Month: May 2022

By NICK VLAHOS For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – The city’s electricity bill is about to increase. A lot. But Elmwood city government also has enough money in reserve to pay it. For now, at least. A new one-year contract with Homefield Energy sets the electricity rate for its municipal customer at 15.042 cents per kilowatt hour, according to Elmwood Mayor JD Hulslander. The current rate is 4.8 cents. The new contract takes effect in June. During a meeting May 17, Hulslander informed the City Council about the increase. The Homefield Energy contract covers all city facilities. That includes City Hall,…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – Not long after giving final approval for $2,345,889 in General Obligation School Bonds for an HVAC project, the Elmwood School Board on Monday heard encouraging news about another possible project. The board voted unanimously to approve bond issuance for installation of a new HVAC system in the grade school. Several other outstanding bonds were also rolled into the total and Morton Community Bank was authorized to handle the sale. While the HVAC system has been a decades-long topic of conversation, proposed construction of a new Industrial Arts building between the east side…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post CHARLESTON – Not much about pole vault seems easy. Running with a 10-foot pole and catapulting over a bar just doesn’t come natural. Unless you are Mya Strahm. Six months into her pole-vaulting career, Strahm tied for second in that event Saturday at the IHSA Class 1A state track and field meet at Eastern Illinois University. The Elmwood-Brimfield freshman also placed sixth in the 300 hurdles and was one of three E-B girls to medal during a rainy Class 1A state meet. “She makes it look easy. It’s not easy, but she makes it…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post KEWANEE – Hampered by hamstrings in the sprints and sprint relays, the Elmwood-Brimfield track and field team reached back to its traditional strength for a second straight Class 1A sectional title last Friday. E-B racked up 47 of its 82 points in distance events to place first in the Kewanee Wethersfield Sectional ahead of runnerup Stark County (66 points) and the likes of fifth-place Princeville (50). Much of that was fueled by senior Thomas Harmon and sophomore Isaiah Hill. Harmon ran 6,000 meters on the night, winning the 3,200 in 10:28.92 and the 800…

By PHIL JOHNSON For The Weekly Post BRIMFIELD – A fast start boosted the Brimfield-Elmwood baseball team to its ninth regional title last Friday. The Indians (29-2) bolted to a 7-0 lead after two innings vs. Midwest Central in the Class 2A Brimfield Regional finale and held on for a 10-5 victory. Indians starting pitcher Frank Kelch, who had his usual high number of strikeouts, ran into some control problems in the top of the third and was relieved by Michael Seibert, who helped to fend off a comeback. Kelch’s line was 2.2 innings pitched, three earned runs, four hits, seven…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Fairview man accused of hitting relative’s car FARMINGTON – A Fulton County man was accused of ramming his pickup truck into his stepfather’s vehicle at a Farmington car wash, according to authorities. Chase L. McFarland, 27, of Fairview was arrested following the incident, which happened shortly before 5 p.m. May 6 at Home Town Car Wash, 591 E. Fort St. According to a police report, Brandon L. Sparks, 48, of Dahinda was vacuuming his 2007 Honda Civic while on his knees…

By AARON FREY For The Weekly Post GALESBURG – Caitlin Evans came home one day and had a question for her parents. Who is Doogie Howser? As Evans gets set to graduate today, May 19, from Carl Sandburg College’s associate degree nursing program at only 17 years old, it’s understandable that she’s drawn comparisons to the teenage doctor played by Neil Patrick Harris on the 1990s sitcom. “Someone called me that, and I had no idea (what it meant),” Evans said. Thirty-year-old pop culture references are among the few things Evans isn’t well schooled in. When she was 13, Evans took…

Rambling through central Illinois, counting the days until the final season of “Peaky Blinders” airs on Netflix on June 10. • • • The restaurant roulette wheel is spinning in Elmwood, where the Uptown Cafe is soon moving to the former Cerno’s location at 118 E. Main St. Occupying the space vacated by Uptown Cafe at 110 N. Magnolia St. will be a Mexican restaurant operated by Dana Cardenas of Havana. Cardenas is seeking a liquor license from the City of Elmwood and plans to call her restaurant Mi Ranchito. Opening is likely slated for July. Margaritas on Magnolia anyone?…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Arriving late with vehicle nets jail time for man HANNA CITY – Tardiness with his new girlfriend’s vehicle resulted in the arrest of a man north of Hanna City, according to authorities. Dolan R. Motes, 52, was taken into custody about 8 p.m. April 27 after he returned to his girlfriend’s residence in the 13800 block of W. Cottonwood Rd. west of Edwards. The 53-year-old woman told a Peoria County Sheriff’s deputy Motes drove to work in her 2010 Jeep Cherokee…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post Bluebells blanket two sides of French Creek in places. Never mind that, in a few weeks, they will be replaced by a sea of stinging nettles. For now, the scene is one of beauty. Similar spring glories abound, with plants of all sorts flowering and tractors turning our fine soil into a crumbly quilt of black and brown. So it goes in spring, a season of hope when many of us fill a primal urge by getting dirty while putting plants in the ground. Mother’s Day is usually a safe time to start…