Utica Fire Chief Steps Down

Utica has a new village president and soon the village will also have a new fire chief.

Gary Gbur resigned as chief October 6^th but says he waited a week to make it public with village mourning the loss of Fred Esmond.  Gbur says he resigned because of “irreconcilable differences” with the Fire District Board of Trustees, specifically ongoing administrative and operational issues.

Gbur was a Utica firefighter for eight years.  He was named chief in April of 2011.

Gbur expects the fire department board to pick a new chief at an upcoming meeting.

Earlville Woman Seriously Hurt In Crash

Five people including a woman from Earlville were hurt in a bad crash on Route 23.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office says Lindsay Stager ran a stop sign and hit Timothy Carey of Shabbona.  Stager’s truck and Carey’s SUV both overturned and landed in a field.

Stager was flown to St. Anthony’s in Rockford.  Carey and his wife and their two young sons were all taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital.

Perfect Weather for Burgoo

Bright sunshine, light winds and pleasant temperatures welcome you and 20 thousand others to the Illinois Valley today.  Vendors, music and the famous burgoo stew await you in in downtown Utica today until 5 p.m.  Meanwhile, you can see living history with civil war battle re-enactments today until 4 p.m. during the second day of the 16th Annual Shadows of the Blue and Gray at City County Park just north of I-80 in Princeton.

Morris Woman Dead in Car in Pond

A woman from Morris was found dead inside her car in a pond.  The News Tribune says Grundy County Coroner John Callahan and Morris Police are investigating the death of 53 year old Connie Stacy.  Her body was found inside her vehicle in a retention pond.  She was pronounced dead just after midnight.