By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post KEWANEE – Hampered by hamstrings in the sprints and sprint relays, the Elmwood-Brimfield track and field team reached back to its traditional strength for a second straight Class 1A sectional title last Friday. E-B racked up 47 of its 82 points in distance events to place first in the Kewanee Wethersfield Sectional ahead of runnerup Stark County (66 points) and the likes of fifth-place Princeville (50). Much of that was fueled by senior Thomas Harmon and sophomore Isaiah Hill. Harmon ran 6,000 meters on the night, winning the 3,200 in 10:28.92 and the 800…

By PHIL JOHNSON For The Weekly Post BRIMFIELD – A fast start boosted the Brimfield-Elmwood baseball team to its ninth regional title last Friday. The Indians (29-2) bolted to a 7-0 lead after two innings vs. Midwest Central in the Class 2A Brimfield Regional finale and held on for a 10-5 victory. Indians starting pitcher Frank Kelch, who had his usual high number of strikeouts, ran into some control problems in the top of the third and was relieved by Michael Seibert, who helped to fend off a comeback. Kelch’s line was 2.2 innings pitched, three earned runs, four hits, seven…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Fairview man accused of hitting relative’s car FARMINGTON – A Fulton County man was accused of ramming his pickup truck into his stepfather’s vehicle at a Farmington car wash, according to authorities. Chase L. McFarland, 27, of Fairview was arrested following the incident, which happened shortly before 5 p.m. May 6 at Home Town Car Wash, 591 E. Fort St. According to a police report, Brandon L. Sparks, 48, of Dahinda was vacuuming his 2007 Honda Civic while on his knees…

By AARON FREY For The Weekly Post GALESBURG – Caitlin Evans came home one day and had a question for her parents. Who is Doogie Howser? As Evans gets set to graduate today, May 19, from Carl Sandburg College’s associate degree nursing program at only 17 years old, it’s understandable that she’s drawn comparisons to the teenage doctor played by Neil Patrick Harris on the 1990s sitcom. “Someone called me that, and I had no idea (what it meant),” Evans said. Thirty-year-old pop culture references are among the few things Evans isn’t well schooled in. When she was 13, Evans took…

Rambling through central Illinois, counting the days until the final season of “Peaky Blinders” airs on Netflix on June 10. • • • The restaurant roulette wheel is spinning in Elmwood, where the Uptown Cafe is soon moving to the former Cerno’s location at 118 E. Main St. Occupying the space vacated by Uptown Cafe at 110 N. Magnolia St. will be a Mexican restaurant operated by Dana Cardenas of Havana. Cardenas is seeking a liquor license from the City of Elmwood and plans to call her restaurant Mi Ranchito. Opening is likely slated for July. Margaritas on Magnolia anyone?…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Arriving late with vehicle nets jail time for man HANNA CITY – Tardiness with his new girlfriend’s vehicle resulted in the arrest of a man north of Hanna City, according to authorities. Dolan R. Motes, 52, was taken into custody about 8 p.m. April 27 after he returned to his girlfriend’s residence in the 13800 block of W. Cottonwood Rd. west of Edwards. The 53-year-old woman told a Peoria County Sheriff’s deputy Motes drove to work in her 2010 Jeep Cherokee…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post Bluebells blanket two sides of French Creek in places. Never mind that, in a few weeks, they will be replaced by a sea of stinging nettles. For now, the scene is one of beauty. Similar spring glories abound, with plants of all sorts flowering and tractors turning our fine soil into a crumbly quilt of black and brown. So it goes in spring, a season of hope when many of us fill a primal urge by getting dirty while putting plants in the ground. Mother’s Day is usually a safe time to start…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Alarm but no robbery at Elmwood Casey’s ELMWOOD – Despite initial appearances, the Casey’s convenience store in Elmwood was not robbed last week. About noon on April 27, Elmwood police officer Mike Darrah and a Peoria County Sheriff’s deputy were dispatched to the store at 811 W. Main St. The hold-up alarm there had been triggered, according to an Elmwood police report. When Darrah arrived at Casey’s, he noticed three company trucks in the parking lot and employees working at the…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • EDWARDS – Ronda S. Frye, 51, of Edwards was arrested April 22 after she was charged with two counts of forgery, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s report. • A mailbox at a residence in the 5600 block of North Kickapoo-Edwards Road was destroyed sometime between 8 p.m. April 10 and 7 a.m. April 11, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s report. The mailbox was among others in a row. Another mailbox was damaged. Homeowners did not hear…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post Marisa Unes showed a flair for the dramatic Saturday in girls softball action for Brimfield-Elmwood. The Lady Indians outfielder belted a walk-off, two-run home run on a 1-2 count to beat Havana, 6-4. Brooke Sumner had doubled to lead off the inning against Havana (5-2) and scored on Unes’ four-bagger. Sumner also scored in the bottom of the fifth inning after singling. That made a winner of Maddie Hessing, who allowed four hits in seven innings, fanned six and walked three. Also collecting hits were Ella Florey (double), Kierra Johnson, Hessing and CJ Troxell. On…