Pantries differ on results of food drive

Vanessa Hoffeditz is “thrilled beyond belief”.  The Bureau County Food Pantry director was laughing happily from the tally of Saturday’s Rural Mail Carriers Food Drive.  Volunteers helped get the haul back to Pantry headquarters across from Darius Miller Park in Princeton.

Hoffeditz told “Classic Hits 103-9 WLPO” the Pantry counted almost 10-tons of canned goods, cereal and crackers from city and rural routes.  Hoffeditz said the astounding donation number is partly due to the bags the 12 carriers left on their routes earlier and the fact that Princeton and surrounding communities support the Pantry very well. The over 19-thousand pounds helps kick off the summer season when some of their clients will have children home for the summer.

Illinois Valley Food Pantry collected a significantly smaller amount Saturday.  Donna Hess, its Director, said LaSalle, Peru and Oglesby carriers brought in 4050 pounds of food. Oglesby’s donations are expected to add another 1000 pounds when they come in Monday. Hess said last year’s total was about double of this year’s amount.  She would not speculate on why donations were down this year. It does create a problem since they have 700 clients – some of which will have children home this summer.

Fishing Expo Next Week Looks to Teach Kids to Fish before June Tournament

The annual “how to” fishing clinic returns to Baker Lake in Peru next Saturday.

The 18^th annual Kid’s Fishing Expo goes from 9 until 2.  Children can learn cast, bait a hook, and clean a fish from local fisherman.  Bait will be provided but there’s a limited amount of poles available for loan.

Kids can take what they learn next Saturday and put it to use during the Kid’s Fishing Tournament June 18^th along Lock 14 in La Salle.

Police Find Supposedly Stolen Truck but Still no Trace of Pendleton

The search has intensified for a man suspected of shooting a police officer in the arm last weekend.

Police are saying they found an abandoned truck believed to be one stolen by Dracy “Clint” Pendleton. Although they won’t say where they found the truck, they’ve increased their searching in the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area in Pope County. The 5,000 Acre wilderness area has been closed to the public since Monday.

Pendleton is suspected of shooting a Mahomet police officer Saturday night after a traffic stop. Police say Pendleton may have been shot in the neck during that exchange and may be looking for medical attention.

They also say he’s believed to be armed with an AK-47.

Phil Dixon Tells Tales of Baseball History in the Illinois Valley Nearly a Century in the Making

If you like the kind of sports stories you won’t find on Wikipedia, you’re going to want to make plans to hear Phil Dixon speak early next week.

He’s going to be in Spring Valley and Princeton talking about the Gilkerson Union Giants, one of the most famous African-American baseball teams of the 20’s and 30’s. Dixon says the team has a special connection to the Illinois Valley, because Robert P. Gilkerson was from Spring Valley.   

He’ll also be telling stories about the Peru Merchants, a white baseball team that would play the all-star teams that travelled the country. Dixon says he has some stories from a man who was a member of the team back when they played the Toledo Crawfords and their star player, Jessie Owens.

If you’re interested in hearing Dixon speak, you can catch him Monday at the Richard A. Mautino Memorial Library in Spring Valley at 6:00, and the Princeton Public Library at 6:30.

Michigan Man Caught with Cannibus after Crash in Bureau County`

You’d think if you were driving around with drugs in your car you’d be especially careful to not get into an accident.

That wasn’t the case for a Michigan man who was involved in a crash west of Princeton Thursday afternoon. Police say Samuel Zeeryp allegedly failed to slow down in a construction zone and hit a car driven by Jeffrey Duquette of Colorado, who then hit Gary Woods of Coal Valley.

Zeeryp would have to be taken to Perry Memorial Hospital. He was cited for Possession of Cannabis and Failing to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident