Booker hired as new St. Bede baseball coach

A baseball coach whose celebrated run at LP High School came to contentious end has been hired by Saint Bede Academy.  Bill Booker will be the next head boys’ baseball coach for the Bruin’s. He fills a vacancy created John Bellino stepped away from baseball at the end of the past season.

St. Bede Athletic Director Tom McGunnigal made the announcement Thursday. He says Booker’s success and experience at the state level and his enthusiasm for coaching were just some of the attributes that got him the position.

BBQ dinner to benefit Peru Public Schools

A home-cooked meal on a late summer evening can really hit the spot but so can a plate of pulled pork and mac n’ cheese prepared by somebody else.

The Peru Education Foundation has teamed up with Stone Jug Drive Through BBQ to raise money for Peru Public Schools. The meal includes pulled pork BBQ, mac n’ cheese, baked beans and corn bread and is being served from 4:30pm-7pm Thursday, September 25 at Parkside School.

Tickets are $12 each and are only available before Monday. You can get tickets by contacting the school or by stopping by one of the school opens houses Thursday night.

Rat sighting cancels preschool classes in La Salle

You know how you feel when you see something dark and furry out of the corner of your eye. Preschool classes at Jackson School in La Salle were cancelled Thursday morning after a teacher spotted two rats in the classroom.

Superintendent Dan Marenda sent out notices to parents Thursday letting them know that preschool classes will be meeting at Lincoln and Northwest Schools Friday.

Marenda says they had signs of rodents in a storage room around the beginning of the school year and cleaned the area and set traps. They thought they were in the clear until noticing a funny smell yesterday and the sighting of the rats Thursday morning.

They’ve called their exterminator and the La Salle County Health Department. Once they have things clean and think it’s safe for students to return, they will let parents know.

Wine festival returns to state park in the Illinois Valley

It’s called Illinois’ largest wine festival and its back at Matthiessen State Park.

Nearly 30 wineries from across the state will show off their goods this Saturday and Sunday at the Vintage Illinois Wine Festival. There will also be two days of food and live music including a Sunday performance by Shirley King, daughter of B.B. King.

If you plan on sipping wine, tickets are $20. If you go and don’t drink, the cost is $5.  The festival runs from 11am-6pm Saturday and from 12-5pm Sunday.

L-P school board forking out nearly $100k for landscaping work

The new L-P athletics complex will soon be spruced up.

The L-P School Board Wednesday night hired R & R Landscaping of La Salle to landscape the complex on the north side of town for over $96,000. They’re expected to start as soon as possible.

Landscaping the complex turned out to be a bigger project than anticipated according to board member Tony Sparks and that’s why it fell behind schedule. The board paid Bergfeld Landscape Architecture Studio out of Henry $11,000 to develop the landscaping plan.

Despite the price tag for the landscaping, Superintendent Steve Wrobleski says building the athletics complex is still below budget.

Letter sent to parents after threats made at Serena High School

Homecoming is supposed to be a fun time but there’s been some anxious moments at Serena High School.

The school sent out a letter to parents this week saying that a student had made threats against students and staff at the school during Homecoming events. Principal Patrick Leonard says students first reported the threats and the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office is investigating and providing extra security over the next few weeks.

Leonard says investigators have determined there’s no imminent threat to students or staff at the high school.

Sheridan woman drives into a creek

One second a Sheridan woman was driving along a road and the next thing she knew she was in a creek.

Tracy Fischer says she blacked out behind the wheel Tuesday afternoon while driving near Yorkville. She ended up in a creek.

Fischer was taken to Valley West Hospital for minor injuries. Nobody else was in the crash.