Ethanol Plant Expansion On Hold

A tax dispute has a local ethanol company delaying its plans to expand.

Marquis Energy in Hennepin is pulling back on doubling the size of its plant because of a tax assessment dispute with the Putnam County Assessment Office. The plant was assessed at 26.8 million dollars this year. President Mark Marquis thinks that assessment taxes substantial amounts of nontaxable personal property. The disagreement is now in the hands of a state tax appeal board.

Marquis says the proposed expansion will create 40 permanent jobs plus temporary construction jobs.

Patching underway on I-39

While the weather is still nice, crews will be out patching rough spots on Interstate 39.  You’ll seem them patching where needed between the Marshall County line to Lee County Monday through Friday for the next three weeks.

The $395,000 job is being done by GM Sipes Construction.

Crash in Putnam County leads to search for driver

If you were following the story of the accident in Putnam County that left sheriff’s deputies looking for the man they think was driving, Sheriff Kevin Doyle says he’s waiting until Wednesday morning to say who was involved.

The accident happened before 12:30pm Tuesday along Route 18 near Route 26 in an area called Wolf Hollow.

Police believe the man driving left the car and went into the woods.  Another person was apparently left behind at the crash.  It’s unclear if they were injured.

Wellness Center reopens at IV YMCA

Sometimes it takes something shiny and new to get you motivated.  You’ll find new weight and cardio equipment in the recently renovated Illinois Valley Y Wellness Center.

Gym items were scattered about the Y for the past several weeks while a new floor was installed.  Executive Director Dave Potthoff says everything is back in its place along with some new cross-trainers and treadmills.

The aquatic center was also closed for a couple of weeks for annual maintenance and has reopened.

Potthoff says Miller Group Charitable Trust has donated over $125,000 this year for improvements inside and outside of the Y.  Miller Group Media includes AM 1220 WLPO, 99.3 WAJK, 96.5 The Wolf, The Newstribune and Agrinews.

 

Amtrak Train Hits Trailer In Western Bureau County

No one was hurt after an Amtrak train clipped a trailer that was on tracks along Route 34 in Neponset.

Emergency crews from Buda and Neponset were called out to the crash just before 8:30 this morning.  The train headed from Quincy to Chicago hit the trailer that was being hauled by a car.  An ambulance was initially called but no one was hurt.

An Amtrak spokesman says the train was delayed for a bit and some equipment was damaged in the crash.

Smoke Shop Under Fire In Spring Valley

It’s getting tougher for a smoke shop to thrive in Spring Valley.

The city council passed a ban on the possession, sale, delivery or manufacture of herbal chemical products according to the NewsTribune.  They’re taking aim at synthetic cannabis products being sold as incense by Ned’s Smoke Shop.  Mayor Cliff Banks says the problem is “85 percent of the high school is using it as a drug”.

The smoke shop’s owner Malek Jaradat is worried the local ban will hurt his business with shoppers going to Peru or elsewhere.  He says he’s selling nothing illegal and that he doesn’t sell the cannabis products to kids.  Alderman Jim Taliano asked Jaradat if he’d want his own kids using the synthetic cannabis and Jaradat said no.

The substances being targeted by the council will be banned under state law January 1^st.

Man Accused Of Bomb Threat At SIU

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) – A Chicago man is accused of threatening to bomb Southern Illinois University’s Carbondale campus and kill 4,000 students and staff.

A federal grand jury has indicted 23-year-old Maurice Wiggins on a felony charge of making a bomb threat. Officials allege Wiggins made the threat on the Internet Aug. 29, sending a message from his cell phone to the university’s crime-watch website.

Wiggins allegedly said he planned to bomb three dormitories and a student center.