The Chillicothe Times-Bulletin was honored Friday at the annual Illinois Press Association awards ceremony.The Chillicothe Times-Bulletin staff earned a second place for newspaper design, which takes into account the entire newspaper’s look. Marianne Gillespie, editor of the Chillicothe Times-Bulletin,...

Baseball runs in the blood for one Chillicothe family.

At daycare and at home with her kids, Beth Martinez is just Beth Martinez. But with the Peoria Push Derby Dames roller derby league, she is Drucilla the Killa.

Heading into the special session on pension reform, no one was talking optimistically that a solution would be forged.

The "Bubble Master" is popping into Chillicothe next week as one of the many activities in June with the summer reading program.Geoff Akins brings his theme of "anything is possible," including the creation of a square bubble. He didn’t start out being a child who was enthralled by bubbles, but...

Claud-Elen Days is a little piece of Americana.If you wandered through City Park and or sat by City Stage over the weekend, you’re bound to hear a variety of both funny and heart-warming communication.Children’s screams of delight can be heard throughout the park as they find a favorite carnival...

The Chillicothe Barbarians Rugby Football Club conquered at State.

Along with the city’s blessing, about $100,000 is needed to keep Advanced Medical Transport of Central Illinois covering the Chillicothe area.The Chillicothe City Council met June 3 for a committee of the whole meeting to hear from the city’s current ambulance provider as aldermen make their way to a vote...

Illinois Valley Central graduates Justin Parr, Jordan Parr and Chris Razo were all picked in the Major League Baseball draft last week.

If you work around the Capitol, you probably knew the summer wasn’t going pass uninterrupted.

It's practically unheard of — a person working for the same company for the last 50 years — but Ron Miller can say he has.It's hard to call a person a landmark, but that's just what some people call Miller, the manager of the Circle K gas station.Located at 509 N. Fourth St., the gas station not only...

To honor and recognize accomplished graduates of Chillicothe Township High School and Illinois Valley Central High School, the Chillicothe Alumni Association, IVC Educational Foundation and IVC School District 321 teamed up a few years ago to present the Distinguished Alumni Awards.The recipients are recognized annually at...

A little history about the festival and this year's schedule

The next "Mr. Chillicothe" is out there and waiting to be crowned.The Chillicothe Lions Club is holding the 28th annual "Mr. Chillicothe" contest during Claud-Elen Days at 7 p.m. Friday at the city park in downtown Chillicothe.This year’s contestants are: Stan Taylor, sponsored by...

Four Chillicothe teenagers will compete for the title of Miss Chillicothe.The pageant begins at 7 p.m. Saturday on City Stage.Former Miss Chillicothe Amanda (Tyler) Schultz is organizing the event again this year.The ladies will be judged on sportswear (casual wear outfit), talent, evening wear and a...

What was a thriving tent city less than 24 hours before was reduced to rubble by Memorial Day afternoon at Three Sisters Park, the site of the Summer Camp Music Festival.Tarps, glow sticks and abandoned shoes stuck out from the mud accumulated under heavy rainfall and footfall of the 15,000 Summer Campers — more than...

This is Heather’s first Summer Camp, thanks to Smokey, her Alaskan malamute.Dogs are common at the event, but usually not as big and hairy as 110-pound Smokey. But she makes for a perfect service dog, Heather says. The 26-year-old Michigan woman has complex regional pain syndrome, which makes her extremely sensitive...

Making history is quite a way to close a college career.

For a while last week, it seemed like old times. When lawmakers took up the new state budget, Republicans complained they were cut out of the final talks to draft it and voted against the spending plan.

Senior AJ Johnson signed for college May 21 at Illinois Valley Central High School.

The Illinois Valley Central track team finished the year at the Peoria Journal Star/CEFCU Honor Roll Meet May 21 at EastSide Centre in East Peoria.

Illinois Valley Central High School Principal Kenton Bergman readily admits that the school’s graduation rate needs improvement."It’s definitely an area we need to work on — we’re not proud of it. We want to make sure that we are serving each student better," said Bergman, who is...

Household income makes a difference when it comes to getting a high school diploma. A GateHouse news analysis of 40 west-central Illinois high schools has found the districts with the lowest graduation rates have almost twice the percentage of low-income students."Poverty rate is the biggest factor, I believe,...

One local group attempted to stir the interest of children in horseback riding and shows through a free program earlier this month.The Illinois Walking Horse Association gave central Illinois children a chance to get up close and personal with the horses.The IWHA created a Youth Horse Program which gave children...

The Illinois Valley Central softball team came to an end May 21 in the home Regional.

Chillicothe Township officials were sworn in following the regular monthly meeting May 14.Chillicothe Township Trustee Greg Owens thanked outgoing supervisor Cheryl Murphy for her eight years of service. He also thanked outgoing Trustee Ruth McLaughlin for her many years of service. He said both would be missed.

Illinois Valley Central's baseball team came as close as it could to extending the season but, in the end, it was not enough.

The memory of one central Illinois child lives on through baseball each year.

If pension reform wasn’t confusing enough, it may actually have gotten more so last week.

Ambulance Rescue 33 officials have made their case as to why it should be the city's ambulance service provider, and now, they must wait on the outcome.The Chillicothe City Council met as a committee of the whole Thursday night to hear information from one of its two applicants to be the city's ambulance provider.

If residents are looking to find a Memorial Day remembrance ceremony to attend, they are in luck.Brief services at local cemeteries, parksLocal veterans continue their tradition of honoring and remembering those who have died by traveling to local cemeteries and parks on...

The final week of the regular season brought plenty of excitement for Illinois Valley Central's baseball team.

Every Memorial Day weekend in Chillicothe since 2001 the music world descends upon central Illinois."Our mission at the Summer Camp Music Festival is to provide the fans of the festival with an experience that may only be one weekend a year but will be something they remember and talk about all year long,"...

In a year when a new mayor begins his administration, the council meeting has two parts: old business under the current mayor, and then the swearing in of the new mayor with new business.On May 13, that is just what happened, including some outgoing comments by Mayor Troy Childers.He began by thanking all of...