Interview Shows Horman Admitting to Burning Body of Ottawa Business Owner

Thursday, jurors got their first chance to hear from William Horman, the man who is on trial for allegedly murdering an Ottawa truck wash owner.

While he wasn’t testifying, prosecutors did play recorded interviews between Horman and investigators that were done shortly after Robert Dowd was believed to have been murdered in April of last year.

In a video interview that lasted about three hours, Horman appeared to be a confused man who had trouble remembering where he was the entire week of Dowd’s disappearance. Horman eventually broke down in the video, saying “It was an accident, it all happened so fast.” Then, Horman admitted to being at Rob’s Washouts the night that Dowd disappeared, and admitted to burning the body after an altercation.

The defense is expected to make their case on behalf of Horman Friday morning. Closing arguments are also likely to be heard as the trial wraps up.

Drivers crash into store and house

Some shoppers at Dollar General in Streator left with a story to tell.

Streator Police got called to the store Tuesday afternoon after a car ran into the building. Ninety-year-old June Liptak of Streator was the driver. Nobody was hurt.

Just before midnight Saturday in Sandwich, 27-year-old Loudon Herbsleb of Sheridan is accused of crashing into a house.  He was arrested for possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license.  His passenger, 26-year-old Jordan Kleinprinz also of Sheridan was arrested for having pot.

Both refused a visit to the hospital and both were given court dates.

National recognition for IVCC student

One of the country’s brightest community college students lives in the Illinois Valley.

Illinois Valley Community College sophomore Kaitlin Raineri of Peru has been named a 2016 New Century Scholar. She was the highest scoring Illinois community college student in the All-USA Community College Academic Team competition.

For her efforts Raineri gets a $2,000 scholarship and will be honored next month at a community college convention in Chicago. She plans to transfer to Loyola University in the fall.

Plenty of spots to vote early in the Illinois Valley

If Super Tuesday got you even more pumped up to vote, remember early voting is available.

You can vote early in the basement of the La Salle County Governmental Complex in Ottawa. In Putnam County early voting is inside the courthouse in Hennepin. You have a few spots to vote early in Bureau County.

The Princeton Moose Lodge is open for early voting along with the city hall in Spring Valley. You can also cast a ballot in the county courthouse in Princeton.

Ottawa student section picked as one of the best in Illinois

The votes have been tabulated and Ottawa High’s student section is one of the eight best in the state according to the Illinois High School Association.

High schools were divided into Classes 1A/2A and Classes 3A/4A based on enrollment. The IHSA picked four finalists for each group and Ottawa is a finalist in the 3A/4A competition. L-P was also vying to be a finalist.

Representatives from the “Ottawa Pirate Nation” will be at the Class 3A boys’ basketball championship game in Peoria March 19th to find out the overall winner.

You can see student section videos from Ottawa and L-P by clicking Student Section Showdown

New design will bring concert-goers closer to stage at the Bureau County Fair

Who will be this year’s concert at the Bureau County Fair? Find out in a few weeks.

The featured grandstand artist will be announced Friday, March 25th with tickets going on sale the following week. Last year the fair in Princeton had two concerts, .38 Special and then a country pairing of Lonestar and Jo Dee Messina.

Grandstand events will have a new seating set up this year with a new runway coming out from the stage. It’ll be surrounded by a standing room only “pit area” in front of the stage.

Controversy brewing over donkey basketball game in Earlville

There are a lot of school fundraisers but most don’t involve donkeys. And the use of donkeys isn’t sitting well with some.

Seniors at Earlville High School will try and make baskets while riding donkeys starting at 7 o’clock next Saturday night in the high school gym. Advanced tickets are $6 and are available at First State Insurance in Earlville and in the school office.

If you go to the fundraiser, you may have to sidestep protesters. Animal rights activists plan a “peaceful protest” outside the school next Saturday night before the donkey basketball game. Protesters say the donkeys are ridden by “unskilled and over-weighted riders”. They claim the donkeys are smacked in the face, hit by balls and “grossly mishandled”.

Chicago Tribune backs Long over Bramel

Some old traditions die hard while others manage to stick around. The Chicago Tribune kept with its tradition by endorsing candidates for the upcoming primary election.

In the 76th District State Representative race, the paper says Jerry Long of Streator is a better choice than his Republican foe Jacob Bramel of Marseilles. The “Trib” says Long is a free market conservative who believes in unions but says some public employee unions “have gotten away from personal responsibility” and demand too much from taxpayers.

With Bramel, the paper points out that he’s a recent college graduate and is “rightly peeved” that Republican Party officials tried to get him to drop out of the race.

The winner between Long and Bramel faces Democrat State Rep. Andy Skoog of La Salle in November. The “Trib” sees it as a potential pickup for Republicans.

Ottawa Looking for Volunteers for City Committees

If you like to volunteer and enjoy the chance to be a leader, the City of Ottawa would like to talk to you.

Ottawa Mayor Bob Eschbach says the city is looking for people who would like to serve in city groups like the Plan Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, and others.

Even if you don’t want the responsibility of being on a commission, Ottawa is still looking for volunteers to help out. If you’re interested you can check out the application and learn more by clicking here.

Peru Police Make Sixth Drug-Related Arrest in a Little More than a Month

The heroin roundup in the Illinois Valley continues.

A group of officers came knocking on the door Wednesday afternoon at the Ottawa apartment of 30-year-old Sharon Verucchi. She was arrested for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. Verucchi is accused of delivering heroin to an undercover officer in Peru.

She was hauled off to the La Salle County Jail where she needs $50,000 bond to get out. Her heroin arrest was the sixth made in Peru in the last month.