By JOHN A. BALLENTINE­For The Prairie News TOULON – Toulon’s appointed police chief Gary Bent, 59, does double duty in the law-enforcement field as a Stark County deputy sheriff and as Toulon’s top police officer. Bent has been a full-time Stark County deputy sheriff since 2014 and was hired in 2015 as Toulon’s police chief. There are eight part-time police officers who help Bent maintain the peace in Toulon. Bent was originally hired in 2003 by former Sheriff Jimmy Dison as the county’s animal control officer and then a few years later Dison hired Bent as a part-time deputy sheriff….

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Incidents & AccidentsStark County1-23 – Mina E. Grando, 28, Toulon, was ticketed for operation of an uninsured vehicle.1-24 – Grace A. Keller, 29, Fiatt, was cited for driving on an expired registration. Galva ReportOfficer dispatched:1-23 – to assist Stark County Medic with a medical call on SE 1st St.1-23 – along with Stark County Medic and the fire department to a single-vehicle rollover accident on Route 34 just east of Galva. Henry County handled the crash report.1-23 – Officer was notified…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Galesburg woman killed in Interstate 74 collision• BRIMFIELD – A Galesburg woman was killed when her vehicle collided with a Princeville man’s semi-trailer truck on Interstate 74 east of Brimfield. Amanda Matuszyk, 42, probably died instantly, according to Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood. The accident happened about 6:30 a.m. Jan. 26 on the eastbound interstate near Schlink Road. Matuszyk was driving a 2007 tan Ford Fusion and the 74-year-old Princeville resident, who otherwise was unidentified, was driving a 2000 purple Kenworth,…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Traffic citations &Ordinance violations 1-14 – Rosalie J. Bohannon – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.1-11 – Cody J. Addicks – Driving 15-20 mph above limit.1-23 – Mina E. Granado – Operating an uninsured vehicle.1-14 – Carlos Fernado Baltazor Aguirre – Speeding 26-34 mph over the limit. Incidents & AccidentsStark County1-5 – A two-vehicle accident occurred on 1100N near the intersection of 1100E. Drivers involved were Foster Andrews, 72, of Warrenton, Ga., and Donna R. Weir, 61, of Castleton. No injuries were…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Princeville man keeps woman’s mislaid wallet• PRINCEVILLE – A Princeville-area man was accused of taking a wallet after it was mislaid at a local business. The wallet contained about $1,500, according to its owner. Zachary D. Poole, 28, was arrested in connection with the incident, which took place about 7:45 p.m. Jan. 5 at Dollar General, 1107 N. Santa Fe Ave. in Princeville. A shopper said she left her orange Coach wristlet wallet on a shelf by mistake after she loaded…

By JEFF LAMPEFor The Weekly Post The next two weeks look rugged for the Brimfield girls basketball team. In a five-game stretch starting tonight vs. Lewistown, Brimfield will also face sixth-ranked Havana (Jan. 23), West Central (Jan. 26) and Elmwood (Jan. 30). If any team is ready for such a stretch, it’s the Lady Indians (16-6), who are fresh off a 2-1 showing at Kewanee’s MLK Tournament that included Monday’s 46-38 loss to Geneseo, the ninth-ranked team in Class 3A. Despite playing most of that game without two of its top seven players and with senior Elly Doe at 50 percent due…

By NICK VLAHOSFor The Weekly Post KICKAPOO – Suspected drug overdoses at a Kickapoo-area gasoline station led to a three-vehicle accident this week in which a Peoria woman was killed. Jeremy E. Perry, 43, of Hanna City was accused of three felonies Tuesday in connection with the incident – aggravated fleeing and eluding, and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence, according to Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos. An arrest warrant for $1 million was issued for Perry. Additional charges are expected next month after a grand jury considers the case, according to Hoos. Miriam Schmid, 43, died in…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Incidents & AccidentsStark County 1-9 – Israel Retamoza, 19, Wyoming, was cited for not having a valid driver’s license, driving with no insurance and having a non-valid vehicle registration. 1-13 – Rachel W. Newton, 46, LaFayette, was arrested on a Henry County warrant for failure to appear on the original charges of driving without insurance and for depositing material on a roadway. Unable to post $100 cash bond she was extradited to the Henry County Jail. 1-14 – Gregory G. Whittaker,…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • EDELSTEIN – Ice was a factor in two two-vehicle accidents that took place within about 45 minutes of each other at the same location south of Edelstein. No injuries were reported in either accident. Both took place Jan. 5 on Illinois Route 40, about one-quarter mile north of Hallock Hollow Road. About 8 a.m., Angela M. Janey of Bradford was driving a 2005 Pontiac Vibe south on Route 40 when the vehicle began to slide, according to a…

Rambling through central Illinois, gauging how much per hour it would take for me to drive a school bus. • • • The cartoon page will be changing again, and this time not by our choice. Mike Marland, the artist who draws R.F.D., will retire on Jan. 30. So his final cartoon should be in our Feb. 2 issue. Marland told The Daily Cartoonist website that, due to arthritis, he has been creating R.F.D. using Photoshop since August of 2020 and misses drawing the strips with pen and paper. Marland’s strip has been syndicated by King Features Weekly Service since…