L-P students will put on dancing shoes for “Footloose”

The famous story of a small town banning rock music and dancing is the spring musical for L-P.

“Footloose” will be performed at Matthiessen Auditorium March 26th thru the 28th. Josh Rinehart will play the role Kevin Bacon made famous in the movie. The cast includes not only actors and actresses but student dance squad members

Tickets for “Footloose” will be available at the door the night of the shows. You can also order now online by clicking http://lphs.seatyourself.biz./.

State funding cuts could mean job losses and less city improvement projects in Ottawa

Ottawa has joined the list of cities urging Governor Bruce Rauner to not follow through on cutting local government’s share of the state income tax by 50 percent.

Finance Commissioner Wayne Eichelkraut says if they lost half their state income revenue, it would mean over $900,000 in lost revenue. That would be nearly 8 percent of the city’s entire general fund.

Mayor Bob Eschbach says the city can’t bear it and shouldn’t have to bear it. He says $900,000 is “a lot of employees and a whole lot of road projects”.

Congressman Kinzinger gives positive review to Israeli prime minister’s speech

While many democratic leaders boycotted the speech, your congressman thinks Israel’s prime minister made a compelling case.

Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech Tuesday to Congress about negotiations with Iran. Republican Adam Kinzinger says the U.S. must reject any deal that gives Iran a path to get nuclear weapons. He thinks its time for the Obama administration to listen to the calls of allies and demand Iran give up nuclear enrichment for the long term.

While Senator Dick Durbin did show up for the speech, about 60 congressional Democrats boycotted. Some think the prime minister wants to get the America into a war.

Brew pub coming to downtown Ottawa

There are plenty of places to drink in the Illinois Valley but there’s one thing missing, a brew pub.

Plans are moving ahead for a brew pub and restaurant called The Lone Buffalo to open in downtown Ottawa on La Salle Street. The Ottawa City Council Tuesday night put on file a Tax Increment Financing redevelopment agreement with developer Peter Limberger.

Mayor Bob Eschbach says the brew pub is a $3 million investment and should open by early fall. It’s going into two empty storefronts one that most recently was the Odeum Main Stage.

Applications being accepted for summer help in Oglesby

If you have a teenager that’s looking for a summer job the City of Oglesby is hiring.   The Parks and Rec Department needs instructors for youth tennis, volleyball, baseball and cheerleading clinics and the arts and crafts classes.

Workers are also needed for park maintenance and umpires are needed for men’s softball. The swimming pool needs certified lifeguards.

Job applications are available at the Oglesby City Clerk’s office and the city’s website. Applications are being accepted through April 2.

Victim of Ottawa home invasion testifies but doesn’t implicate man on trial

Who masterminded the home invasion of an elderly Ottawa woman? It depends on which attorney you ask.

During opening arguments against defendant Richard Felton, La Salle County State’s Attorney Brian Towne labeled Felton the victim’s “worst nightmare”. Through the victim’s grandson, Towne says Felton found out the victim had money and began a plot with “his buddies” to steal from her. Towne told the jury they would eventually have a “CSI moment” seeing Felton’s DNA on zip ties used to tie up the victims feet during the break in.

Felton’s attorney James Reilly told the jury that the prosecution’s two star witnesses, Jeremy Wade and Brittany Dorsam cooked up a story after striking a deal to testify against Felton. He pointed out that Wade’s DNA was found on the victim’s window seal and that’s part of the proof that Wade, not Felton carried out the home invasion.

The victim now 94 testified while in a wheelchair Tuesday morning. She testified that whoever was in her house went through everything but could only identify a diamond ring as being stolen. She also said she didn’t see anyone’s face but initially told police she remembered a stocky man which Reilly claims was Jeremy Wade.

Wade is expected to testify against Felton. Felton eventually will face an attempted murder trial where he’s accused of shooting Wade at the Sandy Ford Bridge.

Peterson pleads not guilty to murder for hire charges

Not guilty was the plea entered by Drew Peterson in the latest criminal allegations against him. Peterson was in Randolph County Court Tuesday morning for solicitation of murder for hire and solicitation of murder.

Peterson is accused of trying to hire someone to kill the man who sent him to prison for murder, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow. Prosecutors say Peterson was planning Glasgow’s demise while serving time in the Menard Correctional Center.

Peterson waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered the plea before Randolph County Circuit Judge Richard A. Brown.

The state today filed a required notice disclosing the case involved the use of a court-ordered eavesdropping device on two occasions in 2014.

Mendota restaurant giving up long tradition of being alcohol-free

Video gambling is impacting people’s lives in a lot of ways. It’s also helping to have a longtime “dry” restaurant in Mendota now serving up alcohol.

According to the NewsTribune, Ziggies Family Restaurant received a liquor license Monday night from the Mendota City Council. Alderman Randy Morris says the restaurant has been liquor-free as long as he can remember. He thinks the restaurant owners will now go after a video gambling permit.

Even though Ziggies is open 24 hours, they will have to stop selling alcohol at 2am.

Oglesby marijuana cultivation center is going forward

A medical marijuana distribution center is still a go in Oglesby despite the developer voluntarily giving up a permit to build another cultivation center elsewhere.

Oglesby Mayor Don Finley says he talked with officials from Green Thumb Industries and they told him metal has been ordered for the Oglesby cultivation center and ground should be broken within the next week depending on the weather. Finley says GTI has also asked for temporary power for the construction site by next week.

GTI made the news recently by deciding not to pay a $200,000 fee for a cultivation center permit they were awarded in Dixon. It apparently was a business decision and not a sign the developer has financial issues.

The planned Oglesby cultivation center will be south of Loves Travel Stop along Interstate 39.