NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Scuffle leaves Brimfield man, officer with injuries BRIMFIELD – Four people wound up with injuries on June 29 stemming from an incident at a Brimfield residence, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s report. Police were called to the scene and were signalled to go inside by a man outside of the residence. While entering, an officer saw Sean A. Eeten, 45, exiting the residence. When the officer attempted to engage with Eeten, Eeten walked away and tried to enter a vehicle,…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post Back to school preparations include a unique twist this summer. In addition to shopping for shoes, clothes and books, many parents have been attending school board meetings in numbers seldom seen. Usual crowds of 5-10 people ballooned to nearly 100 in some cases in the past month. The reason for all the sudden school board interest? To get the lowdown on rules regarding COVID-19, specifically in regard to wearing of masks for the 2021-22 school year. So far, three local districts – Farmington, Brimfield and Elmwood – passed plans that make mask wearing optional or…

Of the value of heart doctors & Sir Chuck My rambling path never crossed that of the late Dr. Dale Geiss, which is good and bad, it seems. Bad because he sounds like a fascinating and inspiring man. Good because meeting Geiss would likely have meant my ticker needed work and he would have probably told me to stop eating pie for breakfast. Geiss was a heart surgeon and, by most accounts, he was one of the best in Peoria, where he spent much of his career. His accomplishments at OSF St. Francis Hospital are legendary and former coworkers speak with…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – The Elmwood Elementary School is poised to have a new HVAC system installed after this school year. The Elmwood School Board met on June 23 and among the action items for the night was approval of a $110,000 agreement with Keith Engineering of Brimfield to design, bid and ultimately award the HVAC project. Work is slated to be completed in the summer of 2022. Funding comes from the federal CARES program. More good news on the financial front came from Superintendent Chad Wagner, whose end-of-year projections showed another year “in the black”…

Demolition of Elmwood dairy starts Monday By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – Demolition of a controversial dairy south of town starts Monday, and new owners of the property pledge there will never be a concentrated animal feeding operation there again. Doug and Diane Oberhelman purchased the 73-acre property after a Sheriff’s auction in late May for $160,000 from the Bank of Yates City. The Oberhelmans are the fifth owners of the dairy, whose last operators declared bankruptcy and were forced to halt operations. That should effectively close the book on a mass milking operation that opened in the…

By PHIL JOHNSON For The Weekly Post ROWVA-Williamsfield’s memorable baseball season of 18-8 ended three weeks ago with a heartbreaking loss to Illini Bluffs in sectional play. But the season didn’t really end there. After the season ended, players, coaches and a number of parents embarked on a baseball road trip that included a visit to Cooperstown, N.Y., to experience the Baseball Hall of Fame. While the 2021 baseball season was still in its early stages, R-W Head Coach Arnie Gonzalez was already thinking about this year’s seniors, who had lost all of their junior season to COVID-19 restrictions. Gonzalez pondered…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • PRINCEVILLE – Scott Eugene Gardner, 56, of Princeville was charged on June 24 with a violation of order of protection, according to a Peoria County sheriff’s report. • FARMINGTON – Farmington police met with Christopher Ward, 36, of Indiana at the Farmington Circle K on June 16, regarding a Fulton County warrant for deceptive practice, according to a Farmington police report. Ward posted bond and was given a court date. • FARMINGTON – Carrisa Monroe, 31, of Farmington…

Traffic citations & Ordinance violations 6-23 – Jordan S. McCauley – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 6-18 – Terri L. Szymanski – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 6-23 – Raiden E. Porter – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 6-23 – Dameian B. Decker – Driving/operating a non-highway vehicle/ATV. Felonies & Misdemeanors Criminal misdemeanor – Chase T. Anderson – Domestic battery/physical contact. Incidents & Accidents Stark County 6-20 – A deer-related vehicle accident occurred at 1400E and 800N. The driver involved was Jessica Joos, 21, of Wyoming. There were no injuries reported, but estimated damage to the vehicle was over $1,500….

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Weekly Post BRIMFIELD – The Brimfield Board of Education approved its newest member to complete a seven-person board. Brimfield’s Lauren Coyle took the oath of office June 16 and joins President Steve Updyke, Mark Bell, Brent Graham, Patrick Meyer, Todd Johnson and Jason Snyder on the board. The board then ran through a series of agenda items by first approving a contract with Heinz Transportation to provide buses for the school district for the 2021-22 school year. According to school superintendent Tony Shinall, this represents “a six percent increase on the base” cost. Second, registration…

Trojans take second in relay for fifth time in school history By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post CHARLESTON – One of these years, an Elmwood-Brimfield 4×800 relay is going to win a state title. But until that finally happens, the Trojans will be proud to add to an already-impressive resume of relay finishes. Another chapter was written last Thursday during a steamy state meet, as E-B ran to second place in the two-mile relay for the fifth time in school history. The quartet of seniors Blake Rosenbohm, Eli Stevenson and Luke Hoffmann and junior Thomas Harmon posted a season-best time…