Mother and children taken to hospital following Route 71 accident

Many roads remain covered in ice and snow. Slick roads likely contributed to an accident north of Marseilles Tuesday morning.

A La Salle County Sheriff’s Deputy says that Garrett Bennett of Sandwich was turning from Route 71 to East 24^th Road when he hit a mini van driven by a woman that is five months pregnant.

Bennett and Jeanne Felesena of Sheridan and her two children were taken to St. Elizabeth Medical Center. Nobody appeared to be seriously injured.  Bennett was ticketed for failure to yield.

Peru’s to hold another Family Fun Day Saturday

There is plenty of snow for sledding at Peru’s McKinley Park. You and your children can enjoy sledding, ice skating and free snacks during a Family Fun Day Saturday.

It’s sponsored by the Peru Parks and Rec Department. Activities will go from 1-4pm Saturday.  The menu will include hot chocolate and cider, hot dogs and cookies. You’ll find the park off of Walnut Street.

Hermann leaves office in Bureau County

Seeking justice for victims while treating the accused fairly can be a tough line to walk, but it was the path former Bureau County State’s Attorney Pat Hermann tried to take.

Hermann’s last day as prosecutor was Saturday. He was appointed to the position in 1998 and says there were many changes to state law between then and now.

Hermann says the rules for prosecuting DUI, domestic battery and assault cases were made more complete, something he says was helpful. And his office had new territory to learn with the advent of computer and internet crimes.

Hermann, like all states attorneys in Illinois, lost the option of seeking the death penalty with a change in state law several years ago. He says ending the death penalty took a very serious plea advantage from the state.

The next phase of Hermann’s career will be working as a personal injury attorney with an office in Peru.

Geno Caffarini is the acting States Attorney until the Bureau County Board makes an appointment. Hermann recommended Cafffarini for the job and says Caffarini is very calm, a good quality for a prosecutor.

Billboard designs earn Ottawa second consecutive marketing award

For the second consecutive year, Ottawa has brought home a statewide tourism award. The Ottawa Visitor’s Center was awarded the Best Marketing Campaign award at the Illinois Tourism Conference in Chicago Monday night. Visitor’s Center Executive Director Julie Johnson and the tourism center’s graphic designer Curt Bedei were on hand to accept the award. Bedei’s designs of billboards promoting Ottawa led to the marketing award. Last year Ottawa was picked for the award based on a TV ad featuring Walt Willey.

Overcharge by Ameren means energy credit for Oglesby customers

A settlement with Ameren has Oglesby electric customers catching a break this month.

The city is getting a $104,000 rebate from Ameren because of past overcharges. A little over $40,000 of that was initially charged to electric customers and you will see an $8.36 credit on your February bill. Businesses will see an ever bigger credit on bills.

The remaining $63,000 of the rebate is going into the Oglesby Electric Department fund.

Amusement Tax not an option to pay for new movie theater in Peru

Keeping a movie theater in Peru is a big deal for many city officials. But not enough of a big deal to pass an Amusement Tax. Carmike Cinemas plans to leave the Peru Mall at the end of the year. A developer has asked the city for $875,000 as an incentive to build a new 10-screen cinema. City officials had been considering passing an Amusement Tax to pay for the incentive, but that idea has been abandoned according to the city’s attorney Doug Schweickert.

According to a statement released Monday evening by Schweickert, the Peru City Council is not “willing to impose a tax with broader applicability”. City officials say they’re still working on an agreement with the developer DMAR, LLC, the property owner and Carmike.

The new theater would be built north of Hy-Vee and have luxury seating two more screens than the old one. An Amusement Tax would have applied to more than just movie tickets; it would have applied to bowling as well. The possibility of a seven-percent tax concerned Illinois Valley Super Bowl owner Jim Stubler.

Latest snowstorm dumped well over a foot of snow in many places

The weekend snowstorm called Linus by the Weather Channel is considered one for the record books.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm dumped over 20 inches of snow in a few Chicago suburbs. In the Illinois Valley, a weather spotter in Marseilles measured 17.5 inches with 16 falling in Ottawa.

Just over 13 inches was measured in La Salle, about the same amount reported in Granville and Mendota. A spotter in Princeton measured 15 inches.

This was the fifth biggest snow maker in Chicago history.

Shoveling snow claims the lives of three men from the suburbs

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) – So-called “heart attack snow” that fell across the area needs to be taken seriously. The DuPage County coroner’s office says three people died shoveling snow following the weekend snow.

Three men in their early 60s were shoveling snow Sunday at their DuPage County homes when they collapsed. The men were taken to local hospitals, where they later died from heart-related issues.

They were from Lombard, Winfield and Naperville.

Fire heavily damages a rural Spring Valley house

Fire left a rural Spring Valley family looking for a place to stay.  The fire started around 6pm Monday according to Spring Valley Fire Chief Todd Bogatitus.

Firefighters arrived to find flames showing through the second story windows.  They were met with more flames after entering the first floor.  Bogatitus says it took a while to get the fire under control because it was an older home with several additions.  The second floor was destroyed while the rest of the house was left with smoke and water damage.

Bogatitus says the homeowner and his dog safely made it out.  A wife and son also live there.  They were offered assistance by the Bureau County Red Cross but declined.

Bogatitus says the fire started in the chimney and spread to the ceiling and the second floor.

The Ladd, Peru, Cherry, and DePue Fire Departments helped at the scene.  Hall Township provided a salt truck.  Bogatitus says everything was a sheet of ice, but none of the firefighters were hurt.