First baby of 2016 arrives at IVCH in Peru

Baby New Year has arrived at Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru.

Cassandra Rae Overy was born just after 2:30 p.m. New Year’s Day. She’s the daughter of Nathaniel Overy and Emily Znaniecki of Lostant. Cassandra was 20 inches, 7 pounds and 11 ounces. Certified Nurse Midwife Heather Miller delivered Cassandra.

IVCH had 468 babies delivered last year.

ATV rollover sends man to the hospital on New Year’s Day

There are a lot better ways to start the New Year than spending time in an emergency room.

A man was taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru after an ATV crash just before 11 o’clock Friday morning. The Tonica Fire Department got the initial call about an accident on Bailey Falls Road. The man rolled his ATV.

You’ll hear more details as they become available.

Mendota man killed in New Year’s Day crash

The first fatal crash of 2016 in La Salle County happened east of Mendota.

Paramedics from Troy Grove and Mendota along with deputies from La Salle County all converged on an accident scene Friday morning around 5 o’clock on East 7th Road just north of Meriden and Route 34. Thirty-year-old Arthur Rought of rural Mendota was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators think he rolled his vehicle.

Cause of house fire along Interstate 39 in Tonica is under investigation

The cause of a New Year’s Eve fire in rural Tonica is under investigation.

Just before 8 o’clock Thursday night, a 9-1-1 call went out about a house fire at 424 North 20th Road in Tonica. The two and a half story house is just west of the Tonica exit off Interstate 39.

One person was inside the home when the fire broke out but thanks to a smoke detector was able to get out okay. Most of the fire damage was contained to the bathroom and a utility room. The house has smoke damage throughout.

Firefighters from Oglesby and Lostant provided mutual aid to Tonica.

Longtime conservation officer in the Illinois Valley calls it a career

2016 marks a brand new chapter in the life of Robert “Hank” Frazier.

Frazier officially retired Thursday from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police after 25 years. He had been a sergeant for just over a decade. Whenever there was a fall or an arrest made at parks in the Illinois Valley, Frazier was the go to guy for information.

The state gave Frazier a plaque featuring his badge and the statement of “In Recognition of Outstanding Service”.

Bureau County sees big jump with fatal crashes in 2015

It’s not a milestone that anyone wanted to reach.

In the final days of 2015, the number of people killed in crashes on Illinois roads topped a thousand. According to numbers from the state, there were 1,001 fatalities in 920 crashes. The death toll is up by nearly 80 from 2014.

In La Salle County, 14 people were killed last year in 13 crashes, down 23 killed in crashes in 2014. Nine people were killed in 9 crashes last year in Bureau County, a big jump from four deaths in 2014.

After losing no one to crashes in 2014, Putnam County had two people killed in separate crashes last year.

Flooding closures at Starved Rock continue through holiday weekend

The river is headed back down but water is still high enough to impact parts of Starved Rock State Park.

The main parking lot at the visitor’s center is closed along with Starved Rock’s lower picnic area and boat ramp. Hiking trails are open and you can park outside the lodge.

All hiking trails at Matthiessen State Park are open.

Fire damages home in rural La Salle

Everyone is okay after a New Year’s Eve fire broke out on the north end of La Salle along Interstate 80.

Firefighters from La Salle, Peru, Oglesby, Mendota and Troy Grove all responded to a house fire along East 3rd Road Thursday morning. Once they got inside, they had the fire out quickly. The fire is considered to be an accident.

The house suffered smoke and water damage throughout.