Pontiac Prison Guard Attacked

PONTIAC, Ill. (AP) – State officials say an inmate at Pontiac Correctional Center assaulted and injured a prison guard.

The assault happened Monday and the correctional officer suffered facial injuries. A corrections spokeswoman says an investigation is under way. She says it’s an “isolated incident.”

Union officials say the officer may need surgery.

Streator parolee accused of having heroin

          Less than a year after being released on parole, a man from Streator faces a new drug charge.  Police with TRIDENT arrested Daniel Neronsky Monday.

He’s accused of having four grams of heroin and drug paraphernalia and violating probation.  He was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and was taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Nersonsky was sentenced to two years in prison for a drug conviction in 2011.

Man Hit By Car Outside Streator

Fog is blamed on a crash that sent a man from Streator to Peoria.

Randall Gross is in critical condition at St. Francis Medical Center.  He was taken there last night after being hit by a car while standing on Route 18 west of Streator.   Blanca Hernandez of Streator told deputies she couldn’t avoid hitting Gross because she couldn’t see him in the fog.

Hernandez wasn’t ticketed.

Driver From Ladd Hurt In Interstate 80 Crash

A man from Ladd is recovering in Peoria after a crash on Interstate 80.

Micah Robinson is listed in fair condition at St. Francis Medical Center.  He was taken there Friday after state police say he was hit by Carolyn Copeland of La Salle.

Officers say Copeland was westbound on Interstate 80 near La Salle late last week when she lost control, drove thru the median and into eastbound traffic where she hit Robinson.  She was ticketed for improper lane use.

House Catches Fire North Of Peru

Fire damaged a house north of Peru and caused a detour on Route 251.  Firefighters from Peru and La Salle were called to the home about a mile south of Route 52 at 8am Tuesday.

Crews arrived to find smoke and flames showing.  Soon Ladd, Mendota and Troy Grove were called to help.  It didn’t take long before the fire was knocked down.  Everyone who was home was able to make it out before the fire department arrived.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office was called to help with the investigation.

Traffic was detoured onto side roads for a couple of hours.

D Construction hired for Peru airport work

When you’re landing a plane you would like to see the runway.  The Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru has needed to have the electrical circuit for the runway lights separated since the crosswind runway was completed a couple of years ago.

The work to do that will happen no later than this summer.  D Construction has been hired to separate the circuits increasing reliability of the lights.  It’s a $316,000 project that’s being paid for mostly by the Illinois Department of Transportation.  The city will only have to pay $16,000.

D Construction is also working on the apron expansion.

Break-in damages gymnasium of Hegeler Carus Mansion

If you want to see the inside of the Hegeler Carus Mansion take a tour; it’s easier than breaking in.  The historical site on the east side of La Salle was broken into Sunday night.

Someone threw a brick through a ground-floor window trying to get inside the mansion’s gymnasium and couldn’t.  But they were able to get in after using a garbage can to smash open a door.  A motion-detector alarm went off, apparently scaring away the intruder or intruders.

Kelly Klobucher, Executive Director of the Hegeler Carus Foundation says the brick and breaking glass damaged artifacts in the gym, including one which is unique, and possibly the only one of its kind in the world.

If you have information about the break-in, call the La Salle Police Department.   The mansion will re-open for tours Wednesday.

Winning Lucky Day Lotto ticket sold in Ottawa

          While a couple of gas stations in La Salle County were held up over the weekend, something good happened at the Express Lane in Ottawa.

          Somebody bought a winning Lucky Day Lotto ticket Saturday.  The ticket is worth just more than $133,000.

          The winner hasn’t come forward yet.     The store will receive a $1300 bonus.

Minor Train Derailment In Mendota

Part of a train hopped the track overnight in Mendota.

Mendota Police say one car of a Burlington Northern train derailed just before midnight last night.  The minor derailment happened on the southwest side of Mendota.

No one was hurt and everything is cleaned up.

Wild Weather Forecast

Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride this week with the weather.

After a day of ice, today’s forecast includes a steady temperature in the mid-40s with a shower and thunderstorm chance.  As the temperature actually rises overnight, tomorrow could produce severe thunderstorms with high temperatures in the mid-60s.

The spring-like weather will be short lived however with Thursday expected to be blustery and with a high around 20.