County Board Holds Virtual Meeting

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•May 8, 2020• The Moultrie County Board is holding a virtual meeting Thursday, May 14. Please join our virtual meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/550084949 You can also dial in using your phone. (For supported devices, tap a one-touch number below to join instantly.) United States: +1 (408) 650-3123 – One-touch: tel:+14086503123,,550084949# Access Code: 550-084-949 New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/550084949 … Read More

Sullivan Schools Offer Special Ed Phone Conf.

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•May 6, 2020• Providing special education services to students with disabilities who attend private schools and home schools is the purpose of a 9:00 a.m. Monday, May 18 phone conference. Conducted by the Sullivan School District interested parties should call 728-8341 to participate via phone conference at that time. Parents of a home-schooled student who has been or may be identified with a disability and reside within Sullivan School District boundaries should attend. Further questions pertaining to the meeting may be directed to Jessica Reeder at (217) 728-8341. … Read More

The Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918: What Have We Learned?

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Questions Still Remain •May 6, 2020• By Ellen Ferrera for The News Progress In a recent conversation a friend related the story of her German grandfather and the flu pandemic of 1918. His family sacrificed everything they had to send their 19-year-old son to America so he wouldn’t be conscripted into the Kaiser’s WWI army. Her grandfather came full of promise and hope but died three years later at the age of 22 – one of the estimated 20-50 million victims, including 675,000 Americans, in one of the deadliest epidemics in human history. It infected 500 million people. It killed … Read More

Okaw Valley Baseball: Dealing With the Season that Didn’t Happen

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•May 6, 2020• By Jason Brown News Progress Sports When Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker implemented a stay-at-home order on March 21, Andrew Hagerman did not have to make many career adjustments. Hagerman, who is Regional Sales Manager at Hagerman & Company, sells software in the tech industry and typically works from home during the high school baseball season. “In reality, our entire company can function remotely at 100%,” he said. “So we are blessed with that fact. Nothing has changed from a standpoint of how I can do my job, and how busy I’ve been.” What has changed for Hagerman … Read More

State Agencies Launch Project

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•May 6, 2020• The Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI), Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM), and Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Illinois (MABAS) today announced the creation of the Illinois Preliminary Exposure Reduction Project. The project was developed to deliver critical firefighter health and life safety research, education, training and basic equipment to fire departments across the state. The intent of the project is to raise awareness of the increased cancer risks faced by firefighters, provide departments with free basic equipment that can be used for preliminary exposure reduction for personnel on incident response scenes, as well as … Read More

Is Conceal and Carry Safe While Wearing a Mask?

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•May 6, 2020• The Illinois Criminal Code makes it a Class 4 Felony for any person to carry a weapon while “masked in such a manner as to conceal his or her identity.” The question presented is whether an individual who has a valid concealed carry permit and is lawfully carrying a weapon while also wearing a mask to comply with health and safety measures will be criminally prosecuted for the offense of Unlawful Use of Weapons. … Read More

CARES Act to Provide Relief

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•May 6, 2020• The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has allocated funding to colleges and universities, including Lake Land College, to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus. Eligible expenses are those included under a student’s cost of attendance such as food, housing, course materials, technology, healthcare and child care. … Read More

How Will We Heal Illinois’ Agri-food System?

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•May 6, 2020• By Bob Easter, Richard Guebert Jr. and Theresa E. Mintle Illinois Agri-Food Alliance In the midst of a global health crisis, the agri-food sector is pressing forward determined to do what it does best—feed the world. After all, empty grocery store shelves don’t simply restock themselves. COVID-19, however, is rapidly exposing our food system’s susceptibilities and disconnects. Could this pandemic catalyze a rethinking and transformation of the current centralized model? With an outsized stake in the outcome, Illinois would be wise to consider. Under normal circumstances, the modern-day food system operates with efficiency via a “just enough, … Read More

Moultrie Ag in Classroom has Different Farm Tour Day

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•May 6, 2020• The school year is ending in a different way than any of us could have imagined. Steph Naylor with Moultrie County Ag in the classroom coordinator found a few ways to reach out to her students since she was unable to get back in the classrooms. The end of March yearly Reedy farm tour day scheduled with several area school third graders could not happen. Naylor had a bag of goodies for each third grader who was to attend that day and, due to it being cancelled, she contacted the schools and coordinated getting those bags to … Read More

Moultrie County Courthouse Offices Open Full Time With Safety Procedures

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•May 6, 2020• The Moultrie County Courthouse opened full time this week with individual offices establishing safe operating procedures under limited access due to Stay at Home health restrictions. The County Clerk and Recorder, Assessments Office and Treasurer have provided helpful information to help the guide the public as the courthouse resumes full time operation. The north entrance of the courthouse is for public access and social distancing measures will continue to be observed. County Clerk and Recorder The County Clerk and Recorder’s office is open from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. with the Courthouse limited access still in place. … Read More