Ottawa woman arrested for heroin in La Salle

A police sting operation in La Salle has a woman from Ottawa facing a felony drug charge.

Investigators with the drug team TRIDENT say they used an undercover person to get heroin from Beatrice Rodriguez in a parking lot along Third Street in La Salle.

Rodriguez was arrested Thursday for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and was taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Harl vetoes council’s vote to move forward with swimming pool grant

Saying he’s not against filing for a grant but trying to be fiscally responsible, Peru’s mayor has held true to his promise to veto a state grant for new swimming pool construction.

Scott Harl told council members last Wednesday before they decided to move forward with applying for the grant that he would veto their decision because they don’t have 100% of the project cost as required.  The city council was unanimous in approving the ordinance.

Harl read a veto resolution during Monday night’s council meeting explaining that he’s not against the grant, but he wants to be fiscally responsible.

Alderman Dave Potthoff says pursuing the grant is the next step towards building a new pool and that it’s part of looking toward the future.

Alderman Jamey Mertel has asked for a motion to override Harl’s veto be on next Wednesday’s agenda.  The council could overturn Harl’s veto with a two-thirds vote.

Peru’s fire department becomes a paid, on-call department

Fire calls in Peru will continue to be handled how they have for years, despite some operational changes with the fire department.

Peru’s fire department, Liberty Fire Company, has been made a paid, on-call department with payroll being handled by the City of Peru.

The department had been a contract department for over 100 years but because of financial reasons they’ve made the change.

The position of fire chief will be appointed by the mayor and not elected by fire company personal as it had been in the past.

Jeff King was appointed fire chief Monday night by Mayor Scott Harl.  King had already been serving as chief.

Streator man in critical condition following motorcycle crash

Two days after a motorcycle crash near Streator, a man remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Police say David Christ of Streator was heading north on North 15^th Road when he lost control of his motorcycle Saturday evening.  He was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital before being flown to St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

He was ticketed for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident with other charges pending.

“Thriller” raises money for IVCH addition

Halloween looked like it arrived a week early in Peru’s Centennial Park but it was actually a fundraiser for a building project.

A performance of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” by members of the Illinois Valley Community Hospital staff Saturday raised $525 towards the obstetrics and intensive care units under construction at the Peru hospital.  63 dancers participated.

Halvorson talks with about jobs with two Honeywell employees

The remaining employees of Honeywell in Spring Valley are preparing to loose their jobs by the end of the year.  The company announced in August 2009 the plant was being moved to Mexico.

Julie Vargo of Ottawa and Penny Steele of La Salle are among the employees that remain.  They met this morning with Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson at the Ottawa home of Karen Winchester.

Steele says the decision to move the plant to Mexico was corporate greed.

Halvorson, a democrat, is on an “Export Goods, Not Jobs” tour in the week before the November 2 election.  She’s being challenged by Republican Adam Kinzinger who supports extending tax cuts created under former President George W. Bush.  Kinzinger says the tax cuts help business.  Halvorson says it would benefit only three percent of the 11^th congressional district.

Race for a La Salle County Board seat heats up in Peru

Take a drive through Peru and you’ll see plenty of signs promoting either the republican or democrat running for the local county board seat.

Democrat Art Rigby is being challenged by republican Bob Vickrey in next Tuesday’s election.

One of the topics in the race has been the county nursing home. Rigby says he thinks voters should decide whether the county keeps ownership of it.

Vickrey calls sex abuse claims and lawsuits at the nursing home unforgivable but stops short of saying the county should sell or lease the building.

Shopper bus and fire department on Peru City Council agenda

While many riders of the Peru and La Salle shopper bus already pay $1 to ride, the Peru City Council will likely officially raise the fare.

La Salle has already approved increasing the price from 25 cents to $1.  It’s on the agenda for Peru Monday night.

The Peru City Council will also likely approve making the fire department a city fire department, not a contract department.  Fire Chief Jeff King has described the move as a financial decision that won’t affect service.

The Peru Council meets at 7:30pm.