Peru to host electronics recycling collection

The days of setting your old TV set on the curb are over.  You can no longer legally toss out electronics, including DVD players and computers.  Those items have to be recycled.

The City of Peru is hosting an electronics recycling collection Saturday from 9am until 1pm at City Hall.

They’ve contracted with Vintage Tech of Romeoville to take items like TVs, phones, computer parts, video games and more.  They’ll also take small household items such as microwaves and vacuum cleaners without bags.

They won’t take big items like refrigerators and stoves.  The collection is free.

La Salle County Broadcasting offering scholarship

If you have a kid that’s about to graduate from high school, you’re probably wondering how to pay for their college education.

La Salle County Broadcasting Corporation, Miller Group Charitable Trust and the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation are offering a $1,000 scholarship to a student who plans to study broadcast or a related field.

It’s open to students who live in Bureau, La Salle and Putnam Counties and plan to attend an Illinois university or college.

Applications are available at http://www.am1220wlpo.com under extended content.

IEPA approves new schedule for DePue superfund site

The people of DePue haven’t forgotten about the New Jersey Zinc-Mobil Chemical Superfund site and neither has the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

CBS Corporation and the ExxonMobil Corporation, or the DePue Group, are responsible for the clean up.  The state has agreed to a schedule on when different phases of the work should be done.

Maggie Carson is with the Illinois EPA.  She says the schedule needs to be enforceable.

Carson says they want the DePue group remove the contamination in a timely manner.

The DePue group is supposed to submit a Design Study in early March and a revised human health risk assessment for Lake DePue by the end of March.

You can learn more by listening to an interview that’s available at the AM 1220 WLPO news page.

La Salle County Sand Mines Wait For State Approval

Two proposed sand mines in La Salle County are moving ahead.

Mississippi Sand, LLC and Illinois Sand Company both have filed mining permit applications with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.  The DNR now has 120 days to decide on the applications.

The Mississippi Sand project would include 190 acres of mining just east of Starved Rock State Park.  The La Salle County Board voted 20 to 6 in favor of it despite plenty of opposition from environmental groups and Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon.

Illinois Sand project covers 564 acres of land along the Osage curves east of Utica.  The Utica Village Board voted 5 to 1 in favor of the mining project after the village’s planning commission voted unanimously against it.

Both companies hope to start mining later this year.

Peru ready to sign off on new Olive Garden

It’s not too soon to begin planning your first dinner at the new Olive Garden in Peru.

Construction of the restaurant near Kohl’s is completed.  Peru Building Inspector Frank Taylor and an inspector from the health department were to visit the site Monday.  Taylor says he’s ready to issue a certificate of occupancy.

The restaurant will be the site of the Mayor’s Association Dinner on March 25.  It’s expected to be open March 26.

Early Voting Underway

You can officially head to the polls.

Today marks the start of early voting for Illinois’ primary election, and it’s available until March 15. Voters don’t need a reason to vote early in the Democratic and Republican primaries. The primary election in Illinois is March 20.

Registered voters must show a current driver’s license or valid photo ID to participate. Early voting locations are in county clerk offices.

Area Gas Price Rundown

Is gas high enough that you’re actually changing your driving habits?

According to IllinoisGasPrices.com, you can get gas for 3.63 a gallon in Ottawa at BP stations, Road Ranger and Marathon.  In Peru, gas is going from 3.65 to 3.69 a gallon, similar to stations in La Salle, Mendota and Princeton.  Gas has hit 3.78 a gallon in Oglesby according to the gas price site.

The average price for unleaded gas in Illinois is 3.75 a gallon.  The highest gas in Illinois is 4.19 a gallon in downtown Chicago.

Crash Kills Woman From Streator

A young woman in Streator is dead after a crash in Livingston County.

Rescue crews from all over the area were dispatched Saturday morning to look for 20-year old Mallory Kucinski.  She was found about a mile from her accident scene.  Investigators think she went through a barricade for a closed bridge.  Kucinski then hit a tree and came to a rest in a creek.

The death is still under investigation.

Canal Day In Springfield Doesn’t Reopen Towpath Stretch

The first ever “I&M Canal Day” in Springfield is being deemed a success by organizers.

Ana Koval with the Canal Corridor Association says they met with State Representative Frank Mautino and Director of Tourism Jan Kostner in the state capitol to talk about many things including how many volunteer hours’ people put in with the canal.  She says they plan to make the trek to Springfield an annual event.

Despite saying he’d be there initially, the 100 people with the canal group didn’t get to meet with DNR Director Marc Miller.  Many want to talk with him about reopening the stretch of the canal trail between Ottawa and Utica.  It’s been closed for almost two years because of alleged stray bullets coming from a shooting range.