New Mendota Community Hospital to open ER Wednesday

Medical equipment, computers, and even the in-patients of Mendota Community Hospital are being moved from the old building into the new one.  After three years of planning and building, the new hospital off of Route 34 opens Wednesday.

Lynn Klein is the hospital’s CEO.  She says the last couple of days have brought a flurry of activity.

The new ER opens at 6am Wednesday .  At that time, the old ER will close.  Klein says in-patients at the old building will have breakfast before being taken to the new building.  They plan to be able to perform surgeries Wednesday afternoon or Thursday.  Hospital phone numbers haven’t changed.

The old hospital will be demolished.

Peru officials hear ambulance presentation

The cost of ambulance service to Peru is getting a closer look by some city officials and it’s making supporters of the Peru Volunteer Ambulance Service uneasy.

A representative of Paramedic Services of Illinois was at Peru City Hall Tuesday night explaining what they do for fire department based emergency medial services.

Alderman Rodney Perez says they called PSI to make a presentation and next month they listen to one by PVAS.

Peru pays PVAS $48,000 a year for service.  PVAS is a private organization that handles billing, hiring, and equipment.  A contract with PSI would put the ambulance service under the control of the fire chief and PSI would be responsible for the ambulance staff and their liabilities and salaries.  They would charge an annual fee that would be paid monthly.

Tony Bubb’s wife is the bookkeeper for PVAS.  He says changing the ambulance service would put people out of work.

PVAS Director Mark Roberson says he’ll comment after they give their presentation next month.  The time and date of that meeting still needs to be decided.

Charity Light Display Back In La Salle

Want to check out a great Christmas light display? You’ll be hard pressed to top the Weber Christmas display on the east end of La Salle.

For the fifth year in a row, Scott Weber has put together a light show set to music on Mary Senica Court off Route 6.  Over 100 thousand lights are programmed to 12 songs.

As in past years, Weber will be collecting food and monetary donations for the Illinois Valley Food Pantry.  Since he started the light display, Weber has collected over eight thousand pounds of food and nearly 29 thousand dollars.

Worker injured during crane accident in Dekalb County

A jobsite turned into an accident site after something went wrong involving a crane in the Dekalb County town of Genoa.

Police say workers were trying to off load equipment late Tuesday morning when a piece rolled off a semi trailer and hit a man working for Candian Pacific.

32 year old Brandon Bjorker of Garner, Iowa was flown to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Rockford.  His condition wasn’t made available.

New Teacher’s Contract Officially Approved In Streator

After tense negotiations, Streator elementary teachers have new three-year contracts.

The Streator Elementary School Board voted 6 to 1 in favor of the new contract last night. Board member Kari Hallowell voted against the contract because of raises causing a financial hardship for the district.

Under the agreement, teachers will get 15 hundred dollar step increases along with a 1.5 percent base salary increase in year one and a two percent pay raise in year two.

Streator elementary teachers had been working without a contract since the end of last school year.

School Construction Site Hit Again By Thief Or Thieves

Weeks away from officially opening to students, the new Central Intermediate School was hit again by a thief or thieves.

Ottawa Police are investigating 18 steel fence posts being stolen from the school construction site on the south end of Ottawa. Over the summer, several construction tools and generators were stolen from the site.

Cousins Brian and Troy Reynolds were arrested in those burglaries. Brian is from Ottawa and Troy from La Salle.

After crime, punishment awaits ex-Gov. Blagojevich

CHICAGO (AP) – A federal judge says Rod Blagojevich was clearly the ringleader of the schemes for which he was convicted.

The judge said Tuesday at the sentencing hearing for the former Illinois governor that he believed there was ample evidence Blagojevich wanted $1.5 million for the U.S. Senate seat that he was convicted of trying to barter.

That could mean a harsher sentence for Blagojevich from federal Judge James Zagel, who dismissed the contention by Blagojevich’s attorneys that he was going along with what his aides and advisers wanted him to do.

Zagel told a packed courtroom that just listening to Blagojevich on the secretly recorded tape recordings at the center of the corruption trial reveal that he was the leader of the schemes – and a demanding one at that.