Monk at St. Bede Academy passes away

St. Bede Abbey has lost one of its Benedictine monks.

Br. Anthony Shaughnessy died Saturday after he left the abbey this year due to congestive heart failure. After retiring as an engineer, Shaughnessy entered St. Bede Abbey in 1999. He went on to become as orchard manager and director of abbey housekeeping.

Funeral service information for Br. Anthony can be heard during Classic Hits 103.9 WLPO’s In Memoriam.

Sheridan driver hospitalized after fender bender in Kendall County

A rear-end crash near Yorkville injured a driver from Sheridan.

Sixty-one-year-old Rex Nelson was on Route 71 Tuesday afternoon when he rear ended a car that was stopped in traffic. He was taken to Rush Copley Hospital for treatment.

Nelson was ticketed for failing to reduce speed and no proof of insurance.

ATV accident in Spring Valley leaves driver in critical condition

A man was flown to Peoria after an ATV accident in Spring Valley.

Twenty-two-year-old Julian Molina whose last known address is Peru was on an ATV Monday afternoon according to Spring Valley Police when he hit a curb, went off North Greenwood Street and hit a utility pole. Officers say he was driving way too fast.

Molina was initially taken to St. Margaret’s Hospital before getting lifeflighted to St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He’s listed in critical condition.

Boys from Mendota accused of stealing debit and credit cards

Young kids love to get their hands on cash. A couple boys in Mendota are accused of trying to get cash illegally.

A 12-year-old and 14-year-old have been arrested for possession of burglary tools and possession of stolen debit/credit cards. They’re accused of stealing debit and credit cards and attempting to withdraw money from multiple ATM’s in Mendota. The boys also allegedly tried to use a tool to physically get into an ATM but were unsuccessful.

The accused thieves were released to their parents while awaiting an appearance in court.

NASA awaits new pictures from Pluto after historic flyby

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Clyde Tombaugh made it to Pluto. Sort of.

The New Horizons spacecraft carrying remains of Tombaugh got the closest to Pluto that scientists have ever been, within 7,800 miles. It happened at 6:49 Central Time Tuesday morning as the spacecraft traveled at 31,000 miles an hour.

Confirmation of the flyby won’t come until tonight. NASA wants New Horizons to take pictures of the dwarf planet, its jumbo moon and four little moons during a critical window. New Horizons set off on its mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida in 2006.

Clyde Tombaugh was born and raised in Streator and is credited with discovering Pluto in 1930.

Hail victims asked to be careful with fly by night contractors

That didn’t take long.

City officials in Marseilles say not long after storms brought significant hail damage Monday night, contractors were already in town checking for hail damage and offering estimates. You’re asked to be cautious of someone offering a “great deal” and taking a down payment.

Marseilles requires all contractors be registered. The city will look into their backgrounds and proof of insurance before they’re licensed.

You can get a list of registered contractors at Marseilles City Hall.

Peru spending some cash to fix up airport runways

The Peru City Council is dipping into its cash reserves to spruce up the Illinois Valley Regional Airport.

According to the NewsTribune, Alderman Jim Lokosus says a couple spots of major concern is striping on the north-south runway. He says it’s faded so much that it’s a safety concern, especially for nighttime landings.

The city set aside $45,000 for re-striping and other pavement work at the airport. City crews are also busy taking down trees at the north end of a runway since they’re considered a hazard.

Hail and funnel clouds highlight latest round of severe weather for the Illinois Valley

Hopefully you had your car parked inside the garage if you call Marseilles or Ottawa home.

According to the National Weather Service and pictures shared on social media, Monday evening’s storms will be remembered most for hail damage. The biggest hail reported was in Marseilles from quarter size up to baseball size hail. In Ottawa there was a report of golf ball size hail. Ottawa also had over a half inch of rain in 15 minutes.

Between 5 and 7 o’clock, there was also funnel cloud reports near the Interstate 80 and 39 intersection, south of Grand Ridge and east of Ransom. None of the rotating clouds actually touched down to become a tornado.