Project Santa Successful Again

The Illinois Valley is doing its part to take Christmas to the troops.

Project Santa volunteers have been stuffing stockings this week at the Catholic War Vets hall in La Salle.  Organizer Heidi Milner says they wrapped up the stuffing Friday and are sending 6,973 stockings to troops serving overseas.

That’s about 600 more stockings than were mailed out last year.

Two Hurt After Crash In Putnam County

A crash near Granville injured two area men.

Police say Douglas Jensen of Bureau was stopped on Route 71 preparing to turn when he was rear-ended by Bradley Skowronski of Hennepin Friday morning.  Jensen was taken to Perry Memorial Hospital while a man with him, William McCart of McNabb was taken to St. Margaret’s Hospital.

Skowronski was ticketed for failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Crash Kills Area Teen

A Seneca High School sophomore is dead after a car crash Wednesday night .

16-year old Evan Vint died Thursday while being treated at St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.  Vint is from Mazon.

The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office says Vint was in a pickup south of Seneca when he lost control on a curve.  He went off the road and hit a cement culvert.  Vint’s truck then rolled several times before resting on its side in a plowed corn field.

He was initially taken to Morris Community Hospital before being flown to Peoria.  No one else was involved in the crash.

Hefty Marijuana Bust In La Salle

A man and woman from the west coast are accused of hauling marijuana through the Illinois Valley.

A state trooper says he stopped Roland Oltmann of California and Ashely Freeman of Washington State Thursday morning for speeding.  They were stopped going eastbound at the La Salle exit of I-80.

The trooper searched the pair’s car and allegedly found cardboard boxes in the trunk filled with suspected cannabis.  Police estimate the total weight of marijuana at 54 pounds.

Oltmann and Freeman were both arrested for possession of cannabis with intent to deliver and taken to the county jail.

Man from Grass Valley arrested for marijuana

A suitcase packed with marijuana is what police say they found after stopping a man for speeding near Utica.

Colin Miller of Grass Valley, California was pulled over early Thursday morning on Interstate 80.  They searched the car after a police dog sniffed around the outside of the car and smelled drugs.

Police say a suitcase with 37 pounds of marijuana was inside.

Miller was arrested for possession of cannabis with intent to deliver and was taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Crash snarls traffic on Route 71

Traffic is moving again on Route 71 near Granville.  It road had been closed for about 40 minutes after a crash just before 9:30am Friday.

A man that was caught up in traffic thought it looked like a pickup truck and car were involved.

Officials release name of man found dead in La Salle

If you were following the story of the man found dead in downtown La Salle, it was 55 year old Mark Depaoli of La Salle.

His body was found Thursday morning in an alley after someone called the police because they thought a man was sleeping in the alley.  Once officers arrived, they realized the man was dead.

The death appears to have been accidental. An autopsy is being performed Friday morning.

TRIDENT arrests two after searches in Marseilles

Two searches and two arrests in Marseilles after investigators from TRIDENT went through a pair of homes.

Daniel Buchanan and Ronald Bennett Jr. were arrested on felony drug charges Wednesday after officers searched their homes.  The two didn’t live together.

Buchanan was arrested for possession of cannabis with intent to deliver while Bennett was arrested for unlawful delivery of cocaine. Both were taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Resale shop auctioning Christmas trees for area shelter

They’re already thinking about Christmas at a resale shop in Spring Valley.  Upscale Resale raises money for Freedom House, a shelter for abuse victims.  Their latest fundraiser allows you to make bids on decorated Christmas trees.  They have nine trees each with a different theme.

Bidding opens Saturday and continues through November 24.  It coincides with Spring Valley’s Christmas Walk.

The store is also hosting a bake sale tomorrow at the Spring Valley Mini Park.

Food pantry seeks items for Thanksgiving distribution

Grocery stores have stocked up on items you’ll be buying for Thanksgiving.  The Illinois Valley Food Pantry is also loading up with items for their Thanksgiving distribution.

Donna Hess is the food pantry’s executive director.  She says families will receive your traditional Thanksgiving items such as instant potatoes and stuffing mix.

Large and medium sized families will receive turkeys while small families will receive small roasts.  Hess says since they’ve been stretch for items, they’re cutting out items like dessert when they can.

She expects to serve about 750 families this year.  That’s about the same or a little more than last year.

The last day to sign up to be part of the distribution is next Wednesday.  Food will be given out on November 20.

You can hear more from Donna Hess by visiting the news page.