Tickets remain available for 815 Life Taste of Home Cooking School

You could light a candle that smells like you’ve been baking a delicious dessert or you could attend the 815 Life Taste of Home Cooking School Saturday and learn how to prepare the real thing.

The cooking school and vendor show has grown into an annual event for some local families. The recipes are from the popular cooking publication of the same name.

You’ll be able to watch Culinary Specialist Guy Klinzing prepare a variety of recipes from start to finish. All of the cooking will be demonstrated live on the LP High School Matthiessen Auditorium stage. Screens will be set up to give you an up-close view of the process.

People selling cooking supplies and home goods will be set up in halls before the show. Food will also be on sale.

VIP tickets are sold out but premium seats remain available for $20. General admission tickets are $12.  You can buy tickets at the door.  The vendor show opens at 10:30am and the cooking school begins at 2pm.

A little snowfall leads to a lot of crashes Thursday

Were you ready for the first light snowfall of the season? Many people weren’t. It wasn’t a large snowfall, but it was enough to create a slick coat of ice on area bridges and overpasses.

Soon after the snow started to fall Thursday afternoon, police and fire departments were getting called to accidents on Interstates 80 and 39.

Many of the accidents were near or on bridges, where without the warmth of the ground, ice formed quickly.

Workers with the Illinois State Police and La Salle County Sheriff’s Department said the crashes were mostly minor, with no serious injuries.

Water disruptions possible in Streator

A major water main replacement is underway on the south end of Streator.
Crews are replacing over a 1,600 feet of water main on Bloomington, Jefferson and Church Streets. The work may temporarily impact water service if you live on these streets in south Streator.
Illinois American Water is paying $330,000 to replace a water main that’s been around since 1940. They hope the new main will cut back on water main breaks.
Installation of the new main should be done by the end of the year.

Sand mines has Utica board debating whether or not to lower property taxes

Love it or hate it, there’s no debating the sand mining boom is helping Utica’s revenues.

According to the NewsTribune, Utica’s tax base increased by over $3 million in the past year mainly because of sand mine development. Trustee Matt Jereb told the rest of the board that with the extra money they can cut property taxes or leave property tax rates the same and put the increased cash flow into things like aging sewers.

The board didn’t make a tax decision Wednesday night .

Despite cold snap, work continues on Northview School expansion in Peru

With winter arriving early in the Illinois Valley, the rush is on to finish outside construction work at Northview School in Peru.

Ground was broken less than three months ago on an addition to Northview that will bring 2nd thru 4th grade students over from Washington School. Peru Elementary Superintendent Mark Cross says construction is right on schedule. Exterior walls are up and work is moving quick on the addition’s roof.

When finished, the expansion will double the size of Northview. The new addition will house Pre-K thru 2nd grade and include a new library. The main entrance will be shifted from Shooting Park Road to Plum Street.

The goal is to have the new Northview ready for the start of the 2015-16 school year.

Loose pig leads to a Wenona woman getting arrested

Don’t let your pig run free. It could get you arrested.

Faith Clapper of Wenona was busted Wednesday morning in DeKalb County after deputies got a call about a loose pig on Route 23. When officers showed up they talked to Clapper about the loose pig and found out she was wanted on two failure to appear warrants for driving with a suspended license.

She was taken to the DeKalb County Jail.

Snow and cold in the Illinois Valley forecast

If you’re enjoying the dusting of snow, there’s more to come this weekend.

The National Weather Service says snow is likely in the Illinois Valley Saturday night with around an inch of accumulation. Be aware that roads could get a little slick.

The frigid temperatures will stick around for at least another week with the cold possibly breaking records.