Woman sought for allegedly cashing fake payroll checks in Ottawa

If you know where Mary Helmick is, call the Ottawa Police Department.

She’s accused of cashing over $14,000 worth of fake payroll checks at First National Bank in Ottawa last month. A warrant has been issued but the problem is Ottawa Police think she may be hanging around Lima, Ohio.

If and when she’s arrested, Helmick faces felony charges of fraud and forgery. You can see what she looks like on the WLPO Facebook page.

Romeoville man dead after motorcycle crash near Woodhaven Lakes

A Romeoville man is dead after a motorcycle crash near Woodhaven Lakes Campground.

48-year-old Jaquez Juvencio was riding his motorcycle on La Moille Road north of the campground around 5 Saturday afternoon when he went off a curve and into a field. He wasn’t wearing a helmet.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and Sublette and Amboy Fire and Ambulances all responded to the accident. Juvencio was transported to Rockford Memorial Hospital, where he died from his injuries yesterday afternoon.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Alleged drug deal busted at Ottawa Casey’s

An alleged drug deal in broad daylight at the Ottawa Casey’s resulted in two women getting hauled to jail.

An officer was at the Casey’s on Route 6 shortly after 1:30 Friday afternoon when the officer witnessed a suspected drug transaction. Ashley Baima of Ottawa was arrested on one count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, heroin. After the deal, Baima was found to have another 2.5 grams of purported heroin.

Jennifer Stadler of La Salle was arrested on one count of possession of a controlled substance, heroin.

Both Baima and Stadler were taken to the La Salle County Jail.

OSF taking over St. Mary’s in Streator

Calling it bittersweet and saying the only constant in life is change, Streator Mayor Jimmie Lansford says St. Mary’s Hospital isn’t the first rural hospital to close and won’t be the last.

Plans were announced Tuesday morning for OSF to build a 30,000 square foot, outpatient center in Streator that will include things like imaging, lab work, rehabilitation, specialty clinics, and either 24/7 Urgent Care or an emergency room. Currently ER’s aren’t allowed by state law at outpatient clinics so that would need legislative approval. City officials along with administrators with OSF and HSHS all said that healthcare is changing so much so that Streator City Manager Scot Wrighton small rural hospitals will be soon be relics.

The official OSF takeover is expected to happen early next year. The current St. Mary’s building will be used for outpatient services until the new clinic is built within the next couple of years. There are no concrete plans yet of what to do with the St. Mary’s building.

So far there’s no site picked out for the new clinic. St. Mary’s outpatient employees will be transitioned to the new clinic while inpatient employees may be offered jobs at other OSF or HSHS hospitals and clinics.

Online fund set up to help Ottawa firefighter and paramedic

Imagine getting your dream job and then days later being hospitalized with Leukemia.

That’s what Ottawa firefighter Michael Williams is going through. Williams was offered a union firefighter job in Ottawa in July but since then has been out of work getting aggressive treatment for Leukemia, causing him to miss work.

His fellow firefighters are trying to raise $70,000 to pay his mortgage and bills for a year. Williams could be out of work between 6 to 9 months.

To help out Williams, click Mike Williams Fund

Sandwich Fair right around the corner

The start of the Sandwich Fair is now just hours away.

The 128th annual fair gets going Wednesday with harness racing and a live grandstand performance by the “Neverly Brothers”. Thursday’s grandstand schedule includes more harness racing and truck pulls.

This year’s main attraction, Country Music Awards New Artist of the Year Brett Eldredge takes the Sandwich Fair stage on Friday night. Tractor pulls are the featured entertainment Saturday with a demo derby on Sunday.

There’s also plenty of food and a carnival.

Semi hauling a carnival ride rolls over in Mendota

It’s supposed to be a wild ride on a carnival ride but not while hauling one on a trailer.

A semi carrying a carnival ride rolled over Tuesday morning around 5:30 in Mendota just east of Interstate 39 on Route 34. The 79-year-old driver Warren Schmidt of Wisconsin lost control at a curve. He was taken to St. Paul Medical Center in Mendota.

The state was called since the semi damaged the road. Deputies were on scene a few hours after for traffic control.

Illinois Valley officers pay respects to fallen Fox Lake lieutenant

ANTIOCH, Ill. (AP) – Hundreds of law enforcement officers including representatives from Marseilles, Streator and Ottawa attended the funeral of a suburban Chicago police officer who was fatally shot last week.

Friends, family and peers of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz were at the service Monday at Antioch High School. The 52-year-old Gliniewicz was shot last Tuesday while chasing three suspicious men on foot in a marshy area of Fox Lake. He was a married father of four and a 30-year veteran of the department.

Police are still searching for the men involved in the shooting.

Morning news conference should shed light on the future of St. Mary’s Hospital

The future of St. Mary’s Hospital in Streator should become clearer today.

The hospital’s ownership group, Hospital Sisters Health System has scheduled a news conference Tuesday morning to talk about the future of the over a century old hospital. Back in July, HSHS announced plans to begin a formal process to transition all operations and assets of St. Mary’s to another provider.

HSHS President and CEO Mary Starmann-Harrison says “we have determined that Streator residents will be better served in the future by another organization that can deliver highly integrated health care services in the region”.

St. Mary’s Hospital opened in Streator in 1887.