NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Edwards man dies in Southport Road crash PEORIA – Darrell W. Harper, 58, of Edwards died in a two-vehicle collision Friday, April 1, in the 5600 block of Southport Rd. at approximately 8:44 p.m. According to Peoria County Sheriff’s Captain Chris Watkins, Harper, of Powder Mill Road, was the lone occupant of a sedan driving westbound on Southport Road. His vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck that was traveling eastbound. Two adults in the pickup were transported by AMT to OSF…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Traffic citations & Ordinance violations 3-25 – Jimmy C. Robledo – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 3-25 – Abigail K. Clapper – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 3-25 – Steven A. Piquard – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 3-25 – Dawn E. Tuley – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 3-25 – Melissa A. Smith – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 3-20 – Jessica E. Diaz – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. Felonies & Misdemeanors 3-16 – Criminal misdemeanor – Heather D….

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Death at elevator under investigation WILLIAMSFIELD – Knox County Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant Brad Davis said he is still involved in an investigation into the death of Harold R. Bell, 58, of Laura. Bell was at the Ag-Land FS Grain Elevator in Williamsfield when he died on March 16. Davis said he is awaiting a final autopsy report that includes toxicology results before he can finish his investigation. He anticipated a final report “within a few weeks.” Bell had worked at the…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – After approving steps toward issuing $2.34 million of bonds for a long-awaited HVAC project in the elementary school, the Elmwood School Board heard a pitch for another much-discussed project at its Monday meeting. Board member Claude Keefer outlined his vision for a new 30×100 building that would adjoin the current 1,200-square-foot space allocated for Ag, Industrial Arts and trades education on the east side of the school complex. “This project has been on the radar for some time,” Keefer said. “The key is to get the kids enough hands-on to get them excited….

By JEFF LAMPE For The Prairie News In a state too well known for political corruption, any law that seeks to curtail those problems is a good one, right? Perhaps you haven’t met Illinois Public Act 102-0664, an ethics bill designed to increase transparency involving elected officials and government employees. As part of the bill, effective Jan. 1, Illinois elected officials, appointed members of board, some government employees and pension fund board members must fill out a revised Statement of Economic Interests form. Previously, the form asked officials to disclose relationships with businesses that might also have dealings with the council…

By CAROL TOWNSEND For The Prairie News GALVA – The Galva School board unanimously extended the contract of Superintendent Joe Becker until June 30, 2025. Becker told the board that the Galva School District will have a high school math teacher vacancy for next year. City Administrator David Dyer attended the meeting and told the board that the City of Galva wants to create a new TIF district. He said the TIF would be for 23 years. The city presently has three TIFs: • The downtown TIF which expires Dec. 31, 2022, will generate $198,048 for the school district. •…

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Prairie News WYOMING – The Stark County School board hired Michael McGovern as an assistant principal as part of several personnel moves made at its monthly meeting on March 21. After meeting in closed session, the board approved McGovern to replace Anne Snyder as Assistant Principal for the Junior/Senior high school. McGovern was unavailable for questions until next week. The board accepted several resignations: from Lonnie Dennison as director of transportation and all coaching positions; from Amy DeBoerver as district clerical; from Sherry LaPayne as assistant cook; and from Emile Hahn as high school…

By PHIL JOHNSON For The Weekly Post Local high school baseball games began last Tuesday with some rare, very nice mid-March weather. Here’s a summary. Brimfield-Elmwood Brimfield-Elmwood (7-0) kept winning Monday with a 10-0 non-conference win at home vs. Henry. Austin Baysingar fired a complete pitching performance, striking out nine and allowing just two hits. B-E took advantage of six Henry errors and Jude Strahm, Kyle Binder and Jack Houlihan each clubbed a double. “We’re playing together as a team and playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Coach Brandon Porter said. “The main issue we need to work on…

Brimfield-Elmwood ‘right there’ By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post The Brimfield-Elmwood softball team is off to a 2-1 start and, while the wins were nice, the one loss may have been even more telling for Coach Kurt Juerjens. In addition to wins over Knoxville and Henry, B-E suffered a 2-1 loss to Stanford Olympia in the bottom of the 8th inning. That’s significant because while Olympia pitcher Danika Frazier can top 60 mph, the Lady Indians gave her a good battle. “I thought when we played Olympia the other night we were right there. It showed we can compete with…

Harmon, Hursey win at Last Chance indoor meet By Weekly Post Staff Reports MONMOUTH – Senior Thomas Harmon won the 800-meter race Saturday for Elmwood-Brimfield at the 14th Silver Streaks Last Chance indoor meet held at Monmouth College. He was one of two local winners on the day, as Miranda Hursey of Farmington won the pole vault with a vault of 8 feet, 11 inches. Harmon finished the 800 in 2:02.79 to beat runnerup Logan Veloz of East Moline (2:03.37) and a field of 45 other runners. Harmon was also second in the 1,600 in 4:46.03, placing behind Limestone’s Wilson Georges (4:18.7)….