By JEFF LAMPE For The Prairie News Steps forward. That’s what Dustin Browning saw from this year’s Stark County boys basketball team. While the Rebels (17-16) did not win a regional title, they did win a regional game for the first time since 2011 and improved on several areas that Browning said should pay dividends in seasons to come. “I’m really proud of our guys this season. Took a big step forward in terms of culture, in that our seniors leave with the program better than when they came,” Browning said. “That is something they can be really proud of when…

By CAROL TOWNSEND For The Prairie News GALVA – The Galva City Council approved a $150,000 appropriation for the 2022 Galva Street program at its latest meeting. Greg Peterson of Bruner, Cooper & Zuck, the city engineer, was present and went over the streets that are to have work done. Crews this year will concentrate on the northwest section with seal coating. Northeast 5th street will be scarified and will see the addition of 4 inches of rock before being primed and sealed. The program is estimated at $133,000 and the city has about $40,000 in Motor Fuel Tax funds (MFT),…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Traffic citations & Ordinance violations 2-19 – Brooke E. Kramer – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 2-23 – Michael L. Talbot – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 2-26 – Emily F. Fussner – Driving 11-14 mph above limit. 2-26 – Hannah L. Bredeman – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 2-26 – Teresa Hussain – Driving 11-14 mph above limit. 2-25 – Emily A. Hamilton – Driving 11-14 mph above limit. 2-26 – Angelina N. Bender – Driving 15-20 mph above limit….

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • FARMINGTON – Christopher Morse, 33, of Farmington posted bond on Feb. 8 on an active warrant out of Fulton County for failure to appear in court regarding a charge of driving on a revoked license, according to a Farmington police report. • FARMINGTON – Peyton Orendorff, 20, of Roseville was stopped by police on Feb. 9 for having no rear registration, according to a Farmington police report. After police noticed a number of empty and full cans of…

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Prairie News WYOMING – The Stark County High School Rebel mascot was approved for “rebranding’’ by the school board at Tuesday night’s meeting. The caricature of a Civil War rebel is out due to what could be called political correctness. Stark County High School was formed in the fall of 1992 with the consolidation of Toulon-LaFayette and Wyoming High Schools. The first Stark County High graduating class was in 1993. At that time the “Rebel” was depicted on the front lawn signage as a Revolutionary War “rebel.” Within a few years though, in 1995,…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Prairie News WILLIAMSFIELD – The third time was not only a charm for the Stark County boys basketball team, it helped end an 11-year regional drought. Trailing 25-23 at halftime in its Class 1A regional opener, Stark County rallied to defeat ROWVA-Williamsfield last Saturday, 66-57, to avenge two regular-season losses against R-W. The road win moved Stark County (17-15) into a regional semifinal showdown against Monmouth United on Wednesday at Kewanee Wethersfield. Galva’s boys lost their regional opener at United last Saturday, 65-27. Peoria Quest was to face Ridgewood in the other semifinal on Wednesday. Winners…

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Prairie News TOULON – Toulon’s City Council received another update on the sanitary sewer Prairie Street lift station in a written report submitted by Farnsworth Group representative Ed Andrews. In addition, Andrews and Toulon Mayor Larry Hollis spoke prior to the Feb. 16 council meeting. “Stark [Excavating] has the [sewer] piping that they’ve been waiting on, so they have received materials,” Hollis said. “Now it’s just a matter of getting them up here” from Stark’s Bloomington offices. Andrews also wrote that manholes and manhole covers should be released by manufacturer Leman Precast “within the…

By Weekly Post Staff Reports CHAMPAIGN – Farmington sophomore Keygan Jennings earned a sixth-place medal Friday in the Class 1A 113-pound weight class at the Illinois Individual State Tournament at the State Farm Center. Jennings, who received a fire-trucks escort back into Farmington, is the second wrestling medalist in Farmers history, joining Broc Shymansky, who was sixth in 2018-19 at 220 pounds. Jennings (44-4) went 2-3 at state, winning his first match over Sophie Bowers of Vandalia, 15-0. He then beat Wyatt Goosens of Erie, 9-0 to reach the semifinals. That’s where he ran into eventual state champion Anthony Ruzic (26-0)…

Rambling through central Illinois, pondering squirrel pups. • • • Well, I’m not sure of the legal term for what the 4th District Court of Appeals did in the wee hours last Thursday. But I’d say “weaseling out” adequately describes the court’s non-decision on the temporary restraining order issued by Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow, a Toulon native who definitely did not weasel out when she was faced with a difficult decision. The appeals court basically passed the buck, though Justice Lisa Holder White did note they should have ruled on whether Gov. Pritzker’s executive orders were proper. Now,…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Traffic citations & Ordinance violations 2-10 – Joshua A. Hurley – Unlicensed, driving 15-20 mph above limit, mufflers and operating an uninsured vehicle. Felonies & Misdemeanors 2-2 – Criminal Felony – Heather M. Riley – Possession of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance. Incidents & Accidents Stark County 2-15 – Kevin D. Kull, 41, Neponset, was arrested for driving on a revoked license. He was also cited for illegal transport of adult use cannabis, and for driving without insurance. He…