No new public works director or city engineer yet

There will be a new public works director and a city engineer in Peru eventually. It’ll be a couple of weeks before those positions are filled.

The council could have taken action on the appointments Monday night- it was on the regular meeting agenda; however, Mayor Scott Harl asked that they be tabled.

A committee will look over the candidates.

Jim Potthoff, Jerry Bleck, and Mike Billard have been overseeing the different Public Works departments since Harl took office in April and longtime Public Works Superintendent Don Kowalczyk and Electric Department Superintendent Joe Prazen retired.

The city’s engineering work has been contracted to Chamlin and Associates but that will change when someone’s hired to do that in-house.

L-P Baseball Postponed

L-P Super Sectional baseball scheduled for tonight has been postponed until Tuesday at 5p.  You can hear the Cavaliers live on 96.5 WKOT and online at WKOT.com starting tomorrow at 4:50.

Motorcyclist Recovering After Crash In Utica

A biker from the burbs is improving at the hospital.

Demitrios Vranas of Orland Park is in fair condition at St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.  He was flown there after an accident Saturday afternoon in Utica.

State Police say that Vranas was leaving a private drive onto Route 71 west of Route 178 when he lost control on some gravel.  Vranas and his Harley both skidded on the pavement. 

Vranas suffered head injuries.

Mautino wants steel plant re-opened or sold

The Mittal steel plant in Hennepin is shut down but lawmakers and union leaders aren’t going out without a fight.

State Representative Frank Mautino joined others in bringing a prospective buyer to town last week to tour the closed ArcelorMittal plant. Mautino says the plant has already received a few legitimate offers but Mittal officials haven’t acted on any of them. He’s wondering if they’re against selling to a competitor.

Mautino says another potential buyer wants to visit the plant in the next week or so there’s hope. The plant shut down in March, leaving around 300 people without jobs.