Snowy evening leaves roads covered

Snow plows have been out since early Monday evening still most roads you’ll need to take are snow covered.  According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, Interstate highways and secondary roads in La Salle, Bureau, and Putnam Counties were covered by 10pm.

Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Anthony Kestner says if you can, avoid traveling.  He says if you must travel , please wear your seat belt, slow down, and allow more distance for stopping.

Snow triggers winter weater advisories and warnings

Be prepared for below zero wind chills and several inches of snow. The National Weather Service is predicting that four to eight inches will fall on the Illinois Valley before sunrise Tuesday.

There is a Winter Weather Advisory for La Salle County and counties to the north, northeast and east from 6pm Monday through 6am Tuesday.

Bureau, Putnam and counties to the west are included in a Winter Storm Warning from 6pm Monday through 6am Tuesday.

Wind chills are expected to remain below zero and the snow could be blowing at times, reducing visibility.

Popular Bureau County BBQ spot closes

A longtime staple of BBQ in the Illinois Valley is closing. Main Street BBQ on Route 6 in Wyanet is now closed. The restaurant that prided itself on Southern BBQ and sides closed over the weekend. The restaurant owners posted the news on the Main Street BBQ Facebook page Sunday. Within minutes there were dozens of comments from customers disappointed in the news.

Citywide boil order lifted in Oglesby just in time for another break to occure

It was a cold day to be working outside but City of Oglesby crews were out fixing a major water main break Monday afternoon. It happened in the 300 block of east Walnut Street. Water had to be shut off from east of Field Avenue to Elm Street. Other areas may have experienced low water pressure.

If your water was shut off, you’ll be under a boil order until further notice. If you just had low water pressure you water should be fine.  This was the third water main break since Saturday.

Township road commissioner has some concerns with new sand facility

If the sand processing and loading plants proposed for an area west of Plank Road are approved, much of Ladd Road will become part of Peru.

Northern White Sand and Illinois Rail want to annex land that’s in Hall Township into Peru. While the land would remain in Hall Township, most of the east-west road connecting Ladd to Plank Road would come under the care of Peru and not the township.

Monty Moreno is the Hall Township Road Commissioner. Though he says that Peru Engineer Eric Carls has been very willing to work with him, he wishes Peru could take all of Ladd Road. Instead, about 250 yards will remain in Hall Township’s care. Moreno says the township and city will have an agreement on how to maintain it.

The loss of Motor Fuel Tax money doesn’t concern him as much and he realizes the extra property tax money will be helpful, especially for the schools.

The extra train traffic is also a concern. He doesn’t believe people will realize the impact until the facilities are running.

Harsh winter weather settles in over the Illinois Valley

Remember that mild December? January is starting off a lot different.

A Wind Chill Advisory remains in effect until noon Monday with wind chills dropping down 20 below zero. A Winter Weather Advisory then kicks in Monday night with 4 to 8 inches of snow possible overnight.

The cold will stick around even after the snow ends with wind chills Tuesday night thru Thursday morning of 20 to 30 below. Also it’ll be windy so there’s the chance of blowing and drifting snow.