•August 3, 2022•
Illinois Amish Heritage Center recently announced that it has been awarded a Tourism Attractions & Festivals Grant of $305,000 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to help revitalize tourism in Illinois and improve our local economies. IAHC records indicate that 45% of visitors to the site are from outside of Illinois, bringing tourists and business to our community. Read More
Discovery Recount Conducted at Courthouse
•August 3, 2022•
According to Moultrie County State’s Attorney Tracy Weaver, a discovery recount was conducted at the courthouse on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 26 and 27. Present were Lisa Ozier and her legal counsel and poll watcher, Linda Qualls and her legal counsel and poll watcher, representatives from the Moultrie County Clerk’s Office including Pam Wittkowski and Jamie Helton, four election judges, Ken Gibson from Liberty Systems, LLC, Weaver and Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Dobson. Weaver said that four precincts were chosen by Ms. Ozier to be reviewed in the discovery recount and they were Dora, Jonathan Creek, Lowe and Whitley. Read More
Moultrie County Democrat Central Committee Selects Candidate to Finish County Clerk Term
Rita Coleman Florey
•August 3, 2022•
by Ellen Ferrera
NP Writer
Tim Singer, Committee Chairman for the Moultrie County Democrat Committee, announced that the committee is recommending Rita Coleman Florey to serve as the interim Moultrie County Clerk filling Georgia England’s position until the November 22 election is completed.
According to the Statute, “The vacancy shall be filled within 60 days by appointment of the Chairman of the county board with the advice and consent of the county board.” The appointment must be of the same political party as Mrs. England, a Democrat.
Singer said of the appointment, “Mrs. Florey has many years of administrative experience as principal of the Sullivan Elementary School, as well as vast experience in dealing with the public. We believe she will bring stability to the office.” Read More
VFW Post 6410 Installs New Officers
Photo by Crystal Reed
VFW Post 6410 Installs New Officers
New officers were installed at VFW Post 6410 on Tuesday, July 19. They are Commander Kent Spencer, Senior Vice Commander Roger Davis, Junior Vice Commander Lawrence Gregory, Quartermaster and Adjutant Jeff Nichols, 1st year trustee Harry Woolen, 2nd year trustee and Service Officer Serena Briscoe. Not pictured are Chaplain Bill Hagen and 3rd year trustee John Hickox.
Sullivan First United Methodist Church Music Festival 2022
Photo by Crystal Reed
Bounce House
Children enjoyed a variety of activities including a bounce house, bags and other activities during the Sullivan First United Methodist Church Music Festival on Saturday, July 23.
Photo by Crystal Reed
Live Music
Jeff Mayberry was another performer at the Music Festival held on Saturday. Also playing were Michael Dean Lewis and Jake and Mikayla with full band.
Photo by Crystal Reed
Music Festival
Michael Dean Lewis plays during the Sullivan First United Methodist Church Music Festival held Saturday, July 23.
ALAH School Board Focuses on “Where to go from here?” after School Referendum Fails to Pass
•July 27, 2022•
by Ariana Cherry
NP Writer
The recent ALAH School Board meeting was shorter than usual as there were no principal reports, and it had to be held on a different evening since there were a few board members who needed to arrange their summer schedules. Despite the public portion of the meeting being brief, there were still a few comments about the school referendum that didn’t quite get enough votes to pass during the local election.
“We can all be proud of the process we developed. I’ve had several people from the community asking me where we are going to go from here, and I tell them I am not sure just yet. We will take a breath, regroup and talk about how we want to move forward. I appreciate everyone who turned out to vote, and I know there was a lot of passion. Perhaps next time we will encourage more participation and provide more education. I commend our communities in our district that were involved with the referendum, but I think we will have to go back to the drawing board,” Superintendent Shannon Cheek said. Read More
City Council Hears Update on City Building
•July 27, 2022•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer
Colton Davis of Utz and Associates was at Monday night’s city council meeting to answer questions in regard to the city building just off the square. The latest decision was to demolish the existing building and build a new two-story city hall building in its place. Utz said the existing building has mold and fungus issues, air quality issues and asbestos containing materials throughout the building. He continued to say that it would cost more to renovate the existing building than build a new one.
A member of the public asked about the cost of demolition for the old building. Davis said that they don’t have an exact estimate. “I would say somewhere in the range of $100,000 to $125,000,” he said. Read More
Solar Ovens
Photo by Crystal Reed
Solar Ovens
Children in the summer reading program at Lovington Library created solar ovens on Tuesday, July 12. They were given ingredients for s’mores so they could test out their solar ovens at home. Pictured is Jenna Herschberger with her decorated solar oven.
SDS Crew Treated To Ice Cream
Photo by Crystal Reed
SDS Crew Treated To Ice Cream
On Friday July 15, it was rainy but that didn’t dampen the spirits of children in the Sullivan Dance Studio crew. Country Financial, the Houser agency, treated children to ice cream at the Sullivan Bakery. Pictured are the SDS crew, Elizabeth and Kyler Houser and Jorjia Clements of the Houser Agency.
Warren Recognized for Service
Photo by R.R. Best
Warren Recognized for Service
Terry Warren was recognized by the Sullivan Fire Protection District for 29+ years of service during the trustees meeting on Monday, July 18.