News across Ford County

PBL cross country competes in Potluck Meet, Spartan Classic
URBANA – The Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School boys cross country team finishes fourth in the Urbana University High School Potluck Meet on Thursday. The Panthers finished with a score of 112 behind Urbana (17), Urbana Uni High (56) and Broadlands Heritage (66). Nolan Bunag…
GCMS football loses 12-7 to Tremont, to face LeRoy at 7 p.m. Friday
GIBSON CITY – The Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley varsity football team lost 12-7 to Tremont on Friday. With the victory, the Joe Hageman-coached Turks (3-3, 2-1 Heart of Central Illinois Small Division) are eligible for their first playoff berth since 2021. “Congrats to Tremont. Coach…

PBL JH cross country competes at St. Joseph
ST. JOSEPH – The Paxton-Buckley-Loda Junior High School girls cross country team finished fourth in the seventh- through eighth-grade girls’ race with a score of 92 among five full teams at the St. Joseph Invite on Friday. Cadence Kietzman finished with a time of 15:12.4,…

Cissna Park volleyball goes 1-4 in Champaign Central Tournament
CHAMPAIGN – The Cissna Park High School volleyball team went 1-4 in the Champaign Central Tournament on Saturday. Cissna Park won 25-23, 10-25, 15-13 over Champaign Central and lost 24-26, 25-22, 15-12 to Carterville, 15-25, 25-7, 15-13 to Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg, 25-23,…
Obituary: Samuel Baird
Hudson- Samuel Lee Baird ,88, passed away on September 25, 2026 at Carle BroMenn Medical Center of Normal, IL.Samuel was born on April 19, 1938, in Danville, Illinois, the son of Samuel Baird and Genarie Mae (Lee) Baird. He graduated from Paxton High School and later built a long…

PBL volleyball loses 25-19, 25-20 to Pontiac
PONTIAC – The Paxton-Buckley-Loda varsity volleyball team lost 25-19, 25-20 to Pontiac on Thursday. Ellie Dirks had 13 kills and five digs while Emmy Bagwell had six kills. Hallee Johnson had five kills while Logan Loschen had 15 assists and Kylie Rust had 10 assists. Josie…

GCMS powderpuff football 2026

GCMS 2026 homecoming parade

EPA’s formal hearing on well permits for carbon sequestration project draws a full house
GIBSON CITY — Residents from western Ford and eastern McLean counties affected by One Earth Sequestration’s proposed carbon sequestration project gathered near Gibson City on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to hear testimony and tell Environmental Protection Agency officials whether they…

PBL JH baseball ends 2026 season with 5-3 loss to Champaign Franklin in regional finals
CHAMPAIGN – The Paxton-Buckley-Loda Junior High School baseball team faced what Daron Johnson said was an equally-caliber team in Champaign Franklin in the IESA Class 3A regional finals on Wednesday. “These were two really good ballclubs,” Johnson said. “I told the boys (before…

Photo gallery: PBL JH baseball at Champaign Franklin
Here are some sights from Wednesday’s IESA Class 3A regional championship game, which Franklin won 5-3 … The post Photo gallery: PBL JH baseball at Champaign Franklin first appeared on Ford County Chronicle .

Obituary: Jonathan Nicholls
Jonathan William “Jon” Nicholls, 47, of Paxton, IL, passed away at 9:15 P.M. Saturday, September 19, 2026, at his home surrounded by his family. He was born on May 16, 1979, at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Danville, IL, the son of William “Bill” Nicholls and Linda (Kinser) Nicholls.…