Recent Obituaries: Patrick Louie Williams

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With his niece, Linda, and brother-in-law, Steve, at his side, Patrick Louie Williams went to Glory to meet his Savior in the early morning hours of July 26, 2025, at Memorial Medical Center. He was born on March 14, 1950, to Louie and Elizabeth (Spears) Williams. Patrick was the youngest of five children.  Patrick or “Pat” as many knew him, grew up in the countryside of rural Bingham. He was proud to tell people that he was Tex Williams’ nephew. He loved all his family dearly and always found time to talk about them. If you had questions about the … Read More

Recent Obituaries: Luella Hughes

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Luella K. Hughes, 76, of Sullivan, passed away at 10:46 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, 2025 in the Willow Breeze Hospice House, Mattoon, Illinois. Celebration of Life services will be 1:00 p.m. Saturday, July 26, 2025 at the Reed Funeral Home with Pastor Bob Vail officiating. Burial will be in Greenhill Cemetery. Visitation will be from Noon to service time. Memorials are suggested to the Sullivan Ambulance Service or the Sullivan Weekend Food Pac Program. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net. Luella was born October 5, 1948 in Decatur, Illinois, the daughter of Robert ‘Bob’ and Joan Matheson Hughes. She … Read More

Sullivan Dance Studio’s competition team attends nationals

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Photo submitted  Sullivan Dance Studio’s 2024-2025 Competition Team ended their year by attending “Positive Vibes” Nationals in Collinsville, Illinois. The team had earlier attended a “Positives Vibes” Dance Regional Competition held in Bloomington, Illinois.   Positive Vibes Dance’s mission is to provide a dance haven for all of the performers with a positive and enthusiastic atmosphere. Besides the competition portion, most of the dancers participated in master classes, which were a great experience for all. On Saturday night, there was a Groovy Gala for the dancers and their guests to attend. On Sunday, special invitation dances based on rankings at … Read More

Sullivan American Legion aids fire victim

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Photo submitted  Mark Madson presented Lee Bishop with a check from the American Legion Department of Illinois Disaster Relief Program to help cover expenses incurred from his house fire, which caused significant damage to his home. From left to Right: Mark Young, Illinois American Legion Fourth Division Commander, Lee Bishop Member of Sullivan Sons of American Legion Detachment 68, Wayne Madson, American Legion Department of Illinois Vice Commander, and a member of the American Legion Department of Illinois Disaster Relief Program, and Dave Selby Sullivan Sons of American Legion Adjutant. … Read More

Unrest continues at ALAH School District

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Collective bargaining agreement with the AEA passed •July 23, 2025• by Ariana R Cherry Unrest continued at the Arthur School District #305 school board meeting on Wednesday, July 16th. Approximately thirty teachers were in attendance regarding the teachers’ contract. Sharon Chupp spoke first during the public comment section of the meeting. She felt she needed to share her story regarding Shawn Davison’s Letter to the Editor in the newspaper the prior week. Chupp said, “I have a student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP), and Shawn has been his one-on-one assistant for the last two years. When my child was … Read More

Mo.-Do. County Fair brings exciting entertainment to fairgoers   

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Submitted •July 23, 2025• The 94th annual Moultrie-Douglas County Fair is stacking up to be one of the best in a long time. Fair dates this year are a little later than usual, July 25-August 2.  A lot of effort has gone into finding a carnival, which was very hard to obtain. This year the fair is fortunate to have Swyear Amusements of New Athens, IL., celebrating 67 seasons in business in 2025. There will be marvelous rides available for all ages, little ones to adult. Wristbands are available for pre-sale by going to the fair’s website www.moultriedouglascountyfair.org.   For … Read More

Missing boater found deceased; investigation ongoing

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•July 23, 2025• Photo by R.R. Best On Saturday, July 19th, at approximately 11:18 a.m., CECOM dispatched the Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office to the Coal Shaft Bridge area of Lake Shelbyville for a report of an unoccupied boat. Moultrie County then requested assistance from the Moultrie County Dive Team, the Shelby County Dive Team, the Sullivan Fire Department, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Illinois Department of Conservation Police to locate a missing boater.  The missing boater was Billy J. Briscoe of Hidalgo Illinois. He was recovered by divers at 9:16 p.m. and pronounced dead at the … Read More

Moultrie-Douglas Fair Queen Contestants

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Photo Submitted 2025 “Junior Miss” Moultrie-Douglas County Fair Queen Seven young ladies will compete for the title on Monday, July 28th, at the fairgrounds in Arthur starting at 7:00 pm. Pictured are Sofia Reifsteck (Villa Grove), Quinn Chapman (Villa Grove), Charlotte Franklin (Tuscola), Kierah Kiesel (Villa Grove), 2024 Jr. Miss Moultrie-Douglas Julianne Steffens, Nora Bernius (Sullivan), Ava Warren (Sullivan), and Brooklyn Bates (Sullivan). Photo Submitted 2025 “Little Miss” Moultrie-Douglas County Fair Queen Twelve adorable little girls will compete for the title on Monday, July 28th, at the fairgrounds in Arthur starting at 6:00 pm. Pictured are Everleigh Allen (Tuscola), Myla … Read More

Remembering Who We Are….68

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Same Road, different view •July 23, 2025• by Janet Roney I have a 180-year-old couch sitting in my basement. My great-great-grandparents brought it from Kentucky to Moultrie County in a covered wagon over the Charleston Road. It was in the parlor of their “Kentucky T” house, southeast of Sullivan, forty years, where they seated guests visiting their two sons who were home on leave from the Civil War, participants in their frequent neighborhood “sings”, and mourners at the wakes of four of their children. It spent the next sixty years in the parlor of the great-grandparents’ big red brick house … Read More

Obituaries 7-23-2025: Roger Maxedon

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Roger Maxedon Roger D. Maxedon, 88, of Effingham, passed away peacefully on July 20, 2025, at Willowbrook Memory Care in Effingham. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Friday, July 25, 2025, at McMullin-Young Funeral Home, Sullivan. Visitation will be held an hour prior to the service Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery, Bethany. Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association: 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17Chicago, IL 60601 or to the American Heart Association: PO Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692 … Read More