Carbondale skates on fake ice

A temporary synthetic ice skating rink has opened in downtown Carbondale.  The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reports that the rink is made of hard synthetic ice. It’s located in a city-owned parking lot. Proceeds will go toward building an outdoor aquatic center.  The rink will be available for use through January.

Barber college only an hour away

A barber college in Peoria that dates to 1897 has reopened under new ownership. The (Peoria) Journal Star reports that the Peoria Barber College already has enrolled 10 students to learn at its 15 available chairs. New owner Melvin Murry says he eventually hopes to have 25 students involved with the program. Murry bought the 118-year-old college from the family that owned it for more than 60 years.

Some remodeling also was needed at the location.  Murry has big plans for the school too. He says one day he’d like to build a dormitory to help those who have to commute to the school.

Chicago police say a shooting by 1 of its officers is under investigation. The officer shot and killed 2 people early Saturday while responding to a domestic disturbance call on the city’s West Side. One of the dead is described as a 19-year-old college student; the other, a 55-year-old neighbor and mother of 5.

Blizzard threatens Central U.S.

The Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles are bracing for what National Weather Service forecasters are calling a “historic blizzard.” A blizzard warning goes into effect shortly. Between 6 to 15 inches of snow are in the forecast for the region, which includes Amarillo and Lubbock.

Ottawa factory threatened Christmas night

    While you relaxed Christmas night, police, Pilkington Glass security and AT & T were determining the validity of a bomb threat. A release from Ottawa police said they were notified about 9:50pm that Pilkington Glass security received a bomb threat by phone. The caller said there was a bomb somewhere in the plant that would go off during the night.

   At the scene, officers, the plant supervisor and security assessed the credibility of the threat and search different locations within the plant. Nothing suspicious was found. Through AT &T, officers obtained the phone number from which the bomb threat was made. Officers made contact with the suspect and did an interview in the suspect’s home. From that, it was determined the threat was not credible. At this time, no charges have been filed. Workers remained on the job during this period of time.

Holiday Hangover for Two Men Arrested on Alcohol-Related Charges

Two Illinois men had a harsh end to their holiday celebrating this morning courtesy of LaSalle Deputies.

Michael Wrobel from Champaign was arrested after allegedly providing a fake name to the police during a traffic stop on I-80 near Ottawa. He would also be charged with unlawful transportation of open alcohol by a driver, DUI, no valid driver’s license, and possession of drug paraphernalia. In addition, he was wanted on a Will County warrant for not appearing for traffic violations.

His passenger was allegedly participating in some of the same activities. John Cohoon of Joliet was also arrested and faces charges of illegal transportation of open alcohol by a passenger and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

They were taken to LaSalle County Jail.

Ottawa’s Tree Disposal Program Helps Holiday Cleanup

Have you finished exchanging gifts and celebrating for the holidays? If so, you’re probably starting to realize all of those decorations will need to be put away, and the City of Ottawa is willing to help with one part of that.

Commissioner James Less announced Ottawa is once again offering a program for the disposal of live Christmas trees. The program will take place at the Riordan pool on January 9^th. Trees will be accepted from 9 AM to 3, or you can leave your trees in the designated area in the parking lot in advance.

If you’d like to take your tree’s chips home for mulch, the city will provide bags. The city says the service will be free.

Heavy Cuts will be Easier to Make for Oglesby Firefighters

While they hope to never have to use them, Oglesby firefighters have a new tool to pull injured drivers out of their cars.

Courtesy of the Oglesby Firefighters Association, the fire department has new extrication cutters. Fire Chief Ron Papurello says these cutters are designed to cut through high-strength metals that are in newer cars. The cutters have over 200,000 pounds of cutting force.

In other good news, Papurello says the new firefighter training facility should be ready to use in 2016. Electric has been installed and they are now putting in doors and windows and building the inside walls.