Rambling through central Illinois, strangely excited by rain. • • • Just when I thought my grasp on the nuances of March was solid, along came an email reminding me that, in addition to rain, these 31 days belong also to Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. My information on the national colon celebration is from Rozana Dwyer, a doctor in the Graham Health System who is also a new resident of Elmwood. Doc Dwyer notes that, “Unlike other screening tools that find cancer earlier, a screening colonoscopy can prevent your chance of colon and rectal cancer by 50% by finding smaller,…

Owners plan $5.2M investment in Princeville By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – The new owners of the long-shuttered Alcoa Building Products facility in Princeville plan to spend up to $5.2 million to renovate it. West Jersey Express, a Stark County-based transportation and logistics company, took over the former Alcoa property last September. The investment the firm is planning was included in an application for potential village tax-increment-financing reimbursement. The application was discussed Monday during a Village Board TIF committee meeting held before the regular board meeting. Trustees took no action on the application. Alcoa closed its 300,000-square-foot Princeville facility…

By JEFF LAMPEFor The Weekly Post While there are no major national positions to decide in the upcoming April 1 consolidated election, the ballots for Knox, Fulton and Peoria counties show a fair number of contested races. Several of those are in Princeville, where races for village president, village trustee and township supervisor are up for grabs. Current village president Jeff Troutman faces a challenge from Rick Pope, who is currently a village trustee. Four candidates are running for three seats on the Village Board: Branden Curtis, Teresa Gilroy, Steven Potter and Spencer Wilson. Gilroy and Potter are incumbents. The race…

By CAROL TOWNSENDFor The Prairie News GALVA – Several alderman asked that four houses in the city be moved to the top of the list to have their yards cleaned up immediately. Second Ward Aldermen Jim Hartman and Rick Otterstrom said at Monday’s meeting of the City Council that the resident at 509 SW 3rd St. is cutting up items in his yard, loading a trailer with the junk and burning items early in the morning creating black smoke. They said the resident has put up a homemade fence, adding this needs attention immediately as he is also using the…

By JEFF LAMPEFor The Prairie News While there are no major national positions to decide in the upcoming April 1 consolidated election, the ballot for Stark County shows several contested races. In the Wyoming mayoral election, Ian Potter and James Mercer are running against Incumbent Pat Maher. In Bradford, Tony Carlton and Sharon Cauthon are vying to replace current Village President John Cler, who is running for village trustee. Goshen Township has two contested races. Incumbent Highway Commissioner John Forstrom faces a challenge from write-in candidate Kevin Baumann. Six candidates are running for four trustee positions: Incumbents Joe Day, Danny…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Traffic citations &Ordinance violations2-27 – Diane L. Larson – Expired registration.3-1 – Ali J. Asadi – Driving 15-20 mph above limit on a suspended license. Incidents & AccidentsStark County2-25 – Jason L. Delva, 48, Westville, was cited for driving on a suspended registration due to mandatory vehicle insurance. Two passengers were also arrested during the same traffic stop: Leslie F. Prozzo, 38, Rock Island, charged with illegal possession of adult-use cannabis and possession of meth with less than five grams; and Joshua G. Randle, 41, Peoria,…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Police reports • WILLIAMSFIELD – A Williamsfield-area man who told authorities he was having a mental- health breakdown was wanted regarding a domestic-battery case. Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies were summoned about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 3 to a residence in the 2000 block of Knox Road 2150 East. There they found Dallas R. Hulse, 27. Hulse told officers he was God, asked for cocaine and said he saw a pterodactyl flying around one of their heads, according to a report. A check revealed Hulse had an…

Weekly newscast found on YouTube By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – Students who produce the Princeville School District’s new internet-based news program appear to have learned a few things on the job. It also appears they might be learning how to handle at least a minor level of fame. “They’re kind of a little bit like local celebrities,” said Kelly Jenkins, the district’s technology coordinator. “People see them uptown at Casey’s and recognize them from the news.” The faces of 326 News are anchors Lily Garcia and Mazie Streitmatter, sports reporter Noah Geiger and roving reporter Harper Francis. But…

By JOHN A. BALLENTINEFor The Prairie News WYOMING – Stark County special education teacher Leslie Rennick has been selected as the 2025 Northwest Illinois Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education. Rennick, who is one of 13 finalists for Illinois Teacher of the Year, was recognized on Monday by the Stark County School Board with a Pride and Excellence award for the ISBE honor she received on Feb. 14. She teaches in Stark County Elementary School. “I am very excited and very proud to represent Stark County,” Rennick stated. “I’ll be representing Stark County/Northwest Region at the…

By NICK VLAHOSFor The Prairie News For the second season in a row, Galva won its first game in the Class 1A boys basketball state tournament. Blake Stahl had 29 points and 10 rebounds Monday night to lead the host Wildcats past Kewanee Wethersfield 63-39 in a Savanna Regional opener. The victory sent Galva (22-7), the fourth seed in its Pecatonica sub-sectional, to a regional semifinal scheduled for Wednesday night at West Carroll against No. 5 Sterling Newman. The regional title game is set for 7 tonight (Feb. 28), also at West Carroll. JP Sloan had 13 points and six assists…