Colfax News

Today's sunny weather is just the opposite of what we saw Sunday afternoon. Today's sunny weather is just the opposite of what we saw Sunday afternoon.

A large crew of firefighters was able to get a barn fire under control Wednesday morning south of Colfax, saving a nearby machine shed that had been threatened. via FireFightingNews.com

“Crew have been dispatched and hope to have power restored as soon as possible”

UPDATED 10:24 p.m. BLOOMINGTON - ' Super Bowl Sunday fell silent for more than 17,000 customers of Corn Belt Energy and Ameren after widespread power outages were reported. via The Pantagraph

“The safety of our employees is first and foremost.”

' Major employers in the Twin Cities and many area schools shut their doors for the day Friday after snowfalls ranging from 6 to 10 or more inches blanketed the area by early morning. via The Pantagraph

Heritage Enterprises Inc. disagreed Monday with a $17,000 award approved by a McLean County judge for a former employee who alleged she was fired in retaliation for reporting the abuse of a patient. via The Pantagraph

“We're really concerned for the people whose sewer is backing up”

' Rain has canceled school in one community and residents in another are urged to use less water until flooded sewage systems can catch up. via Pantagraph

“They come to school, ya know they flush the toliets 100 times a day, so we're just trying to nip it in the bud so it wasn't any worse than it could be.”

WMBD/WYZZ TV - COLFAX -- A quiet creek on Monday, by Tuesday the mighty Mackinaw has turned these Colfax homes into beachfront property. via WMBD-TV Peoria

“Our job here isn't - I gotcha.' We want people to comply voluntarily”

Enforcement of the new statewide smoking ban in Illinois' largest county should be low key, said the public health official charged with helping enforce the ban, which takes effect Tuesday. via Pantagraph

“It's a project close to my heart”

Charlene Coultas can't bear to be cold -- or imagine the homeless being cold. "I lay awake at night and think it's so cold, how in the world are all these people existing?" she said. via The Pantagraph

“It's amazing how much people care”

For more a quarter century, Ridgeview High School students have collected food and gifts for Colfax area families in need at Christmas. via The Pantagraph

“It consisted of one stall with bits of hay scattered about. These animals have a dark life. It is said they never see the light of day.”

A cherished urban legend has it that much of underground Bloomington, including downtown, is crisscrossed with coal mine tunnels. via Pantagraph

Daily Digest for Nov. 28, 2007: Ridgeview students collect 3,000 cans BLOOMINGTON -- Ridgeview Junior-Senior High School students topped the results in McLean County Community Compact's food drive again this ... via Pantagraph

“They give them a time limit. They don't give them time. We give them as long as it takes.”

When it comes to finding home for central Illinois' four legged citizens, one group is going the extra mile. via WMBD-TV Peoria

“We had a teacher make $94,000 last year”

' The most experienced and educated District 87 teachers are among the highest paid in the state, according to an annual statewide salary survey - ' a finding that doesn't surprise district officials who say it ... via The Pantagraph

“We're proud of a lot of things we do here”

' Thirty-five Chicago public schools were named on a list of "dropout factories" this week in a national study of high school graduation rates across the nation, but it's a different story in Central Illinois. via The Pantagraph

McKendree University Assistant Professor of Education Martha M. Eggers and student Julianne Harris presented a session about teaching middle-school math, Oct. via McKendree College News Center

' Young wrestlers soon will have a new place to spread out their mats at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School. via The Pantagraph