City council and park committee agree on park entrance

Imagine a lane taking you into La Salle Rotary Park.  To your right kids play on baseball diamonds while to your left more children kick a ball around on a soccer field.

Engineers are working on the first phase of the park and to do that they needed to know where to put the entrance.  They paid a visit to the La Salle City Council Monday night.

The council and park committee members agreed on a central entrance.  Engineers from RHMG are laying out a design for the park while working on a grant application for the second phase.

The park will be located west of the Troy Grove Blacktop.

Attorney General and Bureau County State’s Attorney file suit against Iowa Interstate Railroad

It started as a blazing disaster and has turned into a lawsuit- the Tiskilwa train derailment on October 7 continues at the Bureau County Courthouse.  The Attorney General’s office and Bureau County State’s Attorney Monday filed a suit to hold Iowa Interstate Railroad responsible for any environmental violations created by the derailment.

Investigators from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency believe the ethanol that spilled during the wreck could cause groundwater contamination.

The AG’s office and State’s Attorney want the railroad to pay for the clean up and perform a variety of environmental tests.  The railroad would have to give bi-weekly and monthly progress reports to the IEPA.

A status hearing has been scheduled for February 3 in Bureau County Circuit Court.

Police asking for help in finding thieves

Backhoe buckets don’t walk away on their own.  Spring Valley Police are trying to catch whoever stole tools from a storage building on the Marquette Bottom Road.  Tools, an air compressor and a backhoe bucket went missing a week and a half ago.  If you know anything, call Illinois Valley Crimestoppers or the Spring Valley Police Department.

La Salle man arrested for aggravated domestic battery

Trouble at a home in La Salle left a man arrested and another with a cut on his arm.

David Wallace of La Salle is accused of cutting another man while at his home early Saturday morning.  The man that was injured went to the hospital for treatment.  Wallace was arrested for aggravated domestic battery and was taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Streator Manufacturer Adding Jobs

The business of cleaning sewers must be booming.

Vactor Manufacturing in Streator is bringing back its third shift which means hiring 50 to 60 people.  The company is looking to hire anything from engineers to painters to a cleaner blaster.  Company officials say the third shift will be back in full force by January.

For a link to job openings at Vactor Manufacturing go to: http://www.federalsignaljobs.com

Bald Eagle Rescue In Putnam County

Bald eagles are plentiful this time of year along the Illinois River.  One of them though has been moved to a vet clinic.

Conservation Police went out to Hennepin yesterday after a barge captain saw an injured bald eagle along the Illinois.  The eagle has a broken left wing.  Officials say it’s less than two years old.  The eagle was taken to Countryside Vet in Streator for treatment.

Sgt. Robert Frazier says this is the second straight week they’ve been called about a down bald eagle.  Last week an eagle was electrocuted north of Ottawa.

Local Trick Or Treat Times

Below is a list of Trick or Treat times and dates for local communities.

Streator – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

Ottawa – Oct. 31 from 6 until 8 p.m.

Seneca – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

Peru – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

LaSalle – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

Utica – Oct. 31 from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m.

Spring Valley – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

Oglesby – Oct. 31 from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m.

Mendota – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

Princeton – Oct. 31 from 5:30 until 8 p.m.

Marseilles – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

Henry – Oct. 31 from 5 until 8 p.m.

Wenona -Oct. 31 from 4:30 until 7 p.m.

Earlville – Oct. 31 from 4 until 7 p.m.

Sheridan – Oct. 31 from 4 until 7 p.m.

Dalzell – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

Depue – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

Lostant – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

Tonica – Oct. 31 from 5 until 7 p.m.

IVCH Shows Off New Additions

The old school white walls of the obstetric unit where your children were born have been replaced by cool colors and pictures of local state parks.

The new OB and Intensive Care units at Illinois Valley Community Hospital are nearly ready for patients.  OB Nurse Manager Angela O’Bryant showed off the additions during an open house Sunday afternoon.

A floor was built on to the hospital for the new wards.  The hospital needs approval of the Illinois Department of Public Health before they can take patients.

Governor Gives Statewide Recognition To Starved Rock

Lunchtime Sunday at Starved Rock Lodge included a visit by the governor of Illinois.

Pat Quinn along with his mom Eileen was at Starved Rock to have lunch and mark the park’s 100^th birthday.  The governor promoted the initiative of “No Child Left Inside” by saying parks like Starved Rock provide trails and other things for families to do.  He proclaimed yesterday “Starved Rock State Park Day” in Illinois.

Always a backer of bald eagles, Quinn also talked him joining the fight with the Audubon Society to save Plum Island where eagles flock to in the winter.

Minorities Pulling More Weight During Test Time

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Illinois’ latest standardized test results show that the achievement gap among elementary school students is narrowing, largely because of gains among black, special ed and low-income students.

The state education board reports the achievement gap between white and black students has narrowed by 11 percent in
math and 8 percent in reading.

The improvements come as the number of minority students in Illinois’ public schools continues to climb, from 36 percent of students in 1997 to 48 percent this year.