Trailer park clean up continues in Mendota

Rundown mobile home parks in Mendota are getting some much needed attention.

According to the NewsTribune, Alderman Walt Weiland says several trailers have been removed from the park on 12th Street and two are now gone from the trailer court on First Avenue. More rundown or abandoned trailers have been marked for removal.

Council members were able to track down and work with a couple trailer park owners to clean up the parks.

Drug and DUI funds helping to update patrol cars in Peru

Some new rides are coming to the Peru Police Department.

Thanks to money from drug dealers along with drunken drivers, the city is buying a couple new squad cars, a new K-9 SUV and a new ride for detectives. Police Chief Doug Bernabei says the cash comes from DUI, drug, and impound funds, meaning no taxpayer dollars will be used for the new squads.

Bernabei says they will also have trade-ins to lower the purchase prices. The trade-ins all have over 100,000 miles on them.

Peru fireworks location still up in the air

After further review, next year’s fireworks display in Peru won’t be moving to the Illinois Valley Regional Airport after all.

Ray Zborowski, the president of the Peru Parks and Recreation Board says costs, safety, and parking concerns has the city still looking for a place to shoot off their July 3rd fireworks. He says they have another shoot site in mind but they’re working out details before saying any more.

This year’s fireworks along Water Street were canceled due to flooding along the Illinois River for the second year in a row.

Streator man blamed for starting abandoned house on fire

Police and prosecutors think they’ve found the man behind at least one of the abandoned home fires in Streator.

Forty-five-year-old Marion Jones Jr. of Streator was arrested over the weekend for arson and possession of drug equipment. He’s accused of setting on fire a one-story house at 702 North Vermilion Street Friday night. Streator firefighters kept the fire from spreading to other homes and had it under control in about 10 minutes.

Jones Jr. needs $7,500 to get out of jail.

Putnam County Schools searching for next superintendent

Your opinion is wanted before a new leader is picked for the Putnam County School District.

Current Superintendent Jay McCracken is retiring at the end of June. School officials are hosting two different forums Wednesday to get public input about who they should hire as a replacement.

The first forum starts at 4:30 and is geared towards “civic leaders” while a 6:30 gathering is open to everyone else inside the high school auditorium.