Mendota Police officer needed surgery following dog attack

Have a dog?  Keep it on a leash.  A Mendota Police officer had to have surgery after being drug to the ground and attacked by a loose german shepard Wednesday afternoon.

Police say the dog had been running loose and for no reason attacked Officer Diane Kent while she was talking to someone in the neighborhood. Other officers kicked and hit the dog trying to get it off of Kent but ended up shooting it.

Kent was kept over night at Mendota Community Hospital while the dog was put down by a local veterinarian.  The owner of the dog could be arrested.

Dick Durbin Planning Stops In La Salle County

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is coming to La Salle County.

The Democrat will first stop in Streator tomorrow afternoon to tour the newly expanded production and training center at Stertil/ALM.  That company makes heavy-duty lifting products.

From Streator, Senator Durbin will stop in Marseilles to talk wind energy with Invenergy.

Trinity Catholic Academy to benefit from Kid Rock Concert

Since 2005 Lou’s La Grotto’s “Concerts for a Cause” have been bringing nationally known musicians to town and donating money to local groups, mainly schools.

The Kid Rock concert on July 13 is no exception.  La Grotto’s manager Merry Noonan visited Trinity Catholic Academy in La Salle Thursday to tell them they would benefit from the upcoming show.

Noonan says Trinity was chosen because school officials wrote a lot of letters explaining why they need new computers.

The school wants to buy about 36 desktop computers to be used by the students and laptops for the teachers.  Noonan says technology items are the most commonly requested items.

If you would like tickets to see Kid Rock, they’re on sale through Lou’s La Grotto in Peru.  It’s being staged at Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru.

No Strike At Illinois Cement

Union employees and negotiators with Illinois Cement have come to a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract.

United Steelworkers Union Vice President Boo Herndon says the union will officially vote to ratify the contract Monday night.  He expects at least 90 percent approval.

Union members and the company reached a tentative agreement Wednesday night after an 11-hour negotiating session.  Over 100 workers at Illinois Cement were on the verge of going on strike.  Their last contract ended in February.

Herndon says health insurance costs were the main issue.

Negotiations for a new contract started in December.

Some Jobless Benefits Going Away

CHICAGO (AP) – Illinois’ dropping unemployment rate will trigger the end of a federal program for the long-term jobless.

The Extended Benefit program ends May 12. The program pays 20 weeks of benefits to anyone unemployed beyond 79 weeks. Department spokesman Greg Rivara says the program started paying benefits in Illinois in 2009 because of high unemployment.

Recent decreases that have seen unemployment fall below 9 percent triggered its end.

YMCA Looking To Help Missing Man’s Family

The Ottawa YMCA is doing what it can to help the family of Chris Strobel.

The Y is the designated drop-off point for anyone who would like to donate money or gift cards to help Strobel’s family.  An account for the missing man’s family has been established at First Federal Savings Bank in Ottawa.

You’re asked to make checks payable to “Friends of Chris Strobel”.

Search Continues For Missing Ottawa Man

The search for Chris Strobel of Ottawa continues with a narrower scope.

Investigators and rescue teams focused on the area around Veteran’s Memorial Bridge and Allen Park yesterday.  Members of the Conservation Police were nearby searching the Fox and Illinois Rivers for a possible body.

The 36-year old married, father of two hasn’t been seen since early Saturday morning near Ottawa City Hall.  Police Chief Brian Zeilmann says they have received very few serious leads of what may have happened to Strobel.

The family is offering a five thousand dollar reward for anyone who gives information leading to Strobel’s whereabouts.