State Volleyball Trip Means Longer Weekend For L-P Students

If you’re a student or staffer at L-P high school, there shouldn’t be an excuse not to be at Redbird Arena Friday afternoon.

Because the L-P volleyball team’s state semifinal game starts at 4:30, the high school will dismiss at 1:05 Friday to allow time for students and staff to get to Bloomington.  The school once again is offering fan buses for students.

Whatever place the volleyball team finishes, L-P is planning a parade followed by a celebration at the high school Saturday night.

Truck Fire At Tonica Nursery

Just before the snow started flying, there was a fire at a local landscaping company.

Tonica firefighters got a 911 call just before 12:30 yesterday afternoon about a dump truck engulfed in flames at Tonica Nursery.  The fire was put out in under a half hour and firefighters were able to keep it from spreading to a garage.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.  La Salle County deputies helped direct traffic on Route 251 during the fire.

Transition house in the works at LP High School

The shift from teenager to adult is shaky for everyone but it can be more challenging for people who have disabilities.  If you have a teenager with a disability, LP High School is holding a meeting Tuesday to talk about plans for a transition house.

They’re calling it the “Building Dreams…Building Futures” Campaign Launch.  The transition program is for 18-22 year-olds with disabilities.  It helps them learn life skills so they can learn independently. 

They have a mock apartment in the school building but the new house would actually be just that, a house built on property the school owns near the school.

The meeting is at 6:30pm Tuesday in the auditorium.

New Director Starts At Freedom House

There’s a new person in charge of the Freedom House in Princeton.

Bruce McVety started his first day on the job today as the domestic violence shelter’s executive director.  He was previously on the Freedom House Board of Directors and also was recently the chaplain at the Sheridan Correctional Center.

McVety is a former Bureau County deputy where he was the lead domestic violence and sexual assault investigator.

Project Santa Volunteers Start Stuffing Stockings

Let the stocking stuffing commence in La Salle.

Volunteers are needed to help stuff care stockings that will be sent to deployed troops.  The gathering point for Project Santa is at the Catholic War Vets Hall on St. Vincent’s Avenue in La Salle.

Project Santa organizers expect to send 7 to 8 thousand stockings to troops.  They’ve mailed 73,000 stockings since they started in 2005.

Mailing that many stockings isn’t cheap in fact postage last year cost 16 thousand dollars.  You can help pay for shipping by dropping off a donation at the IVAR store in Peru or mailing it to: Project Santa, P.O. Box 169 Peru, IL 61354

 

Wintry Blast Hitting The Illinois Valley

Hopefully you enjoyed the mild and sunny weekend.  Winter is on its way.

Temperatures are expected to fall throughout the day today and bottom out with an overnight low near 20.  Snow is likely to fall starting in the afternoon with an inch at most accumulating.

High temperatures the next two days are supposed to be in the 30s.

Pothole Blamed In Rollover Crash Involving Oglesby Woman

There are a lot of things to be leery about while driving.  A pothole can be one of those things.

Sarah Vollmer of Oglesby was hurt after she says a pothole caused her to lost control of her car.  After hitting the pothole yesterday morning near Lowell, Vollmer drove into a ditch and overturned several times.

She was taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru.