City treasurer says Peru has recovered from the recession

          It may not look or feel much different, but the City of Peru is in a better place today than it was several years ago.

Gary Hylla is the city treasurer.  He says the general fund is returning to a surplus; though a lot of that money will be spent next year for infrastructure.  He says they are at the cusp of being self-sufficient for infrastructure needs.

Hylla says the fiscal year that ended in April 2012 was a decent year.  During that time, he says the city showed signs of having really recovered from the recession.  The city was also able to use money from the sale of the Mirror Building to pay off the debt from the new municipal building.

Hylla thinks this fiscal year will end even better because the hydroelectric plant is more profitable and the city’s expenses and revenue are under control.

The area of weakness he sees is the water and sewer funds.

Peru Fire Department ready to replace old engine

After 33 years a fire engine in the Peru Fire Department’s fleet is ready to be replaced.  The engine purchased in 1980 has recently had costly repairs.

Fire Chief Jeff King says it is time to replace it with something that better handles their needs.  He wants to get a new E1 pumper rescue truck estimated to cost $525,000.

The finance committee will next consider his recommendation.

Medic Chopper Responds To Crash Near Henry

A Life Flight helicopter was called to the Marshall County Airport this morning after a one car crash.

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office says they were called about a car in the ditch just after 2 this morning.  The car was on Route 26 just south of Route 18 near Henry.

Officers haven’t released the name of the driver.

Big Afghanistan Troop Announcement At State Of Union Speech

WASHINGTON (AP) – A person familiar with President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address says he will announce that 34,000 U.S. troops will be home from Afghanistan one year from today.

That’s about half the U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan. The decision marks the next phase in Obama’s plans to end the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Ottawa Finishes School Purchase

A few days after the city of Ottawa bought the flooded out Central School for a buck, they’ve now bought the land around it for 375 thousand dollars.

During a quick ceremony yesterday afternoon, the city took bought 16 ½ acres around the school along the Illinois River.  The city wants to tear down the school later this year and for the short-term make it park space.  Long term, Mayor Bob Eschbach says they’ll get public input on potentially developing the flood prone land.

Ottawa is using a two million dollar grant to demolish the Central building.  Ironically, the grant money is for Hurricane Ike cleanup which brought record flooding to Ottawa in 2008 that led to the school being condemned.

Illinois Valley Community Hospital Expanding

A new medical building is being added to the Illinois Valley Community Hospital campus in Peru.

Hospital officials want to build on a lot on 6th near the hospital.  They received the zoning changes and variances they need last night from the Peru City Council.

A formal announcement for the new building and services is expected in the coming weeks.

Grant To Help Chicago Kids Deal With Shootings

CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago Public Schools have received a federal grant to provide counseling and other assistance to students traumatized by neighborhood shootings.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the grant of nearly $50,000 Monday. The grant is part of a program called Project SERV, which has awarded more than $29 million since 2001 to districts that have experienced significant traumatic events and need resources to respond.

The grant will pay for training for school-based teams to identify, assess and manage student responses to violence, grief and loss.