News Progress

•March 5, 2025• Sullivan Dance Studio’s Competition Team has attended two competitions so far this year. Specialty routines only (solos, duets and trios) attended “Believe Dance Competition” at Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville, IL February 1-2. All thirty-one team members attended The Dance Effect Competition on February 22 at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in St. Louis, Missouri.  Soloists this year range in age from 4 to 13 and include: Aubrey Young, Mara Inman, Alayna Young, Knox Weakly, Kaylee Hostetler, Natalia Beals, Addi Finn, Brinnley Hobbs, Emma Hostetler and Miah Voegel. The genres for their numbers include Jazz, Open, Musical Theatre, … Read More

Photo provided ALAH (Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond) High School sophomores (L-R) Cruz Hale, Olivia Binion, Suzannah Butcher, Kimberly Krutsinger, and Lily Vanda pictured after attending RYLA Camp in 2024. The high school students shared highlights of their RYLA experience during a presentation to the Arthur Rotary Club. On February 28 Rotary International District 6490 announced open enrollment for local sophomore, junior, and senior year high school and home-schooled students to attend the 2025 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, a youth development and leadership experience, scheduled April 4-6, 2025 at the University of Illinois 4-H Memorial Camp in Monticello, Illinois.  “The Rotary … Read More

•March 5, 2025• by Rihiannon BranchFarmWeek Consumers are experiencing the highest egg prices in history driven by increased demand and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which could keep the market elevated for a while. The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the average retail egg price at $4.90 per dozen nationwide. “That’s an all-time high and a lot more expensive than what consumers are typically dealing with,” Brian Earnest, lead animal protein analyst for CoBank told FarmWeek. “I think back 10 years ago when it was pretty common to see $1 per dozen or less.” … Read More

•March 5, 2025• Daylight saving time begins this Sunday, March 9 and the American Red Cross asks everyone to turn their clocks forward one hour and test their smoke alarms. Did you know working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half? That’s why it’s critical to “Turn and Test” and take these lifesaving steps to stay safe from home fires — the nation’s most frequent disaster: … Read More

Cannel •March 5, 2025• By Janet Roney What in the world is Cannel?  Along with gold, silver, and plumbago, Thomas Jefferson wanted Isaac Hill to look for it in central Illinois in 1809-1811.   I impolitely told you to go look up cannel yourself in a previous visit while I was in a snit over the thought that Hill’s guide was a hermit living in a hollow sycamore tree rather than Simon Kenton, “the greatest guide, hunter, and frontiersman of all time”. Sorry. If you are not one of the sweet souls who actually looked up cannel, cannel is coal. … Read More