Suspicious man accused of having meth in rural South Ottawa Township

If you notice someone suspicious in your neighborhood, call the police.

La Salle County Sheriff’s deputies say they found methamphetamine on a man that was walking in the area of East 1704^th Road and County Highway 66 in South Ottawa Township.

Benjamin Norville of Noxville was arrested Thursday morning for possession of a controlled substance. Norville was being held in the county jail with his bond set at $30,000.

Truck fire affects I-80 in Bureau County

Long after the fire was out, traffic heading west on Interstate 80 in Bureau County was slow going.

Emergency crews spent hours at the scene of a semi-truck and trailer fire that happened several miles west of the Ladd and Spring Valley exit Friday night.

The truck was hauling kitty litter. Both of its gas tanks exploded.

Ladd, Spring Valley, Seatonville and Princeton Fire Departments responded and along with Illinois State Police Troopers.

Peru and Ottawa RadioShacks on the list of possible closures

A technology store that has been in the Peru Mall for years could be one of many closing. RadioShack announced Thursday that it had filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.

The chain has 4,000 stores in the Unite States. A long list of possible closures includes a store in Ottawa and many others Illinois. The company wants to sell as many assets as possibly.

As many as 1,700 stores would remain open thanks to Sprint. The mobile phone company thinks it would be a way to be more competitive with Verizon, AT&T and other cell phone services.

Demolition begins at an old grocery store in Peru

Debris is all that will be left of an old grocery store in Peru. Crews Friday were demolishing the former Jewel building on Shooting Park Road.

The empty store and adjacent strip mall were bought last April by a developer who built a new CVS Pharmacy on the lot. The developer also owns the building that used to be a Pizza Hut and later a dry cleaners. That building will be torn down following the grocery store.  American Demolition is the company doing the work.

Jewel closed in 2012. Prior to being a Jewel it was an Eagle Country Market.

Health insurance counselors to visit La Salle and Ottawa

Having health insurance is the law. If you aren’t covered through an employer, you can buy coverage through the state’s health insurance Marketplace, but the last day to do that is fast approaching.

Carol West is the Regional Outreach Coordinator with Get Covered Illinois. Representatives from Get Covered Illinois will be in La Salle and Ottawa Saturday.  West says if you’re confused about what you need, they can help.

West says the Marketplace offers many different plans with varied premiums and deductibles. And she says you would be buying policies through commonly known insurance companies

You can meet with counselors in La Salle from 9:30am -1:30pm Saturday at the Flamingo Banquet Center on Second Street. In Ottawa, you can meet with counselors from 2-6pm at the First Congregational United Church of Christ on East Jackson Street.

The deadline to sign up for health insurance is February 15.

Learn more about it by listening to an interview that’s available at the Classic Hits 103.9 WLPO news page.

Gas prices jumping back up in the Illinois Valley

Some gas stations in the Illinois Valley have raised the price of unleaded by 30 cents or more this week.

Prices are all over the place with stations in La Salle and Wenona still offering gas for $1.89 while Streator gas stations have jumped all the way up to $2.37 a gallon. A few stations in Peru are still selling gas for under two bucks a gallon while all stations in Ottawa, Oglesby, Utica, Mendota and Princeton have all jumped above $2 a gallon.

The statewide average for unleaded is $2.28 a gallon, an 18-cent jump from a week ago.

Edible Car Contest returning to IVCC

One of the most popular and tasty traditions is back for a tenth time at Illinois Valley Community College.

Student teams will battle it out February 25th during the tenth annual Edible Car Contest. Teams build cars made entirely from food. Past cars have included bodies made out of cucumbers and hot dogs and wheels made of cookies.

Teams are judged on things like speed, design and creativity. High school and college teams are welcome to compete. Last year Hall High School was the big winner among 26 teams.

For more information call Dorene Verucchi at IVCC.

Snowy roads keeping state troopers busy

The winter weather has kept state troopers busy in the Illinois Valley.

District 17 state police out of La Salle released their January activity report and it shows they took 664 calls for help last month. Of those, 234 were to help drivers. Troopers out of La Salle handled 106 traffic crashes last month covering La Salle, Bureau and Putnam County. One of the crashes was fatal.

Troopers handed out 228 tickets last month, 115 for speeding.