Sunday Morning Fire At Trucking Company

A fire at a trucking company scorched a semi.

Leonore and Tonica firefighters were called to Wiesbrock Trucking south of Leonore yesterday morning after a parked semi caught fire.  The semi is a complete loss and damage was also done to the trucking building.

Firefighters were on scene for a couple hours.

LP volleyball team welcomed home

Yes, fans of the LP Volleyball team would show up – even late at night – to welcome home the state bound girls. After dispatching Champaign Centennial at the Washington Super Sectional Saturday, the team was greeted with fire trucks and ambulances at the I-39 Oglesby exit. Other emergency vehicles and fans joined in as the caravan made its way down Route 351 in LaSalle, over on Third Street into Peru, up Peoria Street and across on Shooting Park Road. LP is playing Chicago Payton in the state tournament at ISU Friday at 4:30. WLPO AM and FM will provide coverage at 4:20pm with Jeremy Aitken and News Tribune’s sports director, Kevin Chlum.

Cold snap coming

Perhaps Mother Nature wants to reinforce who’s in charge? After daytime temperatures in the 50’s for several days, expect only a high of 32 on Tuesday. The transition, says the National Weather Service, will occur tommorrow while we receive rain and late afternoon snow showers. Sunny skies with tempatures near 50 are expected in the Illinois Valley on Friday.

Helping one of their own

They weren’t just members of fire departments, Ed Rogers calls them his brothers and sisters. And, they showed up at his home yesterday to help prep his home for winter. People making up the Utica, LaSalle, Peru, Mendota and Oglesby fire departments showed up at Roger’s home to perform necessary tasks before winter. Rogers fractured his leg in Missouri in mid-October. Those helping included Utica’s fire chief, 25-year old Ben Brown. Rogers is a member of the Utica fire department.

Chicago church targeted

Investigators say an accelerant sparked a fire that badly damaged a Chicago church a day after bricks were thrown through the glass front doors of the building. Tom Ahern of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tells the Sun-Times that specially trained sniffer dogs detected accelerant in multiple areas of the church. Saturday morning’s fire blackened the inside of the Outreach Community Church on the city’s Northwest Side and caused extensive damage, but no one was injured.