Beer Can Thief Gets Prison Time

45 year old Joseph Kelly of Ottawa was sentenced to eight years Thursday after pleading guilty to burglary charges.

He admitted breaking into a rented storage shed in Peru back in 2008 and stealing around 1,000 collectable beer cans from Mike Cusick.  Cusick later noticed some of his cans for sale on EBay.  Police were able to recover nearly the entire collection.

Kelly was already in the Livingston County Jail on an unrelated burglary charge.

Two arrested for JB Contracting burglary

A break-in at a contractor’s office in La Salle has two men from Peru facing felony charges.

Police were called to JB Contracting Thursday morning after someone noticed a broken window.  Someone had forced their way in and left with a 42 inch TV.

Later in the day, they arrested Jordan Garcia and Jason Walker for burglary.  Walker was also arrested for possession of stolen property.  And Garcia was charged with theft for a break-in that happened last month.  Police think he stole cash from the contractor on January 21.

Both were taken to the La Salle County Jail.

La Salle County mentioned for high property taxes

La Salle County has been mentioned on Forbes.com and it’s not for the most flattering reason.  La Salle County is one of 10 Illinois counties that made the magazine’s list of who pays the highest property taxes based on income.

La Salle County was ranked 75th in country with the median property taxes paid on a home about $2500.  The median income for La Salle County was just under $56,000. 

Other nearby counties rated worse were DeKalb and Kendall Counties.

Preseason farmers market in Ottawa

Here’s something that could get you thinking of warmer weather, a farmer’s market.

The Ottawa Chamber is hosting a “preseason” farmers market Saturday from 8am until 12:30pm.  It’s inside Jeremiah Joe Coffee.  There will be everything from cookies and pies to pottery and jewelry.

The official farmer’s market season in Ottawa starts May 8^th.