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Pelicans start fall migration By JEFF LAMPE
EDWARDS – “Are those pelicans?” More than one driver along Illinois Route 8 has wondered the same thing in the past week since a large flock of the big white birds moved into a shallow lake just east of Edwards. While this may be an unusual appearance for that Peoria County pond, located just north of Route 8, it’s nothing new to central Illinois. Each spring and fall, flocks of American White Pelicans migrate through Illinois on their way to Weekly Post Staff Writer
nest in Canada and North Dakota or to winter on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. or Mexico. In the fall, birds will typically linger in the area until November. The spring visits are typically from March through April. The pelican’s migration shift to Illinois is a relatively recent phenomenon that appears to have begun sometime in the past few decades. Since then, pelicans have become a familiar sight in backwaters of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers – some even starting to stay year-round. Continued on Page 2
Area officials seek funds for transportation
FAST TIMES IN LAURA
By BILL KNIGHT Hannah Morrissey of Williamsfield had a good showing at last Saturday’s 27th annual Small Town Tractor Pull in Laura. Photo by Collin Fairfield.
Tractor pull fans come for food, fun By BILL KNIGHT
LAURA – Early morning showers didn’t dampen the enthusiasm for the 29th Small Town Tractor Pull here last Saturday at the Millbrook Community Center on the east side of town. “Attendance is awesome,” says John Kraft, who’s served on the For The Weekly Post
Laura Tractor Pullers group for six years. “I thought it’d be way down because of the rain, but just look.” Not far off, Will Metzger, 77, of Mossville, strolls the grounds smoking and smiling and shrugs, “I took a chance it’d happen. “I used to come here once a month for the flea market, [but] I helped with the Heart of Illinois Fair tractor
pull for 39 years,” he continues, stroking his white facial hair and pulling on his green cap. “So I like all of it – especially the big boys pulling – and the pork chops.” A mobile unit from Raber Packing Co. in Peoria does a steady business in the shade of the center, and dozens of kids run between the Pedal Pull, Continued on Page 11
Area school boards last spring passed resolutions asking Springfield to fund education or face schools not opening this fall, so when the state approved stop-gap funding, it may have proven that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Now local governments that maintain roads and streets are trying to band together in a similar effort hoping another squeaky wheel will get the grease – and oil and rock and asphalt. An initiative from area engineers and officials urges Gov. Bruce Rauner and the legislature to address the unfunded mandate of highway user fees collected but not returned to local governments. Kickapoo Township recently became one of the first small governments in Peoria County to pass the measure, joining the Tri-County Regional Planning Committee (TCRPC), the Peoria/Pekin Urban Area Transportation Study (PPUATS), and Tazewell County municipalities including Mackinaw, Delavan and Pekin. “The resolution is intended to generate the most uniform message achievable For The Weekly Post
Continued on Page 8