By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – The Princeville School District is considering external entities to oversee its student after-care program.Princeville Superintendent Tony Shinall said he’s contacted three vendors: Champions, operated by KinderCare Learning Centers of Portland, Ore.; the Greater Peoria Family YMCA; and Right At School, based in Evanston. The current in-house Princeville Grade School after-care administrator, teacher’s aide Libby Snyder, might be interested in other open positions in the district, according to Shinall. “She does a really good job, but with finding staff so hard right now, it was at least worth the investigation to see what would…

By JEFF LAMPEFor The Weekly Post WILLIAMSFIELD – The Williamsfield Board of Education has decided to hire an interim superintendent of schools after negotiations with a finalist fell through. Following interviews on May 9, the board narrowed the field to two candidates who had been presented after a search conducted by the Illinois Association of School Boards. Those finalists were then interviewed by board members and stakeholders from the district on May 13. “We made an offer to one of the candidates we thought definitely fit the bill,” School Board President Chad Goff said Monday. “We just ran into some hurdles…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Police reports• HANNA CITY – A suspect in the slaying of a former Peoria High School basketball player was apprehended in Hanna City. Messiah Z. Carpenter, 20, was accused of first-degree murder regarding the death of MikeQuese Taylor. He was shot and killed April 30 near Forrest Hill and Knoxville avenues in Peoria. About 6:15 a.m. May 14, law-enforcement authorities searched a residence in the 500 block of N. Main St. in Hanna City. There they found Carpenter, who without incident was taken into custody, according to…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.  Traffic citations &Ordinance violations­5-4 – James W. Schupp – Uninsured vehicle.5-5 – Anna M. Juarez – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.5-11 – Skyler D. Ireland – Driving 21-25 mph above limit.5-11 – Keira G. Jones – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. Incidents & AccidentsStark County5-4 – A deer related vehicle accident occurred on the South Osceola Road near the intersection of 1650N. The driver involved was Brock A. Colgan, 44, of Bradford. No injuries were reported but the vehicle sustained estimated damages over $1,500.5-5 – Authorities…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Elmwood locks down school after threats ELMWOOD – An Elmwood man wanted by the military was arrested and accused of threatening his former girlfriend. The threats resulted in a brief soft lockdown of the Elmwood school building. Peoria police took Morgan R. Ludolph, 18, into custody about 10 a.m. May 8 at McDonald’s, 627 N. Western Ave. Ludolph was making homicidal and suicidal comments, according to Semone Roth, a police-department spokeswoman. Law-enforcement authorities in multiple jurisdictions were searching for Ludolph after a 17-year-old female Elmwood High…

Rambling through central Illinois, giving serious consideration to May as the best month of all. • • • At lunch the other day, we started talking about how bad roads are around here. High on my list is Illinois Route 78, aka the covered-wagon trail. Someone else submitted Illinois Route 97 as terrible, noting that damage to the shoulder is eating into the roadway, making it tough for two large vehicles to pass safely. Then there’s Illinois Route 180 north of Williamsfield, where folks ponder what the “shoulder” of the road actually looks like. There’s a pattern here. Roads with…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Traffic citations &Ordinance violations­5-3 – Noah G. Thornton – Driving 21-25 mph above limit.5-3 – Shylynn N. Cain – Electronic communications device (cellphone).5-3 – Scot J. Mincey – Driving 15-20 mph above limit – two counts.5-3 – Austin K. Dozard – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.5-4 – Hannah L. Konhorst – No valid registration.5-4 – Angela M. Smith – Driving 21-25 mph above limit.5-4 – Kailey A. Smith – Disregard stop sign.5-4 – Jonathan L. Kincaid – Driving 11-14 mph above limit and driving restriction time…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Princeville woman killed in car crashPEORIA – A Princeville-area woman was killed in a two-vehicle accident at the northwest edge of Peoria. Nevaeh Mitchell, 18, was pronounced dead at 12:27 a.m. May 5 at the scene, in the 8400 block of N. Orange Prairie Rd., according to Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood. An autopsy was to be performed Tuesday. Shortly after 11:30 p.m. May 4, Mitchell was driving north on Orange Prairie Road when another vehicle struck hers head-on. The other vehicle was headed south in…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Police reports• BRIMFIELD – A Brimfield teenager was accused of tossing a cat from a speeding vehicle. The cat was killed. The 16-year-old boy also was accused of creating a social-media video of the incident, on April 22 in the 19300 block of U.S. Route 150 west of Brimfield, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office. Peoria County Animal Protective Services alerted the sheriff’s office April 23 regarding a dead cat in the roadway. Simultaneously, the sheriff’s office was made aware of a Snapchat video that…

By JEFF LAMPEFor The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – Momentum for a community wellness center and YMCA north of the city received a substantial boost Monday thanks to Doug and Diane Oberhelman. The Oberhelmans, residents of Edwards who own reclaimed strip-mine land south of Elmwood, announced they are donating $1 million toward a matching grant for the proposed 33,000 -square-foot facility to be built north of Graham Medical Group’s Elmwood clinic. “Rural communities are the backbone of our country,” said Doug Oberhelman, former Caterpillar Inc. CEO. “Supporting this project for the rural communities where we call home is very meaningful to Diane and…