By BILL KNIGHT For The Weekly Post Congress’s $4.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package includes provisions that promise relief for rural America. Specific provisions in both the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stimulus Act (CARES Act, HR 748) and the $2 trillion Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA, HR 6201) feature the following: • Payments to individuals. All Americans with incomes less than $75,000 will receive $1,200. (Families also will receive $500 per child.) Payments will be issued by the Treasury Department through direct deposit or paper checks starting next week. • Small business loans. Companies with fewer than…

Foragers have edge in tough times By Gretchen Steele A natural substitute for toilet paper is just one of many useful finds you can make in nature in these difficult days. As I sit here today, our state is under a shelter-in-place order due to circumstances that many of us have never expected to see happen in our lifetime. Certainly not in the United States, not in our state, not in our neighborhood, not to us personally. We have watched the entire country seemingly lose its mind in a panicked rush to acquire food, supplies, sanitizing agents and medicines. Must…

KEWANEE – The Henry County Health Department will be moving to its new office location this week and will be closed April 2-3. Starting Monday, April 6, at 7:30 a.m. the Health Department will be moved into its new home in the former Save-A-Lot building at 110 N. Burr Blvd. Kewanee. Duane Stevens, Health Department Administrator notes, “April 6-12 is National Public Health Week. We are thrilled to celebrate this important health observance in our new offices and by announcing the rebranding of our clinic locations as ‘First Choice Healthcare.’ Our entire staff is excited about this move, and are…

By John A. Ballentine In what seems to be daily changes concerning the COVID-19 situation, any attempts of normalcy ebbs away. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has extended the “stay-at-home” directive to encompass all of April now. Besides daily life being readjusted, local Stark County High School students and teachers have been impacted, as well. One of those is Stark County High School senior Rachael Adair, of Toulon, who has faced considerable disruption of her final year of high school. “I’m really disappointed about the musical. We are trying to practice as best as possible,” Adair said. “If prom is cancelled,…

By Bill Knight The coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading like an untended grassfire, inadequate testing means the number of cases is unclear, and attempts to slow the outbreak struggle to make a difference. So it’s difficult to keep up with the threat. For instance, The Weekly Post on March 12 featured an article by Liz Carey of the Center for Rural Strategies headlined “Researchers say rural areas face less risk of coronavirus,” which noted how everyday close proximity puts people at risk – a reason social distancing is important, even in small towns where folks are used to going to churches,…

Traffic citations & Ordinance violations Not available. Incidents & Accidents Stark County Report 3-23-20 – A West Jersey teenager was issued a notice to appear for domestic battery. 3-23-20 – Alisa L. Ramsay, 39, Wyoming, was ticketed for driving without a valid driver’s license. 3-23-20 – Corey M. Reese, 42, West Jersey, was issued a notice to appear for domestic battery. 3-25-28 – Joshua D. Davidson, 39, Morton, was arrested for driving while his license was suspended, and driving with a loud muffler/ excessive noise. He posted $250 cash bond and was released with a court date to appear. 3-28-20…

GALVA – The Galva Council unanimously approved a 131 percent increase for continued service from Stark County Ambulance Service at Monday’s city council meeting. City Administrator David Dyer said the City of Galva had been paying $8,400 per month for the ambulance service which has a building in Galva that is staffed seven days a week, 24 hours per day with a paramedic and an EMT. The new payment will be $19,400 per month. “We have been fortunate. The owner has been subsidizing our service, as we were underpaying,” City Administrator David Dyer said. “We as a council had no…

From Prairie News Staff Reports While Gov. JB Pritzker said on Tuesday that Illinois is stockpiling medical supplies and expanding hospital capacity to prepare for a sharp increase in demand due to the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, no cases have yet been reported in most local counties. Stark, Henry and Knox counties have yet to see their first confirmed COVID-19 case, though board chairs have issued Disaster Declarations in all three counties. Marshall County had its first confirmed case Monday, according to the Bureau, Putnam and Marshall County Health Department. Peoria Couty remains at three cases. On Tuesday, statewide cases increased…

Traffic citations & Ordinance violations Not available. Incidents & Accidents Stark County Report 3-20-20 – A 16-year-old Bradford teen was reported missing by his parents. 3-20-20 – Waylon E. Setzer, 39, Iowa, was ticketed for improper lane usage. 3-22-20 – Jaylen G. Conley, 19, Kewanee, was cited for illegal window tint, driving without insurance, and possession of adult use of cannabis in a vehicle. Galva Report 3-16-20 – Officer checked on a vehicle that had been abandoned near Wiley Park for several days. Officer placed a tow tag on the vehicle and it was removed the following day. 3-16-20 –…

By BILL KNIGHT For The Weekly Post The Illinois Department of Transportation’s bridge replacement that started this week on Illinois Route 78 just south of Route 8 will disrupt traffic between Elmwood and Farmington for about six months, but the construction is years overdue. The Kickapoo Creek bridge is one of thousands of “structurally deficient” bridges in Illinois, according to builders, engineers and the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). In addition to replacing the bridge, the $1,080,000 project includes adjusting utilities and buying a strip of property, according to IDOT. “The land acquisition is for the State of Illinois right of…