Margaret Allen, a 25-year-old resident of Delavan, was pronounced dead at the scene of a two-car crash at the intersection of Illinois Route 122 and Springfield Road on Monday, April 15.

Reed Naughton has been honored as the State FFA Proficiency Winner in Agricultural Services. A member of the Olympia FFA Chapter within the Illinois Association FFA, Naughton was recognized for his work-based learning, also referred to as Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE). The Illinois FFA acknowledges students in forty-eight distinct areas for their SAEs. FFA members who exhibit exceptional agricultural skills and competencies through meticulous record-keeping, leadership, and academic accomplishments are eligible for this accolade. SAEs provide students with practical learning opportunities, whether through owning and operating an agricultural business, interning or working at an agriculture-related business, or conducting and reporting on an agricultural scientific study. Naughton's SAE is centered around his involvement in his family's auction service.

Olympia High School celebrated National FFA Week from February 19 to 23. Throughout the week, FFA members engaged in a variety of activities, including themed dress-up days, driving tractors to school, and creative alternatives to backpacks. The events featured a truck competition, a 'kiss a pig' challenge, multiple assemblies, and relay races. Senior Chase Litwiller won the straw bale tossing contest. An impressive turnout saw 16 tractors at school on Tuesday morning. FFA Officers dedicated Wednesday morning to preparing and serving a homemade breakfast for members and staff at OHS. During Tuesday's assembly, Kamryn Rader presented 'The FFA Creed' to the students. It was a week filled with enjoyable activities, celebrating our passion for FFA within our school community.

One of the longest running Independence Day celebrations in the State of Illinois is scheduled to kick off on Sunday, July 2, at the Hopedale Park, with festivities continuing until the fireworks display on Tuesday, July 4.

On Sunday, April 16th, the Olympia FFA Chapter held their annual Chapter Banquet. Due to the fire at OHS, the awards banquet was held at Minier Christian Church this year. There were 52 FFA members and over 150 guests present at the banquet. On this night the FFA recognizes all of the FFA members and their accomplishments. 

Sixteen students from Southern Illinois University Carbondale have received Outstanding Leadership and Service Awards, which recognize their commitment to leadership, service and improving the campus. 

The Hopedale Betterment Association is proud to announce its 2023 scholarship winner. 

The Olympia FFA will hold their annual plant sale on Saturday, May 6 and Saturday, May 13, from 9AM-1PM, at the high school greenhouse.

John Lewis and Dan Nelson, two police officers with the Deer Creek-Goodfield police department, were promoted in rank at the evening meeting of the Deer Creek Village Council on Tuesday, October 18th.

Mackinaw gained a new restaurant with the opening of Eddy’s Kitchen Family Restaurant on June 28th. Providing a wide variety of menu options for breakfast and lunch, local residents are sure to find something delectable that will make Eddy’s a community staple. Chef Eddy’s wife, Iris, tells The Mail how Eddy’s Kitchen Family Restaurant came to fruition. 

Grab your clubs and finest Higdon hat for the Mackinaw Lions Club Golf Outing at Quail Meadows Golf Course in Washington, on Saturday, August 13th. $90 per person covers green fees, a golf cart, and lunch at the course starting at 11:30 A.M. prior to tee off. Golfers can form their own team of 4 or sign up individually and be assigned to a team. 

At the beginning of the month, the Waynesville Library had a horse program open to the public.The horse program was organized as part of the summer reading program. The Waynesville Library is taking place in Off the Beaten Path - Camp IREAD.

On Saturday, July 16th Stanford and Allin Township came together to host Stanford Good Old Jubilee, a new installment of the old Stanford Good Old Days festival. This newly remodeled festival is different from the one of the past. For example, instead of occurring over three days the Stanford Good Old Jubilee festival occurred only on one day. Different activities were featured at the festival with things like the Quilt Show at the Church of God, a variety of entertainment at the pavilion, and activities at the Township Building such as TAPS. While there are many changes to the festival, things like the fireworks show, which is being put on by the same company hired in prior festivals, was similar to what attendees have seen in the past.

Focused on patients, residents, staff and community, Hopedale Medical Complex (HMC) Employees strive each day to advance the mission and vision that is rooted in the foundation of the medical complex. Each month, HMC Employee Empowerment hosts an awards ceremony for those employees, who are recognized by their peers, for the outstanding work that they are doing in one of the numerous departments that are a part of the HMC campus.

