Lincoln Trail, Prairieland joining for 2023 season By JEFF LAMPE For The Prairie News The Prairieland and Lincoln Trail conferences will merge for football only starting with the 2023 season. Coaches and athletic directors have spent the past few months working on details of the merger, which will create a 17-team league split into large-school and small-school divisions based on IHSA enrollment figures. Teams will play one inter-division game per season and large division squads will need to find one non-league game per season to fill their schedule. Stark County will be part of the small-school division along with Princeville, ROWVA-Williamsfield,…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • PRINCEVILLE – Collin M. Hause, 24, of Princeville was charged Feb. 11 with two counts of domestic battery/bodily harm, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s report. • YATES CITY – Tonya L. Marsh, 43, of Peoria was arrested by Yates City Police on Jan. 14 on an outstanding Peoria County warrant for Driving Under the Influence of Alchohol. She was transported to Knox County Jail. • YATES CITY – On Jan. 14, Benjamin L. Price, 38, of Yates City turned…

Brimfield a top seed as girls tourney opens Saturday By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post After a one-year absence due to COVID, the girls basketball postseason resumes starting this Saturday. And at least two area teams look poised for extended runs in the IHSA tournament. Brimfield earned the top seed in its 13-team Sub-Sectional B, which saw Elmwood No. 2, Illini Bluffs No. 3, Princeville No. 4 and ROWVA-Williamsfield end up at No. 8. The other 13-team Sub-Sectional A has a top four of: 1. Mendon Unity, 2. Mount Sterling Brown County, 3. Havana, 4. Abingdon-Avon. Winners of the two…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post When seedings come out today, Farmington figures to have the loftiest position among area boys basketball teams. The Farmers (20-6) made new coach Marty Lozier a 20-game winner in his first season with a 60-37 home victory against Orion before the snowstorm hit. “We really played well and it was a good game to get all the kids some action,” Lozier said. Farmington was without senior Corbin Rutledge, who occasionally misses games for medical reasons. While the 6-foot-5 senior is a difference maker on the court, the Farmers have learned to adjust to playing…

Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Rachel Grischow has restored my faith in Illinois government, no matter how temporarily. For the past two years, it has seemed abundantly clear that Gov. JB Pritzker was overstepping legal bounds by issuing executive orders and mandates without votes being cast by other elected officials. To me, the issue was not whether Pritzker said to wear a mask or not. It’s that he made that decision without following the proper legislative channels – even when he had time to do so as the pandemic continued. But in the absence of a response from the courts, or…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – The City Council is starting the process of deciding whether to extend its Downtown TIF agreement, which expires in 2023. At last Thursday’s council meeting, Alderman Bob Paige confirmed there was a meeting with some taxing bodies set for today, Feb. 10, at 8:30 a.m. to discuss extending the TIF. Expected at the meeting were Elmwood Schools Superintendent Chad Wagner and Elmwood Township Supervisor Connie Davis. The council also discussed funding for the Elmwood Municipal Band, which this summer will be under the direction of Luke Pratt, who is band director at…

Farmington hires resident Kyle Welker Welker By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post FARMINGTON – The City of Farmington has added one full-time police officer and lost another. The City Council on Monday welcomed Farmington resident Kyle Welker to the police force as a full-time officer. Welker will replace Officer Timothy Herink, who has accepted a full-time position as a police officer in Canton but indicated he would be willing to still work part-time for Farmington. Welker is a 2016 Farmington High School graduate who has served in the U.S. Army, spent time stationed in Afghanistan and is a 2021 graduate of…

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Prairie News TOULON – The Stark County board approved a resolution Tuesday evening at their monthly meeting concerning a potential grant for Green Gables of Bradford. The resolution states: “Stark County board agrees to submit this application for community development block grant funds and enter into any and all contractual obligations on behalf of this organization.” The board will be the authorized official in applying for a grant. There is no cost to the county, which “would be the grant recipient” according to board member Tom Howes. Green Gables is asking for $1 million so…

By CAROL TOWNSEND For The Prairie News GALVA – Galva Chamber of Commerce President Stacy Hanks presented Dave McClintic the Citizen of the Year award Saturday night at the Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting and dinner buffet held at Mary’s Family Dining. McClintic was one of several Galva residents honored at the annual event. McClintic was nominated by his daughter Tarol Suddeth. Dave and his wife Nancy came to Galva in 1973 with their four children from Jonesville, Mich. He had traveled with a group looking for a town to build a new Bob Evans plant. He met with several…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post Two years of students and teachers wearing masks came to an abrupt end this week at some Illinois schools, but not all. A ruling by Toulon native and Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow last Friday at 5 p.m. prompted the change. In response to a request from attorney Tom DeVore of Greenville, Grischow issued a temporary restraining order on Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive orders requiring masking and quarantining for Illinois schools. DeVore filed two lawsuits, one on behalf of parents against 146 districts and another by school employees against 21 districts. Grischow’s…