News

Whenever Bert Niehls drives across town, by habit he looks at the flagpole flying the American flag at the entrance to the North Island park. It’s his baby, a symbol of pride he nurtured from the potential scrap heap into a landmark on the Will County Register of Historic Places. At 10 stories high, the flagpole can be seen blocks away and now gleams from a fresh coat of silver paint. “If I did anything in my lifetime I brought some history to Wilmington,” Niehls said.

Whoever first said that all the rain would make farmers happy obviously weren’t referring to those who own you-pick farms.
Tammen Treeberry Farm on Essex Road in Wilmington is feeling the effects of the record rainfall Illinois experienced in June, and owner Bruce Tammen is frustrated.
“Well, the berries look okay, but we’ve had water standing in the field in places continuously since about February,” Tammen said.
Due to the rain, Tammen wasn’t able to spray herbicide or lay down fertilizer like he normally would.

In the past 10 years Scoutmaster John Cairns has witnessed the local Boy Scouts of America organization grow by “leaps and bounds.”
Cairns reports Boy Scout Troop 466 and Cub Scout Pack 466 have always been one of the larger BSA groups in Grundy County, and membership has doubled in the past decade. The organization currently has 65 members—40 students and the rest adults.
Increasing membership numbers are a good thing, but it’s become a problem when it’s time for everyone to gather in the organization’s shelter. According to Cairns there simply isn’t enough room.