Happenings for ETML in January

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•December 31, 2025• The library will be closed on December 31st and January 1st in observance of the holidays.  Story times will be every Wednesday- January 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th at 10:00 a.m. The bounce house will be available after the story and craft times. Every Monday at 9:00 a.m., the ETML hosts a Memory Cafe. This is a social gathering for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. The Memory Café is helpful by providing information and support from others who also have loved ones who struggle with memory loss.  Homeschoolers: January 8th and 22nd. If you have a … Read More

Recent Obituaries: Marion Lee Haile

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Marion Lee Haile, 73, of Mattoon, formerly of Bethany, passed away at 11:10 a.m. Monday, December 22, 2025 in the Odd Fellow Rebekah Home, Mattoon. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday, December 26, 2025, in the Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Saturday, December 27, 2025 in the Gholson Funeral in Dahlgren, Illinois. Celebration of Life services will be 2:00 p.m. Sunday, December 28, 2025, in the Gholson Funeral Home, Dahlgren, Illinois with Pastor Dustin Haile and Pastor Doug Fultz officiating. Visitation will be on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until service time. Burial will be in the … Read More

Two more conference wins for Lady Redskins

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•December 24, 2025• by E. Scott England The Sullivan Lady Redskins continued their dominance of the Lincoln Prairie conference last week. They hold the top spot with a record of 4-0 in conference play. The first game of the week was against the ALAH Lady Knights. The week wrapped up on the road against the Unity Christian Lady Lions. Home against ALAH ALAH came to Sullivan riding on the heels of their victory against Heritage. A smaller team with not a lot of depth on the bench, the Lady Knights struggled from the start against Sullivan and their widely rotated … Read More

Lovington fire displaces family, days before Christmas 

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•December 24, 2025• by DM Williamee   In what can only be described as heartbreaking, a Lovington family was displaced last week, the week before Christmas, after their home was destroyed by a fire on the afternoon of December 15th.  Local support efforts began immediately to assist them, with a call to action by the community of Lovington. A Facebook post shared that clothing items were the immediate need of the family. In addition, gifts were accepted for the family at the ‘Breakfast with Santa’ event, allowing the family to have a Christmas celebration.   A “GoFundMe” page was set … Read More

Letter to the Editor 12-23-2025

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To the Editor, The News Progress I read the recent article regarding water levels, drought conditions, and strain on Sullivan’s water supply. What was missing from that discussion was not data, but honesty. I live in Sullivan Township. I do not receive Sullivan city water. I pay my water bill to Moultrie County Rural Water, and the water delivered to my home comes from Lake Mattoon, a surface water source known for algae blooms and recurring boil advisories that township residents are not always clearly or promptly notified about. This matters because while township residents are being told there are … Read More

Remembering Who We Are……….89

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Log Jams and Sandbars •December 24, 2025• by Janet Roney The old man fishing from the Kaskaskia River bridge at Vandalia said, “It’ll be smooth sailing from here to the Mississippi, boys! There’s no more logjams for the rest of the river.” This was good news to my three older brothers (teenagers at the time) and my father in the summer of 1952. They had lost track of the number of logjams they had portaged around since leaving Findlay a few days before. Every portage meant unloading their fourteen-foot wooden outboard motor boat, Ida, dragging the boat, motor, and supplies … Read More

A Look Back…12-23-2025

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2015 Shawnee Communications (Shawnee) and MultiCorp, Inc., announced that Shawnee, a rural provider of telephone and high-speed internet and other telecommunications services in five southern Illinois counties, acquired MultiCorp, Inc., the holding company of Moultrie Independent Telephone Company (MITC) and MITC’s affiliated companies, including One-Eleven Internet Services and Moultrie Telecommunications. When inclement weather struck, the Sullivan School District delayed school opening by two hours. In an effort to accommodate parents with morning obligations, the district opened the Sullivan Elementary School Gym at 8:00 a.m. The Sullivan High School Gym was opened with supervision for middle and high school students who … Read More

Redskins go 2-1; Big OT win against rivals

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•December 24, 2025• by E. Scott England The Sullivan Redskins are still looking to find their groove. And they did so this past week with a big conference win against Blue Ridge and a nail-biter against Shelbyville. The final game of the week did not go as planned against a tough Monticello squad. First conference game The Redskins have had a tough non-conference schedule to date. But they got the opportunity to show off their skills in their first conference matchup on the road against Blue Ridge. Shooting was above par from the onset for Sullivan, netting 24 points in … Read More