Thursday June 20, 2013 Vol. 1, No. 18 WE WILL NOT PUBLISH A PAPER NEXT WEEK!
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Board OKs engineering for Brimfield bridge By BILL KNIGHT
The Peoria County Board on June 12 unanimously approved spending up to $127,600 for Hanson Professional Services to conduct preliminary engineering for the project to replace the bridge on Brimfield-Jubilee Road just west of Savage Road. The board also OK’d by a vote of 13-3 discounting building-permit fees for victims of April and May flooding, and heard that 14 of 18 Edwards structures flooded in April were assessed as “substantially damaged” and will need For The Weekly Post
major renovation or buyout County staff is pressing Gone Fishin’ for a stepped-up offers from state and federal We will not pubgovernment. timetable. lish an edition of Weekly Post-area board “That 2017 calendarThe Weekly Post member Brad Harding (Ryear date is the absolute on June 27. We Dist. 16) was absent, as was worst case,” said County will resume publiTom O’Neill (D-Dist. 17), Engineer Amy Benecke cation on July 5. chair. McLaren with the Peoria The Brimfield-Jubilee County Highway DepartRoad bridge was closed in March after ment. “I’m pushing for IDOT to accelinspections found structural deficienerate the schedule.” cies and the Illinois Department of The County has secured $1.3 million Transportation (IDOT) ordered its clo- in a state Major Bridge Program for sure. The bridge is tentatively schedthe project. uled to be rebuilt by 2017, although Meanwhile, flood victims who have
ELMWOOD STREETSCAPE
had damage assessments by the county’s Planning and Zoning Department and plan construction requiring permits such as foundation/footing, electrical, plumbing or mechanical would have fees cut in half through June 30, 2016, decided the board, which originally considered the Land Use Committee’s recommendation that such fees be waived entirely. Several board members said they were sympathetic but resisted relinquishing revenue of about $240,000 over the next two years for disasters – Continued on Page 2
Olde English Faire visits Prairie Park By BILL KNIGHT
BRIMFIELD – Folks who attend the Olde English Faire at Wildilfe Prairie Park this Friday, Saturday or Sunday will be able to go back centuries and visit a heritage of chivalry and struggle, war and art, and medieval society and technology – and learn as they enjoy themselves. A new “Day of Enlightenment” has been added to familiar festivities from years of the event being staged at Jubilee College State Park, which last held the fair in 2008. After an absence of one year, the Olde English Faire (OEF) moved to Wildlife, which is marking its fourth production this weekend. The Day of Enlightenment targets kids with interactive education as well as excitement, accord- Photo by Jeffery Noble. ing to OEF co-chair Jan Brown, Wildlife’s marketing volunteer. “Education is part of Wildlife’s mission, along with recreation and conservation,” Brown said. “And whether it’s archery or chivalry, working leather or learning about the importance of steel, it all makes it more real than [what pupils get from] just books. It’s discovery.” For The Weekly Post
Elmwood facelift nearly done By JEFF LAMPE
ELMWOOD – The dust is almost settled on the first phase of a nearly $3 million streetscaping project in downtown Elmwood. Workers from Laverdiere Construction Inc. have completed more than 90 percent of the $643,112 first phase – of which Elmwood had to pay a 20 percent share of $128,000. Still to be finished is the installation of railings, decorative Weekly Post Staff Writer
light fixtures and several large, pre-cast planters. That should happen by the end of summer, though the decorative light poles have yet to be approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The second phase of downtown work will not start until 2014, as design work is not completed. Bids for that project will likely be let in late March or early April with construction likely to start June 1, 2014. Continued on Page 2
Aside from railings, lightpoles and planters, work is done on the first phase of Elmwood’s downtown streetscape project. Photos by Amy Davis.
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