December cold and snowy? Survey says yes indeed

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – Think December was cold and snowy? You are right.

The Illinois Water Survey says last December was the 12^th coldest on record in Illinois. The average daily temperature was 24 degrees. That’s 5.8 degrees colder than normal.

Snowfall also was above average across the state. The heaviest totals were in central and northwest Illinois. A little over 20 inches fell in the Champaign-Urbana area, 18.1 inches fell in Bloomington-Normal, 19.2 inches blanketed Peoria and 19.2 inches covered Rockford.

Despite the inflated figures for snowfall, precipitation was actually a below normal. The Champaign-based Illinois Water Survey said statewide precipitation for the month was 1.8 inches, almost an inch below average.

Area Congressman to be sworn in

Congressman-elect Adam Kinzinger becomes just Congressman Kinzinger Wednesday morning.

Kinzinger will be sworn into the 112^th Congress by House Speaker-Elect John Boehner this morning.  This will happen with all house members on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

He’ll have an individual swearing-in ceremony with Boehner in the U.S. Capitol this evening.

Euclid Employees Driving Distance For Work

It may be a long drive, but some people who worked at the burned down Euclid Chemical in Sheffield are now commuting to DeKalb County.

Nearly three months after the fire, Euclid Spokesman Joshua Robbins says some employees are working in DeKalb County since pay and benefits for the 15 employees of the Sheffield plant ended after the New Year.

Robbins says it’s too early to tell if they’ll ever rebuild in Sheffield.

He says site demolition is complete and Euclid going through a process with the Illinois EPA to see if additional remediation steps are needed.

There’s still no cause of the October 9^th fire.

Burned Out Home Finally Going Away In Oglesby

A longtime public safety issue is being addressed in Oglesby.

Demolition started last week on a burned out home and garage at the corner of Mormon Street and Hazen Avenue in Oglesby.  Public Safety Commissioner Tom Porter says the state fire marshal’s office released the property to the city and quickly a local contractor began tearing the building down.  The home has had two fires in the last few years.

City officials were worried about children from nearby Lincoln Elementary messing around the property and getting hurt.

New War Memorial For Marseilles

As the 150th anniversary of the Civil War begins this spring, Marseilles plans a new monument to all of the local soldiers who died in that conflict.

Last Memorial Day, Sgt. James Sanborn, who was buried in a mass grave after a Virginia battle, was honored with the dedication of a marker in Marseilles’ small Veterans Memorial Park. But this coming May, all Civil War soldiers from
Marseilles who died while serving will be honored with a larger granite monument listing their names.

So far, 36 of them have been officially identified.