Cleveland State to retire Klein’s number

Former Hall High School standout, Kailey Klein will have her number “23” retired by Cleveland State University in February. In a CSU release,  Klein lead the women’s program to 2 NCAA tourney appearances and finished her career as the all-time leading scorer in CSU history in points, free throws made and free throws attempted.  Klein was named the MVP of the 2008 Horizon League Championship after leading CSU to its first tourney title in school history.  As a senior, Klein lead the Horizon League in scoring at 19 points per game. She scored 626 points, the third most in a season in school history.

Drug dog traps cross country travelers

    What were a man from Colorado and a woman from New York doing driving through Bureau County? If you believe police they were dealing drugs.

    Members of the drug group Tri-DENT pulled over Quinn Sales of Colorado Spring and Michelle Cambria of the Bronx Wednesday. With the help of a drug dog, drug agents say they found an ounce of heroin, 2 ounces of crystal meth and 4 grams of cocaine.  Both Sales and Cambria were taken to the county jail in Princeton. Sales needs $15,000 to get out while Cambria needs $10,000.

I V Food Pantry planning for Thanksgiving

    How many people will you have for Thanksgiving dinner? If you are the Illlinois Valley Food Pantry, you’ll be preparing for 2100 individuals or 750 families. To be eligible for this distribution, you must register with the Pantry by November 18.

    It is the public that predominately helps make the Pantry’s distribution a success. If you can, you asked to donate instant potatoes, stuffing mix, green beans, corn, small cans of fruit or applesauce, Yams, corn muffin mix, evaporated milk and canned pumpkin, a turkey or a ham. Leave your donation of food or money at the pantry from 9 – Noon every weekday except Wednesday when hours are 11 – 6.

     The Illinois Valley Food Pantry will be closed Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The pantry serves people in the LPO area and nearby villages.

Tire slashing spree reported in Spring Valley

   It gives tire dealers business, but vehicle owners in Spring Valley aren’t happy. Spring Valley police told “Classic Hits 103-9 WLPO” news a person or persons slashed tires on 15 vehicles around town from 10pm. yesterday evening into Friday morning.

   If you live in Spring Valley and saw suspicious activity…or see some in the future, please call Spring Valley police. You can call Illinois Valley Crimestoppers at 1-800-340-4045 and remain anonymous. Cash rewards up to $1000 are available for information leading to an arrest.

Anxious moments in Streator after an online threat

A threat of violence 300 miles away still had students and staff on edge at Streator High School.

According to a message on the Streator High School Facebook page, a student in Indiana threatened violence to his school online and because he has social media contacts in Streator and other schools in La Salle County, fears were ramped up of something happening locally. The Streator Police Department quickly got involved and determined there was no local threat.

Police presence was ramped up at Streator High Friday because of the threat investigation. They’ve also been testing radio equipment within the high school.

Hunter rescued near Oglesby after tree stand mishap

Having a cellphone can be a life saver.

Lee Barr of Sandwich was setting up for a day of bow hunting at the Starved Rock Forest Preserve along Route 71 when he fell backwards using his tree stand Friday morning. The 43-year-old was saved from falling to the ground when his legs got pinched in the climbing stand. He was dangling 20 feet above the ground when he called 9-1-1 on his cellphone.

Utica firefighters responded and pulled him down after he was hanging for around a half hour. Surprisingly Barr refused medical treatment.

Conservation Police Sgt. Hank Frazier says this should show how important it is for hunters to have phones on them at all times. He says it’s also important to use a harness. Barr had his harness unhooked when he flipped upside down.

St. Bede grad reunited after losing his class ring years ago

Maybe miracles do truly happen at St. Bede Academy.

Two weeks ago, the staff at St. Bede got a call from a woman in the state of Ohio who had found a 1967 academy class ring while out walking her dog. Inside the ring were the engraved initials of M.A.K. The woman mailed the class ring back to Peru and the search for its owner started.

Academy staffers eventually narrowed the search down to a Michael Kopina who says he has never even visited Ohio. Kopina came to the academy last week to claim his long, lost class ring. He plans on being back again at St. Bede for his 50th class reunion in 2017.

Hall Superintendent says gun threat rumor was false

There are a lot of reasons to love social media but it can also lead to rumors spreading like wildfire.

Hall High School Superintendent Mike Struna says there’s no truth to rumors posted on Facebook Thursday that a student threatened to bring a gun to the school. Struna says school administrators and the Spring Valley Police Department talked to several students and even parents at home and determined the rumor was false.

As is usual protocol, Spring Valley officers will be at the school Friday. Struna says he’s confident the students are safe.

Gas prices fall back under two dollars a gallon

This news is definitely a treat going into the Halloween weekend. Gas prices are back under two dollars a gallon in some parts of the Illinois Valley.

According to GasBuddy.com, gas has fallen to $1.96 a gallon in Ottawa and $1.99 for unleaded in La Salle. In Peru you can find gas for $2.01 a gallon while stations in Oglesby, Princeton and Spring Valley are selling for $2.09 a gallon. Utica is at the higher end with unleaded at $2.19 a gallon.

The average price statewide for unleaded is $2.30 a gallon, nearly a dime less than a week ago.