Deputy Killed In Off Duty Crash

A late night ride turned fatal in Sandwich.

31 year old Brandon Riemenschneider of Sandwich was pronounced dead Thursday morning around two o’clock after he hit a deer on North 48^th Road.  La Salle County Coroner Jodi Bernard says he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Riemenschneider was a Kendall County Deputy for the last four years.  He was also a member of the Sandwich Fire Department.

Ameren Warns Customers Of Scammers

The electric and gas company says scammers have been calling customers, telling them their accounts are delinquent and asking for credit card payments over the phone, threatening to shut off the customer’s electricity if they don’t pay on the spot.

Ameren spokesman Leigh Morris says this has been going on lately throughout the Ameren service territory. Though he can’t say how many times it has happened, it has surely happened more than the company knows, because many recipients of such calls, whether or not they fall for the scam, don’t report it.

If you get a call like this, Ameren would like to be notified, and you should report it to police. Morris says Ameren badgers delinquent accounts through the mail, and asks the customers to call in to the company.

Illinois River History On Display

The connection between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River is known as the Illinois Waterway, and it includes the Illinois River.  A collection of photographs and a storyteller will take you through the history of the waterway this weekend at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam Visitor’s Center.

Cathy Higden is a park ranger at the visitor’s center.  She says some of the more interesting things they have are pictures of boats on the waterway. They’ll have photos of LST’s built in Seneca that traveled the Illinois River.  Storyteller Andy Talley will be dressed as a French fur trader.  He’ll be set up outside of the visitor’s center telling tall tales and describing the fur trade.

The program is Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 5pm.  Admission is free.

You can learn more about it by listening to an interview available at the AM 1220 WLPO dot com news page.

Excessive Heat On Its Way

A heat wave is on the horizon for the listening area.

The National Weather Service out of the Quad Cities has put Bureau and Putnam Counties under an Excessive Heat Watch from Sunday afternoon thru Wednesday Evening.  Afternoon temperatures next week in the lower to mid 90s along with high humidity will make it feel like up to 110 degrees.

Nighttime lows won’t provide much relief only dipping down into the 70s.