Woman Accused Of Robbing Somonauk Gas Station

A Sandwich woman is accused of holding up a gas station.

Kasi Gunderson was arrested Tuesday for armed robbery of a Casey’s General Store last December in Somonauk.  Officers say they found things used in the robbery while searching Gunderson’s home Tuesday.

Besides the class X felony of armed robbery, Gunderson was also arrested for felony aggravated robbery.  She was taken to the DeKalb County Jail.

Volunteers needed for Oglesby Summer Fun Fest

It takes a lot of volunteers to make a city-wide festival successful.  The people behind Oglesby Summer Fun Fest are looking for volunteers to help with the car show, running race and more.

Events begin Saturday, June 22^nd with the car show.  Adults 21 years and older are need to check IDs for drink sales and tickets.  Adults are also needed to run the kids activities and for traffic control.

If you would like to volunteer, call Oglesby City Hall.

Resurfacing of Poplar Street to begin Thursday

The storm sewers have been installed along Poplar Street in Ottawa but the construction is far from over.  Starting Thursday, crews will be removing the street surface and preparing it for a new road, curb and gutter.  There will also be a new sidewalk on the west side of the street.

The work affects the 1600, 1700, and 1800 blocks of Poplar.  The street will be closed during the day and reopened after work hours.  The work is expected to be completed in two months.

Semi Rollover In Western Bureau County

A semi driver was flown to a Quad Cities hospital after veering off Interstate 80 near Sheffield.

A medic copter landed on the eastbound lanes of I-80 just before noon yesterday to transport Scott McMeen of Hillsdale.   Troopers say McMeen was eastbound on I-80 near Sheffield when for whatever reason he drove thru the median and into oncoming traffic.  McMeen hit a truck driven by Nicholas Farber of Pennsylvania.

While McMeen was flown to the Quad Cities, Farber and a passenger were taken by ambulance to the Kewanee hospital.

McMeen was ticketed for improper lane use.  The crash didn’t cause any lane blockage.

Stretch Of Route 6 Will Be Closed In La Salle County

Route 6 won’t be an option soon to get from Marseilles to Seneca.

Starting Monday, Route 6 will be closed for a bridge replacement starting from about two miles west of Route 170.  The stretch of road will be closed for nearly a month.  A detour will be posted taking traffic to Route 71 to Interstate 80 to the Seneca interchange.

D.E. Thompson Excavating out of Minooka is doing the Route 6 work for 274 thousand dollars.

Streator County Board Member Absent Since 2012

Even though they meet only once a month as an entire group, the La Salle County Board hasn’t had all 29 board members at a meeting yet this year.

A big reason why is Democrat Ron Dittmer of Streator.  Dittmer represents the 26^th District but hasn’t been at a full board or even a committee meeting yet this year.  When it came time to hand out the quarterly per diem and mileage checks, Dittmer had no money coming to him.

Chairman Jerry Hicks hasn’t really spoken to Dittmer saying only that he thinks he’s getting treatment in southern Illinois for health issues.  He says there’s no talk of Dittmer stepping down.

Dittmer has another three years on the board after running unopposed in the November election.

Barge Removal Continues At Marseilles Dam

Six down, one to go.  Nearly two full months after seven barges hit the Marseilles dam, only one still remains at the site.

The Coast Guard says they’ve removed a partially submerged barge from the dam.  The barge was carrying steel plates that were 40 feet wide and weighed seven thousand pounds apiece.  Crews had to unload all the steel before getting the barge away from the dam.  The Coast Guard says they will empty the last remaining submerged barge this week and get it out of the river.

At least two flood victims in Marseilles have filed lawsuits against the barge company claiming damage done by the barges to the dam led to flooded homes.