New IVCC building to be named “Peter Miller Community Technology Center”

The fundraising effort to make sure a new building at Illinois Valley Community College is equipped with state-of-the-art learning tools is off to a strong start.

The Miller Group Charitable Trust has donated $1 million to the campaign.  With that, the building will be named the Peter Miller Community Technology Center.  Miller Group Media includes AM 1220 WLPO, 99.3 WAJK, 96.5 The Wolf, The Newstribune, Agrinews and Ottawa Delivered.

Joyce McCullough and Cathy Miller of Miller Group Media were on hand for the announcement Tuesday night at IVCC.  McCullough says Peter and Pete were avid supporters of IVCC and avid “new tech” people. Peter and Pete owned and operated Miller Group Media for many years.

The IVCC Foundation is hoping to raise $2.1 million.  Other naming rights are available.

Area School District Could Be On Verge Of Strike

According to the Ottawa Times, the Streator Elementary Teachers Association Union could vote this week to go on strike.

Under state law, they have to give at least 10 days notice of a strike with Illinois Labor Relations Board before actually walking out. The union and district negotiating team met again Tuesday night with a mediator.  Salary and insurance are two of the main issues.

Streator elementary teachers have been without a new contract since the end of last school year.

Sand quarry zoning meeting postponed

A packed house at the La Salle County Board meeting room was ready to speak about a proposed quarry along Route 71, but left without saying a word, on the record.

30 minutes after the Zoning Board of Appeals was scheduled to hold a public hearing last night, county board attorney, Troy Holland announced that the hearing would be postponed and rescheduled out of concerns the room could not accommodate everyone and thus, the meeting might be in violation of the Open Meetings Act.   A larger venue will be sought  and a new meeting time will be announced.

A company from Missouri wants to have 315 acres of land near Starved Rock State Park rezoned for a sand quarry.

IDOT Considering Options For Aging Utica Bridge

When IDOT tears down the Route 178 bridge in Utica, you may still be able to drive across the Illinois River.

IDOT officials unveiled plans yesterday to replace the aging bridge.  Option one is to tear down the existing bridge and cut off direct access to Starved Rock from downtown Utica.  The second option is to keep the existing bridge up while a new one is built 10 feet to the east.  Either way, a new bridge would take around two years to finish with construction starting at the very earliest in late 2014.

IDOT’s Ted Schultz says construction costs would be over 20 million for either option.  He says other factors will play a big role in deciding what option to take.

Schultz says while the bridge isn’t in danger of collapse, it was built in 1962 and the life expectancy is usually 50 years.  He says it got a 43 out of a 100 efficiency rating.

With either option, Schultz says they plan to build a ten foot wide path for walkers and cyclists that going across the bridge.

Car Crash In Chicago Kills Local Man

A drunken driving crash has killed a man from Earlville.

Police in Chicago say 49 year old Steven Libner died Sunday morning after being in a two-car crash on the east side of Chicago.  Investigators say Libner was in the backseat of a car and wasn’t wearing a seatbelt when his driver crashed with another car around 3am Sunday.

Libner’s driver was from Chicago and faces a charged of aggravated DUI involving a death.

Vet Clinic Moving Forward At Cemetery Site

Ground was officially broken today on the controversial site where hundreds of remains have been dug up in La Salle.

A ceremony was held on Chartres Street for the new Ancare Veterinary Clinic.  The clinic is going up on the southern part of a site where people have spent the past few months digging up remains from an old cemetery.  Dr. Stephen Dullard stopped moving forward at the site until the remains were removed and relocated.

Most of the remains are thought to be off Irish immigrants.

Car Hits Teenager In Varna

A teenage boy from Varna is in the hospital after getting hit by a car.

Deputies say the 18 year old was hit by a car Monday afternoon around 4 at Front and Locust Street in Varna.  The boy was flown to Peoria.  Deputies say he doesn’t have life threatening injuries. He was hit by a 35 year old woman from Varna.

No names have been released.

La Salle skips sewer rate increase discussion

The last time officials in La Salle decided to increase the sewer rate was September 2009.  Another increase could be on the way.  The city council skipped the topic Monday night although it was on the agenda.  The previous increase was supposed to raise money to pay for the new east side wastewater plant.

The plant which is almost operational cost $15 million.

Puntam County business to receive federal grant

Nearly $4 million is big money for anyone, especially for a rural telephone company.

McNabb Telephone Company is getting a $3.7 million federal grant to make system improvements.  A total of 115 miles of fiber optic cable will be put in to improve service.  The cable will be buried underground.

A larger broadband internet project is still in the works for all of La Salle County.

IVCC to kick of building fundraiser tonight

The expense of a new building is a lot of money.  Illinois Valley Community College knows that first hand with their Community Technology Center.

The college will kick off a campaign to raise $2.1 million for things for the new building.    Naming rights will also be a possibility.

The kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday before their monthly board meeting.  If you can’t make the meeting there is a live internet stream.