By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Prairie News BRADFORD – At the May 17 Bradford School district board meeting the following high school students from Bradford were recognized: Jordan Atkins, Nicholas Bosch, Margaret Dries, Alex Guelde, Ivy Hengl, Isaac McCauley, Dustin Moody, Ryan Murphy, Kyle Peterson, Julia Sears, Whitney Schupp, McKenzie Stahl, Christopher Walker, Natalie Wall, Marli Walsh and Gage Wubben. In addition, several seniors received awards from the Bradford Community Scholarship Fund. Registration for all Bradford students for the 2021-22 school year is scheduled for Aug. 3 from 3-7 p.m. and Aug. 4 from 8 a.m. to noon. Students’ first…

Galva swears in aldermen, bids farewell to cops By CAROL TOWNSEND For The Prairie News GALVA – Three aldermen were sworn in at Monday night’s city council meeting, while several police officers were bid farewell. Council members sworn in were incumbents Jim Hartman and Jamie Hopping and newly elected Dougie Anderson. Third ward alderwomen Jackie Clucas was absent. Police Chief Kraig Townsend said three part-time officers have resigned and one full-time officer has submitted a notice of resignation. “We are having a tough time to cover,” he said. “With the police reform bills being passed, officers are afraid of being sued.”…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post and The Prairie NewsOne year after COVID-19 concerns cancelled Memorial Day events, area veterans will once again be honored on Monday, May 31. All are welcome at Memorial Day services that will be held across the area, as follows. • Elmwood will hold services at Central Park and at Elmwood Township Cemetery, starting at 10 a.m. Transportation will be provided from the park to the cemetery and back. • Brimfield American Legion will hold services at 10:30 a.m. in the Town Hall Park. Snacks will be served at the American Legion Hall afterwards….

Traffic citations & Ordinance violations 5-11– Chantell M. Beach – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 5-11 – Kristen M. Ferris – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 5-13 – Thomas M. Leverette – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 5-12 – Brandon A. Ainley – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 5-12 – Matthew E. Fane – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 5-12 – Michele I. Lavelle – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 5-12 – Tyler O. Petryshyn – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 5-12 – Tricia M. Klaver – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 5-14 – David A. Moore – Driving 15-20…

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 ran to her neighbor’s house on May 12 and called police about a reported act of violence committed against her by Zachariah J. Wooten, 21, of Elmwood, according to an Elmwood police report. The woman said when she woke up that morning, she asked Wooten to “get out of bed” and help find her phone. An argument ensued and Wooten reportedly grabbed the woman’s arm and pulled her hair. When police spoke with…

Rambling through central Illinois, pondering squirrel genetics. • • • Kudos to the graduates. Years from now, you will have stories to tell about the weirdness of your COVID- impacted graduation ceremonies. Of course, by then the IDPH will probably require people to wear rubber suits and astronaut helmets while in public, so maybe this year will seem “old school” by then. … Usually by now, mushroom season is over. Not this year. Not when Keith Challacombe is knocking at the door on a rainy Saturday with a bucket of morels and a story. Seems he found one ’shroom near…

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Police reports • YATES CITY – Michael D. Smith, 30, of Yates City was charged on April 27 with domestic battery according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s report. • HANNA CITY – Michael S. Mapes, 50, of Hanna City was charged on April 30 with a violation of order of protection according to Peoria County Sheriff’s report. • HANNA CITY – Wendy E. Layton, 54, of Hanna City was charged on May 2 with domestic battery, according to a sheriff’s report….

Incidents & Accidents Stark County 4-21 – A deer-related vehicle accident occurred on 950N, east of the intersection of 1200E. The driver involved was Kenneth D. Curry, 20, of Toulon. No injuries were reported but estimated damages to the vehicle were reported at over $1,500. 5-2 – A single-vehicle accident occurred on Route 91 north of Toulon at 2:56 p.m. The driver involved was Michael C. Dougherty Jr., 27, of Toulon. He was transported by Stark County Ambulance to St. Luke Hospital, in Kewanee. Dougherty was ticketed for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, driving a vehicle without…

New school board members seated By JOHN A. BALLENTINE For The Prairie News WYOMING – The Stark County School District has “cut ties” with Junior/Senior High School Principal Jeff Utsinger, according to Superintendent Brett Elliott. Utsinger has been out of the schools since March and last December was hired as Assistant Superintendent in Canton, where he was scheduled to have a start date of July 1. Utsinger had been a principal at Stark County since the 2019-20 school year. Megan McGann was hired in March to replace Utsinger. “Mr. Utsinger had accumulated enough vacation/leave days to close out the school year,”…

By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – The Village Board on Monday approved a slight change to zoning rules regarding the construction of fences and approved a donation to the Heritage Days festival. Members of the Princeville Civic Association addressed the board and received a $3,000 donation for Heritage Days, which will be held June 24-28. One change is that the fire department will not host a beer tent, since the state is not yet issuing liquor licenses for non-retail uses. Heritage Days was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The board also heard a report from…