The Weekly Post
Thursday October 19, 2017 Vol. 5, No. 33 Hot news tip? Want to advertise? Call (309) 741-9790
“We Cover The News of West-Central Illinois With A Passion” Serving the fine communities of Brimfield, Dahinda, Douglas, Duncan, Edwards, Elmore, Elmwood, Farmington, Kickapoo, Laura, Monica, Oak Hill, Princeville, Williamsfield and Yates City
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Elmwood downtown seeing changes By JEFF LAMPE
ELMWOOD – The face of downtown Elmwood is undergoing another remake. And for the first time in three decades, the changes involve insurance agent Scot Jehle. After spending 27 years in a corner office at 102 E. Main St., Jehle has moved his Elmwood Insurance Services, LLC one block east to a corner office at 124 E. Main St. “After 27 years, I had no intention of moving from what I consider the best business location in town,” Jehle said. “But Ron and Marty Tarter offered their building Weekly Post Staff Writer
for sale.” Given the chance to own a building instead of paying rent, Jehle did not hesitate. The decision was similar to two years ago when Jehle bought the insurance agency he operated for Farmers State Bank for 25 years. The former Stenwall Insurance Agency has roots in Elmwood dating back to 1929. That type of longevity is harder and harder to find in small-town Illinois, as businesses come and go with increasing regularity. That’s true also for Elmwood, which has seen numerous changes in the past few months – most in the East
Main block Jehle calls home. After more than six years in business at 110 E. Main, Every Little Thing is also moving. Owner Tracy Parrish has relocated Every Little Thing into the back two-thirds of Jehle’s building along with Kristin Emmons’ Country Girl Creations, Robin Nel Naturals and Still on the Farm, owned by Lori Emken. In the space formerly occupied by Every Little Thing, Elmwood’s churches are joining forces to open a thrift shop called New 2 U. Parrish and her partners donated clothing and display cases and racks to Continued on Page 2
After 27 years at one corner of the business district block of East Main Street, Elmwood insurance salesman Scot Jehle is moving east to the other corner. Photo by Jeff Lampe.
Farmington eyes solar expansion
SESQUICENTENNIAL FARM
Deep roots Family traces Spoon River property to covered-wagon days
By BILL KNIGHT For The Weekly Post
By BILL KNIGHT
LAURA – Deer and coyotes, other critters and crickets, plus walnut trees and the foundation of a long-gone home all remain on the farm on the Upper Spoon River Valley between Laura and Elmore where it was established 184 years ago. The wildlife isn’t as plentiful or challenging as when bears, panthers and wild hogs were common. Years ago, an old timer along the Spoon River remarked that “between the wolves, the wildcats, catamounts and the big snakes, it was hardly worth living in those days.” One hundred twenty-eight years go today, Oct. 19, Richard Biederbeck bought a parcel from Elder Aby, land settled by the first outsider who arrived here -- a transaction that’s part of the land’s lineage that resulted in the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA)
FARMINGTON – The Board of Education on Oct. 10 approved Superintendent Zac Chatterton’s goals and heard an update on a proposed additional solar-power system that could supplement the District’s current array and save the District hundreds of thousands of dollars over 25 years. The Board heard a presentation by Steve Smith of Clean Energy Design Group of Springfield. Smith, who assisted Farmington with its initial solar array when he was with the Farnsworth Group, said this idea “won’t cost the district one penny” but through Illinois’ Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SRECS) program, an 850-kilowatt, ground-mounted solar setup in the southeast corner of district property could save more than $1.7 million over the next 25 years. Under the plan, the District would still own the land, but a financing company benefiting from the SRECS would own the energy system and lease it to the district for 15 years. After that it could be renewed or purchased at its assessed value, Smith said. “We’re leaning toward the lease option,” Continued on Page 7
For The Weekly Post
Three members of the Weistart family stand outside the surviving house on their Sesquicentennial Farm. Left to right are Jerry J. Weistart, Jerry L. Weistart and Emma Juers Weistart. Photo by Bill Knight.
last year designating it a Sesquicentennial Farm, a farm that’s been held by a family for at least 150 years. “I appreciate the land and heritage,” said Jerry L. Weistart, who researched the property from his wife back to Willie Metcalf, who arrived here in 1833 after a covered-wagon trek from Pennsylvania with his wife and their two children. “This farm has its roots on my wife’s side,” Weistart continued. “She spent
part of her childhood on the farm [and] I feel tied to farm roots since I spend my infancy and childhood on my grandfather's farm in Minonk.” IDOA verified that the farm, now 220 acres, has been owned by five generations of the family, and four of Jerry and Emma Weistart’s children remain nearby: Jerry J. on the adjacent homestead, and W. Scott, Karen Hornick and Jennifer Jotch, all with a continued inContinued on Page 10