St. Jude Dash and Bash

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photo by Crystal Reed
Andrews Family Magic Show
Andrew Anderson of Andrews Family Magic reads the mind of a child in the audience during a magic show at the Sullivan St. Jude Dash and Bash held on Saturday, June 10.

photo by Crystal Reed
Car Show for St. Jude
This vehicle was one of several that was on display during the St. Jude Dash and Bash Car Show. The Dash and Bash included inflatables for children, pedal pulls, raffles, pretzel and lemon shakeup sales, a duck derby and much more.

photo by R.R. Best
St. Jude Dash and Bash Duck Derby
St. Jude Dash and Bash co-chair Phil Ozier uses a hose to spray rubber duckies towards the finish line during the duck derby at Wyman Park on Saturday, June 10.

photo by Crystal Reed
Free Inflatables at St. Jude Dash and Bash
This year the inflatables at the St. Jude Dash and Bash were sponsored by Hydro Gear so children were able to play for free that afternoon. There were bounce houses, inflatable games, slides and more for children to enjoy.

Lovington Celebrates 150th Anniversary

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photos by Crystal Reed and submitted
Lovington Celebrates 150th Anniversary
Lovington celebrated their Sesquicentennial on Friday, June 9 and Saturday, June 10 with a variety of activities. Friday night the Lovington Alumni banquet was held and the band Identity Crisis played uptown. Saturday’s festivities started with the Fireman’s pancake and sausage breakfast at the Lovington Firehouse followed by a display at the Lovington Library on the history of Lovington provided by the Moultrie County Historical and Genealogical Society. There was also a parade and bags tournament. In the evening at Tom Conn Park there was music, vendors and extreme sports/bounce houses. The Lovington Community Club also had a fish fry and at dusk fireworks lit up the sky above Lovington. The event was sponsored by the Village of Lovington and Lovington Community Club.

State Rep Brad Halbrook Holds Town Hall

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Photo by Crystal Reed
State Rep Brad Halbrook Holds Town Hall
State Rep Brad Halbrook held a town hall discussion to update local residents on the important issues debated and passed in Springfield during the spring session. The town hall was the first of several that he will be holding this month. During the discussion he noted that the budget passed by Governor J.B. Pritzker recently is one of the largest budgets in history at $50.6 billion and will include borrowing over $700 million. Other talking points included the sunset of tax holidays, equal pay act and ethics reform.

Thomas Houser Third Annual Memorial Golf Outing

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Thomas Houser Third Annual Memorial Golf Outing
The Thomas Houser Third Annual Memorial Golf Outing was held on Saturday, June 3 at the Sullivan Country Club. There were 17 teams at the outing. All proceeds will be used for the Tommy Houser Law Enforcement Scholarship Fund.

SONIC Drive-In Donates to Local Schools

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•June 7, 2023•
In honor of May’s Teacher Appreciation Month, SONIC Drive-In’s SONIC Foundation donated $1.5 million to match all public contributions made to requests on DonorsChoose, a national nonprofit that allows individuals to donate directly to public school classroom requests submitted by teachers.
As part of SONIC’s ongoing Limeades for Learning initiative, the $1.5 million donation matched 50 percent of each donation made to all teacher requests. SONIC helped fully fund nearly 15,300 projects from teachers and schools across the country.
The following are among the exceptional teachers who received funding: Read More

New Blessing Box Established in Sullivan to Help With Food Insecurity

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•June 7, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

A new blessing box has been placed in the city of Sullivan to help provide short-term food assistance to those experiencing food insecurity. The new blessing box is located in front of Sullivan First United Methodist Church across from Sullivan Fire Department. According to Cheryl Thomas, coordinator of the blessing box, anyone may place items in the blessing box.
However, at this time, items which won’t get hot in the summer heat are suggested. Examples of items that are good to donate at this point in time include dry mixes, rice, noodles, cereal, cornbread mix, Kool Aid, oatmeal and dried pasta. There will also be weekly drops of fresh produce throughout the summer. Read More

Auction Held at Sullivan Middle School

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Photo by Crystal Reed
Doug Shook bid on and won a multi-layered map during the auction at Sullivan Middle School. Items up for bid included clocks, maps, electronics, furniture, doors and many other items.

•June 7, 2023•
by Crystal Reed

An auction was held at Sullivan Middle School on Saturday, June 3 with a wide variety of items up for grabs. From doors to wall clocks, smart boards, desk chairs and even lockers that were auctioned off in sets. Huber Auction conducted the auction and proceeds from the auction benefit the Sullivan Athletic Boosters.
Rudy and Linda Huber conducted the walking auction which started on the third floor of the school and ended at the bus garage. The Sullivan Athletic Boosters had a concession tent set up outside the school with food items to keep bidders from going hungry while attending the event. Read More

American Legion Auxiliary Americanism Essay Winners

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Photo by Crystal Reed
American Legion Auxiliary Americanism Essay Winners
On Wednesday, May 24, the seventh and eighth grade winners of the Americanism Essay Contest locally sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary units of Arthur, Lovington and Atwood were awarded. The three winners were all from Lovington Grade School. First place was Joshua Taylor, second place was Maxton Boddy and third place was Jaidyn Edwards.

American Legion Poppy Sales

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Photo by Crystal Reed
American Legion Poppy Sales
Members of the American Legion and the Legion Auxiliary had poppy sales on Friday, May 16 at various locations in Sullivan. Pictured above is Lennon Robinson (left) accepting a poppy from Mary Sims (right).