Rental property registry to be discussed on January 9

The next regularly scheduled Peru City Council meeting should be scheduled for next Monday night but city officials will instead celebrate the new year.

The next Peru City Council meeting will be on January 9 at 7:30pm.

If you’re interested in the discussion about a rental property registration, the Public Health and Safety Committee and Public Property Committee will be talking about it when they meet at 6pm.

Code Red phone numbers need updating

Peru, La Salle, Spring Valley and Utica have a phone system in place so they can call you if there’s an emergency.  It’s called Code Red.  Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei made a test call to every Peru number around 5pm Wednesday.  Did you receive a call?

Bernabei says they were able to reach 3451 phones, either with someone answering or by reaching voice mail.  There were 2784 numbers that were no longer in use or were unreachable.

He says with many people disconnecting their landlines for cell phones, their phone number database needs to be updated.  He says they’ll try to update their database when they renew their contract soon but it won’t include cell phone numbers.

If you live in any of the towns with Code Red but you don’t think your number is included, visit your city’s web site where there should be a link to register your number.  You’ll also be able to sign up for text messages and emails.  You’ll also be able to remove your number if you no longer want to be included.

Oglesby opens ice skating rink

Get out your ice skates- the skating rink opened Wednesday in Oglesby.  You’ll find it on Walnut Street a few storefronts east of City Hall.

Mayor Don Finley says though they installed the rink last winter, they were only able to use it twice because of the warm weather.

The rink has benches so you can sit and change into your skates.  You can play hockey as long as other people aren’t trying to skate.

Big Gas Price Differences In La Salle County

So much for 3 dollar gas prices, at least in western La Salle County.

The price at the pump jumped in the La Salle-Peru area Christmas Eve, climbing from $3.05 to $3.19 a gallon at many stations.  Streator was unfazed by the sudden jump with gas prices there still as low as $2.83 a gallon.  Streator has the cheapest gas in the state according to IllinoisGasPrices.com.

The average price at the pump right now in Illinois is $3.28 a gallon, four cents above the national average.

Election Deadline Arrives

By five o’clock today, candidates will be known for the April 13^th city and school board elections.

Filing papers are due in clerk offices by five today.  The deadline was supposed to be Monday but lawmakers changed the date because of it falling on Christmas Eve.

Some intriguing races are shaping up in April including for mayor in Peru and Spring Valley.  Incumbent Scott Harl is being challenged by former mayor Don Baker, Mike Hart and James Giordano.  In Spring Valley, incumbent Cliff Banks is going up against Aldermen Walt Marini and Jack Narczewski.

Princeton Bomb Threat Case Delayed

The trial for a Princeton man accused in two different bomb threats has been pushed back.

Kristofer Watson was supposed to stand trial for the bomb threats next month but his trial is now planned for March.  Lawyers want more time to get psychiatric records.

Watson was arrested in January after being accused of phoning in a bomb threat at the Burger King in Princeton where he worked.  He’s accused of phoning a separate bomb threat into the AmericInn.

Competition Underway To Be Home Of Obama Presidential Library

CHICAGO (AP) – Another Chicago neighborhood says it wants to be the future home of the Barack Obama presidential library.

No official plans have been made yet, but people in the historically black Bronzeville neighborhood say there’s 37 acres there that are a perfect fit.

Harold Lucas is president of the Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council in the neighborhood. He says the neighborhood is ideal place to tell the story of the nation’s first black president. Bronzeville is where a number of black leaders, artists and pioneers worked or lived.

Several Chicago locations have expressed interest in the library, including an old U.S. Steel site and the University of Chicago. The University of Hawaii has also been mentioned as a possibility.