The Rochester village board took action on several items at Monday’s 55 minute regular meeting but decided to table taking moving forward on one major issue, an excavation project on State Street being mandated by the Illinois Envrionmental Protection Agency.

The Village of Rochester and the Rochester Lions Club are again sponsoring the Citizen of the Year Contest to recognize a person making an outstanding contribution to improving the quality of life in Rochester.

Rochester High School will have an official enrollment of 770 for the next two sports seasons, following the release of next year’s enrollments by the Illinois High School Association. The IHSA has altered its enrollment policy for the start of the current school year and will now use a scho…

David Randall Western of Rochester graduated with honors during commencement ceremonies held May 17-18 at Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla. Western graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering.

The Rochester village board voted 4-0 to approve a petition for grant of special use at a brief special meeting Tuesday.

The Rochester Board of Education held its regular meeting for July Monday night at the Bruce Hays Administrative Center.

The Rochester village board sped through a brief agenda in just 30 minutes at Monday’s regular meeting.

The New Generation Singers will be performing a free concert at Rochester United Methodist Church Saturday, July 13 at 7 p.m.

One of the events at this year’s Rochester Sesquicentennial Celebration will be the 5K/10K Walk-Run to be held Saturday, September 14. The event will start and finish in Rochester Community Park.

The Rochester Sesquicentennial Committee, along with Sloan Implement Co., will present “Prairie & Farm Fields - A Salute to Agriculture” Saturday, July 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Rochester Firehouse.

Rochester Cub Scout Pack 40 will take to the sky again this year with Rocket Day Saturday, June 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rochester Community Park.

The Rochester school board’s regular meeting lasted only 30 minutes Monday but that was enough time to complete a lengthy agenda that included approval of a new two-year contract with the Rochester Education Association.

The Rochester village board voted 6-0 to amend the village’s burning ordinance at the board’s regular meeting held June 10.

The Rochester school board approved the hiring of Russell Clover as the school district’s interim superintendent for the 2019-20 school year as a special meeting held Wednesday, May 29.

The Rochester Public Library will once again host a Farmers Market on Saturdays starting June 8 at 8:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the village hall/library at 1 Community Drive.

Commencement exercises for the Rochester High School Class of 2019 were held Sunday, May 26 at Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois-Springfield.

The Rochester Sesquicentennial Committee will host “A Walk Through Historic Rochester” Home Tour Sunday, June 2  from 12 noon to 4 p.m.  

Rochester CUSD 3A has announced that Mrs. Cassy Carey has been hired as the principal of Rochester Intermediate School for the 2019-20 school year. She will replace Kathleen Sanders, who came out of retirement in February to complete the year at RIS. 

The Rochester school board  agreed with a recommendation from the administration on a series of staffing needs for the 2019-20 school year at Monday’s regular meeting.

The  Rochester Historical Preservation Society’s regular meeting will be held Monday, May 13 at 7 p.m., one week earlier than usual. The RHPS and the Rochester Sesquicentennial Committee invite you to step back in time to 1869 when five men from Rochester were elected to represent the town a…

Rochester Chief of Police Kent Bragg has announced his retirement after 22 years on the Rochester Police Department.

The final day of attendance for students in the Rochester School District will be Friday, May 31.

The Rochester Junior High Science Olympiad team took eighth place in the State competition held April 13.

The Rochester school board handled a busy agenda in only 35 minutes of open session Monday. The board approved some changes to the 2019-20 school calendar that will include moving back the first semester exams at Rochester High School.

The Rochester Music Department sent five performing groups to IHSA State Organizational Contest Friday, April 12, hosted by Taylorville Schools.

The Rochester Public Library District Board of Trustees announced a vacancy at its regular board meeting held Thursday, April 11.  The board will fill the current vacancy by appointment.

Jake Lakin, a 2015 graduate of Rochester High School, will be graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Millikin University in May.

The Rochester village board approved its appropriation ordinance for the 2019 fiscal year as well as another measure regulating food trucks in the village at Monday’s 70 minute regular meeting.

The Rochester Public Library will hold its Earth Day Celebration Saturday, April 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

John Fox, Martin Fairchild and Gary McBride were elected to three open positions on the Rochester Fire Protection Board in Tuesday’s Consolidated Election.

Former Superintendent of Schools Bruce Hays was hired by the Rochester school board to serve as the temporary interim Superintendent for the school district at a special meeting held Tuesday morning.

The race for three open spots on the Rochester Fire Protection Board among five candidates is only contested local race in the upcoming Consolidated Election Tuesday, April 2.

The Rochester Education Foundation will hold its annual trivia night fundraiser Friday, April 12 at Erin’s Pavilion, 4965 South Second in Springfield, starting at 6:30 p.m.

ools Dr. Lance Thurman was placed on paid administrative absence by the school board following a tumultuous three-hour regular meeting Monday.

Rochester 4th grader Ellie Tweryon won the 2019 Rochester Sesquicentennial commemorative coin contest with her drawing depicting a red-white-blue striped rocket and a football flying above a harvest-ready corn field.

With all trustees present, the Rochester village board needed only 45 minutes to complete its regular meeting Monday.

The Rochester High School Science Olympiad team competed in the Regional held at Western Illinois University in Macomb last Saturday.

Rochester High School is well known for its outstanding musicals and the 2019 production promises to continue in that tradition.

Expansion of the current Pre-Kindergarten program offered by the Rochester School District will be considered by the school board at its next meeting in March.

Joe Viola tendered his resignation as principal of Rochester Intermediate School at a special meeting of the Rochester school board held Tuesday morning. Dr. Lance Thurman, in a statement, said that the board had accepted the resignation and as a personnel matter, there would be no further comment.

The Rochester village board needed only 30 minutes to complete a light agenda at its regular meeting Monday.

The Rochester Sparks in the Park Committee will hold a chicken dinner fundraiser at the Rochester Firehouse Wednesday, February 20 with pickup from 5 to 6:30 p.m.