Peru prepares for ice skating

You are already wearing winter coats and hats and soon you could be wearing ice skates.   The ice skating rink has been set up in McKinley Park in Peru.

The rink was on the park’s softball field last year but is on the basketball court this season.  Like last year, it will be lit up at night.

It will be ready for use when it freezes.

LPHS automotive student receives scholarship

You could change a headlight or a belt on your car if needed but could you work on its engine?

LP High School senior Johnathan Thompson wants to become a high performance engine builder or tuner. He recently won a $20,000 scholarship to attend the University of Northwestern Ohio’s College of Applied Technologies’ High Performance Motorsports program.

Thompson earned the scholarship after beating out more than 600 other high school seniors on a short-answer and multiple-choice test. He’s in his second year in LP’s Auto Mech classes.

Thompson plans to begin college in June and to be in the college’s racing team.

Updated: Collection started for Peru fire victims

Imagine having for boys and losing everything. A mother and her four sons are without a home after a fire that started late last night at a house on Chicago Street in Peru.

Only the mother was home when it began shortly after 11. She was able to go to a neighbor’s and call for help. By the time firefighters arrived, flames were showing through the front of the two-story house. The cause is being investigated but appears to have been accidental.

The four boys are students in Peru Public Schools. Clothing donations are being accepted at Parkside School.  They need boys shirts in youth medium and youth large, pants in size 16, 10 and 8; and shoes in sizes men’s 8, boy’s 5 and boy’s 2.

For the mother, women’s shirts size extra large, pants size 13, and shoes size 8 are needed.

Local church accepting gifts for children this week

Your children might not be impressed with a toothbrush as a Christmas gift, but an impoverished child across the globe might thing differently.

The Christian charity Samaritan’s Purse collects and distributes thousands of gift boxes for international children. Grace Bible Fellowship in Peru is a collection site for the program “Operation Christmas Child”.

Linda Ridley says the gift holds much meaning for the child who receives it.

You can drop off small toys, school supplies, and personal hygiene items at the church Monday through Friday of this week. Volunteers will distribute the items into boxes based on the child’s gender and age. You could also pack an age and gender appropriate box that will be inspected by volunteers before being delivered to the children.

LPHS forms committee to consider its future buidling needs

How is your school meeting the 21^st Century challenges of learning? It’s not a simple question but a committee of community members, staff and students are working on it at LP High School

With hopes of receiving a state construction grant, school officials created the committee to develop a long-term plan for the buildings on campus.

The committee broke into groups and toured the campus Friday night. In the main building they went through classrooms and even below the first floor to the boiler room. Then they crossed the street into the even older building saw the swimming pool, locker rooms and the east gym. Inside the east gym they saw where the drop-ceiling has started to fall. They also walked through the vocational arts addition.

The committee returned Saturday morning for an envisioning meeting. They’ll meet monthly through February.

Optimism following the sale of former steel plant

Hundreds of people use to drive to Hennepin to work at the steel mill. The shuttered plant was sold to IPS Steel Thursday.

A spokesperson for ArcelorMittal says the company is pleased that this sale will turn the property back to productive use and ultimately create new jobs.

The plant closed in March 2009. Over the years the machinery has been removed from the building.

Putnam County Board Chairman Duane Calbow says he’s optimistic, but he doesn’t want to make assumptions about how the building will be used.