Local man included in new class of Conservation Police officers

When there’s trouble on the water or in state parks an Illinois Conservation Police officer is the one you call.  The state has 14 new conservation officers including a man from La Salle.

Michael Flipiak and others completed 24 weeks of general law enforcement training and specific conservation police training.

It’s the first group of new officers since 2007 and the first class to be made up entirely of military veterans.

 

Good Year For Area Deer Hunters

Are local hunters getting better or are deer getting less elusive?  The number of deer shot during the seven-day firearm season is up in Bureau, La Salle and Putnam counties.

La Salle County hunters brought down just over 12 hundred deer this season, about 60 more than last year.  Hunters in Bureau County nailed nearly 14 hundred deer this year, over a hundred more than 2011.  In Putnam County, there were 520 deer killed this season, 50 more than last year.

Statewide, over 99 thousand deer were shot, almost two thousand more than a year ago.

House fire kills Streator man

The man killed in a Streator house fire has been identified.

62-year old Brent Vorhees was pronounced dead at the scene of a Tuesday afternoon fire in the 500 block of South Vermilion Street.  An autopsy is planned today.

Fire crews got a 911 call before four o’clock about the house fire.   Detective Robert Turner says it’s unclear if the home had working smoke detectors.  Turner says it doesn’t look like this fire is related to a string of arsons in Streator dating back to last spring.

Vorhees was the only person home at the time of the fire.