Friday Nights Under the Lights in Downtown Gibson City — a monthly car cruise — will be held on the third Friday of each month this summer starting in May. Organizers are encouraging residents of Gibson City and elsewhere to participate by cruising Sangamon Avenue downtown, or simply parking…
PAXTON — Dalton Busboom of Ludlow has been named student of the month for April at Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School.
PAXTON — Two new members of the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school board and one who was re-elected in the April 2 consolidated election will be sworn in to office during the board’s reorganizational meeting Wednesday night.
PAXTON — The Country House Restaurant opened last week in a building on Paxton’s west side that just a few weeks earlier had occupied the Country Garden Restaurant.
GIBSON CITY — When Jeanine Litwiller opened Strictly Kids Resale Shop in downtown Gibson City 25 years ago, she was a stay-at-home mom hoping to build a business that other mothers like herself could use to clothe their children with gently used, brand-name apparel at an affordable price.
GIBSON CITY — A women’s clothing boutique opened last Thursday in downtown Gibson City and held a grand opening event two days later.
GIBSON CITY — In his 26 years, Mat Bowen has been “bouncing all over the place,” as he calls it.
PAXTON — The Ford County Public Health Department is offering the Shingrix vaccine to adults 55 years of age and older.
PAXTON — Jordan Crose of Hoopeston-based Crose’s Plumbing, Heating & Air has joined the staff of Paxton-based Dogtown Heating & Air.
SPRINGFIELD — Legislation that punishes employers in Illinois who short their workers’ pay left Republican representatives with open-ended questions about the bill’s impact on state businesses.
SPRINGFIELD — Since March 2014, 20 state-licensed skilled-care nursing homes have closed for financial reasons, while many of those continuing to serve the state’s neediest elderly populations face staffing shortages and operating deficits caused by diminishing state government investment.
SPRINGFIELD — Census numbers released Thursday show that for the first time in seven years, every major metropolitan area in the state saw population decline between July 2017 and July 2018.
SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. is on pace to shatter the record of measles cases in any year since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.
GIBSON CITY — Several area organizations will be meeting at 1 p.m. Friday, April 26, at the Moyer District Library in Gibson City to discuss resources and services provided in the Gibson City community.
GIBSON CITY — Four members of Gibson City’s exploratory pool committee toured indoor swimming pool facilities in Flanagan and Pontiac on Thursday to gather information that will be used to determine options for a proposed new pool in Gibson City.
PAXTON — City officials expect to receive approval this summer from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to seal and abandon the monitoring wells at the city’s long-closed landfill.
PAXTON — Organizers of the eighth annual Paxton Swine ‘N’ Dine BBQ Contest & Festival were expected to announce who would be headlining the festival’s free concert during Tuesday’s annual meeting of the Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce.
SPRINGFIELD — The unemployment rate in Illinois climbed one-tenth of a point to 4.4 percent in March as the state recorded a net loss of 2,300 jobs, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday.
PAXTON — A so-called “wine and chocolate walk” is just one of a number of new events the Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce’s new president wants to introduce to bring visitors to Paxton and its downtown business district.
GIBSON CITY — The Gibson City Rotary Club is accepting donations of school supplies that will be donated to a school in Zambia in southern Africa.
PAXTON — A Melvin man charged with six felony counts of aggravated battery for allegedly stabbing another man in his chest was returned to the Ford County Jail on Tuesday, one day after being released on his own recognizance.
GIBSON CITY — One of two Gibson City residents charged in connection with a series of burglaries to vehicles on the city’s north side pleaded guilty Monday to one count of burglary and was sentenced to 30 months of probation and 180 days in the Ford County Jail.
The Ford County Historical Society’s Water Tower Museum will be opening Saturday, April 27, with regular summer hours. The museum will be open each Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The museum, which specializes in Ford County history, is located at 135 S. Market St. behind Paxton City Hall. …
GIBSON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
Following is a list of cases filed recently in Ford County Circuit Court, as posted at www.judici.com:
PAXTON — A convicted felon pleaded guilty this week to misdemeanor theft in return for Ford County’s prosecutor agreeing to dismiss felony theft and burglary charges that had been filed against him.
