Thursday Jan. 7, 2016 Vol. 3, No. 43 Hot news tip? Want to advertise? Call (309) 741-9790
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Billtown plans for new year By BILL KNIGHT
WILLIAMSFIELD – With the new year comes new plans, and the Williamsfield Village Board on Monday drafted a list of projects for 2016. “We’ll be limited somewhat by funds, but I hope we’ll be able to do as much as possible,” said Board President Mick Gray. “We’ll see what we can get accomplished in 2016.” On the Board’s list are renovating Village Hall and Veterans Park’s bandstand; working with the Daughters of the American Revolution to have Caldwell Cottage open more regularly; constructing a pathway to the new library; scheduling a maintenance program and replacement for major equipment; setting up job descriptions and evaluations for the Village’s workers, all of whom are part-time, at-will employees; and addressing water system issues, from replacing meters and mapping shutoffs to updating collection procedures. Also possible are a few other park projects. Andy Fritz of the park board said three proposals for Doubet-Benjamin Park are forthcoming before budget discussions start: • a miniature golf course funded with private For The Weekly Post
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Area men indicted in connection with fatal April accident By BILL KNIGHT
FARMINGTON – Four men from Farmington, Elmwood and Peoria have been indicted by a Peoria grand jury on obstructing justice charges stemming from a fatal truck accident last spring. A fifth man is scheduled to go on trial next month in connection with the death of 22year-old Josh Fuller of Trivoli. In April, Fuller died as a result of injuries sustained when a truck driven by Dillon Nolan, 22, of Hanna City crashed near the intersection of McClellan and Claybaugh Roads outside Elmwood, officials said. Nolan faces charges of reckless homicide, driving under the influence, obstructing justice and leaving the scene of an accident, accordFor The Weekly Post
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While work continues outside the windows of the new Elmwood Junior High School addition, students listen to teacher Cindy Alcaraz, who for the first time is teaching in a classroom with windows. The new rooms were put to their first use Tuesday. Photo by Jeff Lampe.
Elmwood opens new junior high By JEFF LAMPE
ELMWOOD – Normally, only parents are smiling when Christmas break draws to an end. But for a change, even junior high students in Elmwood had a reason to grin as they headed back to school. That’s because Tuesday was the unveiling of Elmwood’s new junior high addition on the school’s southwest corner. While various odds and ends remain unfinished inside and outside the building, the bulk of the approximately $1.7 million project was completed by D. Joseph Construction of Peoria on time in less than six months. On Tuesday, students and teachers were buzzing about the 2,700square-foot expansion and the remodel of another 4,000 square feet of the old junior high. Decorated in shades of blue and gray, the addition includes six bright, new classrooms, a computer lab, a “virtual high school” room for students who are taking online classes, a conference room, new restrooms and several storage rooms and closets. There is also a new main office. Weekly Post Staff Writer
Work is still ongoing to complete a new entryway on the west side of the Elmwood school and to grade topsoil. But students were able to use new classrooms in the junior high addition on Tuesday.
And the old office is being converted into a classroom. “I’m really pleased about it,” Superintendent Chad Wagner said. “Obviously, any time you move into something new, there’s things that still need to be done. But (the contractors) have done a really good job and the kids are in and it’s exciting. “This is a big deal, not just for our students but for the whole commu-
nity. And the community has really been supportive of this.” Wagner said an open house to formally unveil the new facility to the community will be scheduled later this winter, possibly by late January but more likely in February. Until then, he welcomed community members to pay a visit. “I think they are really going to Continued on Page 9