Saturday Rainfall Amounts

Was the weekend rain enough to get the lawnmower out?

According to the National Weather Service, over an inch of rain fell Saturday afternoon in La Salle, Mendota, Princeton, Newark and Paw Paw.  Sheridan fell just short of an inch of rain while Peru and Oglesby got about 3/4ths of an inch.  Marseilles and Ottawa had around a half inch.

Saturday afternoon storms also caused hundreds of outages in Ottawa, Princeton and Sheridan according to Ameren.

Union Fighting To Keep Dwight Prison Open

The union representing guards at Dwight Correctional Center aren’t going down without a fight.

AFSCME has filed a lawsuit asking for an injunction to stop Governor Pat Quinn from closing the women’s prison this month along with a few other places.  The suit argues that closing Dwight worsens overcrowding and makes it even more dangerous for prison workers.

In an effort to lower the budget deficit, Governor Quinn wants to close the Dwight prison August 31^st.  Over 300 people work at the prison including over 60 from La Salle County.

Bureau County Fair Queen Crowned

Royalty has been crowned for this year’s Bureau County Fair.

Tiana Maupin of Princeton is the new Bureau County Fair Queen.  Abigail Brown of Kewanee was 1^st runner up followed by Katie Elliott of Princeton.

Alison Brown of Princeton was named Junior Miss Bureau County.  Hope Whitgsil won Little Miss Bureau County.

The Bureau County Fair runs August 22^nd thru the 26^th.

highway closed for construction

Do you use County Highway 2 outside Serena? The first half mile north of Route 52 will be closed for construction starting Tuesday. According to Larry Kinzer, director of the County Highway department, the work involves re-alignment of the intersection and should conclude by late Friday. Detours will not be posted and motorists are advised to use alternative routes.

Labor of love in Eastern LaSalle County

Do you live in Eastern LaSalle County? United Way of Eastern LaSalle County is accepting applications for homes needing repairs by a “Labor of Love” crew. Repairs and maintenance will be done on homes owned by low-income homeowners and military families of deployed personnel. Anyone fourteen and older can be a volunteer and doesn’t have to be skilled at home repairs. You can download a form at united way e l c. org.

Flamingos bring relief

A February Haiti trip prompted Hannah Sprong to do good with the gaudy. For several weeks, Sprong placed pink flamingos in Illinois Valley yards and charged for their removal. Twenty birds have appeared in one hundred sixty locations and raised 32-hundred dollars for Citi (city) so-leigh school. Sprong said at this Haitian school, eating is a first priority and education is second.Sprong charged ten dollars to remove the plastic bird, $15 to pass it to a neighbor, or $20 to keep it from returning. However, Sprong says, it may return to some of those yards with next year’s fundraiser. The flamingo fundraiser is over, but if you want to donate, contact Zion United Church of Christ in Peru.

Georgia man arrested

It’s not known what a 39-year old Augusta, Georgia man was doing in LaSalle Saturday night…but, he received a bunch of citations when stopped by LaSalle police. Calvin Bragg was pulled over at Garfield and St. Vincent’s and found to have a revoked Georgia license. Bragg was ticketed also for no insurance, no valid registration, expired registration sticker, improper lane usage, driving too fast for conditions and at least six additional citations. He posted one hundred fifty dollars bond to gain release.

crash burn in cemetery

Police say a car driven by a 16-year-old in western Illinois veered into a cemetery and burst into flames, killing the teen and her 12-year-old brother. The Adams County Sherriff’s Office says investigators don’t know what caused the car to veer off a rural road outside of Quincy. A sheriff’s office spokesman says the car struck a utility pole and then careened into the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Friday’s accident.

Jesse Jackson Jr.

The wife of Jesse Jackson Junior says the longtime Illinois congressman is suffering from depression that has been “debilitating” and even caused him to collapse at their home in Washington D.C. Chicago City Council member Sandi Jackson also tells the Sun-Times newspaper that her husband did not attempt suicide and was not being treated for alcohol or drug addiction at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic.

 

storm recap

What did you receive from yesterday’s storm arriving in Princeton at 2:00 and LaSalle Peru about 2:30? The storm knocked out power to parts of Princeton. Later, the Oglesby Tornado siren was sounded because someone thought they saw a funnel cloud near Burger King. Lightning struck the concession stand and damaged an attached bathroom at Dickinson Field – one of the sites for the Central States Senior League Regional. Rainfall amounted to .7 here at WLPO and 1.25 inches in North LaSalle to 1.6 inches on a farm in Waltham.