Four from the Illinois Valley indicted for cocaine dealing

It’ll take a lot of cash to get four alleged cocaine dealers out of the La Salle County Jail.

A grand jury yesterday in Ottawa indicted Pierre Brown and Melvin Townsel of La Salle along with Johnny Hopkins of Ottawa and Tabitha Becker of Oglesby for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. Becker actually is charged with three counts of dealing cocaine.

All four are being held on a million dollars bond.

U.S. Silica named top small business in America by Forbes Magazine

If you wonder why there’s such an interest in sand mining in the Illinois Valley, just take a look at Forbes Magazine’s list of “America’s Best Small Companies of 2014”.

Forbes has named U.S. Silica Holdings as its best small company. The magazine says U.S. Silica has capitalized on the fracking boom, raising their sales by 40 percent in the last year. Silica’s total sales are listed at $680 million with a 5-year average sales growth of 22 percent.

Another company with local ties comes in at 27th in the best small companies list. Liberty Tax has $159 million in sales according to Forbes and has a 19 percent sales growth over the last five years.

IVCC alumni game to benefit Lily Rosploch

Big and tall basketball players will do their best to help little Lily Rosploch of La Salle.

The annual Illinois Valley Community College’s alumni men’s basketball game will benefit Rosploch as she continues to battle cancer. IVCC’s current team will take on a group of alumni at 7pm Wednesday inside the IVCC gym.

You are encouraged to contribute to the “Rally for Lily” fund while attending the game.

Big heroin bust in Grundy County leads to arrests

Eighteen people in Grundy County face drug charges after a year-long investigation.

The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation targeted heroin suppliers in Chicago and Will County and the “end users” in Grundy County. Out of the 18 arrested for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, six are from Morris.

Janice Statement, Charles Woods, Heather Reynolds, Brett Pine, Kevin Wallen and Jackilyn Harrison were all taken to the Grundy County Jail.

Illinois Valley should avoid another “Polar Vortex”

Winter officially arrives two months from Tuesday. The question you probably want answered is will it be as bad as last year?

The Climate Prediction Center has released its winter outlook for the Midwest. National Weather Service Meteorologist Amy Seeley out of Romeoville says there will be cold snaps but nothing like last winter.

Right now the prediction is for the Midwest winter to have below-average precipitation. But Seeley cautions all it takes is a few big storms to bring the total up to average.

When it comes to temperature, the outlook is in the “equal chance” category. Seeley says that means they really don’t have a strong grasp on if temperatures will be above, at or below normal.

One factor that could change the outlooks is if the phenomenon known as “El Nino” develops.

First south side liquor store opens in Ottawa

An old tradition has officially died hard in Ottawa.

A liquor store opened last week on the south side of town, nearly a full year after the Ottawa City Council voted to allow stores and restaurants south of the Illinois River to sell or serve alcohol. A referendum was passed in 1941 making south Ottawa dry and it never changed until last year.

Regal Liquor is open in the 500 block of State Street. The building used to be a private detective office.

Peru moves closer to selling railroad

Rail access is important for attracting industry, that’s why Peru bought a stretch of railroad during the early 1990’s. But the liability and cost of improving the railroad is too expensive according to city officials and they’re in the works to sell Peru Rail to Illinois Railway.

Illinois Railway owns the line with which Peru Rail connects. The city’s rail needs to make million of dollars of improvements to make it more useful for industry. As it is, it can’t handle a full rail car.

The city has an intent-to-sell agreement with Illinois Railway for $1,250,000. The city bought the rail for $325,000. The sale isn’t a done deal, as there is a 60 day due diligence period.