Holiday Delays New Contract For Streator Teachers

It’ll be December before a new contract is officially approved for Streator Elementary teachers.

The district’s school board will vote on a new contract at a December 5th meeting. The teacher’s union already approved the deal last week.

After meeting with a mediator, the two sides came to a preliminary agreement last week. No details of the new contract have been released.

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

Oglesby Man Admits Sexual Assault Of Young Girl

Allegedly messing around with an underage girl has a man from Oglesby facing prison time.

Juan Santos-Seba was indicted this week in La Salle County Court with a second count of criminal sexual assault. He was arrested this past summer on the first count. Santos-Seba admits to sexually assaulting a young teenage girl twice.

He’s being held on 150 thousand dollars bond and will be sentenced January 13th.

Santos-Seba faces anywhere from 8 to 30 years in prison.

County Officials Sound Off On Utica Bridge Demolition

The latest group to sound off about IDOT’s plans to tear down the Route 178 bridge is a La Salle County Board committee.

Members of the highway committee this week passed a resolution urging IDOT to build a new bridge while keeping the current one open. During a recent open house, IDOT officials said they would either do that or simply tear down the current bridge and make people use detours to get from downtown Utica to across the river.

Highway committee members mentioned business, tourism and emergency responder concerns to not having an available bridge over the Illinois River. IDOT has said a new bridge could take two years to build.

There’s no timeline yet for construction.

Wreath Potrays Holiday Safety In Mendota

One of the more fun times of the holidays also can be one of the most dangerous. Putting up Christmas decorations that can catch fire.

For the 13th year, Mendota firefighters are asking for your help in “Keeping the Wreath Red”. A wreath is up outside the Mendota Fire Station monument wrapped in red decorative lighting. If Mendota firefighters respond to a holiday related fire or a holiday related accident, a red bulb is replaced by a white bulb.

Firefighters hope the bulbs are a reminder to be safe this holiday season.