La Salle hires new city engineer

It takes a civil engineer to develop the plans for resurfacing roads and replacing sewers.  The man who will draw up the plans for La Salle will be changing next month. 

Brian Brown of La Salle has been hired as the city engineer.  He’ll replace Mike Furlan who came to the city in 2008 and is retiring March 7. 

Brown begins on March 8.  He’s coming from Robinson Consultants in Ottawa where he was a Senior Project Manager.  Through that firm he was an engineer for Coal City. 

Concealed-Carry Update For La Salle County

Applying for a conceal-carry license doesn’t guarantee you’ll receive one.  According to state law, the Illinois State Police and your county sheriff review and reject applications based on your eligibility.

La Salle County Sheriff Tom Templeton says there have been 268 applications in La Salle County and he has rejected none though the state police turned down one.  Templeton says the state police use arrest and conviction records when determining eligibility but sheriff’s can also use their local records that would include police calls that didn’t lead to an arrest.  If an applicant is rejected, they have the right to a hearing.

You need 16 hours of training from a certified instructor to apply for a conceal-carry license.  There are 21 certified concealed-carry instructors in La Salle County.

Important Primary Election Deadlines Approaching

Before you know it, the March Primary Election will be here.

Tuesday is the last day to register to vote or change your address to be able to cast a ballot on March 18th.  Monday, March 3rd is the first day you can cast an early vote in your county clerk’s office.  Absentee voting my mail is already underway.

The last day to vote absentee in the clerk’s office is the day before the election.

La Salle Students Get Chance To Talk With U.S. Olympian

What exciting plans do you have coming up?  It’ll be tough to top what some students at Northwest Elementary in La Salle are up to.

Ray Bailey’s fifth grade students will have a half-hour video chat with U.S. Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers.  Bailey says his class will be one of four in the country talking to Meyers live from the Olympic Village in Russia.

The La Salle students were picked to talk with Meyers thru the non-profit group Classroom Champions.  Several athletes serve as mentors to schools like Northwest that have at least 50 percent of students get free or reduced lunch.