Man charged with aggravated battery to a child

Bond has been set at $50,000 for a man accused of abusing a child. Joshua Alexander of Peru faces the class X felony charge aggravated battered of a child.
He was arrested on a warrant Monday at his home. Police say the warrant came after a five month long investigation by DCFS.
Alexander is being held in the La Salle County Jail.

Hepatitis A Concerns

Health officials say at least 20 cases of Hepatitis A have been confirmed in Illinois.

The cases are in Woodford, Henry, Mercer, Warren and Rock Island counties. The spread looks to have started with a worker at a McDonalds in the Quad Cities. An estimated ten thousand people who ate at the McDonalds in Milan are urged to get preventative treatment.

Jenny Barrie with La Salle County Public Health Department says they have Hepatitis A vaccine as part of their routine adult and child immunization program. You can get a vaccine at the health department at no charge if you think you may be linked to the Rock Island County outbreak.

Symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, fatigue or low-grade fever.

Peru To Spend Millions On Sewer Work

Separating the storm sewer from the sanitary sewer is a large project with an equally large price tag.

In Peru, they have plans prepared for separating the sewer in two parts of town. And it looks like it will be eligible for stimulus money. The project is estimated to cost eight and a half million dollars. The city’s borrowing the money from the Water Pollution Control Loan Program through the Illinois E-P-A. The I-E-P-A has already approved it.

If accepted as a stimulus project, the city will have a fourth of the cost covered by the government and be able to pay the rest back without interest for up to 20 years.

Walnut Avenue In Oglesby To Be Torn Up

The city of Oglesby is going out for bid on two separate resurfacing projects on Walnut Avenue west of downtown.

The city council plans on using 110 thousand dollars in stimulus money to resurface Walnut Avenue from Orlando Smith Road east to the Advantage Logistics stop light. They’ll then dip into TIF money to the tune of about 160 thousand dollars to resurface Walnut Avenue from Lewis Avenue or near Burger King eastward to Columbia Avenue.

Streets Commissioner Dennis Yborra says the work should be done this summer and they’ll keep at least one lane of traffic open at all times.

Streator Church Goes To Highest Bidder

The closed Grace United Methodist Church in Streator went for over 52 thousand dollars in an auction held Saturday. Streator Home Building & Loan was the winning bidder. Company officials say they don’t have any immediate plans for the church.

Besides getting the two-story, 102 year old church, the bidder also gets two brick buildings that used to be where the minister stayed and where Sunday school was held.

The church closed in 2007 after dwindling membership. Church officials tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer before putting it up for auction.

Area Chef To Lead State Fair Parade

Whether it’s coaching or cooking, Charlie Kleinfelter of DePue is always doing something in the area. His charity work now has him being honored at the state level.

Kleinfelter is one of eleven people picked as an “Illinoisan of the Day” at next month’s State Fair. On Sunday, August 16th, Kleinfelter will serve as Grand Marshall of the state fair parade and be part of an awards ceremony. He also gets VIP parking, gate admission, hotel accommodations and Grandstand show tickets.