Players Drive the SOV Football Program

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•August 9, 2017• by Jason Brown NP Sports A complete transition and implementation of a new system is not easy. For Sullivan-Okaw Valley football head coach Andy Kerley the first game of the season will be a good barometer in measuring what to expect for the rest of the season. In his first year Kerley has had to get to know his players, install a new offense and defense, evaluate talent and figure out how to best utilize that talent. As if that was not enough, Kerley’s 2017 varsity team will be comprised of only five seniors with 2/3 of … Read More

Lovington Homes Live On Under New Owners

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•August 9, 2017• By Mike Brothers Since 1969 Lovington Homes has assisted people with housing operating with a volunteer not-for profit board. All that changed August 1 when Dennis and Tracy Garmon purchased Lovington Homes from the community volunteer group. Garmon Properties has taken over the 50-year-old operation. A well-timed set of circumstances in the Garmons’ lives and with the Lovington Homes board led to the sale. … Read More

National Immunization Awareness Month Celebrates the Importance of Vaccines

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•August 9, 2017• The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is recognizing August as National Immunization Awareness Month as a reminder that vaccines protect against a number of serious and potentially life-threatening diseases. Vaccines give parents the safe, proven power to protect their children from serious diseases like measles and whooping cough (pertussis). “Most young parents in the U.S. have never seen the devastating effects of diseases like measles and polio, but those diseases still exist,” said IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D. “Children who don’t receive recommended vaccines are at risk of not only getting those diseases, but … Read More

Techniques For Keeping Your ‘Thought Life’ Healthy and Your Stress Level Low

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•August 9, 2017• Life gives people plenty of reasons to be stressed. Relationship problems, child-rearing issues, job woes and a lack of money are just some of life’s complications that can weigh people down – and cause health problems. “It’s difficult to stay healthy and energized when stress is a daily reality,” says Dr. Greg Wells (www.drgregwells.com), author of The Ripple Effect: Eat, Sleep, Move and Think Better. “Chronic stress can damage your body, threaten your mental health, put a strain on relationships, and take the joy out of life.” … Read More

Waterfowl Hunting Season Dates Announced Statewide

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•August 9, 2017• The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today announced waterfowl season dates and bag limits for the 2017-18 seasons. The seasons include 60-day duck seasons in each of the state’s four waterfowl hunting zones, along with 107 days of Canada goose hunting opportunity in the North and Central zones (15 days in September, two days of youth hunting and 90 days of “regular” goose season), 99 days of Canada goose hunting opportunity in the South Central Zone, and 87 days of Canada goose hunting opportunity in the South Zone. Goose season lengths are shorter in the South … Read More

OV’s Paige Robinson Commits to Drury University

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•August 9, 2017• By Jason Brown NP Sports Okaw Valley standout guard Paige Robinson verbally committed to play basketball Friday for Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. Robinson will play for coach Molly Miller who enters her fourth season as Drury University’s head women’s basketball coach. The verbal decision should put aside any distractions in Robinson’s senior year. In her junior year, Robinson won the female basketball player of the year award at the 9th Annual ESPN Decatur ESPY Awards in Decatur. In 29 games, she averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.4 steals and 2.9 blocks. … Read More

Recent Obituaries: Morna Rozene

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Morna Rozene Morna “Marlene” Rozene, 84, of Effingham, formerly of Sullivan and Centralia, passed away on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 at Lakeland Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Effingham. Marlene was born October 1, 1932, in Shelby County, the daughter of Thomas and Viola (Blake) McLaughlin. She married Dean Rozene and he preceded her in death in November 1980. Through the years, she waitressed and worked at World Color Press in Effingham and was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Centralia. Visitation for family and friends will be on Monday, August 7, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 … Read More

Sarah Bush Lincoln Receives the 2017 Women’s Choice Award® 

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•August 2, 2017• Sarah Bush Lincoln has been named one of America’s Best Hospitals for Orthopedics by the Women’s Choice Award®, America’s trusted referral source for the best in healthcare. The award signifies that Sarah Bush Lincoln is in the top 11 percent of 3,229 U.S. hospitals offering orthopedics services. SBL President & CEO Jerry Esker said, “We are honored to receive this significant designation based on data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and patient experience. Our Orthopedic staff is excellent and has vast experience in diverse areas, and our surgical teams are superb as well.”  … Read More

Program Pilot Locations offer Workforce Training to Disadvantaged Youth

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•August 2, 2017• The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today announced the locations of the initial Apprenticeship PLUS pilots under the Governor’s Cabinet for Children and Youth. The pilots specifically target both in-school and-out-of-school youth between the ages of 16 and 24, and provide them with specific career education, a chance to earn industry-recognized credentials and do on-the-job training.  … Read More