Special Olympics event cancelled due to rain

          A rainy forecast has forced the Spring Games of the Special Olympics to be called off.  The event planned for Saturday at Hall High School would have attracted 275 athletes and even more coaches and volunteers.

          Cheryl DePaepe with Special Olympics says they wanted to make sure their athletes would be safe.  The games will not be rescheduled, instead a lottery drawing will be held to pick who advances to the state competition.

Missing woman’s body found in flood waters

The search for a missing Peru woman has ended with the discovery of her body.

Conservation Police officers Thursday morning found the body of 62 year old Nancy Greening in the flood waters along Route 351 not far from where she was photographed standing in rising flood waters next to her van.

The photo was taken on April 19 by the NewsTribune, the day Route 351 and many other bridges over the Illinois River were closed due to flooded roadways.

A search for her wouldn’t begin until the following day.  Her van was partially underwater when it was found along Route 351.

An investigation continues by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the La Salle County Coroner’s Office.

Names Released In Marshall County Crash

Two truck drivers are dead after a fiery crash north of Varna.

The Marshall County Coroner’s Office says 30-year old Matthew Luna of Peoria Heights and 47-year old Carl Vanwy of South Haven, Michigan were killed in a head-on collision just after 3 Wednesday afternoon.  Autopsies are scheduled Friday morning.

The stretch of Route 89 where the crash happened was closed for around five hours before the bodies were removed.  State Police in Metamora are investigating the crash.

La Salle Animal Shelter Wins Large Grant

When you’re a non-profit animal shelter, any kind of donation or grant is a big deal.

Illinois Valley Animal Rescue was the second-highest vote getter in Illinois in Petfinder’s Shelter Challenge.  But since the top vote getter won a weekly prize earlier in the voting competition, IVAR gets a thousand dollar grant.

The national top vote getting shelter received a 10 thousand dollar grant from the Animal Rescue Site.

Recount Planned In Close Hall Referendum Election

If you thought the Hall referendum election was a done deal, you’re wrong.

Hildi Grivetti who is a member of the “Hall Yes” committee says a group of voters have requested a recount thru the Bureau County Clerk’s Office.  The recount date is May 16^th.

After including absentee ballots, the Hall Referendum got 1,717 votes for and 1,714 votes against.  According to the Illinois Board of Elections, only up to a fourth of all precincts in an election can be used in a “discovery recount”.  Also a “discovery recount” does not change an election.

For opponents of the Hall referendum to get the election reversed, they must file a petition with the Bureau County Circuit Clerk to contest the election.  The court petition has to be filed within a month after election results were finalized.

Marseilles Students Return To Class After Record Flood

Class is back in session today for Marseilles Elementary students.

Kindergarten thru 3^rd graders will go to the Church of the Nazarene, 4^th and 5^th graders will go to the north campus of Seneca Elementary School while 6^th thru 8^th graders will finish the year inside the old Seneca High School.  Preschool has been canceled for the rest of the year.

Marseilles Elementary students have been out of school for two weeks after their school was overrun by floodwater.  It’s estimated to cost around 3 million dollars to fix flood repairs at the grade school.

Cubs Owner Threatens To Move If He Doesn’t Get New Video Board

CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts says the video board he wants to build Wrigley Field is needed to “generate revenue” and he raised the prospect of moving out of the ballpark entirely if he is blocked from doing so.

After a Wednesday speech at the City Club of Chicago, Ricketts says if the team is prevented from making advertising money from “our own outfield” he’d consider moving. He also says he is committed to working out an agreement that would allow the team to stay at Wrigley. Ricketts said the Cubs could be making $20 million a year more in ad revenue.

Rooftop owners, who charge fans for access to watch games, have vowed legal action if the Cubs build anything that blocks their views.

Head Of IDOT Against Raising State Speed Limit

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider is against raising the speed limit to 70 mph on the state’s interstates and tollways.

Schneider says that the higher speed limit is a threat to drivers and roads. Schneider says the agency is preparing a report for Quinn recommending that he oppose the change.

The Illinois Senate approved a measure 41-6 last week raising the speed limit from 65 mph to 70 mph. The bill awaits a House vote. Gov. Pat Quinn hasn’t said whether he’d support the measure.

Bill sponsor Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove says the move would put Illinois in line with dozens of states that already have a higher speed limit.