Train Goes Off Tracks In Bureau County

A train hauling grain derailed Friday morning near Walnut.

Around 25 Union Pacific grain cars went off the track at around 8 in the morning.  The 100-car train was heading south from Sterling to Texas.  No one was injured in the derailment.

Railroad officials though say the bridge over Walnut Creek was damaged and several hundred feet of track was destroyed.

Texting Harrassment Charges For Area Man

A man from Earlville is accused of harassment by using his phone.

Ryan Boston was arrested Friday by DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputies for harassment through electronic communications.  He’s accused of sending threatening text messages to a man in Shabbona.

Boston turned himself in and was eventually released on bond.

Governor Will Witness Civil Union Ceremonies

CHICAGO (AP) – Gov. Pat Quinn will be in Chicago’s Millennium Park on June 2 to watch 30 same-sex couples enter into civil unions.

The event, organized by Chicago’s Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues, will take place a day after civil unions become legal in Illinois. The law gives gay and lesbian couples official recognition from
the state and many of the rights that accompany traditional marriage, including the power to decide medical treatment for an ailing partner and to inherit a partner’s property.

Ottawa Man Being Sought In Murder Case

A fourth person is being charged with murder in the death of Darrio Hunter of Ottawa.

A warrant has been issued for 30 year old Joshua Ward of Ottawa.  Investigators say his last known address is 1803 Guion Street in Ottawa but he may not have been there for several weeks.

His brother Jason Ward of Aurora along with Jamie Lomeli of Ottawa and her brother Luis Lomeli of Sheridan face murder charges in this past Monday’s stabbing of Darrio Hunter.  Hunter was found lying outside Jamie Lomeli’s home on Pierce Street.  Investigators think it was an attempted robbery set up by a drug deal.

Ottawa Police Chief Brian Zeilman says Joshua Ward is probably the last person to be charged with murder in this case.