Games and talent show Saturday during Celebrate La Salle

          Celebrate La Salle continues Saturday with a long list of things of events.

          Garage sale fans should be able to find plenty of sales in La Salle with city wide garage sales continuing.  The “Kids Fun Day” starts at 12pm set up along with a softball tournament.  “La Salle Idol” starts at 1 in Hegeler Park.  Food vendors and the beer garden are open today as well. 

          Local favorite “Road Angel” will perform from 7-11pm.  Celebrate La Salle wraps up Sunday.

Day two of wine and jazz festival to feature celebrity chef

More lobster, wine and music in Ottawa today as the Ottawa 2 Rivers Wine Festival continues.

Ottawa native and Hell’s Kitchen alum Brad Miller will have a cooking demonstration from 1-3 under the tent.  Lobster will be served from 1-9pm Saturday and from 1-5pm Sunday though only a limited number are available if you haven’t had one reserved.

Other food will be on sale.  Wineries from across Illinois will be set up under the tent for wine tasting.

Tonight’s music headliner is Grammy award winner Steve Hawk and his orchestra.

The Ottawa Two Rivers Wine and Jazz Festival wraps up Sunday afternoon.

Crops for College Tractor drive is Sunday

While the Heritage Tractor Adventure gets most of the headlines, there’s another tractor parade going on this weekend in the Illinois Valley.

The 6^th Annual Marshall-Putnam Farm Bureau Young Leaders “Crops for College” tractor drive is at 2pm Sunday starting in Johnson Grove Park in Lacon.  Organizers say tractors will roll through the scenic countryside of LaPrairie and Steuben Townships”.  All tractors need to go at least 10 miles per hour.

Cost to be in the drive is $30 with proceeds going to the farm bureau’s Young Leader’s Scholarship Program.

Two Stretches Of Route 6 Will Be Construction Zones

A lengthy stretch of Route 6 in La Salle County will be torn up later this summer.

The state has approved a $2.1 million dollar contract to Advanced Asphalt of Princeton to resurface Route 6 from the Route 71 intersection in Ottawa through the east end of Marseilles.  Advanced Asphalt is also doing a two million dollar resurfacing job on Route 6 between Sheffield and Wyanet.

The state also is hiring Gensini Excavating to make repairs and renovations to the Interstate 80 rest area west of Princeton.  Gensini was the lowest of seven bidders at 378 thousand dollars.

Vintage Tractors Ready To Roll Through La Salle County

Wine, lobster and tractors? That will be the combination tonight in downtown Ottawa.

The 12^th Annual Heritage Tractor Adventure starts this afternoon in Streator.  The parade of tractors will arrive in downtown Ottawa in time for the start of the Ottawa 2 Rivers Wine and Jazz Festival.

In past years, a few hundred vintage tractors have taken part in the parade.  Tractors must go at least 10 miles per hour and be at least 30 years old.

Besides Streator and Ottawa, the tractor adventure will also have stops in Pontiac, Sheridan and Toluca.

Jennifer Nagle will broadcast live from the Heritage Tractor Adventure in downtown Streator Saturday at 4:30 on AM 1220 WLPO.

Flood Assistance Approved For Local Governments

This year’s record flood didn’t just cost homeowners and businesses money, it also hurt city and county government budgets.

Governments in Bureau, La Salle and Putnam County have been approved by the federal government to get federal flood reimbursement.  Up to 75 percent of the costs of fighting the April flood could be covered by the federal government.  Costs to city and county governments include infrastructure damage and overtime costs.

La Salle County Emergency Management Director Connie Brooks has said the county’s governmental damage assessment is around 9 million dollars.