NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Farmington police looking into theft reports FARMINGTON – A black female and a white male were seen stealing items from the Circle K on East Fort Street in Farmington on Jan. 30 at two separate times, according to a Farmington police report. At around 4:30 p.m., store video showed the male sticking a 750 ml bottle of Jose Cuervo in his pants and the female putting 750 ml bottles of Crown Royal and Absolut Vodka in her coat. The couple left…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Traffic citations & Ordinance violations 2-1 – Richard R. King – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 2-4 – Payton Petty – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 1-29 – Latricia S. Runles – Driving on a suspended license, operating an uninsured vehicle, canceled/revoked/suspended registration and front light violation. Incidents & Accidents Stark County 1-31 – Steven E. Reiff, of Toulon, reported the theft of the catalytic converters found missing from his motor home. The incident remains under investigation. 2-2 – Paul L….

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Prairie News TOULON – Dollar General is officially coming to Toulon. The Stark County board approved an amendment to a purchase and sale contract between the county and Dollar General at a special meeting on Jan. 26. The amendment specifies exactly how a temporary construction entrance is to be constructed. The new Dollar General store is to be located just north of the existing County Highway building and be accessed to and from State Route 91. The temporary entrance will be located at the northwest corner of the county property to provide egress from…

While pumping gas one day last year, grumbling at how fast the numbers move on the pump, Elmwood carpet wizard Joe Merrick stopped to ask a question that runs through my mind every few weeks. “When someone dies, how do you decide who to write about?” Those aren’t his exact words, but that was the sense of it. Who rates more than an obituary? Who indeed? As a young journalist, I vaguely recall explanations of which people were deemed so newsworthy that their deaths deserved consideration for the front page. Presidents. Top local politicians or captains of industry. Beloved athletes…

Nips Elmwood with late rally, 46-43 By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post BRIMFIELD – The seniors stepped up just in time for Brimfield Monday night. A Senior Night game that the Lady Indians looked to have won in the third quarter suddenly started slipping away down the stretch. After leading by 12 points late in the third, the state’s No. 2 ranked Class 1A girls basketball somehow trailed young upstart Elmwood, 41-38, with 2:30 left. Defensive-minded Elmwood (20-5, 5-1 Prairieland Conference) had the lead and the momentum … right up until senior Ella Lune rebounded a teammate’s missed free throw…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post In an otherwise rough week for the Elmwood boys basketball team, senior Andrew Marincic provided a bright spot by topping 1,000 points for his career in last Friday’s 50-38 loss to Illini Bluffs. “It’s awfully impressive to get to 1,000 points with the fact you played one-third the games as a junior,” Coach Josh Fugitt said after Marincic led Elmwood with 21 points. Fugitt said the Trojans (12-10) competed much better against Illini Bluffs than in last Tuesday’s 66-45 loss to Peoria Christian. “Turnovers and offensive rebounds did us in against Peoria Christian, but…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post This spring will bring at least three bridge replacement projects to the Peoria County portion of The Weekly Post circulation area. One of the projects is already underway, another has been limited to one lane for the past few months and another has yet to break ground. The largest and most costly project involves the Illinois Route 8 bridge near Edwards, which carries the road over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks. That bridge was closed in the summer of 2018 after an inspection found that a concrete pier had deteriorated. The pier was…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – The Princeville School Board on Jan. 20 approved a 2022-23 district calendar that shows an Aug. 16 first day of school for students. Other significant dates in the calendar include a Nov. 23-25 Thanksgiving holiday; Dec. 21-Jan. 3 winter break; April 3-10, 2023, spring break; May 21, 2023 graduation; and a May 24, 2023, final day of school (if no emergency days are used). The board also heard that a light pole was downed at the baseball diamond during a recent wind event, which also took down a flag pole at the…

By LORI HEROLD For The Weekly Post BRIMFIELD – Just recently finished with construction of its new building, Brimfield Family Dentistry located at 232 E. Knoxville St. in Brimfield is already expanding. The original building, whose renovation was completed last April, has a new addition to the west. The expectation is that it will be finished in March or April. Dr. Clint Martin said this had been planned from the get-go. “Our goal has always been to function with two dentists as soon as the practice would support it because we are then able to extend our hours and continue to…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • ELMWOOD – Agnes S. Garner, 39, from Elmwood was charged on Jan. 24 for failure to appear in court with fee, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s report. • ELMWOOD – Brian E. Walker, 56, of Elmwood was charged on Jan 29 with DUI alcohol, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s report. • BRIMFIELD – Dylan J. Snider, 29, of Brimfield was charged Jan. 24 for domestic battery/physical contact, according to a Peoria Sheriff’s report. • FARMINGTON –…