By BILL KNIGHT For The Weekly Post FARMINGTON – Solid steps for a new City building on Fort Street requiring no tax hike were taken Monday, when the City Council OK’d Mayor Kent Kowal negotiating with Sam Lillie to buy three vacant lots on East Fort, and separately approving a request to D. Joseph Construction to be the construction manager for the project. D. Joseph was one of several contractors that worked with Farmington to estimate costs for different ideas. N. Zobrist and Hoerr Construction also weighed in on options ranging from remodeling existing buildings to renovating the current facility. A…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • ELMWOOD – An Elmwood woman has decided to press charges against her former live-in boyfriend for taking her car without permission on Feb. 19, according to an Elmwood police report. The woman claimed he possibly took the car to go to Peoria to purchase illegal drugs. She also said he had no valid driver’s license. • ELMWOOD – A woman called emergency services on Feb 19 when a man who she was taking to a movie failed to…

By BILL KNIGHT For The Weekly Post Three law professors who specialize in advocating for rural areas recently proposed ways the federal government could help non-metropolitan communities. And officials in The Weekly Post area generally agreed or thought their areas weren’t directly affected. “Rural communities provide much of the food and energy that fuel our lives,” said Ann Eisenberg (University of South Carolina), Lisa Pruitt (University of California/Davis) and Jessica Shoemaker (University of Nebraska/Lincoln). “They are made up of people who, after decades of exploitative resource extraction and neglect, need strong connective infrastructure and opportunities to pursue regional prosperity. “A…

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – The Elmwood City Council approved a motion to pay up to $2,500 for half of the cost to repair the noon/fire siren at its Feb. 4 meeting. The city’s contribution matches that of the Elmwood Fire Department, whose members voted on Feb. 4 to approve a $2,500 payment, according to Chief Bob Tannock. Alderman Bob Paige explained that the siren has been repaired twice in the past nine years at a cost of $500 each time. Paige said the cost to replace the existing siren with a new one could…

Traffic Citations and Ordinance Violations 1-24-21 – Gabriel J. Coile – Speeding 26-34 mph over limit. Incidents & Accidents Stark County 2-3-21 – Two 17-year-old Bradford teens were issued notices to appear for theft and criminal trespass to property. 2-3-21 – Kirk C. Bryner, 65, homeless, was arrested on a Stark County warrant for failure to appear on an original charge of fleeing and eluding. Unable to post bond he was taken into custody and placed in the Stark County Jail. Bryner was also found wanted on a federal warrant for a probation violation and was extradited to the Knox…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • BRIMFIELD – Illinois State Police, the Brimfield Fire Department and BYE Ambulance, with an assist by Elmwood police, were called to a rollover traffic accident by the Bell School Road entrance ramp to Interstate 74 on Feb. 4 around the noon hour, according to an Elmwood police report. It appeared the van was traveling west when it slid off into the median, rolled and came to rest on the passenger side. The driver was trapped and had to…

By JEFF LAMPE Weekly Post Staff Writer WILLIAMSFIELD – The last all Williamsfield High School sports will become part of cooperative agreements starting next school year. The Williamsfield School Board voted 5-1 Monday night to expand the school’s Mid-County coop – which includes ROWVA and Galva – to include high school golf. The board also voted to expand the ROWVA-Williamsfield coop to include high school volleyball and middle school baseball, softball and track and field. Volleyball and golf had been the last high school sports solely fielded by Williamsfield, and the change has been fodder for a fair amount of…

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – The Elmwood City Council council discussed and approved a $3,500 Elmwood Business Sustainability Grant to the Uptown Café at its Jan. 19 meeting. The grant is from the state’s DCEO Local CURE economic stability grant, and Elmwood will be reimbursed for that amount. The grant is for businesses that were shut down due to COVID mitigations or reduced to take-out service. The council also discussed at length the sale of a 14-foot wide piece of the city’s parking lot that is adjacent to the Masonic Horeb Lodge. The Masons want…

By BILL KNIGHT For The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – The Village Board on Jan. 19 unanimously approved paying off the Morton Community Bank loan that the Village took out to fund the water-meter replacement project. The balance being paid is about $182,000 said Village president Jeff Troutman, who said the action will save Princeville considerable interest. In other news: • The Village reminds the community that a public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight (Jan. 28) at the Village Hall, and a draft of the plan is available on the Village web site, princeville.org, which…

Elmwood schools will save $480,000 By BILL KNIGHT For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – The Board of Education for District 322 on Monday unanimously approved issuing $8.5 million in refunding bonds to refinance its General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2017. The move will save the District $480,000 in nominal interest, according to Superintendent Chad Wagner. “In order to realize those savings, the interest rate will need to be at approximately 2 percent when the bonds are issued,” Wagner told The Weekly Post. “If that is not the case, then the District will pull out of the refinance option.” The Board’s…