Surfing visionary dies

Larry Gordon, who revolutionized surfing when he created foam boards at his California company, has died. He was 76.  Gordon’s wife, Gayle Gordon, told The Associated Press Saturday he died peacefully on New Year’s Day at his San Diego home after a lengthy illness.  An iconic figure in California’s surfing and skateboarding scenes, Gordon was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 10 years ago.

Gordon studied chemistry at San Diego State University and it was then that he started experimenting with foam materials at his father’s plastics factory.

In the late 1950s, Gordon and fellow surfer and friend Floyd Smith used Polyurethane foam to build their own cutting edge boards. The demand for their foam surfboards forced the pair to move from Smith’s garage and start their first legitimate surf shop, Gordon & Smith Surfboards & Skateboards.

Scalia speaks on religious neutrality

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says the idea of religious neutrality is not grounded in the country’s constitutional traditions and that God has been good to the U.S. exactly because Americans honor him.  Scalia was speaking Saturday at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie, Louisiana.

Scalia, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, has consistently been one of the court’s more conservative members.

He also said there is “nothing wrong” with the idea of presidents and others invoking God in speeches. He said God has been good to America because Americans have honored him.

Collapsing wall kills man

Authorities say 1 worker is dead and another seriously injured after a wall collapsed at the Ford Motor Co.’s Chicago Assembly Plant on the city’s far South Side.  The Chicago Fire Department says the accident happened just before 11 a.m. on Friday in part of the plant under construction. A section of a concrete wall collapsed, killing a 45-year-old man. Another man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious-to-critical condition.

Rauner speaks out on flooding

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is again urging people to leave Alexander County homes threatened by levee failures in southern Illinois. Rauner says some residents are leaving, but others are staying put. He says the situation is especially “life threatening” because of the risk of hypothermia from cold temperatures. Flooding is being blamed for at least 24 deaths in the Midwest.

Low gas prices expected in 2016

Triple AAA which compiles gas price information from around the country, is projecting that gas prices will stay lower in the year ahead maybe even lower than this year. It estimates that the average price of a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline would be between $2.25 and $2.45 a gallon. In 2015, the average price per gallon was $2.40 — Americans saved $540 on gas as a result.

In its report, AAA also said it projected that the national average would stay steady or drop another 10 cents in the coming weeks. Even though gas prices can vary by season, AAA said it didn’t think the average would go above $3 a gallon this year. The current worldwide surplus of crude oil, which is used to produce gas, has led to dramatic drops in price — to roughly $37 a barrel. In 2015, crude oil prices dropped 35%.

Since oil experts believe the cost of crude oil will remain low, AAA predicts gas will continue to be cheaper for much of this year. AAA did allow for the possibility that political events or changes in the oil markets could lead to a price increase. It also said that regional prices would likely vary.

ATV flips over on driver

    Try and charge up an almost vertical hill on your ATV, and the results won’t be pretty. A Peru man is in the hospital after he tried taking an almost 50 ft vertical embankment at Noon New Year’s Day on Bailey Falls Road, 3 miles east of Route 251. District Conservation Officer Mike Fillipiak said at the top of the hill,  the ATV flipped over backwards on top of the driver, 31-year old Charles Templeton. There were no other passengers. Other ATV riders found him and called police.

      Fillipiak said alcohol is not a factor in the accident, but he said Templeton will be charged with violations. Templeton was taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital.

Busy county highways reopen as floodwaters recede

Getting from Utica to Ottawa just got easier.

Dee Bennett Road between Route 178 and the La Salle County Nursing Home was opened back up Saturday morning. County highway workers have also taken down the road closed sign from Ben Samek Road, otherwise known as the Peru bottom road. Water around the roads has receded and debris has been cleaned up.

High water still has the entrance to Lock 16 in La Salle closed.

ATV flips over on driver

     Try and charge up an almost vertical hill on your ATV, and the results won’t be pretty. A Peru man is in the hospital after he tried taking an almost 50 ft vertical embankment at Noon New Year’s Day on Bailey Falls Road, 3 miles east of Route 251. District Conservation Officer Mike Fillipiak said at the top of the hill,  the ATV flipped over backwards on top of the driver, 31-year old Charles Templeton. There were no other passengers. Other ATV riders found him and called police.

    Fillipiak said alcohol is not a factor in the accident, but he said Templeton will be charged with violations. Templeton was taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital.

More worldwide recognition for Starved Rock

Starved Rock State Park has received more praise from the national media.

MSN.com, or the Microsoft Network put out a list of “35 great hikes to take in 2016”. Showing up 17th on the list is Starved Rock State Park. The MSN travel reporter says of Starved Rock “unusual rock formations are the park’s trademark, but there are also secret waterfalls and canyons to explore along 13 miles of intersecting trails”. The writer suggests going to Starved Rock in the winter since during the summer it can be crowded, especially on weekends.

Some of the other hiking destinations listed along with Starved Rock are in Chile, Iceland and Australia along with spots in the U.S. like the Redwood National Forest and the Chicago lakefront.

You can find a link to the hiking list here MSN Hiking List

Final days of St. Mary’s Hospital in Streator

As of Monday, St. Mary’s Hospital in Streator will become OSF Center for Health in Streator.

A dedication of the new OSF outpatient clinic in the old hospital starts at 11 Monday morning in the chapel of the old St. Mary’s on Spring Street. Back in November, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted to support the “discontinuation of St. Mary’s Hospital.” They made the decision after hearing from several people from Streator who spoke out against closing the hospital.
Hospital Sisters Health System or HSHS is giving up ownership of the hospital to OSF Healthcare.

HSHS says it became too hard to recruit doctors to Streator and the number of inpatient admissions has gone down dramatically.

OSF has promised to continue using the St. Mary’s building as an outpatient clinic at least until they build a brand new outpatient clinic somewhere else in the city. St. Mary’s could also still have an emergency room if the state allows it.