Northview Elementary holding Q & A session

There’s always excitement with change but there’s also some uncertainty. Parents of kids going to the newly-expanded Northview Elementary School in Peru probably are feeling both emotions.

A question and answer session is happening Tuesday at 6 inside the new school along Shooting Park Road. Questions about how and where you pick up and drop off your child will be answered along with busing of students. At least one parent of a Northview student is urged to show up.

Additions to the north side of the school will allow for 2^nd thru 4^th grade students to come over to Northview from the now closed Washington School.

Workers at state parks trying to do more with less

Two things dominated conversation at a Starved Rock Roundtable hosted by Senator Sue Rezin and DNR Director Wayne Rosenthal. Rezin and Rosenthal agree that funding and staffing is the main obstacle in park improvements.

Rosenthal says the DNR has to do more with less in the face of budget cuts. Several concerns were raised by those showing up to hear Rosenthal talk, including that some parks were being ran and maintained better than others. Rosenthal says the DNR has hired a Regional Site Superintendent to look over all the state parks in the area. That way, Rosenthal said the DNR agents can collaborate and figure out which works best at each park.

Some things put on a “state park wish list” include hiring a full-time Park Naturalist at Starved Rock and fixing the horse trails at Matthiessen. Rezin says DNR staff numbers at the parks have been cut in half over the last several years, while visitor numbers, especially at Starved Rock, continued to climb.

Couple in Peru suffer knife wounds after “domestic dispute”

A “high intense domestic dispute” had both a boyfriend and girlfriend treated for cuts from a knife.

Peru Police were called around eight o’clock Monday night about a domestic spat. Police Chief Doug Bernabei says during a struggle, both the boyfriend and girlfriend suffered minor cuts from a knife. He doesn’t think it involved an intentional stabbing.

Both the boyfriend and girlfriend were taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru with minor injuries. Bernabei says the state’s attorney’s office is reviewing the case to see if any criminal charges should be filed.

No names have been released yet.

Fund drive underway to buy less fortunate children in Peru Christmas gifts

Believe it or not, Christmas is now just four months away. Police officers and firefighters in Peru have Christmas on their minds.

They’re now accepting monetary donations to help buy gifts for kids. Firefighters and police officers will get a list from schools of children who could use gifts this Christmas. The kids will eventually go Christmas shopping with the police, firefighters or dispatchers. There will also be a holiday party thrown for the kids and their families.

If you want to donate to this great cause, get a hold of Sergeant Sarah Raymond or firefighter and dispatcher Blake Frund.

Walk through Ottawa will shine light on overdoses

As the overdoses continue to add up in the Illinois Valley, there’s another overdose awareness walk happening to try and address the problem.

The 4th Annual Overdose Awareness and Memory Walk of La Salle County is this Saturday in Ottawa. Walkers will head out from Washington Square at 10 in the morning, cross the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge and gather in Allen Park for a memorial. You can make posters, signs or t-shirts in memory of loved ones who’ve fallen victim to overdoses.

You can find more information about the walk by clicking Ottawa Overdose Walk