Tree Quarantine Extended In Bureau And Marshall County

The quarantine for the Emerald Ash Borer has been extended in Bureau and Marshall Counties.

The quarantine was extended to cover the western part of the counties.  All of Putnam and La Salle County are already under the quarantine where ash trees aren’t supposed to cross county lines.

Around 40 percent of the state is now in the quarantine for the ash tree killing Emerald Ash Borer.

Leepertown And Ladd Schools Step Closer To Merger

The door’s been opened for Leepertown Elementary to close and merge into the Ladd School District.

Both the House and Senate unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Spring Valley’s Frank Mautino to allow districts to annex into another district even if they don’t share a border.  Leepertown officials want to close and join up with Ladd even though the districts don’t share a boundary.

Before Leepertown mergers with Ladd, voters in both districts first need to approve the idea.

Lawmakers approve funding for ROE’s

Regional school superintendents in Illinois are happy they might soon get paid for the first time since June, but the money for their paychecks would have gone into your community.

State lawmakers have given Governor Pat Quinn a bill that would use nearly $12 million in local property tax money to pay schools chiefs through June.

Peru Mayor Scott Harl says at first he thought it could cost Peru up to $210,000 but after speaking with local lawmakers, he learned the city would only loose about $4,000.  He says the city can accept that but it still concerns him.  The tax money would have gone into the city’s general fund.

The superintendents and their assistants in 44 regional education offices have had to work for free since Quinn eliminated funding for their salaries in July.  Quinn said there isn’t enough money in the budget and the offices aren’t necessary.

Not much change predicted for Utica property tax bills

Tax bills in Utica look to be staying the same.

Utica President Fred Esmond says they’ll likely pass a $56,000 tax levy next month.  That would be the same as this year’s levy amount.  Esmond says by not raising taxes, the village may take a little hit since he expects the village’s assessed valuation to go down in the near future.

He expects the EAV to rebound soon though with Unimin Corporation expanding.

Peru Public Schools to hold Veterans Day services

Some of the youngest people in Peru mark Veterans Day with ceremony and song.  The students in Peru Public Schools will continue their Veteran’s Day tradition Friday starting with a veteran’s breakfast at Washington School.  Weather permitting; attend the City of Peru Veterans Day ceremony at Washington Park at 11am.

Another morning ceremony is planned at Northview School for family and staff who have served.

And a ceremony at 2:15pm at Parkside will include performances by the school band and choirs and readings.

Area Vets Getting Special Attention

Veterans of the Korean War are getting special attention at the La Salle Veteran’s Home.

Representatives of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs and U.S. Department of Defense are marking the 60^th anniversary of the Korean War by giving certificates of appreciation to Korean War vets at the La Salle home on Veteran’s Day.  The certificates are signed by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

The ceremony starts at 2.

Family Sought To Move Into Habitat For Humanity House

The deadline to apply for a Habitat for Humanity home in Ottawa has been extended.

Potential families have through tomorrow to turn in an application to the Habitat for Humanity of La Salle, Bureau and Putnam County.  Income requirements for the Ottawa home range from 35 to 60 thousand dollars based on size of family.  The family needs to have between 3 and 6 members.

Selected families do have to pay a mortgage but it’s at no zero interest.  They also have to do so many hours of “sweat equity” in helping to build either their home or a different habitat house.

Phone Issues In Streator

Everything from texting to pumping gas was tough to do yesterday in Streator.

Many landline and cell phone users were without service for most of Wednesday afternoon.  Frontier Communications handles phone service in Streator.  A company official says the outage could’ve been caused by a system upgrade.

Besides phones, ATM’s and gas pumps were also affected by the outage.

Mautino Plan To Pay Regional Superintendents Gets Approved

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – The Illinois House approved a plan to pay regional school superintendents after Gov. Pat Quinn erased funding for their salaries last summer.

The House voted 74-36 Wednesday to use local property tax funds to pay superintendents and their assistants in 44 regional education offices. It would pay them for just one year.

The measure sponsored by Democratic Rep. Frank Mautino of Spring Valley also creates a commission to determine the best way to continue the duties of regional superintendents. Most superintendents have been working five months without pay.

Illinois Home Foreclosures On The Rise

Illinois home foreclosure activity rose 9.7 percent in October compared to the previous month.

A report released by RealtyTrac shows Illinois with 12,522 foreclosure filings last month. Filings include default notices, auction-sale notices and bank repossessions.

The filings represent one in every 423 housing units in the state. That rate is 26.2 percent lower than in October of last year but seventh-highest nationally.