Peru Firefighters Battled Blaze in Building That was Being Demolished

A fire that had the Peru Fire Department working for 2 hours Thursday night wasn’t the first time they’d been to the property.

Fire Chief Jeff King says they had to respond to a fire there in October. He says demolition was going well on the 1800 block of 2^nd street. That is, until the department received a call about a fire. King believes the fire started when construction workers began cutting water pipes. He says a piece of hot slag from the cutting landed on a rubble pile that eventually started the fire.

The fire was ultimately ruled accidental by the department. No damage was calculated since the building was already mostly demolished, and nobody was hurt in the fire.

Mendota Girl Hospitalized Following after Being Hit by Car

A girl in Mendota has been hospitalized after being hit by a car.

According to Jason Stewart from the Mendota Police Department, they were called to the incident just before 8 on Wednesday. The victim was a 12-year old girl who had to be taken to OSF Saint Paul Hospital. Her condition is currently unknown, but Stewart said she was alert at the scene.

The incident is still under investigation so nobody has been charged. The Mendota Police Department is planning on releasing more information later today.

Two Semi Crash Leads to Traffic Jam Along 39

State Police have yet to find the cause of the two-semi accident on I-39 South near Lostant that stopped traffic for two hours Friday morning.

According to the preliminary investigation details, 27-year old Derrick Robinson of Indiana was going south on the highway when he rear-ended 52-year old Donald Wooden of Princeton.

Robinson got the worst of the accident. He had to be pulled from his car and taken via OSF Life Flight to OSF St. Francis.

It does not appear that Wooden was injured in the crash. The accident is still under investigation by the State Police, so no charges have been filed at this time.

Gas Savings Continue as Illinois Valley Stays Below State, National Prices

Gas prices continue to fall, and there are some great deals to be had in the Illinois Valley.

According to the website gasbuddy.com, Peru’s price at the pump is sitting the lowest at $1.39 per gallon. Not far behind are Utica and LaSalle at $1.43. You’ll pay $1.49 if you fill up in Ottawa, and Streator and Mendota are on the more expensive end at $1.60 and $1.65 respectively.

Statewide the price of gas fell another 10 cents a gallon this week to $1.71, that’s also about 10 cents cheaper than the average nationwide.