Program focuses on hope for victims of domestic abuse

The boyfriend that pulled you away from your friends and family, the jealous husband that accusing you of cheating, and the family member begins to break stuff around the house when they’re angry- these people make better red flags than they do partners.

Those situations are some of the examples of abusive relationships and the victims are often women, that’s not always true.  A group of women, a few men and police officers filled the community room of the Peru Municipal Building Thursday night for the annual Luminary of Hope.  The focus was on ending domestic violence and giving hope to its survivors.

Circuit Judge Cynthia Raccuglia explained how the event has grown since it started 20 years in Ottawa while Third District Appellate Court Judge Mary McDade explained how verbal and an emotional abuse can be as hurtful as physical violence.

The program was presented by the La Salle-Peru, Ottawa, and Streator Zonta Clubs.

You can hear excerpts from the program by visiting the AM 1220 WLPO news page.

Illinois jobless rate hits 10 percent

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – Unemployment in Illinois rose in September for a fifth straight month and hit 10% for the first time since August 2010.

The state Department of Employment Security on Thursday blamed continued weakness in consumer confidence across the country for the increase. The federal government earlier this month said national unemployment for September was 9.1%. That was unchanged from August. The state rate was 9.9% in August.

The Department of Employment Security says Illinois employers created 1,600 new jobs in September. But the number of unemployed people increased to 663,300. That’s 10,500 more than in August.

The biggest job gains were among educational and health services employers, which added 4,900 jobs. Construction-related employers cut 3,000 jobs.

Grand Bear Lodge receives permission to reopen pools

The waves are splashing and the water flowing again at Grand Bear Lodge.  The resort in Utica received word Thursday that they could reopen their water park after receiving permission from the state.

General Managing Partner Joe Hook says after working with the Illinois Department of Public Health and State Representative Frank Mautino, he received an extension allowing the pools to reopen while they wait for the state to approve plans for a new drainage plate.

Grand Bear was one of many pools to receive a closure notice earlier this month because a part of the drain to meet state standards.

Hook says the extension is good through March 1, 2012 but he thinks they’ll have the new parts by then.

The Illinois Valley YMCA also had to close their pools for non-compliance.  They haven’t yet received an extension.

LPHS Board says they support the Regional Office of Education

Add L-P to the list of schools that don’t want their Regional Office of Education to close.

The L-P school board Wednesday passed a resolution supporting the regional offices of education.  The board also is telling the state they need to support ROE’s financially, not local school districts.  Governor Pat Quinn cut off money to ROE superintendents in July saying they needed to be paid locally.

The resolution says ROE services are valuable but they can’t be provided more cost effectively by local school districts.

Trial Starts For Veteran’s Home “Prank”

A trial involving an alleged prank suppository at the La Salle Veteran’s Home is underway.

Nurse Cynthia Orlando and CNA Julie Payne are accused of giving a veteran with dementia a suppository when it wasn’t needed last summer.  The prosecution says they did it so that the next shift of nurses would “have a mess to clean up”.

A nursing supervisor testified yesterday that she noticed friction between nurses of different shifts.  A state police investigator testified that Orlando said “maybe the third shift will have fun cleaning it up”.  The defense argues the suppository was needed and the nurses were just doing their jobs.

Orlando and Payne are charged with misdemeanor battery.  They could get jail time if convicted.

Frost Possible Tonight

If you haven’t flipped on the furnace yet, maybe you should tonight.

A frost advisory is in effect Friday morning from one until nine for La Salle County while a freeze warning is in effect for the same time in Bureau and Putnam County.  Overnight temperatures are expected to drop into the low 30s and upper 20s in some spots.

Any unprotected vegetation could be killed by the freeze.

Starved Rock Popular As Ever

Attendance at Starved Rock State Park could reach a record 2.2 million this year.

Park officials have released attendance figures through Sept. 30. Those numbers show the park is on pace for an all-time high 2,197,000 visitors this year. It would be the fifth time the park has had more than 2 million visitors in the last 30 years. Starved Rock has averaged 1.6 million visitors a year since the early 1980s.

Statistics show January was an especially strong month. There were nearly 155,000 visitors because of bald eagle watching.