By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – The Elmwood City Council approved the purchase of a refurbished street sweeping machine during an abbreviated monthly meeting on Dec. 7. Cost of the refurbished street sweeper is $57,500. Economic Development Director Amy Davis was not present, but had submitted a written report to the council. Davis wrote that she has helped in finding a replacement business for Cerno’s, which is to close in Elmwood in the near future. Davis reported that the Horeb Lodge repairs are completed and that the café and post office “are both fully open.” There was…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post WILLIAMSFIELD – Masks are not going away anytime soon in Williamsfield schools, but Superintendent Tim Farquer said efforts are being made to return to some “traditional practices.” “The mask mandate does not look like it’s going anywhere, but by and large, everything else we’re trying to get back to normal as much as we can,” Superintendent Tim Farquer said at Monday’s Williamsfield School Board meeting. Farquer told the board that positive COVID cases have doubled in Knox County since Thanksgiving and that there were more positive COVID cases among Williamsfield students than at any…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Man threatens to ‘set his dog’ on officer ELMWOOD – Responding to reports of harassment, loud music and bright lights shined into neighbors’ homes on Dec. 6, an Elmwood police officer was dispatched to the 400 block of E. Cypress St., where he reported hearing music “five blocks away,” according to an Elmwood police report. The officer knocked on the door of the residence multiple times, asking Zachary D. Beintema, 36, of Elmwood to step outside. On one attempt, Beintema slammed…

Farmington, Brimfield boys battle back from injuries, sickness to win By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post The tragic death of area player Jacob Look overshadows what has already been a difficult week for players sidelined with flu and the aches and pains of bodies relearning the toils of a basketball season. Some of those players, however, were able to return to play last week to help their teams. Farmington The Farmers (5-1) got back to full strength in time to win at Monmouth-Roseville on Friday, 44-43. The Farmers rallied from a 15-7 deficit after one quarter despite foul trouble and…

BRIMFIELD – Tragedy struck the Brimfield basketball team Tuesday with the death of senior Jacob Look. “It’s a big loss for us,” Brimfield Coach Kevin Kreiter said. Brimfield’s game at ROWVA-Williamsfield Tuesday was cancelled. Kreiter said the status of Friday’s home game vs. Havana is uncertain.

Lady Indians ranked first in Illinois in AP Class 1A girls hoops poll By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post Polls mean nothing real when it comes to sports, except in college football. But they are fun. And that’s the way the Brimfield girls basketball team has been treating its spot atop the state Class 1A rankings released last week by the Associated Press. “They’re having a blast with it,” Brimfield Coach Maribeth Dura said. “There’s been a couple pieces about them in the papers and on the internet and they’re having a good time.” Part of the reason for that…

My frame of reference for Tuffy Bowen of Farmington has always been too narrow. To me, Bowen is the guy who caught two bass weighing 18 pounds, 2 ounces off their spawn beds in one hour on June 19, 1970 – a pair of fish that still rank as the best duo this area has ever seen. To folks who appreciate big bass, that’s a pretty cool way to be known. But there’s so much more to tell about Harold “Tuffy” Bowen, and many of those stories were flowing freely Saturday at the Farmington Moose, where a crowd gathered to celebrate…

Builders eyeing land east of park By LORI HEROLD For The Weekly Post BRIMFIELD – Builders have shown “significant interest” in building spec homes, duplexes, quadplexes and possibly a senior living facility on eight acres of farm land east of Brimfield’s municipal park, according to Dan Fishel, president of the Village Board. Fishel discussed the two builders at Monday’s monthly meeting and said the land would be a good spot for a possible TIF district. Fishel said TIF funds would help finance expansion that is “not fast but steady.” “Likely something will happen this summer,” Fishel said. In other business, board…

Area boys hoops teams win some, lose some in Thanksgiving play By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post While no local boys basketball team brought home a Turkey Tournament title last week, the winning overshadowed the losing for all area teams. Here’s a rundown. Brimfield BRIMFIELD – The Indians finished 2-1 at their Turkey Tournament, topping Tremont (60-53) on Nov. 23 and Midwest Central (69-50) on Nov. 26 before falling to a loaded Knoxville team last Saturday, 51-39. “Knoxville got off to a hot start and we didn’t play well to start and just got in a hole that we couldn’t…