New Pizza Place Moves Into Old Papa Johns Space In Peru

There’s a new pizza option in Peru.

Pizza’s By Marchelloni has moved into the old Papa John’s store off Shooting Park Road next to Shell.  The new pizza joint claims to have “the best pan pizza in town and most authentic thin crust”.  Besides pizza, Marchelloni also offers beef rolls, sandwiches and wings.  They also have a store in Mendota.

Not much was needed to turn their space into a pizza joint considering Papa Johns closed abruptly back in November.

Talks Continue About Redeveloping Old Marble Making Factory In Ottawa

After two meetings and two votes, neighbors and others in Ottawa say they want the old Peltier Glass Company property turned into single-family homes.

City officials have hired consultants to look into redeveloping the old glass plant site which has contamination issues.  The city doesn’t even own the land but Mayor Bob Eschbach says they don’t want an abandoned glass plant rotting away in a residential neighborhood just north of the Casey’s on Route 6.

Members of a consulting team from Kansas State and Western Illinois University think four options are possible at the site: single-family homes; green space; apartments or condos; and business or community space.  Turning it into green space or single-family homes would be more expensive because that would mean demolishing all the existing Peltier buildings.  With lofts or community usage, some of the existing buildings would stay.

Based on past experience getting state and federal grants, Ottawa City Engineer Dave Noble says it could be five years before they’d have funding to completely cleanup the glass property for redevelopment.

Spring Valley forum to explain the importance of education

The more education you have, the more money you’re likely to earn.  That’s the gist of a community-wide forum next month in Spring Valley.

Illinois Valley Community College President Jerry Corcoran and Hall High School Superintendent Mike Struna are going to talk about the importance of education for economic success with anyone interested.  Corcoran says they need to excite people about education. He’s done similar presentations in other towns in the IVCC district.

The forum is at 6:30pm March 11 at Spring Valley City Hall.  You can learn more about it by listening to an interview at the WLPO AM and FM news page.

Peru to look for a new city engineer

Engineering work for the city of Peru is typically contracted out to Chamlin and Associates, but it appears city officials are willing to hire an in-house engineer.

Alderman Dave Waldorf wants the city’s HR woman to begin advertising the open position in the coming weeks.

The city went years without an in-house engineer before hiring Sean Mikos to be the Engineer and Superintendent of Public Works in 2013.  Mikos left the job after about five months.

Waldorf says the next engineer would pick up where Mikos left off but he didn’t say they would double as the Public Works Superintendent.

La Salle and Ottawa have in-house engineers.

Semi Backs Into Man From Marseilles

A miscommunication could’ve been fatal for a Marseilles man.

According to the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office, John Adams was laying traffic cones behind a semi that was getting ready to unload its cargo in Marseilles on Monday morning.  The semi driver, Adam Graver of Plano thought Adams was telling him to back up which led to Adams being hit in the leg by the semi.

Adams was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Ottawa.  St. Elizabeth doesn’t release condition reports.

Another Wind Chill Advisory Issued For The Illinois Valley

The latest Wind Chill Advisory of this brutal winter has been issued.

Expect dangerous wind chills overnight Tuesday through Wednesday morning.  A west wind of up to 25 miles per hour will drop the wind chill down to 20 to 30 below zero.

The regular low temperature overnight is expected to be around 6 below.

Peru considers employee social media policy

City of Peru employees could soon be asked to follow a social media policy.

Alderman Dave Potthoff says the city isn’t trying to limit free speech but they are concerned with how employees represent the city.  He says the policy is to prevent employees from harassing other employees or posting something dangerous to residents.

Alderman Rodney Perez says most cities have social media policies for posting in the city’s official page, not like what Peru is considering.  He also wonders how employees would be disciplined and wants more time before voting.

The social media policy will be up for a vote in two weeks.  The council will also be voting on employee policies for medical marijuana, concealed carry, residency requirements and vacation time.

Road and infrastructure projects being considered in Peru

You don’t need to be a civil engineer to think the roads in Peru need work.  Road repairs combined with other infrastructure projects are estimated to cost more than the $2,270,000 in the budget.

Public Works Chairman Dave Waldorf explained it to the city council Monday night.  He’s estimating they will have a $271,000 to $285,000 deficit.  Projects the city wants to do include resurfacing an area of Shooting Park Road, Peoria and Church Street improvements, neighborhood streets and more storm and sanitary sewer separation.

Waldorf says they will do out for bids and than pick what will be done.

Popular Edible Car Contest Returning To IVCC

Cookies for wheels, a piece of fruit for the carriage and the random Rice Krispie treat are some of the ingredients or parts that go into edible cars.

For eight years, college and high school students have put their science and engineering skills to the test in the annual edible car contest at Illinois Valley Community College.  The ninth annual contest happens Wednesday at noon.

Teams will be judged on things like speed, creativity and nutritional value.  Each car much be checked in by 11.

The Edible Car Contest is always held during National Engineers Week.