The Weekly Post
Thursday April 12, 2018 Vol. 6, No. 7 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
****************ECRWSS*****
PRSRT. STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Elmwood, Illinois Permit No. 13
FREE!
Carrier Route Presort RURAL BOXHOLDER LOCAL P.O. BOXHOLDER
Compliments of Our Fine Advertisers!
Brimfield grocery store for sale By JEFF LAMPE
BRIMFIELD – Jim Wagoner remembers the good old days fondly. Saturdays at his Jim’s Shurfine Foods in Brimfield were once so busy the store had to run two cash registers most of the day and had two people on hand to carry out groceries. Those days are gone. “Saturdays are one of our slowest days now,” said Wagoner, 78. “The way people shop has Weekly Post Staff Writer
changed a heckuva lot. They don’t come in on Saturdays to buy a whole week’s worth of groceries. A lot of people shop every day and just buy a little bit of stuff.” Worse yet, more and more people are shopping elsewhere according to Jeff Wagoner, Jim’s son who also works at the store. Jeff Wagoner said sales have been cut almost in half over the past decade and attributes some of that to the construction of a large Casey’s store in town and a Hy-
Vee store on the northwest side of Peoria. With Dollar General slated to open this spring in Brimfield, the Wagoners – including Jim’s daughter Barb McKown, who has worked at the store since age 15 – have decided to put their business up for sale. A sign went up last Friday indicating the 43-year-old Brimfield institution is on the market. “I lost a lot of loyal customers Continued on Page 12
Jim Wagoner and his son Jeff Wagoner (left) and daughter Barb McKown are selling their Brimfield grocery store, Jim’s Shurfine Foods. Photo by Jeff Lampe.
SPRING IS SLOW ... BUT COMING SOON!
Spring? Help decoding nature’s calendar
Farmington water sale finalized By BILL KNIGHT
FARMINGTON – After Illinois Commerce Commission approval on March 21, Illinois-American Water last week formally announced the takeover of the City of Farmington’s water system. The $3.75 million purchase adds about 1,125 new customers to Illinois-American’s Peoria District, which includes Bartonville, Bellevue, Peoria, Rome, Mapleton, West Peoria and parts of several nearby townships. Inside (Dunlap, Hanna City and the Timber Logan • Williamsfield OK’s 3-year teacher Water District are wholesale customers.) contract. Page 7. The sale was unani- • Farmington talks mously approved by tuition waivers Page 9. Farmington’s City Council in March 2017, after Illinois American – the Bolingbrook-based division of American Water, headquartered in New Jersey – raised its offer from $3,450,000 to $3,750,000. A second proposal, from Kankakee-based Aqua Illinois, had initially offered $3,750,000. For The Weekly Post
By RON DIETER
The bright morning sunshine poured through our east windows as I gazed out to watch the birds at the feeder. Instead of the usual crowd, there was just one lonely chickadee hopping from hole to hole on the feeder searching for breakfast, only to find the cupboard bare. With a couple buckets of sunflower seeds in hand I headed out the door and was surprised by the frigid chill in the morning breeze. Apparently, I mused, the sun forgot to drag spring along with him as he crossed the equator on March 20th, the Spring Equinox. Mother Nature has a calendar all her own and doesn’t much care about the one cobbled together by Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII. So it’s up to us to figure out what makes natural occurrences occur naturally. Fortunately there is a group of scientists, phenologists, dedicated to figuring out Mother Nature’s calendar. PhenoloFor The Weekly Post
Cold weather this spring could actually extend the blooming time for daffodils and other early flowering plants.
gists try to explain the connection between the changing seasons and climate and the timing of recurring biological events, such as leafing out, flowering, nest-building, and migration. The science of phenology is especially important to gardeners and farmers. Fertilizers and pesticides are most effective and economical when applied
at precisely the right time. And medical experts use phenology to warn us of impending allergy events. Phenologists tell homeowners and landscapers that the best time to apply crabgrass preventive is when forsythia bushes are in full bloom. They’ve learned that when temperatures are Continued on Page 8
Continued on Page 2