Challenger to Adam Kinzinger thrown off the ballot

Look up Colin McGroarty on the state elections website and you’ll see his status as removed.

The state Wednesday ruled in favor of an objection filed by a man and woman from Morris saying that McGroarty had invalid signatures on his election petitions. With the ruling, McGroarty of Rockford came up over 100 short of having the number of signatures needed to be on the primary ballot against Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

Kinzinger now has no challenger in the March election and as of now no Democrat to beat in the November election.

L-P tackles student concussion policy

When you think of concussions, sports probably come to mind. A committee being put together at L-P is also taking a look at the impact of head injuries to a student’s ability to learn and focus in class.

Superintendent Steve Wrobleski says L-P’s concussion team will not only write up a policy for when athletes can get back on the field called “return to play”, but also for when students can get back into the classroom called “return to learn”. Wrobleski gave an example of a non-athlete getting into a wreck and suffering a concussion.

The state is requiring schools to have a Concussion Oversight Team in place by this September. L-P’s concussion team will include the school nurse, head athletic trainer, Dr. O’Donnell from Illinois Valley Community Hospital among others.

Illinois Valley Group Doubles Donation to IVCH to Help Fight SIDS

An organization devoted to the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has doubled down on its gift to an Illinois Valley hospital.

The Aden Lamps Foundation has given another 500 “sleepsacks” to Illinois Valley Community Hospital for 2016, matching their donation from 2015. The so-called sleepsack is a wearable blanket for babies that can help prevent SIDS by reducing the amount of blanket that could get caught in a baby’s nose or mouth.

The donation helps make it possible for IVCH to give the sacks out to all mothers of newborns. In total, the 500 sacks have a value of more than $10,000.

The Aden Lamps Foundation was started in Peru in 2013 by Aden’s parents after he died from SIDS. Their main event is a 5k run and walk that raises funds to buy and donate sleepsacks to Illinois Valley hospitals.

Seven people displaced after early morning fire in Ottawa

Two firefighters were hurt fighting a blaze just past Ottawa High School.

Ottawa Fire Chief Steve Haywood says the firefighters were taken to OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center after slipping on some ice. The injuries aren’t thought to be serious.

Firefighters were initially called to 507 East Main Street just after 2:30 Wednesday morning. Haywood thinks a man living in the three-story house overloaded a circuit by plugging in his washing machine. The fire rekindled about five hours later, right before school started at Ottawa High.

Seven people living in three different apartments inside the house got out okay. A couple dogs and a cat also escaped the fire.

Haywood says the extreme cold not only made walking tough for firefighters, it also froze two different hydrants. Traffic at the school also posed a problem.

The house took on heavy fire, water and smoke damage. The American Red Cross is helping the seven people displaced in the fire.

Victim identified in Bureau County crash

If you’ve been following the story of a fatal crash in southwest Bureau County, a 32-year-old woman was the victim.

Jamie Lynn Peed of Tiskilwa was pronounced dead at the scene of Monday afternoon’s crash near Bradford. Peed’s car collided with a semi at the intersection of Route 40 and Kentville Road.

A stretch of Route 40 where the crash happened was closed a couple hours Monday as crews cleared up the crash scene.

Firefighters respond to reported house fire north of La Salle

A man awoke to smoke Wednesday morning inside his rural Utica home.

Firefighters across the Illinois Valley were called out just after 8 o’clock to a fire on East 6th Road along the east side of Interstate 39. Utica Fire Chief Ben Brown says it turned out to be a small chimney fire. While damage was kept to a minimum, he doesn’t think the house is now livable.

Brown says they had the fire out in about a half hour. Nobody was hurt.

La Salle fire chief warns about fire dangers with space heaters

Space heaters are nice but they can also be a fire starter.

La Salle Fire Chief Andy Bacidore says his city is off to a rough start in 2016 with space heaters blamed for two fires. Bacidore urges you to remember to have your space heater at least a few feet from flammable materials. Also put space heaters only on hard floors.

Something as simple as turning the heater off and unplugging when you leave could prevent a fire.

Illinois Valley school district reminds fans about sportsmanship

Be honest, have you ever caught yourself going overboard, yelling at your kids game?

The Midland School District sent out a letter yesterday to parents and spectators saying at times this year some parents have become quite vocal at games, loudly criticizing officials. Administrators say this behavior is “counterproductive to what we are trying to teach our students”. The letter goes on to mention that remember someone is always watching, and what do you want them to see?

You can view the entire letter on the WLPO Facebook page.

Ottawa looking to borrow money for HVAC improvements

It’s always good to hear your city is keeping its facilities up-to-date, but it’s not so good to hear you could be the one paying for it.

The Ottawa City Council heard public comments Tuesday night about their plan to take on more than $1.3 million in debt for city projects. Specifically the city plans to issue bonds that will be paid with taxpayer money.

Councilman Wayne Eichelkraut says the city will raise the money by issuing bonds that will be used for “specific purposes”. One of the projects is replacing the heating and cooling system at the Ottawa Police and Fire Station which will cost about $450,000.

The bond is still in the planning stages so exactly how much you’ll be paying isn’t known yet.

Overnight snow makes driving tricky

Take it easy driving this morning. Not a lot of snow fell but it’s enough to cover the roads.

All county roads in La Salle County are snow covered according to the highway department.

Interstate 39 going both north and south from La Salle-Peru is said to have scattered slick spots. Interstate 80 according to the state also has scattered slick spots although several drivers have spun off I-80 near Ottawa.

In Bureau County this morning, a car rolled over near Manlius and caught fire. The driver was able to get out okay.

Just after 8 o’clock, Mendota and Troy Grove firefighters were called to a crash on northbound Interstate 39 just past the Mendota exit.