By LORI HEROLD For The Weekly Post BRIMFIELD – Plans for a Cruise-In supporting diabetes research and Brimfield’s Old Settlers Days summer festival are moving forward as planned after Monday’s meeting of the Brimfield Village Board, during which the board approved closing Illinois Route 150 for the events. The Cruise-In will be on Aug. 7 and Old Settlers Days will be from Aug. 12-14. Brimfield School District Superintendent Tony Shinall spoke about an opportunity for the school to offer distance learning by outfitting a room in the high school with the appropriate technology. Funding would come from a USDA grant, with…

Event plans moving ahead By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post News of a “bridge phase” for reopening Illinois from COVID restrictions could come next week, according to Gov. JB Pritzker, who framed his comments in the context of the return of the Chicago Auto Show in July. But the same news has played out at board and council meetings across the area of late. Life as we once knew it is slowly returning to normal, as indicated by approval of festivals and events that one year ago were cancelled by COVID. Some events are weeks away, as in Elmwood, where plans…

Man who robbed Elmwood bank arrested in Springfield By JEFF LAMPE For The Prairie News ELMWOOD – John W. Beck didn’t get much time to enjoy his stolen money. Authorities in Springfield on Wednesday apprehended Beck, who has been charged with robbing the Elmwood Community Bank Tuesday at approximately 10:41 a.m. U.S. Marshals located Beck, 54, in a Springfield hotel where they found a red pipe he brandished while robbing the Elmwood bank, marked cash and a prostitute. Beck fled officers on foot, but was caught after a brief chase. According to Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell, Beck was taken to…

Man armed with pipe robs Elmwood Community Bank 4-21-21 1:30 p.m. update: Suspect in Custody – apprehended in Springfield, Ill. By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post ELMWOOD – An older white male brandishing a red pipe robbed the Elmwood Community Bank on Tuesday at approximately 10:41 a.m. and fled north on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. Police say the man entered a stolen white Toyota Prius in the 100 block of East Cypress Street north of the bank, which is located on the corner of North Magnolia and Evergreen streets. Footage from a homeowner’s doorbell camera on East…

By COLLIN FAIRFIELD PRINCEVILLE – While his printing business may have opened on April 1, Jamie Patterson assures that Princeville Prints is no joke. Patterson opening his business in Princeville was no accident, either. A 2003 graduate of Stark County High School who is originally from Bradford, Patterson said he did a lot of research in picking Princeville to open his storefront at 116 E. Main St., the former Hometown Bank building. “I looked around. Princeville, was the best fit for me,” Patterson said. “I like the small-town charm.” Another reason he picked Princeville is because it is a central location…

Traffic citations and Ordinance violations 4-2-21 – Alexandria R. Bryan – Driving 15-20 mph above limit. 4-2-21 – Brandon J. Lumpkins – Speeding 35+ mph over limit. 4-4-21 – Levi J. Lamothe – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 4-11-21 – Zachary L. Hart – Speeding 26-34 mph over the limit. 4-11-21 – Angela J. Rohman – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. 4-10-21 – Leo Z. Steinkerchner – Driving 21-25 mph above limit. Incidents & Accidents Stark County 4-4-21 – A deer-related vehicle accident occurred on Route 93 approximately 100 feet west of the South Osceola Road. The driver involved was…

Kewanee man killed in Illinois Route 78 crash A 34-year-old man from Kewanee was traveling south on Illinois Route 78 when his truck crossed the center line at W. White Rd. and struck another truck traveling northbound before rolling onto its roof, according to an Illinois State Police report. David Carman was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger, Rachael M. Stead, 32, of Peoria was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other driver, David P. Murray, 58, of East Peoria, was also transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Route 78 was closed from Lorrence…

By VICTOR LAMPE For The Weekly Post PRINCEVILLE – The Princeville volleyball team made the most of Tuesday’s senior night match, topping Galva 25-14 and 25-5 to improve to a perfect 10-0 so far this season. Going into the game, Princeville Coach Charissa Ouart had said, “I’m looking forward to having all the seniors play.” She got that chance, as the Lady Princes dominated the second game. Overall, Elle Schupbach had 14 kills and 18 assists, Julianne Kielion had 2 aces and Lindsey Meisenheimer worked hard to come up with 16 digs. Prior to a break for Easter weekend, the Lady…

Mid-County finishes strong in loss By JEFF LAMPE For The Weekly Post BUSHNELL – COVID-19 protocols sidelined the Elmwood-Brimfield football team for a game and sapped the team’s energy heading into the second half of a road game vs. West Prairie. But ultimately last Saturday, COVID and West Prairie were not enough to slow E-B in a 52-36 victory. The Trojans (2-0, 1-0 Prairieland Blue) ran for 362 yards and averaged 8.4 per carry in the win, which came after players had to spend much of the past two weeks in quarantine following a positive COVID test. That layoff didn’t matter…

Rambling through central Illinois, pondering the power of a trees whose thorns were used as nails by settlers. • • • Seems I’ve had this tree planting thing all wrong. Instead of oaks, walnuts, persimmons, chestnuts, hazelnuts and sycamores – all the trees that animals love to eat – we should have gone with locusts. Those thorny rascals can have the perfect defense against the teeth of deer and rabbits, even against the digging habits of raccoons. They are also fairly effective against chainsaws and humans. Last weekend was the culmination of five years of dreading a government-mandated locust slaughter….