Thursday March 24, 2016 Vol. 4, No. 4
The Weekly Post “We Cover The News of West-Central Illinois With A Passion”
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Serving the fine communities of Brimfield, Dahinda, Duncan, Edwards, Elmwood, Farmington, Kickapoo, Laura, Monica, Oak Hill, Princeville, Williamsfield and Yates City
TORNADO NEAR TRIVOLI
Storm season arrives Tornado damages buildings
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Primary turnout a record By BILL KNIGHT
More than 3.3 million ballots were cast in Illinois’ primary last Tuesday – a record spurred on by competitive contests for president, same-day voter registration and down-ballot races. The primary totals bettered the record turnout of 2.9 million in 2008, according to unofficial vote totals. On March 15, voters cast more than 1.97 million ballots for president on the Democratic side and more than 1.37 million on the Republican side. In Fulton County, 9,437 ballots For The Weekly Post
By BILL KNIGHT
EDWARDS – A few miles west of here, a tree sheared off about four feet off the ground stands amid piles of rubble between a damaged shed and a home on Southport Road where Nathan and Leslie Schenkel have lived for 19 years – a house now without Schenkel a roof. Vehicles and workers from Menold Construction & Restoration mingle with volunteers, moving boxes of household goods, pieces of furniture and some of the bits of insulation that fill the trees like a late-season snowstorm. “Everything has been phenomenal,” Schenkel said of
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For The Weekly Post
Last Tuesday’s tornado ripped the roof off the home of Nathan and Leslie Schenkel along Illinois Route 8 near Edwards. Photo by Bill Knight. The storm (below right) also tore the roof off Texas United Methodist Church on North Texas Road and took down trees and overturned gravestones at the adjacent Texas Union Cemetery.
response in the hours and days that followed the destruction. “I think by the end of the weekend we’ll be 95percent done moving into storage and ready for demolition. The County and State Farm and an engineer will all inspect the foundation to see if it’s structurally sound [to rebuild].” Between 7:40 and 8 Tuesday night, two tornadoes caused destruction here and in Trivoli, Norwood and Peoria. On North Texas Road,
winds ripped the roof off Texas United Methodist Church and knocked down eight pine trees and overturned gravestones at adjacent Texas Union Cemetery. Nearby houses and barns had similar damage. “When I was a little boy 50 years ago, that whole cemetery was ringed with tall pines and was shaded,” said Daryl Harding, Board President of the Texas Union Cemetery.. “A storm 15 years ago took down 13 trees and this time it took down eight.
It used to have almost a reverent feel to it. Now it’s just a big open field with tombstones.” No one was reported injured in the evening storm, but the tornado that swept through the Schenkel’s rural vicinity was an EF-2 tornado with winds reaching about 125 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). According to NWS, as the storm traveled from two miles northwest of Trivoli east-northeast for Continued on Page 10
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Brimfield board eyeing cash bonds By TERRY BIBO
BRIMFIELD — The irony is not lost on local officials: The state’s efforts to freeze taxes may cause local governments to increase them. “It’s a shell game,” said Brimfield Unit School District 309 Superintendent Joe Blessman at the March 16 board meeting. “It just kind of moves things around. A bill that was put out to limit taxes has raised them.” Legislators have told school officials Gov. Bruce Rauner is likely to get tax caps when horse trading finally starts in Springfield. Such caps could cramp local school districts’ already-strained budgets. For The Weekly Post
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