ATV stolen from construction site near Troy Grove

If you hear someone bragging about having a brand new ATV, it may be stolen.

A 2015 ATV was stolen from a construction site north of Troy Grove. It belongs to a pipeline company based in Texas.

If you have information you’re asked to call the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office.

Traffic court awaits Coal City man who is blamed in fatal crash near Utica

Two weeks after the fatal crash that killed Kari Ryan of Peru, no criminal charges have been filed yet against the other driver.

La Salle County State’s Attorney Brian Towne says they are waiting for blood alcohol test results to come back before any possible charges against 55-year-old Dale Hancock of Coal City. According to the NewsTribune, Hancock was released this week from St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

He was flown to Peoria after he allegedly crossed into Ryan’s lane of traffic at the Osage Curves on Route 6 the night of August 5th. However it remains to be seen if Hancock was driving under the influence at the time of the fatal crash.

Hancock has been given tickets for improper lane usage and illegal transportation of alcohol. He’s due in traffic court on September 23rd.

Conservation officer from the Illinois Valley stumbles upon a crime near Springfield

An officer sworn to protect and serve is never truly off duty. Conservation Police Officer Phil Wire covers La Salle County but he inadvertently helped solve a burglary in Springfield.

According to the Conservation Police, Wire was driving on Interstate 55 near Springfield a few weeks back when he saw a man running down a ditch with a flat screen television. He checked out the man’s car and found video games systems and a satellite dish.

Wire asked police in Springfield but didn’t hear anything about burglaries so he let the guy go. Before leaving however, Wire wrote down serial numbers of the electronics.

A couple days later, the serial numbers did come back to stolen electronics from a home in Springfield. The man who Wire saw running along I-55 was then arrested for burglary.

Work begins on new training center for the Oglesby Fire Department

Dirt is being moved to make way for a new place to train for the Oglesby Fire Department.

The 24-foot high structure will be made out of shipping containers and sit on a concrete pad behind the fire station. The entire cost will be around $25,000 which Oglesby Fire Chief Ron Papurello will be paid with mostly donations.

Firefighters will use the new training center to practice confined space and victim rescues along with building searches. Papurello hopes to start using it in the spring.

L-P looking at a budget in the red

Having a budget deficit is a bad thing, and even though La Salle-Peru High School will operate at a deficit for the upcoming school year, it’s a vast improvement over the last several budgets.

The L-P Board of Education passed a tentative 2015-16 budget with a deficit of just over 1.8 million dollars. Three years ago, L-P had a budget deficit that was nearly 3 million dollars.

Superintendent Steve Wrobleski is happy with the progress the school has made, saying the projected deficit reduction is due to several factors, including cutting seven jobs over the last three years, energy savings, and a new bus contract that co-ops with neighboring school districts.