The City of Atlanta, Illinois is excited to announce an Abraham Lincoln focused event, Lincoln’s Legacy. July 21 at 4:30pm inside Union Hall located at 114 SW Arch Street, Looking for Lincoln Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area will screen their new short film, 1875 Emancipation Celebration: A Grand Old-Style Barbeque in Atlanta, Illinois. Looking for Lincoln will give a short presentation and introduction to the film and film-making/research process, screen the film, and answer questions the audience may have. This event is free to attend.

In preparation for a rapidly approaching wrestling season, the Dee-Mack wrestling program has decided to host “Open Gym Practices” every Tuesday and Thursday this summer, from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. During the open gym practices, aspiring wrestlers of any age and ability level will have the opportunity to practice with both senior wrestlers and Dee-Mack coaches. Practices will run like a typical practice during the wrestling season and will consist of a warm up routine and then work on basic fundamentals of the sport.

Recently a new website for the Village of Danvers has been created offering a new place to learn more about the town and upcoming events. The new website opens up with a short description of the town, its population, and where it is located. Contact information is provided such as the Danvers Village Hall, the Danvers Water Emergency, Danvers Police Station, and Danvers Fire and Rescue contact info as well as many other important groups' contact info. Also provided under the contact info page is a map of the Village including links to local weather and village data info.

Instead of Get Your Kicks on Route 66, Get Your 6.6 on Route 66 this year! The 9th Annual Route 66 race is occurring on Saturday, August 27th. The CORE of McLean sponsors the event as a nonprofit organization. All proceeds go to benefit the community of McLean, IL.

When it comes to helping local residents in need, the Mackinaw Community Center Food Pantry is stepping in to help in a big way. Located in the Mackinaw Community Center at 101 S. Orchard St, the organization is currently ramping up their efforts as need in the community grows. This week, pantry board members invited The Mail to come down and check out their operation in the hopes of getting the word out about the big plans that are in the works.

During a time when the price of, well, pretty much everything keeps increasing, many families find themselves feeling like long and luxurious vacations are simply out of the picture. Instead, many families are opting for a “staycation” - a smaller trip, or multiple small trips, closer to home. A staycation can drastically cut the cost of fuel and lodging, while also providing an opportunity to learn about the places that are closer to home that one might otherwise have passed up. If you’re feeling like that trip to the Gulf of Mexico or beyond just isn’t in the budget this year, here are some ideas for smaller trips within state lines:

It’s about Christmas time… for July. Christmas in July is happening in Atlanta this year on July 23 & 24. Saturday it is from 10 am-4 pm and Sunday from 11 am-4 pm. This event is being run at the same time with the 2nd Annual Market Weekend on Route 66. Right in downtown Atlanta the streets will be decorated for Christmas. The tourism director, Whitney Ortiz, writes “it is all like Christmas, just without the cold & snow.” The specific location is Arch Street, known as the former U.S. Route 66. 

Founded in 1957 the Stanford Sportsman Club consists of two fishing lakes that have almost 5 acres of fishable space. Bill Haynes represents the Club as President, Gary Hawkins as acting Secretary/Treasurer, and Johnny Greathouse, Brain Park, Dave Able, and Jo Beth Smith as Board Members. While the club offers the lake properties for members to fish it also offers camping and picnicking for the whole family to have fun.

Schools may be out of session and concerns about grades may be temporarily abated, for many students, this is the season of “Summer Hunger”. For kids who rely on school meals for the majority of their nourishment during the school year, summer can quickly turn into 3 months of hunger and tension. Past research shows that family grocery costs can increase as much as $300 a month during the summer. In the Summer of 2022, one might expect those increased costs to rise even further, leaving many low-income families in a precarious situation.

The alleged teen assailants in the assault against Danny Hale in the Mackinaw Casey’s parking lot that occurred on the evening of May 12th have had their first appearance in court last week. 4 adult teens were arrested by Mackinaw Police following the alleged assault, along with an unnamed teenage minor. The 4 adults: Blake Huffman, Ryan Robertson, Jorge Santana, and Jacob Ragon were transported to the Tazewell County Jail and charged with Mob Action and Aggravated Battery of a Senior Citizen, the last charge could possibly be upgraded to a Class 2 Felony.

In April 2019, Reed Fry was diagnosed with cancer. With local communities rallying around the young man, Reed fought against his ailment and eventually won. Last month, the 13 year old and his family received more bad news: Reed’s cancer is back. In light of the news, local communities once again rally around the Fry family in an attempt to make Reed’s fight as comfortable as possible.