Police say a man had a loaded gun and heroin in Ottawa

          A loaded hand gun and heroin is what police say they found after going to house in Ottawa.

Members of TRIDENT went to Thomas Higgens’ house on Webster Street in Ottawa Thursday.  They say they found a loaded 9mm, two loaded magazines and about 1.5 grams of heroin.

Higgins was arrested for armed violence and was being held in the La Salle County Jail with his bond set at $2 million.

Woman rescued from ledge at Buffalo Rock

Sandstone isn’t the best climbing surface.  A boyfriend and girlfriend learned that the hard if not scary way Friday afternoon at Buffalo Rock State Park.

Firefighters from Utica and Naplate were called to the park after a woman became stuck on a ledge 40 feet down from the top.  Dave Parrott, Naplate Fire Chief, says the woman was with her boyfriend who was able to climb to the top and call for help.

Members of the MABAS 25 technical rescue division arrived to help.  Parrott says they were able to lower two men down to the ledge and bring the woman up using a harness.

The woman wasn’t hurt.  Parrott says below the ledge was a 60-foot straight drop.  It happened on the Dee Bennett side of the park.

Donations needed for a La Salle family affected by a house fire

          Thank goodness for friends and relatives- a family of eight that lost their home to a fire has been receiving help from the community.  Mike and Margie Johnson of La Salle and their six children have been staying with family since a fire Tuesday night.

While everyone was able safely leave the burning house, they lost most of their things.  They family could use bunk beds or twin beds; blankets, sheets, and pillows.

If you would like to donate any of those items, call Roberta Caveglia at (815) 343-8651.

Lotto Winner’s Body Dug Up In Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) – Crews have exhumed the body of a Chicago man who was poisoned with cyanide after winning the lottery.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office wants to determine exactly how Urooj Khan died. Examiners will take blood, tissue, bone, hair and nail samples. They’ll also examine the lungs, liver, spleen and contents of the stomach and intestines. It will take two to three weeks to get test results.

Khan died in July as he was about to collect $425,000 in lottery winnings. His death initially was ruled a result of natural causes. But a relative asked for further tests, which revealed he was poisoned.

Cold Snap On Its Way

Enjoy the weather the next two days because old man winter is bearing down on the Illinois Valley.

The coldest temperatures of the winter are expected to arrive starting Sunday.  The high temperature from Sunday thru Wednesday is expected to be between 12 to 22 degrees.  Low temperatures will dip into the single digits Sunday night thru Tuesday night.

The wind chill could be 20 below zero Monday night.

Illinois Unemployment Rate Unchanged

CHICAGO (AP) – Illinois’ unemployment rate held steady at 8.7 percent in December.

Preliminary data released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security show there are 576,000 Illinoisans out of work. The rate doesn’t reflect unemployed people who’ve quit looking for work.

December’s seasonally adjusted rate is 1 percentage point lower than December 2011.
Illinois has added 167,000 private sector jobs since January 2010. That’s when job growth started returning following almost two years of consecutive monthly declines.

Drunk Driver Blamed For Crash Outside Ottawa

A crash near the Route 71 and Interstate 80 intersection near Ottawa sent one woman to the hospital.

Deputies say Nicole Croissant of Spring Valley was taken to St. Elizabeth Medical Center after crashing with Lonnie Reppine of Ottawa.  The crash just of I-80 happened last night after 8.

Croissant was arrested for DUI.  Her passenger and Reppine were not injured.