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PEKIN — A Pekin woman was indicted by a Tazewell County grand jury for allegedly pushing her 5-year-old daughter onto the sidewalk at a school bus stop Oct. 10 and causing a head injury.Janell J. Estes, 25, of 250 Herget St. is charged with aggravated battery to a child, a Class 3 felony.If convicted, she could be sentenced to as many as five years in prison.According to court records, an employee of a utility locating service called 911 [...]

Across the nation, Americans are commemorating Veterans Day with parades, wreath-laying ceremonies, monument dedications and other events.___NEW HAMPSHIRE: GREEN PASTURESRichard Velez is a veteran who makes it clear: He didn't serve in a war, but he welcomed home family and friends — brothers all — who had seen "the beast" that is combat. [...]

PEORIA — The U.S. Army officially rewarded Sgt. Merle Dentino his Purple Heart in April 2012, 42 years after the Peorian was killed in action in Vietnam. On Monday, Veterans Day, officials handed the medal to his sister in a ceremony in Palo Alto, Calif."I think this is a great story in tribute to (Merle Dentino)," said Teresa Dentino, Merle's younger sister, who lives in Woodside, Calif. "Friendships have been formed and a lot of healing has been performed."

PRINCEVILLE — A fire at 10610 W. Brimfield Jubilee Rd. damaged one side of a house Monday afternoon. The cost of damages is not yet available.A neighbor called in the fire at 2:46 p.m. and within five minutes the Dunlap Fire Department arrived at the scene. The two people that were in the residence at the time of the fire were both out of the house when the firefighters arrived and both refused treatment. Dunlap Fire Chief James Emanuels stated [...]

Sarasota, Fla., police arrested former Peoria County Board member Merle Widmer on Thursday for allegedly soliciting a female officer posing as a prostitute, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.Widmer, 88, who lives on West Collingwood Circle in Peoria, was one of five men arrested on a charge of soliciting prostitution in the undercover operation in the North Tamiami Trail neighborhood.On Aug. 1, Widmer reported two necklaces valued at nearly $14,000 [...]

PEORIA — Speaking in front of the World Wars I and II Memorial after the 61st Peoria Veterans Parade, Kurt Hardy had one request for the audience.The retired master gunnery sergeant for the U.S. Marine Corps, who served for 30 years, gave those in attendance Monday morning a one-year timetable to fulfill that request."Find three vets," Hardy said. "Look them in the eye and thank them for their service. They deserve it."The ceremony at [...]

When fallen Col. William Augustus Thrush returned to Peoria for the last time, he was laid to rest with the biggest military funeral in the city's history, even to this day.But perhaps a greater honor quietly happened five months later. His sword, almost certainly grabbed by the Southern soldier who killed Thrush and devastated his regiment, was anonymously sent by mail to his widow.Why bother with such a gesture of kindness to the enemy? The best answer [...]

PEORIA — For 11 days in 1942, Boatswains Mate Third Class Jack Scovil floated around the South Pacific on a small life raft. Within a month, the Peoria native lost two ships, one to the Japanese and one to the high seas.Yet, as he floated around the seas off New Caledonia, an island near Australia, Scovil's wit and humor never wavered, as evident from a handwritten journal he kept.The story was largely forgotten until recently when Scovil's nephew, Dick [...]

CREVE COEUR — Library patrons who have accumulated fines can have a fresh start next week while also donating to a charitable cause.The Creve Coeur Library, 311 N. Highland St., is offering to wipe the slate clean and forgive fines if patrons bring in a new toy for the village's Santa's Little Helper program, from Nov. 18 to Dec. 23.Toys will be distributed through the program to help Creve Coeur children in need. Anyone is encouraged to donate a toy, [...]

PEORIA — Third-quarter earnings for St. Louis-based Ameren Corp. were down slightly from the third quarter in 2012.Ameren announced net income of $305 million ($1.25 per share) compared to $309 million ($1.28 per share) for the same period last year."Cooler-than-normal weather had a negative impact on third-quarter earnings," said Thomas Voss, Ameren's chairman and CEO in a release.For the first nine months of the year, Ameren's net income [...]