Olney, Illinois is a small town in southern
Illinois,
population aproximently 10,000. It is known as the "
Home of the White Squirrels" and is also home to Butch Lockley of "
Survivor: The Amazon"
Olney is located in Richland County,
approximately 65 miles south of
Effingham, Illinois, and about 55 miles west of
Vincennes, Indiana.
Its
white squirrels are famous across the nation. The squirrels are completely
albino. Gray and white squirrels have recently been known to breed together, producing half breeds. Some of the
half breeds have even been known to have a completely albino body (including pink eyes) but with a dark gray tail.
Olney is filled with local businesses, including
Ophelia's Cup, a local coffee shop. There,
young authors are encouraged to share their material with other Ophelia's Cup customers and employees. Other notable businesses include The Fireside (The local bar) and
Butch and Jennie's, a popular pawn shop.
Olney's newest clame-to-fame,
Butch Lockley, is the middle school principal, and is responsible for helping bring up many fine
young adults into the community.
Olney is also well known for its highschool
sports program. The East Richland Tigers compete in the
North Egyptian conference.
Sports in the athletic program include
football,
golf,
tennis,
cross country running,
vollyball,
girls and
boys basketball,
baseball,
softball, and
track and field. The Tigers have been known to bring home many Conference titles and occasionally have competed in Illinois State Tournaments.
Also in the town,
Olney Central College, a junior college.
OCC offers courses in all fields and serves as a
pre-college to
SIUand
EIU. The OCC mascot is the Blue Knight. OCC also supports a
concert band,
jazz band, and
choir, all known as the OCC
Cavaliers.