photos by Crystal Reed
Moultrie-Sullivan Fair Held
The Moultrie-Sullivan was held on Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24. The fair included a cattle show, goat show, poultry and rabbits as well as a swine show. There were also non-livestock categories such as arts and crafts, clothing and foods. Results from the fair will be printed in a future edition.
photo furnished
Austin and Annika Kelley of Sullivan with the hardware they came home with from the UTA Taekwondo Grand National Championships.
•July 5, 2023•
Five students from Taekwondo Master Roberts in Mattoon traveled to Plano, TX from Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24 to compete in the UTA Taekwondo Grand National Championships. All 5 students won a National Championship title in their age/rank division while competing down there. Among these 5 students were 2 of our very own Sullivan residents, Austin and Annika Kelley.
Annika Kelley, a 3rd grade student at Sullivan Elementary is the 2023 National Champion in Creative Weapons and Traditional Weapons (in the 5-8 year old Intermediate weapons division). This was her first time competing in Nationals, and she took home 2 National titles for weapons. Annika was introduced to Bo staff techniques by Master Roberts in class and has continued to expand and create her own routines and work on new techniques at home. Read More
photo by Crystal Reed
Bike Blessing and Freedom Ride
Motorcycle riders pray before departing on a freedom ride on Saturday, July 1 in the parking lot at New Life Church.
•July 5, 2023•
Zeth Key, a Sullivan resident and Sullivan High School alumnus, was recently inducted into the inaugural Wyotech Hall of Fame. He was one of six Wyotech grads to be inducted. Wyotech is a trade school located in Laramie, Wyoming.
The six that were selected for the honor were picked out of students from as far back as 1966 when the university started and were chosen out of 60,000 graduates over the entire history of the school. Graduates had to be nominated by someone or multiple people then the selection committee deliberated regarding the qualifications of each nominee which included success, integrity, work ethic, giving back to the trade industry and your community.
Key first started getting interested in working on cars when he bought his first car, a 1977 Chevy Nova, and started working on it with his dad. In high school he took automotive technology classes with Joe Scribner and mentored at a GM/Chrysler dealership called HPR automotive. Read More
•July 5, 2023•
by Ariana R. Cherry
After several years of not adjusting lunch prices, the ALAH School Board approved a $0.25 increase at their school board meeting held Wednesday, June 21. The school district is currently looking at a loss of $17,000 due to unpaid lunch bills, increases in food and operating expenses. With the new increase, the cost of elementary student lunches will be $3.15, and the cost for junior high and high school will be $3.25. There also is a $0.10 raise for the cost of breakfast. Superintendent Shannon Cheek stated that for the district to break even, they should be charging about $3.80, but with the $0.25 increase, it should at least get the district moving in the right direction.
Along with approving an increase to school lunches, the board also approved the final year for its Aramark food contract. The district has been in contract with them for five years. Next year, there is a plan to take bids to see what other companies are available. The cost to this year’s Aramark contract was raised 11% due to inflation.
Other items discussed/voted on include: Read More
photo by Crystal Reed
The Buzz About Honeybees
Marrowbone Public Library Co-Director Lisa Spracklen presented “The Buzz About Honey Bees” on Thursday, June 29 as part of the library’s summer reading program. Attendees learned about the equipment and tools used by bee keepers and other facts about bee keeping.
Photos by
Crystal Reed
Bethany Celebration
Here are some shots from last weekend’s Bethany Celebration.
•June 28, 2023•
by Ariana R. Cherry
“Dementia is a symptom of a disease,” stated Sheila Greuel, an independent consultant with the East Central Illinois Area on Aging who gave a presentation about a Dementia Friendly Moultrie County at the Arthur Village Board on June 19. It is a symptom of other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. According to the Illinois Department on Aging, there were about 220,000 people living with Alzehimer’s disease in 2018, and that number is expected to increase by 18.2% by 2025 (260,000).
Greuel has been working with Moultrie County to do a community wide assessment of dementia. There are about 26 states that are now considered “Dementia friendly,” with Great Britain being the first country to be labeled as such. Illinois is now on its way to becoming a “Dementia Friendly” state also. A person who is considered “Dementia Friendly” has been trained professionally or casually on how to interact with someone who has dementia. Read More
•June 28, 2023•
by Crystal Reed
The Sullivan City Council tabled the possible approval and issuance of an invitation of bids for the City Building project during the Monday, June 26 meeting. Commissioner Abbey Sherwood said she was touching base to see if there were any additional questions in regards to the project. Commissioner Doug Shook said that even though the basement has been eliminated from the bids he noted they would still have to excavate down.
“Even though the basement is not going in the contractor will have to do a significant amount of excavation into the existing rock to get that soil bearing pressure,” he said. He said they would potentially need to go down 8 to 10 feet. Shook had ADA questions but they were cleared up with the plans. Shook estimated they would be in the 4-5 million dollar range to get that building built.
Commissioner Mike Kirk said he is not opposed to a new city building, he is opposed to the timing. He noted there a numerous projects that are upcoming that they don’t know the cost of. Commissioner Chuck Woodworth brought up the possibility of withdrawing some of the Titus funds and use them for the new city building. Commissioner Sherwood said she can’t get on board with using Titus funds for this purpose. Read More
photo by Ellen Ferrera.
Shane Ramos, VP of MARK, demonstrates a locator antenna used to find rogue operators. The Moultrie Amateur Radio Klub held a Field Day event on Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25 at Wyman Park in Sullivan.
•June 28, 2023•
by Ellen Ferrera
On Saturday, June 24, members of the Moultrie Amateur Radio Klub (MARK) met at the Boy Scout cabin in Wyman Park to celebrate the annual Field Day with some 2.5 million ham radio operators around the world.
Since 1933, Field Day has been celebrated by amateur radio operators and clubs in the U.S. and around the world. The primary purpose of the Field Day is to practice and demonstrate emergency procedures and share information on new technologies, but each club determines their own activities.
Mike Morris, President of MARK, has been a ham operator for many years. He said, “It is an opportunity to combine a hobby with public service. We work closely with the weather bureaus to help issue warnings to remote areas or where communications have been damaged.”
The Moultrie Klub has been in existence for more than 60 years and meets the third Monday of each month at the Honey Bee restaurant in Mattoon. Dinner is at 5 p.m. with the meeting at 6 p.m. Visitors and those interested in joining the Klub are always welcomed. Read More