Old Glass Plant Won’t Become A Warehouse

A building that used to house Peltier Glass in Ottawa will remain empty for the foreseeable future.

Both the Ottawa City Council and Ottawa Planning Commission denied a rezoning request by the building’s owner Compatible Glass.  The company wanted to rezone the property from residential to light commercial but neighbors petitioned against the rezoning fearful of what kind of business could move in.  Commissioner Ed Whitney said granting the rezoning request would have started a “never ending cycle of non-conforming use” at the site just west of the Route 6 and 23 intersection.

Peltier Glass was always a business in a residential area but was grandfathered in so they never had to ask for a zoning change.  The building owner wanted to lease out space to a fitness equipment company.

Ottawa Mayor Bob Eschbach seemed open to approving the rezoning permit and worries about having another large, empty building in town.

IVCC basketball players and coach receive conference recognition

The skills of four Illinois Valley Community College basketball players and a coach aren’t going unnoticed.

Sophomore forward Shannon Washington has been named Arrowhead Conference MVP and freshman Julie Haye earned second team recognition. IVCC women’s coach Pat Cinotte was named Coach of the Year.

Sophomore guard Kevin Fay was named to the first team and freshman forward Brian Byrd to the second team.

Peru’s crime rate drops in 2010

Shoplifters apparently took it easy in Peru last year.  Other criminals apparently did the same according to the Peru Police Department’s annual report.

Police Chief Doug Bernabei says preliminary numbers show crime dropped by 25% in 2010 compared to 2009.

Officers made fewer traffic stops.  Bernabei says the speed trailer, the sign that flashes your speed, is getting people to slow down.

He also says fewer people were arrested for shoplifting.

Absentee voting underway for April 5 election

Absentee voting is underway in the April 5th election that involves several area city council and school board races. Early voting for the election starts March 14th at the Etna Road Governmental Complex in Ottawa. Early voting and absentee voting by mail runs through March while you can vote absentee at your county clerk’s office through April 4th. The last day to register to vote or notify the clerk of a new voting address is March 8th.

Meetings Continue About Seneca High Expansion

The last of six community meetings to talk about a multi-million dollar campus expansion in Seneca happens Wednesday morning.

Seneca High School officials will be at the Brookfield Township Hall at 9 to get public input about a proposed 28 million dollar expansion.  A petition against the expansion included over 900 signatures.  A major disagreement is the need for a 13 million dollar fieldhouse that would include four basketball courts and an indoor track.

Backers of the fieldhouse say it will solve space issues for practices and will also have community space for things like craft shows and expos.

Seneca High School is banking on large property tax payments from Exelon to help pay for the expansion.

Peacocks Among The Birds Killed In Paw Paw Fire

Investigators in Lee County are blaming lightning for a pole barn fire that killed about 100 chickens, ducks and peacocks.

Firefighters from Paw Paw and Compton were called to the fire at a farm in rural Paw Paw about 3:30 Monday morning and remained at the scene for about two hours. Assistant Paw Paw Fire Chief Joseph Mulcahy told the NewsTribune that the fire had been burning for quite some time before it was called in to the department.

Mulcahy believes it was caused by a lightning strike.