Ellberg of IVAR named Hometown Hero

Taking care of one or two pets is a lot of work, so it’s no wonder one of the women who run the Illinois Valley Animal Rescue has been named a hero.

Chris Ellberg was the top vote getter in Culver’s Hometown Hero contest.  She found out the news Thursday.  The title earns her $5,000 which she plans to use to buy a car to replace the van she uses to rescue animals.

IVCC officials break ground for Peter Miller Community Technology Center

With much of the funding in place, it was time to break ground for a new building at Illinois Valley Community College.  The Peter Miller Community Technology Center will be home to industrial and tech classes and the adult education center.

College officials and others gathered Thursday afternoon for a ceremony.  The Miller Group Charitable Trust has donated one million dollars toward the project.  Miller Group Media includes AM 1220 WLPO, 99.3 WAJK, 96.5 The Wolf, The Newstribune, Agrinews and Ottawa Delivered.

Most of the funding is coming from nearly 23 millions dollars in state money.  The George Sollitt Construction Company of Wood Dale is building it for 21 million dollars.  The building is expected to be ready by the end of August 2013.

Longtime St. Bede Faculty Member Dies

A longtime member of the St. Bede Academy family died this morning.

84 year old Father Bernard Horzen died just after five o’clock at St. Joseph Nursing Home in Lacon. An announcement on the St. Bede Academy website says to “remember him in your prayers”.

Services for Father Bernard can be heard during In Memoriam on AM 1220 WLPO.

Six-Figure Bond Amount For Accused Purse Snatcher

A man accused of strong-arming purses away from a couple of women in La Salle faces a hefty bond.

Christopher Coleman remains in jail after being arrested this month on two counts of robbery.
Police think Coleman stole purses away from women leaving two taverns last month. At the time he was on parole. A grand jury indicted him Tuesday.

His bond was set at 150 thousand dollars.

Area Hospital Doing Phone Survey

People in La Salle County are being urged to “answer the call” from a health survey company.

St. Mary’s Hospital is doing a community health assessment and they’ve hired a research firm to do random telephone calls asking you about your health needs. The survey is confidential and should take 15 minutes or less.

Matt Daughenbaugh with St. Marys says your survey answers guide the hospital in developing future programs and services. They plan on having a forum next year to talk about the survey results.

New IVCC Technology Center Will Break Ground Today

Groundbreaking for the new Peter Miller Community Technology Center is today.

Thanks to a big chunk of state and federal money, Illinois Valley Community College is building a 30 million dollar technology center on the east part of campus. Last month, Miller Group Charitable Trust announced a million dollar donation to the center which was then named after the late Peter Miller.

Peter and his son Pete owned and operated Miller Group Media for many years. Miller Group Media includes AM 1220 WLPO, 99.3 WAJK, 96.5 The Wolf, The Newstribune, Agrinews and Ottawa Delivered.

Groundbreaking ceremony starts at 2.