Illinois Valley troopers raise over four thousand dollars for the Special Olympics

The 14th annual Cop on a Rooftop fundraiser was a success.

District 17 State Trooper Jeffrey Nichols says over $4,100 was raised combining money collected at both the Peru and Ottawa Dunkin Donuts. Troopers staked out the donut shop roofs Friday from 5 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon. Anyone who donated to the cause which is the Special Olympics of Illinois received a coupon for a free donut.

The statewide fundraising goal of Cop on a Rooftop was $50,000.

Cut cable leads to phone outage in Mendota

Phone service should be fully operational now in Mendota.

A cable was reportedly cut Friday which caused about a six hour phone outage for the Mendota Police Department and other customers of Frontier Communications. The outage started at approximately 1:15 in the afternoon Friday and was fixed by 7:45 in the evening.

During the outage, 9-1-1 calls were going to a backup agency and eventually forwarded to the Mendota dispatch center.

Benefit for ailing Peru Police sergeant quickly approaching

A man who swore to protect and help you now could use help from others.

A benefit is happening next Saturday at the La Salle Knights of Columbus Hall on behalf of Peru Police Sergeant Jason Brokaw. About three months ago, the 42-year-old started experiencing lower back and leg pain. He eventually went to a doctor who found lesions on his spine.

While he is home now, Brokaw has been getting treatment in Peoria for spreading paralysis caused by inflammation of his spinal cord. It’s a mystery as to what’s causing it.

There will be live music, raffles, food and drinks to help raise money for Brokaw and his family at next Saturday’s benefit. For tickets you can stop by or call the Peru Police Department.

Fire breaks out inside drive-in restaurant in Oglesby

Things could’ve been a lot worse after a fire broke out inside an iconic restaurant in Oglesby.

Oglesby firefighters were called just before 11 Friday morning about a kitchen fire at the Root Beer Stand. The initial call had flames coming from a grill and shooting up the wall.

Oglesby Assistant Fire Chief Steve Maltus says by time his crew got there, workers pretty much had the grill top fire put out. The fire was contained to the kitchen.

Customers inside were evacuated just to be safe. Firefighters were able to leave the scene in well under an hour.