Thursday September 29, 2016 Vol. 4, No. 30
The Weekly Post “We Cover The News of West-Central Illinois With A Passion”
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Scenic drives back for another fall By JEFF LAMPE
The heat has lifted. Cooler temperatures have arrived just in time for fall – and for scenic drives in Knox and Fulton counties. The two local self-guided car tours start this Saturday (Oct. 1) and continue Sunday (Oct. 2) and Oct. 8-9. This is the 49th annual Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive and the 37th annual Knox County Scenic Drive. As always, the drives offer a chance to take in history, to enjoy the west-central Illinois landscape and to spend money on food, antiques and arts and crafts. Farmington and Elmwood both have official stops on the Spoon River Drive, Weekly Post Staff Writer
The Wolf Covered Bridge over the Spoon River is one of the stops on the Knox County Scenic Drive this Saturday and Sunday and Oct. 8-9.
which includes 18 stops . Sanctioned locations are at London Mills, Elmwood, Farmington, Avon, Ellisville, Canton, Cuba, Smithfield, Bernadotte, Lewis-
Early voting underway for Nov. 8 election
town, Dickson Mounds Museum, Duncan Mills, Ipava and a few other spots along the way. No longer participating are Vermont. Astoria and Fairview said Char Noble, publicity chairman for the Spoon River Drive. “New this year is a stop at Teddy Bear Junction (near Fiatt),” Noble said. “And since next year is our 50th anniversary, we’re taking pre-orders for a 50th anniversary throw (blanket).” Elmwood will have more than 20 vendors, most under a large tent, according to Shelly Brodine, one of the event organizers. Vendors this year include Kickapoo Creek Winery and Hick’ry Continued on Page 8
Crafts and nick-nacks of all sorts will be available on the Spoon River Scenic Drive this weekend and Oct. 8-9. This is a vendor from the Canton stop at Jones Park.
AN EDWARDS INSTITUTION
By BILL KNIGHT
Early Voting for the Nov. 8 general election started today (Sept. 29), as set by state law, and continues through Nov. 7. Besides national and state contests, there are some competitive races in the area: the 17th Congressional District pits incumbent Democrat Cheri Bustos against Republican challenger Patrick Harlan, and the 18th Congressional District will have incumbent Republican Darin LaHood face Democratic challenger Junius Rodriguez. In The Weekly Post area, ballot initiatives include a state constitutional amendment restricting transporta- Bustos tion revenues to transportation expenses, and in Peoria County, three referendums. One referendum seeks approval for a School Facilities Sales Tax increase of 1/2 percent that is to be used exclusively for school facilities. A second referendum seeks an OK to raise sale taxes by 1/4 percent to fund improvements to County roads. And the third is an advisory referendum For The Weekly Post
Continued on Page 11
Nearly four decades of fixing cars By BILL KNIGHT
EDWARDS – Petting one of 11 cats he and his wife Marilyn care for, 75-year-old Tom Wilson smiles and paints a picture of himself being somewhere between a rare breed and an endangered species. That’s not all he paints, of course. Just back from an annual pilgrimage to the Buick GS Nationals in Bowling Green, Ky., and the NaFor The Weekly Post
tional Corvette Museum nearby, Tom says Wilson Autobody has been one of Edwards’ few retailers for some 39 years, ever since he returned to the area from a short stint in Florida. “I didn’t much like Florida,” he said. “Although when I went down there, I put in three applications and all three called back and offered me a job.” Instead, he prefers central Illinois, where he grew up.
“I was raised in Peoria Heights. We lived on Galena Road by the river, next to the park,” he says. “We fished on the side and I started working on fiberglass boats when I was 13 or 14 years old. Pretty soon, a friend of my dad’s asked me to work at Cornelius AM Rambler’s body shop, where I painted for a while until he gave me my first big job: a vehicle in a school-bus sideswipe accident. Continued on Page 2