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…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Police reports• WILLIAMSFIELD – Gunfire reported at a property south of Williamsfield came from Princeville-area men who were attempting to destroy a beaver dam, according to authorities. A nearby resident alerted the Knox County Sheriff’s Office regarding gunshots and explosions heard about noon March 30 near the 1000 block of Knox Road 2300 East. A deputy reported to the scene. There the deputy found 24-year-old Alec D. Wagenbach, 21-year-old Nolan D. Wagenbach and seven juveniles from the Edelstein, Princeville and Wyoming areas, according to a sheriff’s-office…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.  Traffic citations &Ordinance violations4-2 – Talia L. Shade – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.4-2 – Jeremy M. Ethridge – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.4-2 – Deane B. Goldstein III – Speeding 26-34 mph over limit.4-4 – Tabatha M. Crumble – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.4-8 – Mark A. Kozelichki – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.4-8 – Donato R. Diaz Herrera – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.4-8 – Danny R. Martin – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.4-8 – Christopher J. Seaman – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.4-8…

By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post ROWVA-Williamsfield softball began this week by extending its winning streak to four games. Ava Landon struck out 10 Peoria Christian batters Monday in a 5-1 road victory. Landon walked one and allowed six hits. On offense, Landon was 3-for-4 with two singles and a triple. The Cougars (7-3) scored three times in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie. Izzy Nelson’s single drove in a run. The others scored on an error and a wild pitch. On April 6, R-W swept a doubleheader from Galva, 10-1 and 16-1. Taylor Morgan and Ella Rigg each…

By PHIL JOHNSONFor The Weekly Post While the early part of last week brought cold and wet weather to area baseball action, high school teams were able to break out Friday, Saturday and Monday. And the uniqueness of Monday’s eclipse did not disrupt play. Here is what took place. Brimfield-Elmwood – The unbeaten Indians (8-0) topped Peoria Heights 7-2 in a Prairieland-ICAC home contest Monday. The pesky visitors were in front 2-1 until the hosts struck for three in both the fifth and sixth innings. Kyle Binder knocked a double with three RBI, Brady Johnson hit two doubles to go with…

Farmington, R-W manage to get in meets By JEFF LAMPEFor The Weekly Post To say the weather has not cooperated this track season in an understatement. “I’ve coached track since I was at Galva in 2002 and we’ve had rough springs before, but we’ve always had at least one meet in the month of March,” said Princeville Coach Jon Carruthers. “This year, we didn’t.” Princeville is not alone. Until Monday’s junior varsity meet at Havana, no Elmwood-Brimfield track and field athletes had competed in an outdoors setting. With any luck, this week will make all that cold, wet weather a distant…