Firefighters respond to a basement fire in Princeton

A small basement fire was caught just in time. A Princeton woman arrived home Friday afternoon to find black smoke and her pets waiting by the door.

Princeton Fire Chief Chuck Woolley says they firefighters searched the first and second floor of the home on North Gosse Blvd before discovering a small fire in a corner of the basement. The fire was quickly extinguished.

Firefighters opened windows to ventilate the house. Woolley says there was some smoke and water damage. The cause was undetermined.

LPHS warns of staph infections and rashes

Be sure to give your kid’s gym clothes a good washing. A skin rash has been going around LP High School and in at least one student, it is a staph infection.

Superintendent Steve Wrobleski first announced the rashes Thursday and provided parents and students with an update Friday afternoon. He says the strain of the staph is unknown so it may not be MRSA. He says the school’s locker rooms, restrooms and other areas used by athletes are being thoroughly cleaned to prevent the spread of infection.

Students and parents are encouraged to wash gym clothes and any athletic equipment.  You can learn how to prevent staph infections by reading a posting on the school’s website.

Henry man dies after falling into the marina

A brief search for a man missing in Henry ended with the discovery of his body. Investigators believe 75-year-old Everett Hamm of Henry drowned after accidentally falling into the Henry Marina Thursday night.

Investigators believe Hamm was riding his tricycle but lost control and went over an embankment.

Marshall County Coroner Dave Lenz, Jr. says Hamm was known as the “Can Man” because he was often riding around and collecting aluminum cans.

 WLPO originally reported that the deceased was Everett Pamm.  WLPO regrets the error.

UPDATE: Man and woman die after a crash in Dixon

A crash in Dixon killed a man and a woman and sent two children to a hospital. 76-year-old John Brown and 34-year-old Misty Noah of Dixon died Thursday after an accident at Route 2 and North Frontage Road.

Lee County Sheriff’s Deputies say Brown was driving a minivan that pulled out in front of a Yukon driven by 31-year-old Nicole Wagner.

Brown was pronounced dead at KSB Hospital in Dixon. Noah died at a hospital in Rockford. Two children that were in Brown’s van were flown to Rockford. Their conditions were not available. In all, eight people were in the minivan.  The crash remains under investigation.

Prison time for Ladd man who stole from a dead man laying in his home

Be careful who you let inside your home. A handyman has been given prison time for stealing checks and silver from the home of a man laying dead in Peru.

According to the NewsTribune, 32-year-old Brandon Holt of Ladd has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to forgery and theft. He was arrested in May, about a week after Peru Police investigated the death of 77-year-old James Aitken who hadn’t been seen in weeks.

Holt did handy work for Aitken and that’s how investigators think he had access to Aitken’s home. He wrote nearly $5,000 in checks that he stole from Aitken and cashed in some silver at a pawn shop.

Young child hurt in crash near Earlville

Three people were hurt including a one-year-old during a crash south of Earlville.  La Salle County Sheriff’s deputies say Scott Bailey of Sycamore ran a stop sign at a rural intersection and crashed into Sarah Cook of Earlville Thursday morning. Both drivers were taken to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa along with a one-year-old boy riding with Cook.

Bailey was ticketed for failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failing to yield. He was given a court date.

IVCC Board approves one union contract but still negotiating another

One contract down but another big one still to go.

The Illinois Valley Community College Board Thursday night approved a four-year contract with 15 custodial and maintenance workers who are part of a union. They will get a 2-percent pay raise and also get a bump up in their benefits.

The trustees still haven’t come to an agreement on a new contract with over 80 professors and other staff members who are part of a teacher’s union. Their contract expired before the new school year started.

A union rep says they have no plans to strike.

La Salle County State’s Attorney backs plan to raise money for body cameras on police

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Two state lawmakers and a state’s attorney in the Illinois Valley are pushing for a hike in fines to pay for police body cameras and dashboard cameras in the wake of the Ferguson shooting.

State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Peoria Democrat, introduced a bill allowing police departments to apply for grants to buy either body cameras or video recording equipment for squad cars. The cameras and other equipment would be paid for using a $6 surcharge on fines for criminal or traffic offense convictions.

Speaking as president of the state’s attorney’s association, La Salle County State’s Attorney Brian Towne backs the plan saying the bill would help in looking at evidence before filing charges and would also help avoid frivolous lawsuits.