LaSalle County Deputies Find One Stolen Truck as Another Goes Missing

If you live in Oglesby be sure to keep an eye on your truck.

Wednesday afternoon the LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office got a call from someone on East 275th Road reporting that a 2000 Black Ford Ranger Pickup had been stolen from the property overnight. Earlier in the day, deputies were involved in a different incident with a stolen truck.

LaSalle County Deputies were also called shortly before 2:00 Wednesday morning about a burglary in progress. The alleged burglar had left the North 22^nd Road home before police arrived. While investigating the incident, deputies found a White Ford F-150 pickup that had been stolen out of Livingston County.

If you know anything about either vehicle you can call the LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office at 433-2161.

Sex abuse case involving school board member in Ohio gets new trial date

While a former substitute teacher and coach at L-P gets all the headlines, there’s also news to report on a sex abuse case involving a cheerleading coach and school board member in Bureau County.

Thirty-nine-year-old Melinda “Mindy” Ringenberg of Ohio was in Bureau County Court Wednesday for a final pretrial hearing. The sides eventually agreed to push her May 31st trial date back to July 25th.

Ringenberg was arrested and indicted back in February for the class 2 felony of aggravated criminal sex abuse. Bureau County State’s Attorney Geno Caffarini says the victim is a boy between 13 and 17 years old. Besides being a school board member for Ohio High School when she was arrested, Ringenberg was also a volunteer cheerleading coach.

She’s pleaded not guilty to the crime and posted $7,500 to be released from custody.

Tractor and semi collide outside of Ottawa

This time of the year, be on the look out for tractors driving around.

Deputies say 35-year-old Mark Boe of Ottawa was on a tractor pulling a cultivator just past 9:30 Wednesday night when he was rear-ended by a semi driven by 65-year-old Claude Quisenberry of Elgin. The two men were driving on Route 71 north of Ottawa.

Thankfully nobody was injured. The crash is still being investigated.

New website launched about Kaskaskia restoration

A little more than a century after it opened, there’s renewed optimism about renovating and eventually reopening the Kaskaskia Hotel in downtown La Salle.

A new website called “kaskaskiaproject.com” has surfaced that shows what the six-story building could look like. The site has conceptual drawings and mentions restoring the Kaskaskia to a “boutique hotel, events and conference center, offering its guests the finest in service, surroundings and Midwest hospitality”.

Mayor Jeff Grove says he is cautiously optimistic that the latest attempt to fix up the hotel becomes reality. Until it happens, Grove says the city will continue to pressure developers to make needed improvements. Grove says a lot of improvements the city asked for have been done and continue to be worked on.

Peter Limberger, the son-in-law of Kaskaskia owner Blouke Carus has taken over the development process. Grove was told by Limberger that they hope to secure funding sometime this month. A funding plan could include foreign investments.

To check out the Kaskaskia website, click Kaskaskia Project

Disease threatening Illinois Valley deer will be addressed in Ottawa

A disease that is wiping out white-tailed deer along the Illinois River is the topic of a meeting at the Bone Shed in Ottawa.

Representatives with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources want to talk about the spread of chronic wasting disease. DNR officials say the disease first showed up in Illinois in 2002 and has become entrenched in La Salle County.

You can hear what the state is trying to do to fight the disease at a meeting starting at 1 on Saturday at The Bone Shed. Landowners, hunters and anyone concerned with the deer population are encouraged to show up.

Vandalism outbreak hits Mendota

Your help is needed in finding a vandal or vandals in Mendota.

The city’s police department took several calls Monday about mailboxes and garbage cans being damaged around town. Officers think someone did the damage using their car.

If you have any information, call the Mendota PD or Mendota Crime Stoppers. You could get a cash reward.