Three-day festival proposed for downtown La Salle

Picture carnival rides set up on Second Street in La Salle.  Some of the people on a committee dedicated to revitalizing the downtown can imagine a three-day festival set up between Gooding and Bucklin Streets next August or September.

Dan Burke, a member of the committee and a downtown business owner, brought the idea to the La Salle City Council Monday night.  He says it would appeal to families and adults and include games and races.

Some council members have questions about shutting down a couple of blocks of Second Street for a weekend.

Burke says he just wanted to see if the city would be open to the idea before they continue planning it.   The streets and alley committee plan to talk about it before the next city council meeting.

Ottawa Chief Confident They’ll Find Vandals

Puppies and kitties are cute, but not when they’re spray painted onto your business.

Ottawa Police Chief Brian Zeilmann says the animals are some of the artwork being spray painted on about a dozen buildings in the past couple weeks.  Because of what’s being spray painted, Zeilmann doesn’t think the graffiti is gang related.  He does think it’s all being done by the same people.

The chief thinks it’s only a matter of time before they’re caught.  With the help of Crime Stoppers and Neighborhood Watch, Zeilmann says they’re working on tips. He says they haven’t added patrols because of the graffiti outbreak but officers are watching anyone walking around more closely.

Oglesby Pleased With Festivals

Festivals can be fun for a town, bring added exposure and also end up being a money maker.

Oglesby Finance Commissioner Paul Danekas says the first ever Summer Fun Fest made the city over 18 thousand dollars.  The festival brought in 50 thousand dollars and cost a little over 31 thousand.  They’ve already made plans to have it back for another year.

While revenues and expenses aren’t in yet, city officials are also considering Saturday’s Harvest Fest to be successful.  Teams who took part in the Scarecrow Scramble collected 223 pounds of food and 200 dollars for the Illinois Valley Food Pantry.

“The Dinner Party” to be performed in Streator

If you could use a good laugh, Community Players of Streator will be performing Neil Simon’s “The Dinner Party”.

The play “is set in Paris and is about three divorced couples that are brought together at a first rate restaurant with no one knowing who made the arrangements or why they are all together.

The show runs October 9-15. Tickets are on for sale through their box office.

Shadows of the Blue and Gray returns to Princeton

Live action history that will engage everyone in your family is coming to Princeton next weekend.  The Civil War re-enactment Shadows of the Blue and Gray will have cannons booming in City-County Park Saturday and Sunday.

Jeff Freeman is one of the people organizing it.  He says it will feature two battle re-enactments and a speech by Abe Lincoln.

          Events begin at 9:30am Saturday and continue through Sunday.  It’$8 for adults and $4 for kids 11 and younger.  You can find out more by visiting the AM1220WLPO news page. 

More graffiti found on Ottawa businesses

The outbreak of graffiti in Ottawa is getting worse.  Ottawa Police in the last few days have taken nearly 10 more reports of buildings around town being spray painted.  The latest victims include First National Bank, Roxy Cinemas, Miskell Law Center, Berta’s Tap and the Central Life Building.

All the graffiti reports were either in the downtown or just a few blocks from it.

 

Another Motorcycle Wipes Out At Starved Rock Curves

Starved Rock is a nice place to ride a motorcycle but it has some dangerous twists and turns.

Nikola Qualls of Bolingbrook was hurt after she lost control of her motorcycle riding thru the Starved Rock curves.  Qualls hit a guardrail and was thrown from her bike.

She was taken to Ottawa Regional Hospital.

Car And Storage Building Catch Fire Minutes Apart

It was a busy Saturday morning for Utica firefighters.

Just after one in the morning, crews were called out to a car that caught fire at Route 6 and the Utica shortcut.  The car knocked down power lines and the driver had to be cut out.  La Salle officials took over at the scene and no other details were available.

A few minutes later, Utica firefighters went to a structure fire at the Osage curve just off Route 6.  A single-story storage building owned by Chris and Vida Schwarz of La Salle was lost in the blaze.  Firefighters estimate the property and content damage to be over 100 thousand dollars.

The cause of the storage building fire is under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office.

Texting Leads To Prison For Bureau County Man

Texting is a nice feature if it’s used for the right reasons.

Benjamin Frank of Wyanet was sentenced to five years in prison last week after pleading guilty to aggravated criminal sex abuse and for using an electronic device to entice a child.  Frank is credited with 61 days already served in county jail.

He was arrested earlier this year by the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office after investigators found sexually explicit text messages between Frank and 14 to 16 year old girls.  He admitted to having sexual contact with one underage girl.

Frank had two previous misdemeanor sexual abuse convictions.

Princeton City Manager Heading To ‘Burbs

There’s a job opening with the city of Princeton.

City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh has accepted the same position in Shorewood.  His last day in Princeton is November 11^th.

Fiegenschuh took the city manager job in Princeton in November of 2007.  He came from Iowa.

The mayor and city council are expected to contact a search firm to find Fiegenschuh’s replacement.  The search could take a few months.