Author: Dani Tietz

Mahomet-Seymour School Board member Meghan Hennesy asked the board to consider including a $1,000 bonus for all union-eligible employees and building-level administrators during the regularly scheduled board meeting in June.  Hennesy suggested that the money come from ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds. She said ESSER funds continue to be provided through the American… Read more

OSF HealthCare and the University of Illinois will expand the SHIELD CU COVID-19 testing program to testing sites at Parkland College beginning July 14. The testing sites will be open at Parkland College in the M-4 parking lot tent, 2400 W Bradley Ave. in Champaign on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from 9:30 AM to 1:30… Read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated mask guidelines Friday, saying students and teachers who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks while inside school buildings. Currently, COVID-19 vaccines have received emergency approval for children ages 12 and older.  In the updated guidance, the CDC is not advising schools to require… Read more

It’s easy to think about all the things that were taken away through the COVID-19 pandemic. But that’s not the way Jason Schifo, pastor of the Community Evangelical Free Church of Mahomet, thinks. His sights are set, rather, on how he can help serve communities. “1 Peter 4:10 says that we are supposed to use… Read more

The Village of Mahomet seeks to fill a vacancy left by Trustee Don Lynn on June 22, 2021. Lynn was first appointed to the Village of Mahomet board in 2013. After he filled the remaining two years of the four year term, he was re-elected in 2015 and 2019. Lynn’s term expires in 2023; the… Read more

The Mahomet Parks and Recreation Department has announced the Barber Park amphitheater will be completed by August 2022. Improvements will include the addition of a permanent stage, hardscape and lawn seating areas and supporting pathways at the 55 acre park that hosts soccer fields. MPRD also plans to include a new fully inclusive playground, a… Read more

The University of Illinois will require students on their three campuses — Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield — to receive a complete dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester, if they are able to do so. According to a Mass Mail on Monday, faculty and staff will not be required… Read more

Four-year letterman Payton Ragona left the Mahomet-Seymour wrestling program early to serve in the United State Army late on June 7. Prior to heading to bootcamp, Ragona amassed 62 career victories, 23 of which ended by fall. He earned the Brent Johnson Ironman Award in 2018, was a member of the Illinois Top Dawg Disney… Read more

Residents throughout East Central Illinois reported feeling a small rumble Thursday morning. They were not imagining things. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported an earthquake, recorded as a magnitude 3.82, just north of Montezuma, Ind. a little after 2 p.m. on June 17. At just over 4.7 miles deep, the quake was shallow enough… Read more

Gas taxes in Illinois are set to increase from $0.387 per gallon to $0.392 per gallon on July 1. The state’s Motor Fuel Tax first increased from $0.19 per gallon of gasoline to $0.38 cents per gallon and from $0.215 to $0.455 per gallon of diesel fuel on July 1, 2019. At that time, lawmakers voted in an… Read more