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• • • Last Saturday was not National Burn Day. Should have been. Should also have been National Burn Your Ditch or Grassy Field Day. The skies were filled with black clouds all day, leaving a smoky smell to linger over much of the area. As anyone who burns regularly knows, there are only certain windows for a safe fire. Lots of factors come into play. Wind speed. Wind direction. Relative humidity. How much volunteer help you have on hand. And, as we learned Saturday, temperature matters too. Normally for our March burns, we are working in 40-50 degrees. Normally,…

By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – It took a little convincing, but the final holdout has agreed to a proposal to receive some Princeville village tax-increment-financing revenues. Earlier this month, the Akron Township Board approved the plan, which the Princeville Village Board first authorized in November 2024 and revised the following year. It allows nine local and area taxing bodies to share money annually from TIF 4, which covers most of downtown and west-northwest Princeville. Among other things, the agreement sets aside for the other nine taxing bodies 25% of annual TIF 4 property-tax-revenue increments. They also are to…

Judge rejects railroad’s request for closure of Whittaker Road By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post The Whittaker Road railroad crossing east of Laura probably will remain open after all. A proposed order from an Illinois Commerce Commission administrative-law judge rejected a request from BNSF Railway to close the unguarded crossing. BNSF cited safety concerns and lack of use when it asked in 2023 for the closure. But the proposed order, which was issued March 17, sided with Millbrook Township officials who opposed the closure. They said oversized farm equipment uses the crossing regularly and proposed detours are unsafe. David Badillo, an…

By JEFF LAMPEFor The Weekly Post WYOMING – Stark County Republicans have attracted a big name for their annual Lincoln Day Luncheon being held Saturday, March 28, at the Stark County 4H Grounds. A representative of Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey called this week to confirm Bailey would be attending the luncheon, according to Stark County Board Member Adam Wilson. Bailey won his second straight primary election on March 17 to set up a rematch with Gov. JB Pritzker in Illinois. Bailey received 53.5% of the vote to defeat three other candidates. Also scheduled to attend the 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m….

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Galva ReportOfficer dispatched: 3-16 – While patrolling, officer located a motorist stuck in the roadway near the intersection of NW 2nd Ave. and Main St. Officer assisted getting the vehicle moving.3-16 – to help the ambulance with a medical emergency on NW 7th Ave.3-16 – to check a vehicle in the ditch on the east edge of town. The vehicle was marked and later removed by a tow truck.3-16 – to the 1000 block of W. Division St. to assist a motorist stuck in the roadway….

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.Police reports • PRINCEVILLE – Vehicle burglaries and thefts were reported in Princeville. Shortly after 3 p.m. March 6, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to a residence in the 300 block of W. High St. regarding the apparent burglary of a 2014 Ford F-150 pickup truck. Much of the report was redacted, but it indicated a vehicle about a block away was reported stolen earlier in the day. About 8 a.m. March 6, a 2011 Hyundai without license plates and with its lights on…

By JEFF LAMPEFor The Weekly Post The early-March day was chilly and windy, cold enough to bring to mind the old idiom about a well digger. The cold didn’t bother Doug Cosby, who was in fact digging a well near London Mills on that chilly day. But mud is another matter. So a prediction of incoming rainstorms had him working in the cold. “I love digging wells, but I hate mud,” Cosby explained. “I don’t like to work in muddy conditions just because it’s a lot of extra work and, from a safety standpoint, you can slip.” There’s not much else…

Longtime Brimfield basketball coach says this time he’s leaving for good By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post BRIMFIELD – Scott Carlson is retiring again. This time, it appears he means it. Last week, Carlson told his players and Brimfield administrators he will not return for a 29th season as boys basketball head coach. The fourth season of Carlson’s second stint in that job ended earlier this month with Brimfield advancing to a Class 1A sectional semifinal. “I’ve asked a few other coaches, who were also at it for a long time, how they knew it was time to retire, and the…

By MOLLY COPHERFor The Weekly Post YATES CITY – Power surges from a downed wire have created problems for the Village of Yates City.On March 3 at around 5 p.m., a downed power line in Elmwood that also runs to Yates City produced power surges in Yates City, burning out the surge protector for the village well pump.Two nights later, around 2 a.m. on March 5, more surges were produced. “The surges went all the way to Galesburg,” Yates City Village President Mark Hostetler said at the March 11 board meeting. “Princeville ended up losing their reverse-osmosis water, too. It…

Ambiguous language in plea deal delays case of Farmington woman By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post LEWISTOWN – For the first 45 minutes or so, a Farmington woman’s sentencing hearing last week in Fulton County Circuit Court was progressing as expected. But it’ll be at least eight more weeks before Kelli Miller finds out for certain her punishment after she pleaded guilty to propositioning a 13-year-old boy. Judge William Rasmussen cited ambiguities in Miller’s proposed probation order in deciding to continue the sentencing hearing, which began March 12. It’s to resume at 1:30 p.m. May 14. The sticking point appeared…