Brittany Fischer is the proud caretaker of five chickens: Reba, Disco Chick, K, F and C.
The chickens live in a cozy coop her father built under the stairs in their barn next to their home on Dee-Mack Road in Washington.

“Reba was the only one I could catch when she was a chick, so she lets me hold her and pet her,” the 19-year-old said, holding the gold-feathered hen until it decided it had had enough and started squawking.

Budget cuts proposed by Gov. Pat Quinn could not come at a worse time for cities and counties already receiving less revenue because of the depressed economy, mayors and administrators in Tazewell County said Friday.

As part of a larger budget proposal announced Tuesday, Gov. Quinn included cutting $300 million in income taxes distributed to municipalities and counties. Along with state sales taxes, state income taxes are often one of the largest funding mechanisms in local governments’ general funds.

Although the mild temperatures and sunshine of last weekend seem like promises of good weather to come, the Tazewell County Emergency Management Agency wants people to be aware that storm season is approaching.

This time of year can bring severe weather, such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, lightning, damaging winds and even snow and ice.

A fourth-grade teacher at Central Intermediate School is taking steps to inspire his students while ensuring they can keep up with even the most technologically savvy individuals.
Jonathan Smith recently received a grant for $600 to purchase three iPod touches for his classroom.

“The i-touch is basically a handheld device that is Internet-capable,” Smith said.
He added that there are more than 100,000 downloadable applications that can be put on the devices.

RadioShack is looking to expand, and Washington is one of the top five locations in the state of Illinois where the corporation is hoping to open a store.

“Due to the growth, the population and the good size of the city, it would be a good place for us to open a store,” said Bill Bartels of RadioShack Corp. “Washington is one of the top five, maybe better than that, locations where we do not have a store.”

Washington’s only tattoo and body piercing studio will be allowed to continue its operations, despite a newly passed ordinance which has tighter regulations on home-occupied businesses.

The amended code was proposed  Feb. 15, after a Sept. 21 city council meeting during which angry neighbors voiced their concerns about having such a business operating on a residential street.

The Illinois State Historical Society will honor Washington Presbyterian Church at the Illinois Sesquicentennial Church Celebration and Banquet Sunday at Wheaton College.

The banquet is part of the Illinois State Historical Society’s 30th annual Illinois History Symposium and will celebrate churches, synagogues, meeting houses and congregations organized in Illinois 150 or more years ago.

Twelve-year-old Blake Scribner of Washington has a very unusual technique when it comes to catching and throwing a baseball.

“I catch it with my left hand, move the ball to my right hand, throw my glove on the ground, move the ball back to my left hand and throw it,” the sixth grader at Beverly Manor said.

“He does it very quickly,” said his father, Scott Scribner.

“My mitt’s very dirty,” Scribner added.

Marla Boley said her husband, Frank, always wanted to own three things in his lifetime: a bar, a church and a fire truck.

He came closer to achieving his goal when he and Marla bought the former First United Methodist Church building at 104 S. Elm St., just off the square, in 2003.

Since then, they have been brainstorming about what to do with the 8,000 square feet of available space.

The District 308 school board announced its plans to step up to the plate once again with a new renovation proposal Thursday night.

The meeting was open to the general public, but certain community leaders, such as Mayor Gary Manier, were specially invited.

When it comes to the fate of Route 8 and the dilapidated Sunnyland Plaza, the people have spoken, and city officials are listening.

In a collaborative effort between the cities of Washington and East Peoria and the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, a survey was conducted to see what people in the community would and would not like to see in Sunnyland and their ideas for improvements.

Tazewell County Board member John Ackerman is once again under investigation for questionable activity.

Ackerman, 31, of Washington, was questioned by Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department investigators, and allegedly admitted to taking several political signs belonging to then-Tazewell County treasurer candidate Mary Burress, who went on to win the primary.

Molly Smith never participated in a pageant before running for the title of Miss Heart of Illinois Outstanding Teen 2009.

“My views on pageants were that they are always about how beautiful you are,” she said. “I figured they had nothing to do with who you are as a person or how smart you are.”

The 16-year-old from Dunlap won the title last year at Five Points. She said she was quite surprised after participating in the pageant.

Beginning Feb. 24, Gomes, 23, will assume the responsibility of covering East Peoria.

As editor, she will oversee the content of the newspaper, design pages and more.

Spirits were high as a celebration of one little boy’s life brought in more than $15,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Austin and Julie Locke lost their 2-year-old son, Dax, Dec. 30 after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.