Man arrested in Oglesby for stolen car

An investigation that involved three area police departments lead to an out-of-towner being arrested in Oglesby.

          Richard Goeringer of Homer Glenn was arrested Monday afternoon because police say he had a stolen 2001 Ford Mustang.  Police say the car was taken from Streator.

          The Oglesby, Ottawa and Streator Police Departments along with a tactical team and La Salle County State’s Attorney’s office were involved in the arrest.  Other charges are pending as the investigation continues.

          Goeringer is being held in the La Salle County Jail.

IVCH changes visitor policy in responce to swine flu

            Unless they’re the patient, people under 18 are encouraged to stay away from Illinois Valley Community Hospital.  Like many other area hospitals, IVCH is restricting young visitors who are more prone to swine flu. 

           The hospital says it’s made the change to minimize the chances of patients and staff members being exposed to someone who is infected.             The La Salle County Health Department says as of today, four people in La Salle County have been hospitalized for swine flu, three of which were children.  There has been one swine flu related death in La Salle County- an 18 year old woman.

Spring Valley Mayor Eyes Landing Improvements

Barto Landing in Spring Valley is popular place to get on the Illinois River.  Spring Valley’s mayor says he’s talking with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Illinois Department of Natural Resources about an idea to improve the landing.

Cliff Banks told the city council last night it would involve the Corps dredging the area where boats enter the river from the landing.  A berm would be created to prevent sediment from filling it in again. The dredged material would be used to fill in a wetland just to the west that could be used for parking.

 Banks said the project could be done at no cost to the city and would save the Spring Valley Walleye Club thousands of dollars each year.

Peru combined sewer project could start in November

With the weather changing, you might think the construction season is over but a large sewer project is just about to get started in Peru.

Two sections of town that still have combined sewers are having new separate storm and sanitary sewers installed.   The project cost just under 6 million dollars and is being funded through federal stimulus money. 

Engineer Roger Chamlin says they could get started with the work in November.   The project will is predicted to take a year and a half to complete.

OTHS Teachers Told Not To Bring Up The Strike

Talk about English, math and science, not about the strike.

That’s the message given by interim Ottawa High School Superintendent Matt Winchester.  Minutes after the strike ended Monday morning, Winchester says he told the president of the teacher’s union to tell the faculty to keep the strike talk out of the classroom.  Winchester says the class isn’t an arena for strike discussion.

Winchester says there are no plans to have an assembly or anything like that to air out feelings about the strike.

School Back In Swing At OTHS

Interim Superintendent Matt Winchester says the first day back after the strike went about as smooth as he could’ve hoped for. 

He says there were more kids gone than normal because of some just assuming there would be no class again today and the lateness of the announcement saying there would be class.  Winchester says any student who was gone Monday will be counted as an excused absence.

Sixteen classroom days were lost during the strike.

Flu Clinic In Ottawa

If you haven’t gotten your regular flu shot, there’s another chance to get it tomorrow.

The La Salle County Public Health Department is hosting a flu clinic at their office on Etna Road in Ottawa.  The shots are offered from 9 until 4.

Regular flu shots are 25 dollars but are covered by Medicare. 

The health department is waiting to set up swine flu vaccine clinics.