Community rallies to save Oglesby’s city pool

If the Oglesby city pool means something special to you, its time to prove it by donating money for needed repairs.

A group of around 30 brainstormed fundraising ideas Wednesday night. The ideas range from a trivia night and beer and wine tasting event to starting a Go Fund Me page. A young girl even offered to raise money at a lemonade stand.

Mayor Don Finley says the hope is to open the pool again next year but they need help offsetting repair costs of between 80 to 90 thousand dollars. He says its time to stop with the band aids, major repairs are needed.

The next steps appear to be sending out a mailing asking for donations, setting up a bank account for the pool, and seeking donations from parade and fireworks viewers at the upcoming Oglesby Summer Fun Fest. Mayor Finley also says they council will talk about adding a dollar to city bills to go towards repairing the pool.

Audience members who were at last night’s meeting plan to meet again next Monday night at 6:30 at city hall to further organize fundraising efforts. They are calling their effort “STOP, or save the Oglesby pool.”

Severe storms down trees, power lines and semis

For some it’ll take awhile to pick up the pieces after Wednesday’s severe weather.

According to the National Weather Service, Seneca was one of the hardest hit areas with people trapped in a collapsed home and power lines down and corn flattened along North 29th Road. In Earlville, there were reports of snapped trees and power lines down.

At least two buildings in Marseilles had roofs torn off on North 2950th Road while in Malden and Granville several large trees and power lines went down. Semis were also reported to be blown over near Princeton and Seneca.

Streator gun shop burglarized

A call about an accident turned out to be a whole lot more in south Streator.

When deputies in Livingston County showed up to South Post Guns Wednesday morning before 2, they found damage to the building and an abandoned Jeep Wrangler inside the store. After investigating, deputies think the Jeep was used to burglarize the business.

The sheriff’s office is looking for 5 to 7 black men who they think stole guns.

Naked man causes stir in Spring Valley

A streaker in Spring Valley may have had some liquid courage.

Spring Valley Police were called about a man unclothed and under the influence yesterday morning just after 2 in the morning. Nineteen-year-old Bradley Gibson of Spring Valley was ticketed for pedestrian under the influence and indecent exposure.

He was released with a court date.  Pictures of Gibson have been making their way around social media.

Culvert Repairs Delayed Near Exelon Plant

Summer means construction season is alive and well and two county roads are no exception.

Work on the Grand Ridge/Mazon Blacktop near the Exelon nuclear plant has been pushed back to Friday. Parts of the road will be closed for repairs to a culvert that is about a half-mile east of Route 170. Part of Gentlemen Road has been closed as of Wednesday for similar construction that is taking place 1.5 miles west of the Marseilles Blacktop.

Detours will not be posted, and the County Highway Department is asking you to find alternate routes around the construction sites.

A lot of questions remain after heavy police presence in Mendota

Mendota was crawling with police officers Tuesday but so far the officers involved aren’t saying what or who they were after.

Mendota Police were joined by officers from Peru, LaSalle, and Oglesby, as well as members of the LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office and FBI in carrying out five search warrants in and around Mendota. At least one of the search warrants was at a property along Meriden Street in the northeast part of town.

Mendota Police Chief Thomas Smith says the investigation is ongoing and no arrests were actually made yesterday.

Roads in and around Starved Rock State Park could soon be smoothed out

Work could be underway soon to repave miles of often-bumpy roads in Starved Rock State Park.

The Illinois Department of Transportation this month sought bids to repave Starved Rock Road from Route 178 to Route 71. Overflow parking lots and areas near the lodge also will be resurfaced.

The start date hasn’t been set. Park Superintendent Kerry Novak says some roads may be down to one lane when work begins, but they shouldn’t close entirely. Crews will only work Monday through Thursday, so roads will be open for busy weekend traffic.

EPA ready to unveil cleanup plans for DePue contamination

Could something finally be done about contamination in DePue?

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is hosting a couple meetings Wednesday at DePue High School. You can go and see the EPA’s proposed plan to clean up soil that’s been contaminated for decades. Problems started over a century ago with New Jersey Zinc and continued when their plant was taken over by Exxon and CBS.

You can check out the clean up plans from 3 until 5 and from 6 until 8. The EPA won’t actually be giving a formal presentation.

Next Wednesday the EPA will hold an official public meeting at the DePue High School from 6 until 8. A formal presentation will be given that night and the EPA will be collecting oral and written comments on their proposed cleanup plan.

Pair of cyclists killed near Morris

An evening bike ride turned tragic on the southwest side of Morris.

According to the Grundy County Coroner, Mark and Janice Wendling of Morris were killed after they were hit from behind while riding their bikes on Old Stage Road. The couple was hit by an SUV Tuesday evening. The driver of the SUV hasn’t been identified.

The husband was pronounced dead at the scene at around 7 o’clock while his wife died a few hours later after being flown to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove. The Grundy County coroner says both victims were wearing helmets.

The crash remains under investigation.

Stormy hump day predicted for the Illinois Valley

“The potential exists for a significant severe weather event in or near our region this afternoon and evening.” That’s the latest from the National Weather Service in Chicago.

Most of the Illinois Valley is under a “moderate risk” for severe weather Wednesday which means widespread severe storms are likely. The best chance for severe weather appears to be late Wednesday afternoon into the evening.

There’s potential for damaging winds, large hail, flash flooding and tornadoes.