Is Standardized Testing Effective?

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by Alex Love Our state and national government requires standardized testing to gauge our children’s academic success. Often times, students are compared to one another due to the same test being administered to their fellow classmates. This notion poses a question; how fair is it to give a test to all students when no one child is the same? Every child has his or her own strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. How fair is it to rely so heavily upon testing success to determine the future of our children? Standardized tests scores are used to show where a student is academically–exceeding, … Read More

Lady Red Take Third at Unity

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Edge 13 other teams out for closely contested top three finish Submitted by Kali Taylor At the 16-team Unity Girls Invite, SOV finished a strong third place with 68 points, behind A & M’s 70 points and St. Teresa’s 74 points.  … Read More

Lady Red Blow Three-Run Lead in Fifth Inning, Fall 4-3 to Comets

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Errors compound for Sullivan defense by Kirk Whitaker Arthur/Sullivan Reporter It looked so good so quickly. Then in the blink of an eye, it was gone. It was night and day for the Lady Redskins softball team in the 20 minute time span that was the home half of the fourth and visiting half of the fifth inning Saturday afternoon against Windsor/Stew-Stras. … Read More

Recent Obituaries: William W. Duncan

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William W. Duncan William W. “Bill” Duncan, 87, of Sullivan died at 7:08 p.m. Saturday April 12, 2014 in St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur. Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Elim Springs Church of Jesus Christ near Sullivan. Visitation is 5-7 p.m. Tuesday in Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan. Burial will be in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan. … Read More

Finding Orianna

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One man’s genealogical search to find long-lost great-aunt brings surprise discovery by Jake Dilley Reporting in Sullivan Peter Strandberg was in search of his great aunt, Orianna. He had never met her, but now he was in search of her. He had a birth certificate and knew that she had passed away in Sullivan. But that was about it. Unable to locate an obituary for her, the Scottsdale, Ariz. resident reached out to the newspaper in Sullivan and contacted managing editor Keith Stewart, asking if they could locate Orianna’s record in their archives. To Strandberg’s misfortune, none could be found. … Read More

Understanding Illinois: School Aid Formula Should Return to Roots

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By Jim Nowlan Outside Columnist Over the past two decades, the state school aid formula for local schools in Illinois has moved away from its roots of trying to reduce the gap in total dollars between property poor and property rich school districts. Downstate districts tend to have been the losers in this shift. Downstate senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) has initiated efforts to refocus the distribution formula on “equalization” (in quotes because nobody expects the state to be able to make all districts actually equal in basic spending). … Read More

Obituaries 4-9-2014: Dorothy Ruch

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Dorothy Ruch Graveside services for Dorothy Ilene Ruch, 90, of Sullivan were held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Greenhill Cemetery in Sullivan. Arrangements were by McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Sullivan. She passed away at 8:15 p.m. Saturday April 5, 2014 in Mason Point in Sullivan. … Read More

Obituaries 4-9-2014: Thomas Carter

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Thomas Carter Thomas Harvey Carter, 95, of Decatur died at 7:58 p.m. April 3, 2014 in St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday in Dawson & Wikoff Funeral Home on West Wood Street in Decatur. Visitation is 5-7 p.m. today (Wednesday). Burial with military rites will be in Dodge Grove Cemetery in Mattoon. … Read More

Plenty of Hits for Lancers as ALAH downs Champaign Central 7-4

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Offense ignites after deadlocked third inning by Kirk Whitaker Arthur/Sullivan Reporter That was fast. Eight pitches to be exact. Lancers senior Katie Wildman struck out two and snagged a liner for the first three outs of the visitor’s half of the first—on her way to an eight strikeout performance—and at first look of the Maroon’s pitching, it looked as if ALAH would clobber Champaign Central. “Katie pitched really well today,” Lancers head coach Matt Darling commented. “She got some more speed than she has recently and got them to swing. Our defense wasn’t what we wanted, but it worked out … Read More

An Introduction to the Moultrie County Farm Bureau

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Submitted by Kara Kinney MCFB Manager The Moultrie County Farm Bureau was formed in 1919. As the largest and most effective organization representing Illinois farmers, their mission is clear – “To improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life.” The Moultrie County Farm Bureau is affiliated with the Illinois Farm Bureau. In fact, as a member of Moultrie, they are also a member of the Illinois Farm Bureau. We are a membership organization. We have two classes of membership, voting and associate. Voting members are those that have interest in a farm or farm business. … Read More