PAXTON — Paxton firefighters responded to a vehicle fire at 6:34 a.m. Thursday about a mile east of the city.
PAXTON — The Paxton Police Department released the following list of recent activity:
GIBSON CITY — With the imminent $12.5 million expansion of its main facility looming, the Gibson Area Hospital Foundation is embarking on a $2 million fundraising campaign to raise some of the necessary funds.
PAXTON — A group of local residents is working to find ways to raise money for the Paxton Park District to save its financially troubled swimming pool.
LODA — The Loda Village Board voted 4-0, with Trustee Cathy Tittle absent, to allow Trustee Ronda Breeden to proceed with hiring Westmont-based Rubbersafe Playgrounds to install black rubber mulch around all playground equipment at the village park at a cost not to exceed $14,000.
PAXTON — A former member of the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley school board was convicted Friday of aggravated domestic battery for choking a juvenile family member amid an argument last summer.
PAXTON — When the 2020-21 school year begins, it is expected that every student in second through 12th grades in the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district will have a Chromebook to use in the classroom — and those at PBL High School will even be able to take theirs home.
RANKIN — The Rankin Village Board heard concerns from residents about the condition of the town’s old grade school building during a public hearing held on the matter immediately prior to the board’s monthly meeting on April 9.
By WILL BRUMLEVE
ELLIOTT — Residents again filled the Elliott Village Board’s meeting room on Tuesday, April 9, to voice complaints about the village’s water and about the board’s chosen priorities.
PAXTON — A single tear dropped from Paxton Fire Chief Denny Kingren’s right eye as Paxton-Buckley-Loda school board member Steve Pacey listed off his concerns about allowing a 150-foot flagpole to be put on school grounds as a symbol of the community’s patriotism.
Following is a list of cases filed recently in Ford County Circuit Court:
GIBSON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
PAXTON — Open swim will no longer be offered in the daytime or on weekends but instead will only be offered from 6 to 9 p.m. every weeknight at Coady Park’s swimming pool this summer.
GIBSON CITY — A family’s two-car garage caught fire Wednesday night not long after a just-used mower was put back inside it, destroying the structure and its contents and damaging their home. No one was hurt.
PAXTON — Some of the most dangerous of the city’s numerous unmarked intersections may be getting yield or stop signs if one Paxton alderman gets his way.
PAXTON — A former special agent for the Illinois State Police who has had multiple run-ins with the law in recent years was found guilty Tuesday of felonious disorderly conduct for calling 911 and falsely reporting that someone was coming to his home to physically assault him.
PAXTON — Paxton police officers will be checking properties in town for ordinance violations over the next few weeks, including for tall grass and weeds, the accumulation of junk or debris, and abandoned, inoperable or unregistered vehicles.
GIBSON CITY — Gibson City Council members granted Gibson Area Hospital a variance to city ordinance Monday night allowing it to install a large water-detention basin underneath the future site of a parking lot next to the hospital’s Annex.
PAXTON — After extensive discussion, the Ford County Board tabled a motion to hire a student worker Monday night.
PAXTON — The Paxton Police Department released the following list of recent activity:
PAXTON — The Paxton Police Department’s shooting range will be open to the public for target practice, weather permitting, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 11.
PAXTON — Among trials expected to be conducted this week in Ford County Circuit Court is a bench trial in a Class 4 felony disorderly conduct case against Bradley J. Cluver, 61, of Gibson City, a former state trooper.
PAXTON — A Paxton church that has been temporarily closed since November is expected to re-open with a new look, a new brand and, hopefully, more members.
GIBSON CITY — Members of the Gibson Area Chamber of Commerce heard Thursday about two new businesses that recently set up shop at 113 E. 9th St. in downtown Gibson City.
