Vigil held in Peru for Connecticut school shooting victims

The names of the students and staff members of Sandy Hook Elementary were read aloud to a small group at Baker Lake in Peru Saturday evening.  It was one of many candlelight vigils held to memorialize the people that were shot to death Friday morning and to pray for and end to gun violence.

Nese Mseemmaa of La Salle read the names of the victims and then led a prayer for an end to gun violence.

Mseemmaa, her mother Pat and Brenda Johnson of La Salle spread the word about the vigil Saturday.

Pat Mseemmaa says they were inspired to organize the vigil after receiving a notice from the group MoveOn.org.

Cause of Ottawa fire undetermined

The cause of a fire to a Guion Street residence Saturday will go down as undetermined. That word from Ottawa Fire Department Captain Brian Dose. Four children and two adults are living in an Ottawa hotel after fire damaged the home’s living room around 8am. Dose said a woman was able to get two children out the front door but a grandmother and two more children were forced out the windown on to a porch roof because the stairway was on fire. They were later recued by Ottawa police. The State Fire Marshall is assisting in the investigation. The fire caused 25-thousand dollars damage to the structure. Dose said there was no evidence the fire was maliciously set.

　

Car damages gas main in Peru

What could have been a serious emergency Saturday night for Peru Firemen and police was much less. Peru police may release more details today about damage to a gas line at the entrance to the Illinois Valley Airport about 7:30pm Saturday.

What’s known is three women in a car somehow missed the turn leaving the airport and struck a gas main and an electrical box. Fire Department engineer Gary Eccles said an engine and and seventeen men responded. When they arrived, they found the car was still running and sitting on top of the broken main.  The people safely made it out of the car.

Plank Road was closed for a time.  Ameren IP came and made repairs. In their report, the firemen who went to the scene said they could smell and hear the gas escaping from the damaged main as they came up Plank Road. Amazingly, no explosion or fire occurred. Firemen theorize that the concentration of gas coming out from the broken line was so high, it suppressed the oxygen and thus, averted a major explosion and fire.