Grease is the Word for Relay

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•July 26, 2017• Relay for Life is 6 p.m.-midnight Friday, August 11 on the Sullivan High School track. The theme  is Grease (the movie) so participants should feel free to come in costume. Luminaria are available, and order forms will be available at the local banks. Completed forms and payment may be mailed to Diane Waggoner at 48 Roley Est. in Sullivan. Luminaria at $10 per bag may be purchased in honor or memory of loved ones who have fought or are still fighting cancer. Proposed schedule: 5-6 p.m. Fire Department waterball contest 6-6:30 Opening Ceremonies (includes welcome, reading of mission statement, … Read More

Lake Land Spring Graduation

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•July 26, 2017• Area residents included in Lake Land College’s spring graduation are Allison Wheeler of Bethany, Management, Marketing, Professional Sales, Applied Science Management; Anita Hines, Nursing, Kelly Sidwell, Nursing and Cassi Upton, Physical Therapist Assistant, all of Gays; Sean Smith of Lovington, Pre-Engineering; Katie Bell, Agriculture, Sydney Boehm, Agriculture, Darrell Fox, Building Construction Technology and Monica Wiltermood, Accounting, all of Windsor. … Read More

Understanding Illinois: Someone Needs to Call Out Harmful Policy Making

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•July 26, 2017• By Jim Nowlan NP Guest Columnist This past week, Gov. Bruce Rauner stunned observers when he unceremoniously booted his veteran top staff out the door and turned management of state government over to an inexperienced team of policy wonks from the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI). The IPI is a decade-old, very conservative advocacy group; nothing wrong with that, of course. Yet it’s about time the IPI was called out for its hard-edged promotion of great sounding but wholly impracticable proposals, which is to my mind harmful to the policymaking process. The IPI was started a decade ago … Read More

Obituaries 7-26-2017: Bob Day

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Bob Day Robert Dean “Bob” Day, 41, of Hammond died at 8:28 p.m. Thursday, July 20, 2017 in Springfield Memorial Hospital. Mass of Christian Burial was held at 10 a.m. July 25 in St. Philomena Catholic Church in Monticello. Burial was in St. Isidore Cemetery in Bethany. Edwards Funeral Home in Arcola assisted with arrangements. … Read More

Sullivan Alumni Reunion Set

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•July 26, 2017• There will be plenty of hugs, smiles and storytelling September 23 when Sullivan High School alumni come together for their 48th annual reunion banquet. The Sullivan Alumni Association (SAA) has announced that this reunion banquet for all Sullivan High School alumni will be at the Sullivan VFW starting with a social hour at 4:30 p.m. and a dinner at 5:30. Access will be limited to ticket holders. A number of exciting developments will be announced this year including a new SAA Facebook page providing many new services including alumni access to Sullivan school activities available 24/7. The … Read More

Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is Amazing!

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•July 26, 2017• By Ellen Ferrera for the News Progress Joseph was not Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first musical, but it was the first publicly performed. Webber devised a winning formula to showcase his prodigious knowledge of musical genres, and it was so successful that he used it again in other hits such as “Starlight Express” and “Cats”. In “Joseph” we have such styles as parodies of French ballads (“Those Canaan Days”), Elvis inspired rock and roll (“Song of the King”), country western (“One More Angel in Heaven”), 1920s Charleston (“Potiphar”), Calypso (“Benjamin Calypso”), jazz (“Joseph’s Dream”), and … Read More

OV Baseball Stand Out Commits to MacMurray College

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•July 26, 2017• By Jason Brown NP Sports Recent Okaw Valley graduate Taylor Coleman committed last week to play baseball at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill. Coleman had not thought about being a Highlander, until the MacMurray coach Justin Fuhler contacted him. They started talking about Coleman attending and playing baseball in Jacksonville, and Coleman decided he wanted to become a part of something good at MacMurray. “I chose MacMurray because when I first met coach Fuhler, he seemed like a coach who knew what he wanted and that he knows what’s going on,” said Coleman. “During my visit, I … Read More

Thinking About Health: U.S. Healthcare Ranked Lower Than In Most Developed Nations

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•July 26, 2017• By Trudy Lieberman, Rural Health News Service One thing I haven’t heard much in this latest healthcare debate is that the U.S. has the best health system in the world. That’s different from the last two times around. When the nation debated the Clinton health plan in 1994 and the Affordable Care Act in 2009-2010, a huge talking point for politicians and special business interests opposed to reform was, “The American system is so good, why change it?” It’s different this year. Maybe that’s because the public realizes America doesn’t have the best, and their own interactions … Read More

Don’t Get Schooled, Get Smart About Social Security

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•July 26, 2017• By Gerald Tilley Social Security District Manager Your summer job might be ending soon. You might even hold a part time job while you’re in school. You can easily jump to the head of the class and secure your future with a few simple steps. As a young worker, you’re in the best position for planning, investing, and saving for your retirement, growing that nest egg as large as it can be. The sooner you start, the more money you’ll have. There are two easy ways to get started in preparing for retirement:  … Read More

Foodbank Receives Grant From the Walmart Foundation 

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•July 26, 2017• Eastern Illinois Foodbank received a $50,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to fund infrastructure that will ultimately help the food bank’s partner agencies secure and distribute more nutritious food to families in need. The grant will support investments in the equipment necessary to handle perishable products such as coolers and freezers for transporting, storing and distributing food; thermometers and temperature calibration devices; shelving units, carts and more. “One in seven people struggle with hunger in eastern Illinois, including nearly 35,000 children,” said Jim Hires, President & CEO of the Foodbank. “We are thankful to the Walmart Foundation … Read More