Area News Highlights

CELEBRATING THE 4TH OF JULY IN HAMMOND. Hammond Fire Chief Roger Sebens and his wife Brenda were selected as the Grand Marshals in this year’s July 4 parade. The Hammond Fire Department hosted their annual 4th of July Pancake and Sausage Breakfast. Winning the 50/50 raffle was Arthur Fire Chief Chris Helton. He donated a…

GRAND MARSHAL. Kirk Birch was selected by the Bement Community Council as this year’s Grand Marshal for the July 4 parade and is pictured leading the parade along the very crowded parade route on a very warm July 4 afternoon. Birch is a 1981 graduate of Bement High School and is the owner of Birch…

PAYING TRIBUTE. An impressive display of over 400 American flags took place in downtown Cerro Gordo on July 4 as the American Legion Post #117 honored those who served in the Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy, Unknown Soldier, POW/MIA, and loved ones. Additional photos on Page 8.

By Doris Elmore Staff Writer The 94th annual Moultrie-Douglas County Fair is stacking up to be one of the best in a long time. Fair dates this year are a little later than usual, July 25-August 2. A lot of effort has gone into finding a carnival, which was very hard to obtain. This year…

HANNAH MORFEY INSTRUCTS the Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond junior varsity girls basketball team last season at Meridian. Morfey, a 2018 ALAH grad, who went on to play at Lincoln Land, is the new Knights head coach. Submitted photo. By Mike Monahan ARTHUR – It didn’t take long for Hannah (Wallen) Morfey to move up the…

ROYALTY ATTENDS HAMMOND FIRE DEPARTMENT ANNUAL JULY 4TH BREAKFAST. Pictured from left to right, Trustee Ken Yeakley, Chief Roger Sebens, 2025 Junior Miss A.L.A.H. Bentley Parsons, 2025 Miss A.L.A.H. Maggie Benedict, Assistant Chief Gary Gee, Captain Mike Webb and Trustee Rick VanVleet.

The Cerro Gordo American Legion Post #117 Color Guard, Auxiliary Color Guard, and Junior Auxiliary members gathered at the Commons in downtown Cerro Gordo on a beautiful July 4 morning to celebrate the birth of our Nation and dedicate the Flag Garden to the memory of those who fought to keep the freedoms that were…

Atwood Chief Joe Duncan, Police Officer Thatcher Rodmaker and K9 Hank. Rodmaker and Hank recently completed their six weeks of training at Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana, and are now working the night shift in Atwood. By Doris Elmore Staff Writer A few months ago, we reported the new K9 dog that has joined…

CAIN HONORED. At the last District 1-M Cabinet meeting for the 2024-2025 Lions year, Arthur-Atwood Lions Club Secretary Linda Kay Cain was awarded the International President’s medal, the 2nd highest award in Lions. District Governor Ruthie Wimbley nominated Lion Linda Kay for the award saying, “Linda Kay is very active in her Club, works hard…