December 17, 2014 The Moultrie County Historical and Genealogical Society will not have a December or January monthly meeting but will begin the monthly meetings in February. The Heritage Center will close for the holidays at 3 p.m. Monday, December 22 and open at noon Saturday January 3, 2015. … Read More
December 17, 2014 SOV athlete will be Redbird beginning next fall by Keith Stewart keith@newsprogress.com Amanda McClain has already left her mark on girls’ high school track. She has 11 high school state medals over just three years, including three first place medals. Two of those are from the 4×2 relay that took the top spot both this past spring and in 2012–the year in which SOV also set a state record. Earlier this year, McClain also nabbed the 400m dash, a race she came up seconds short of for first the two prior. She also took third place in … Read More
December 17, 2014 Ordinance says vehicles over 3/4 ton unable to park in village limits for more than 30 minutes by Florence Hallford & Keith Stewart keith@newsprogress.com The topic of semi-truck parking has been an on-going discussion since a resident asked permission to park his truck over a sidewalk several months ago. The board members have been looking into solutions since, unable to find a suitable one. During his research, village president Jim Minor located an ordinance that prevents owners of vehicles in excess of ¾ ton from parking in most of the village limits for more than half an … Read More
December 17, 2014 With over $10,000 increase in property value, levy up nearly 8 percent by Ariana Cherry Arthur/Sullivan Reporter After holding a truth and taxation hearing, Arthur-Lovington/Atwood Hammond school board members approved the tax levy for the tax year 2014 payable 2015. This year’s EAV was estimated at $193, 490,228 while last year’s total was $183,286,949. An increase of 7.98 percent was passed by the board. So far, the district has not received its incentive money from the state, and Schwengel noted that it is possible that they may receive only three out of four payments. The present total … Read More
December 17, 2014 by Jim Nowlan Outside Columnist In the 1990s, I once co-taught a college course in history at the Henry Hill prison in Galesburg. I vividly recall that after class the first evening, a young, slender blonde fellow came up to me with a desperate look in his eyes. “Are you a lawyer? (No) Well, anyway, please help me get out of here!” the young man pleaded. There was nothing I could do. At the time, Illinois prisons were basically run by the gangs. That is no longer the case, I am told, but if you squeeze 49,000 … Read More
December 17, 2014 USTA names organization and volunteer of the year to OVTA, and Dickens by Joash Tiarks Bethany Reporter If local business owner Chris Dobosz had his way every kid 14 and under in Moultrie and surrounding counties would be all smiles and that as a direct result of learning and playing tennis. And it is this mindset that, at least in part, no doubt made the difference in the Okaw Valley Tennis Association receiving the ‘Organization of the Year’ award from the USTA over all other associations in the Mid-South Illinois District, one of 13 districts spread throughout … Read More
December 17, 2014 By Tyler Harvey Mo-Do Farm Bureau Manager In the last month farmers have still been tirelessly working in the fields and trying to accomplish as much fall field work they can get done before the weather changes. In the past month numerous tractors, chisels, tool bars, and anhydrous ammonia tanks have been rolling around the area. With this I ask all of you to be cautious when coming up on the machinery. Even with a good amount of this machinery being smaller than planters and combines, caution needs to always be used. With the end of harvest … Read More
December 17, 2014 Apparent house fire to blame, but still under investigation by Keith Stewart keith@newsprogress.com A Sullivan man was found dead inside his residence Sunday afternoon after a neighbor came by to check on him. According to Moultrie County Coroner Lynn Reed, James E. Helms, 58, of Sullivan was pronounced dead in his residence located at 412. N. Seymour at 4:20 p.m. Sunday. An autopsy was performed Monday, and a full report on the cause of death including toxicology results is not expected for two to three weeks. Reed did say that, while preliminarily there does not appear to be … Read More
December 17, 2014 Worst night of shooting so far spells ALAH demise by Keith Stewart keith@newsprogress.com The Knights may have suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday night, but it wasn’t all that bad of a thing. In fact, for head coach Dale Schuring, it was almost nice. “Obviously there are a lot of things we didn’t do well– a lot of things we can learn from the game, but the bright spot of it is, we lost by 10, and we couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean,” said the Knights’ head coach. “I mean, if we’re going … Read More
December 17, 2014 Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that all offices and driver services facilities will be closed on Wednesday, December 24 and Thursday, December 25, in observance of the Christmas holiday. All driver services facilities will reopen for regular business Friday, December 26. Individuals may visit the Secretary of State’s website, www.cyberdriveillinois.com, to locate the nearest driver services facility and the hours of operation. In addition, drivers may use the website to change an address, register to become an organ and tissue donor or renew license plate stickers. … Read More