Rambling through central Illinois, recalling Dad putting on “the snow tires” in years long past. • • • After attending Monday’s Farmington City Council meeting and hearing talk about possible increases in video gaming fees, I spent more time than was prudent reading about Illinois gaming legislation. What a tangled web of obvious deceit, lies and certain corruption. As I read, a comment made by Farmington bar owner Bub Malott kept resonating: “I just don’t know what the city has done to earn a raise to take my money.” Actually, Farmington getting more gaming money doesn’t bother me. But I…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – If the last tournament final left a bitter taste in the mouth of Elmwood girls basketball players, last week’s finale was a much sweeter experience. Elmwood (14-3) won five games in 50 hours to win the 10th annual Lee Westerman Tournament, and the closest contest was a 52-32 win over Tremont, which finished second in the tournament. “It’s a much nicer way to end a tournament than the Knoxville Tournament, when we were just kind of flat,” Elmwood Coach Gregg Meyers said. “Defense is probably the best thing going for us right now….

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post MACOMB – Down 12 at halftime of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament title game, Marty Lozier figured his Farmington boys basketball team could still mount a comeback. Then Eureka hit 81.3 percent of its shots in the final two quarters – despite what Lozier called “pretty good defense.” Some games aren’t meant to be. But aside from that 55-30 loss to Eureka – the Farmers’ second straight appearance in the tourney championship game – Farmington (11-3) enjoyed an excellent showing at WIU. On the way to second place, Farmington got a buzzer beater to survive…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Prairie News The Stark County boys basketball team struggled on the road last week, dropping a pair away from home. The Rebels (5-4) sandwiched a Dec. 18 home win over North Fulton (82-43) between losses at Brimfield on Dec. 15 (51-25) and Elmwood (72-47) on Tuesday. Junior post player Joey Harmon had 23 points against North Fulton and Blake Orwig added 11 as SC dominated inside and had five players in double figures. “I was very pleased with our scoring. We did not shoot 3-pointers well, but found other ways to score,” Coach Dustin Browning said….

By CAROL TOWNSEND For The Prairie News GALVA – The Galva school board on Monday approved reducing its tax levy from $4.84 to $4.71 per $100 of assessed valuation. The total levy is $4,215,450. In other business, the board unanimously voted to accept a bid from East Moline Glass in the amount of $197,330 for new windows at the Galva Junior Senior High School. The board also approved a bid from Ideal Environmental to remove 74 windows that contain asbestos containing glazing and/or caulking from 46 openings in the original 1960s building. Windows will be removed from the exterior. The…

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Prairie News WYOMING – Prior to the regular school board meeting, Stark county School District 100 held a Truth in Taxation hearing. School superintendent Brett Elliott presented a “rationale for the levy and any increase.” The equalized assessed value [EAV] for 2020 was $123,023,423 and was compared to the 2021 EAV of $127,944,360. The actual tax rate for 2020 was 5.0792 percent compared to the 2021 rate of 5.5757 percent. The estimated increase therefore was 0.4965. Elliott said the school district is anticipating the $40,000 minimum salary for teachers, which will occur in the…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post BRIMFIELD – The Brimfield boys basketball team successfully navigated an emotional week to record two wins before heading into an extended break. Three days after packing the high school gymnasium for a memorial service for teammate Jacob Look, who died in a tragic hot tub drowning, Brimfield was back in action at home against Stark County. And instead of a moment of silence in honor of Look , the Indians took part in a moment of loud – with the blessings of the Look family. “It was about as loud as I’ve ever heard…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post KNOXVILLE – While winning easily is enjoyable, teams need to be in close games to learn how to win the hard ones. The promising Elmwood girls basketball team experienced that this weekend, falling just short of winning the Knoxville Tournament. After topping the host team last Saturday morning, 51-35, Elmwood (9-3) fell to Illini Bluffs in the title game, 36-29. Elmwood led IB 27-26 after three quarters, but was outscored 10-2 in the final quarter. “Early on we had a lot of good looks at the basket and they just weren’t falling,” Coach Gregg…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – After years of discussion, and plenty of warm August school days, the Elmwood School Board on Monday approved the installation of a new heating and cooling system for the grade school building. Cost of the HVAC project is estimated to be $2.29 million. Warner Mechanical LLC of Edwards had the low base bid of $2.02 million (before add-ons and $109,200 for contingencies) and will be awarded the project after the board voted unanimously to move ahead. Other bidders were O’Brien Brothers Inc. ($2.16 million base bid), Mechanical Service Inc. ($2.3 million) and…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • TRIVOLI – A 24-year-old Canton woman died Tuesday morning after a single-vehicle accident in the 18200 block of Smithville Road, south of Trivoli and northwest of Glasford. At about 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Peoria County Sheriff’s deputies reported finding a vehicle that had struck a power pole and was overturned. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office. At press time, the Peoria County Coroner’s Office had not yet released information about the…