, sunshine, and spectacular fireworks

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•July 3, 2024•

by Ariana R Cherry 

On June 29th, Arthur’s Freedom Celebration began on a gloomy note with some intermittent showers. Despite the rain and gloomy forecast, out of town visitors streamed into the charming town, eager to witness the evening’s spectacular show. 

However, a light storm moved in bringing heavier rain, and casting a momentary shadow over the upcoming festivities. But with some answered prayers, the rain subsided by about 1:30 pm, making way for sunshine and humidity to settle in. Despite the heavy humidity, the parade marched on as scheduled showcasing the majestic horses trotting gracefully, followed by veterans, boy scouts, local organizations, young baton dancers, fire trucks and even appearances by Santa Claus and Uncle Sam himself. 

As the parade concluded, Jurgens Park and the surrounding countryside of Arthur filled with people claiming their seats, ready to be captivated by the magnificent firework show - complete with its own soundtrack. The Arthur fireworks proved to be another wonderful success, leaving attendees eagerly anticipating the next Freedom Celebration.

FY2024 amended budget approved

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•July 3, 2024•

by Ariana R Cherry 

Members of the Board of Education held a hearing for the Amended Budget for Fiscal Year 2024. Superintendent Shannon Cheek stated that since 2021 with a reduction in staff, the district has saved a total of $600,000. 

At last month’s meeting, the figures for the FY 2024 Amended Budget were shared. Education Fund: $5,216,690, Operation and Maintenance: $1,669,812, Transportation Fund: $347,349 and Working Cash: $900,798. The projected fund balances for June 30, 2024 were: Education Fund: $6,109,964, Operations and Maintenance: $1,818,594, Transportation Fund: $177,412 and Working Cash: Read More

Kirk named a Teacher of Excellence

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•July 3, 2024•

Lori Kirk, a Sullivan High School and Sullivan Middle School teacher, recently was named a Teacher of Excellence for the Regional Office of Education #11.

“It’s truly humbling to be recognized in this way. I am grateful to be part of the Sullivan Tribe with colleagues and administration that think of students first. I am blessed to be recognized with this incredible honor,” stated Kirk.

She added that “My classroom team consists of two very dedicated paraprofessionals and a group of amazing students. This award motivates me to continue striving for excellence in education.” Read More

Athletic trainer services drastically reduced for upcoming year at SHS

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•July 3, 2024•

by E. Scott England

The Sullivan CUSD #300 school board held a special meeting last Thursday to close out fiscal year 24. All seven members attended the fifteen minute meeting where they breezed through six action items with little to no discussion.

One of the main purposes of this special meeting is to approve the amended budget. This is a common practice in school districts as it is typically necessary to make adjustments to a budget that was approved ten months prior. Superintendent Walk reported that the budget this year is balanced and overall was very positive. He did caution the board that in the coming years they would most likely be presented with a deficit budget in order to spend down certain accounts. Read More

Knee high by the 4th of July 2024

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Photo by R.R. Best
Knee high by the 4th of July
Seen here in a cornfield belonging to Phil and Laura Martin of rural Sullivan is Anna Selby, Avvi Whitten, and Presley Van Loon showing that the corn is above knee high. There are fields in the county that are only a foot high as well as fields that are 8 foot high and starting to tassel.

Bake sale encourages peace with worldwide sweets

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•June 26, 2024•

Submitted by Rebecca Lawson

Advisor of the East Central Illinois Red Cross Club

When people are hurting and going through tough times, other people often bring them food to show that they care and to bring comfort. Since the Red Cross helps people in tough times, our club thought that we could do something to help people around the world that would involve selling something most people really like - food,” said Rebecca Lawson, advisor of the East Central Illinois Red Cross Club.

“The kids took it from there,” she added.

Originally the club thought about having a dinner with a bake sale and presentations, displays, games, music, dancing, and language lessons about different countries at an event on World Peace Day in September. However, that seemed like a lot to do in the very short time between the start of school and the special day. Read More

Power plant renovations planned

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•June 26, 2024•

by Sharon Barricklow

The Sullivan City Council moved forward last week with plans to renovate equipment at the City Electrical Plant. 

“We need to get on the stick here to get this done,” Commissioner Mike Kirk said. 

At issue is a Colt-Pielstick engine necessary for the operation of the electric plant. The engine, originally put in service in 1973, was last overhauled in 1989. With only one company in the country, Fairbanks-Morse, doing the work, the council agreed to waive the bidding process and accept the estimate of just over $500,000 to do a complete engine overhaul. 

Kirk said the engine will be off line for six to eight weeks during the process and that Fairbanks-Morse is estimating a 12 to 18 month time frame before they can begin work.  Read More