Wind Advisory Issued

Hold onto your hats, it’s going to be a windy day.

A Wind Advisory is in effect for the Illinois Valley until four Monday afternoon.  The southwest wind will gust up to 50 miles per hour during the advisory.  That could make driving tough especially for semis.

The next chance of snow in the forecast is Thursday.

St. Bede Fundraiser Brings In Thousands

A packed house will help keep tuition down at St. Bede Academy.

Over 20 thousand dollars was raised at this year’s “Mr. SBA”.  Class of 77’s Gary Yaklich beat out six other contestants to be named Mr. SBA 2013.

Unlike Mr. L-P, Mr. SBA has alumni contestants instead of current students.

Mr. L-P Crowned

L-P Senior Jon Vonbehren can add “Mr. L-P” to his resume.

Vonbehren beat out eight other classmates to win the 5^th annual Mr. L-P contest Saturday night.  Vonbehren and other contestants competed in formal wear, question and answer, talent, and fundraising categories.

Mr. L-P raised over three thousand dollars for the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, Rally for Lily, and Love for Katie benefit funds.

Dorner running and maybe taunting?

Detectives are investigating a taunting phone call that may have been made by a fugitive ex-LAPD officer to the father of the woman they believe he killed in Southern California.  Two law enforcement officers who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press on Sunday they are trying to determine if the call days after the killing was made by Christopher Dorner or a man posing as him. The caller allegedly told retired police Capt. Randal Quan that he should have done a better job protecting his daughter. Monica Quan and her fiance were shot dead last Sunday.
Randal Quan represented Dorner in the disciplinary proceedings that led to his firing.      Dorner wrote in his manifesto that he believed the retired captain had represented the interests of the department over his.

Older man performs “Miracle”

An 82-year-old Washington man says he was a little sore but otherwise OK after tackling and helping police catch a felon one-third his age.  Terry Miracle, of Longview, was weeding in his garden Friday when heard a commotion. It was police chasing a burglary suspect identified as 27-year-old Morgan Perry Bluehorse.  The Daily News reports  that as officers chased the suspect through yards and over fences, Miracle could hear them coming closer. He told the newspaper he got in position, and as the suspect came barreling around the house, he remembered his high school football training.  He launched a “cross-body block” and his knee collided with the suspect’s knee, tripping him up and giving police time to catch him.

fixing a current law

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says veterans attending public colleges shouldn’t be burdened with out-of-state tuition and fees. 
The Democratic senator is working with lawmakers to fix an unintended consequence of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.  The bill provides up to $18,077 for veterans attending private colleges. It limits the benefit for veterans at public colleges to the amount charged for in-state tuition and fees.  In a press release, Durbin’s office says many veterans are having trouble establishing residency and qualifying for in-state tuition. More than 20,000 veterans have had to pay the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition out of their pockets. Durbin says those costs can be dramatic.  He says there’s an “easy fix.” His proposed legislation would provide up to $18,077 to help cover out-of-state tuition at public universities.

ceremony honoring Gulf Vets

The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs will hold a ceremony to honor those who served in the 1991 Gulf War. 
The event will take place Feb. 28 at the Illinois State Military Museum in Springfield and starts at 11 a.m.   Veterans Affairs Director Erica Borggren will speak at the event.  The museum tells the story of the Illinois National Guard.   U.S. forces were part of a coalition that ousted Iraqi troops from Kuwait in the 1990-91 Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

 

twin cities trouble

Police in Indiana and Illinois are looking for a caller who falsely claimed he had hostages, explosives and nerve gas, bringing officers to homes in two cities with the same name. The Herald-Times reports police in Bloomington, Indiana and Bloomington, Illinois received the calls last week.

good-bye to Hadiya Pendleton

First lady Michelle Obama was among a long list of dignitaries who attended yesterday’s funeral in Chicago for 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton. She was shot and killed just a few days after performing with the King College Prep band as part of the events surrounding President Barack Obama’s inauguration. Police say Pendleton was an innocent victim in a gang-related shooting.

To Kill and To Heal

A local exhibit looks at the Civil War from either side of a gun. “To Kill and To Heal” is an exhibit put together in the Abe Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield. Now it’s visiting our area at the Lock 16 facility on First Street in LaSalle. Others are joining in. LaSalle Library will have a program at 6 this Tuesday evening on weapons of the Civil War and on February 23, Peru Library offers a glimpse of a field hospital. A Civil War roundtable will be hosted in the Ottawa High School cafeteria at 7:30pm February 20^th.