Man on parole for a drug conviction arrested on another drug charge

A man thought to have been selling cocaine in the Marseilles area is back in prison.  Robert Sims is accused of selling drugs to somebody working with the drug team TRIDENT.

By the time investigators were able to get a warrant for his arrest, Sims, who was on parole, was already back in prison for a parole violation.

Sims faces a new charge of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Homesteading topic of conference at IVCC

Imagine an omelet made from fresh eggs and vegetables from your backyard or a burger topped with a delicious homegrown tomato.  Raising your own food is coming back in style.

A Homesteading Conference comes to Illinois Valley Community College Saturday, March 17.   Continuing Education Program Manager Kim Koehler says many of the things you’ll learn used to be common practice years ago.

You’ll participate in sessions on preservation, choosing animals for your homestead, bee keeping, and chickens.  You’ll also learn about how to market your products.

The course is $69.  You can register by contacting IVCC.

Learn more by listening to an interview available at the AM 1220 WLPO news page.

Illinois Valley Democratic Women to host candidate’s forum

While the Republican primary ballot will feature interesting races for the presidential nomination and the 16^th Congressional district, the Democrats will have a few races on theirs too.

Candidates from La Salle, Bureau, and Putnam County will take part in a question and answers forum Saturday at the U.A.W. Pat Greathouse Center in Ottawa.  It will run from 2-5pm. and be moderated by former State Senator Pat Welch.  It’s sponsored by the Illinois Valley Democratic Women.

State Senate candidates Christine Benson, Tom Ganiere and Kevin Kunkel and other countywide and judicial candidates are expected to participate.

House Leader Gives Endorsement In Local Congressional Race

A heavy hitter in Washington has endorsed Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has endorsed Kinzinger over Don Manzullo in the 16^th District Congressional race.  In a joint endorsement with Congressman John Shimkus, Cantour says Kinzinger is “hands down the candidate the conservative cause needs to win the primary”.

They call Kinzinger a “new breed of conservative” and say he helped turned the tide in the House of Representatives and reconnect with true conservative principles.

Local Senator Wants To Help Keep Parks Clean

In an effort to try and keep roadsides clean, groups and organizations often “adopt-a-highway” inIllinois.  There’s now an idea to start an “adopt-a-park”.

State Senator Sue Rezin is sponsoring the bill that would allow people or groups to adopt a park or part of a park to collect litter. Rezin says theDNRbudget keeps getting cut so they could use helping hands.

Like on roads, signs would be put up saying this person or group adopted a part of a state park.  The bill will be sent to the full Senate this spring.

Firefighters Called To Popular Coffee Shop

Normally when you walk into Jeremiah Joe’s in downtownOttawa, you smell refreshing coffee.

That wasn’t the case yesterday afternoon when there was a minor chimney fire at the 807 Building.  There was no visible smoke but the building was aired out.

A police car and fire truck parked outside the building reduced traffic to one lane on Route 23 in front of the coffee shop.

Time Change Means Change Batteries

State officials say it will be a good safety reminder when the time changes this weekend.

Illinois State Fire Marshal Larry Matkaitis says spring is a good opportunity to change smoke alarm batteries.  The time jumps forward an hour on March 11. State officials say before going to bed you should also install new batteries in smoke alarms. Other precautions include changing batteries in flashlights and radios.

The National Fire Protection Association says 40 percent of residential fire deaths in the country happen in homes with no smoke alarms.