Mendota Hospital Reacts To Flu Outbreak

The flu is causing another area hospital to change its visitor policy.

Mendota Community Hospital is now only allowing visitors who are 18 years old and over because of the flu outbreak.  They’re also limiting two visitors at a time per patient.

The temporary restrictions are recommended by the state board of health and Centers for Disease Control.

L-P Moves Ahead With New Athletic Complex

When fall sports start a new season at L-P, there will be a brand new track and soccer field.

The L-P School Board has started the process of issuing up to 4 million dollars in bonds to pay for a new athletic complex on Chartres Street north of the La Salle Post Office.  The complex will include not only a new track and soccer field but also eight tennis courts, parking for a couple hundred people and two retention ponds.

The projected price tag of the athletic complex is 5.7 million.  Besides bonds, the L-P school board plans to spend up to two million dollars of their own cash and 100 thousand dollars from La Salle as part of a new TIF agreement.

The timeline calls for bids to be awarded and construction to start in late March with the complex ready in September.

Power outage planned for area of La Salle

          An area of downtown La Salle will be without power Sunday morning.  Ameren plans to shut off power to the south side of First Street from Marquette to Bucklin while they re-route power lines.

          It’s related to the construction of a dike at the older wastewater treatment plant. 

          The outage is expected to last from 7am-11am Sunday.

Man remains hospitalized following I-39 crash

One of the people involved in the accident that sent a pickup truck into the Little Vermilion River remains hospitalized. 

James Lenz was in fair condition at St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria Wednesday.  Lenz was taken there after a crash Monday night along Interstate 39 near Troy Grove.

Police say Lenz was in a truck driven by 15 year old Ethan Streitmatter.  The boy was driving with a learner’s permit when the truck left the road and went into the river.

Firefighters had to free them from the truck.  The boy was treated at Mendota Community Hospital.