Vote For Your Favorite Republican Presidential Candidate This Weekend

If you’re eager to pick a favorite Republican presidential candidate, here’s your chance.

Republicans are holding a statewide straw poll Saturday with two voting sites in La Salle County.  You can cast a vote at JTS Pools in Peru and at 817 Columbus Street near the First Presbyterian Church in Ottawa.  The polling places are open from 10 until 5.

To vote in the straw poll, you must pay five dollars.  Proceeds go to the Illinois Republican Party.

You can also vote in the straw poll online at illinoisstrawpoll.com

Operation Prom-ise is producing a new movie to discourage teen drinking and driving

Watching firefighters remove your friends from a mangled car and going before a judge after being arrested for a serious crime should be enough to scare some sense into.  And that’s what the students and parents working on Operation PROM-ise 2012 are hoping.

They’ve started taping a new movie intended to warn students of the dangerous of drugs and alcohol.  Peru Alderman and firefighter Rodney Perez is spearheading the project and brought many of the students working on it to the Peru City Council meeting Wednesday night.

He says they’re working with a $16,000 budget.  The students featured in the film are from LP and St. Bede Academy.  You might notice them taping a scene; they’re planning to use a block of Peoria Street Sunday evening.

You can also donate to the production.  Checks can be made payable to the Peru Fire Department care off “Operation Promise.”  The movie will be shown to an audience at LP on May 2 next year.

Slight increase predicted for Peru’s tax levy

Paying for police pensions remains top of mind as the finance committee and treasurer consider the next tax levy.  The levy is shaping up to be several hundred dollars more than last year’s, at $998,700.

One fund seeing an increase is for the police pension, though it’s being offset by a $50,000 decrease in the library levy.

City Treasurer Gary Hylla believes most Peru homeowners will end up paying the city about the same next year as they did this year.  He thinks equalized assessed valuation will be down from last year, causing the city’s tax rate to increase.

The city council will approve the levy sometime this month.

Leland man accused of having child porn

Hundreds of videos and images of child pornography is what investigators say a man from Leland was offering online.  An investigation involving the Attorney General’s office, two police departments and the la Salle County State’s Attorney has left Ryan Theurer of Leland arrested.

He was charged Wednesday with several counts of Aggravated Child Pornography. A bond hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

Investigators say the arrest came after Genoa police investigators pinpointed an IP address to a location on Feather Lane in Leland.  They say the collection contained children as young as five years old.

Truck driver hospitalized after I-39 crash

Tuesday you heard about a semi accident that slowed traffic on Interstate 39.  The man that was driving remains hospitalized in critical.

Steven Kline of Newark, Delaware was taken to St. Francis Medical Center after police say his truck overturned Tuesday afternoon.  It happened as he was taking the ramp from I-80 to northbound I-39.

Naplate Mayor In Trouble

An area mayor is in trouble with the law.

Naplate Mayor James Rick was pulled over Halloween night outside the Naplate Village Hall.  He was initially stopped by a Naplate officer who was eventually helped by sheriff’s deputies.  Rick was ticketed for reckless driving and driving with an expired license.  He’s accused of trying to drive away from the Naplate officer.

The case has been turned over to the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office.  State’s Attorney Brian Towne says there could be more charges.

Illinois River Bridge In Utica Could Be Replaced

With all the construction going on in Utica, why not keep it going past downtown?

IDOT is apparently thinking that as they’ve announced a public hearing to talk about replacing the Route 178 bridge over the Illinois River.  IDOT officials will be at the Utica Village Hall November 15^th from 4 until 7 to get public input and take questions about the potential closure of Route 178 during construction.

Replacing the bridge is just in the early stages of discussion.

Ottawa Gets Grant To Fight Emerald Ash Borer

What will be done in Ottawa to stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer?

The Department of Ag says an ash tree on the south side tested positive for the ash tree killing Japanese beetle.  Ottawa Building Official Mike Sutfin says they’re putting together a management plan but that people need to assume all ash trees in town will die.  .

As part of the management plan, there’s a public hearing happens today at Ottawa City Hall starting at 4:30.  People with ash trees on their property are especially invited to the meeting.

The city has received a 12 thousand dollar grant to put together a management plan.

Hennepin Bald Eagle Was Shot

Shooting a bald eagle can get you into major trouble.

Conservation Police say a young bald eagle found with a broken wing Sunday in Hennepin was shot in its left wing.  Around 10 pellets were found in the wing.

The eagle is being treated at Countryside Animal Clinic in Streator.  If you have any information on who may have shot the bald eagle, call the Conservation or State Police.

Borrowing Helping IVCC Pay For New Building

Thanks to a decision to borrow five million dollars, all the money is now in place for a new Community Technology Center for Illinois Valley Community College.

The IVCC board last night approved borrowing five million dollars in bonds with an interest rate of 2.3 percent.  The board’s investment advisor called the interest rate “phenomenal”.  Board member David Mallery voted against the bonds saying he’d rather use reserves than to borrow.

Besides the borrowed money, the board is using 2.6 million dollars of cash reserves to help pay for the 30 million dollar technology center.  The state is picking up the remaining cost.

Construction on the new building will start in the spring and it should open in fall of 2013.