Scarecrow Festival to Bring Families to Downtown Ottawa Saturday

If you love fall decorations you’ll want to make plans for one festival in Ottawa that isn’t for the birds.

The 29^th Annual Scarecrow Festival will be kicking off at 10:00 Saturday morning in downtown Ottawa. More than 50 decorated scarecrows will be lining the streets as part of the annual competition.

Brian Carnes is the President of the Ottawa Downtown Merchants. He says it’s great to be part of a fun, fast-growing event.

More than 75 merchants will be showing off their wares, and Carnes says some vendors will also be selling food. New this year will be a straw bale maze that will take over Jordan Block during the festival.

The Scarecrow Festival in downtown Ottawa runs from 10:00 until 5:00.

Chicago Man’s Drug Charge in Ottawa Latest on a Long List of Crimes

A Chicago man with an extensive rap sheet was indicted for his latest alleged crime, this time in LaSalle County.

Ottawa Police arrested 49-year old Eric Pierce earlier this month after pulling him over at a south side gas station. Police had gotten information earlier from LaSalle Police that there were drugs in the car. They would allegedly find heroin in the vehicle.

On Tuesday, Pierce was indicted for one count of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver. At the time of his arrest, Pierce was on parole for a 2012 drug conviction in LaSalle County. He has also previously been convicted of a number of other crimes, including two convictions for armed robbery.

He remains in custody at the county jail in Ottawa where he’d need to come up with $100,000 cash to get out.

Three Alleged Drug Dealers Remain in Prison after being Indicted Tuesday

If you get caught trying to sell drugs in the Illinois Valley, you won’t get out before your trial unless you’ve got a lot of money in the bank.

Earlier this month after police raided the Ottawa home of 43-year old Louis Shaw. In the home police allegedly found drug paraphernalia and $30,000 worth of cocaine. He was taken in for a Class X felony and, if convicted, faces between 6 and 30 years in prison.

Twenty-four-year old Eric Canada was also busted for drugs in Ottawa. He was found in Freeport after being wanted by police for allegedly dealing drugs at a motel in the city earlier this year.

Finally, Ottawa police arrested 24-year old Kjersten Minkler of Streator after they allegedly found heroin in a car she was in. She was taken to the LaSalle County Jail where she’d need to come up with $50,000 cash to be released.

Canada and Shaw are both in the county jail in Ottawa as well. Canada needs $100,000 and Shaw needs twice that amount to be released from custody.

La Salle teen indicted for home invasion and residential burglary

Imagine being 18 years old and staring at the possibility of spending several years in prison. Tyler Cannon of La Salle is dealing with that scenario.

He was arrested earlier this month after allegedly breaking into the home of an elderly couple and stealing from them. During the alleged break-in, Cannon allegedly pushed an elderly man before running away.

Cannon was indicted Tuesday on felony counts of home invasion and residential burglary. The home invasion is a Class X felony which brings with it the possibility of 6 to 30 years in prison if he’s found guilty.

Cannon will be arraigned Thursday. He needs $50,000 to get out of custody.

No new charges yet in the Deb Dewey homicide case

It was a week ago today that news came out 66-year-old Clifford Andersen was being charged with trying to hide the death of 62-year-old Deborah Dewey.

Putnam County State’s Attorney Christina Judd-Mennie says the Standard man is still charged with a Class 3 felony of concealment of a homicidal death. Judd-Mennie says her office has nothing new to report other than they continue working on the Dewey case.

Andersen is accused of taking the body of Dewey, wrapping it up using a blanket, tarp, and duct tape, and burying it in a shallow grave. State Police say they found the body last Monday at a property along Route 71 in Standard.

Andersen remains in custody on $750,000 bond. He’s due back in court October 13th.

Smoke fills Peru church Tuesday morning

A church in Peru was saved but didn’t escape damage during a fire.

The call for Peru and La Salle firefighters went out Tuesday morning after 8 o’clock about a fire at the Faith Assembly of God Church on Wenzel Road in Peru. Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei says within 20 minutes the fire was located and put out. Firefighters stuck around to ventilate the church.

Nobody was hurt in the fire.

Dee Bennett Road back open near Naplate

After about two months worth of construction time, a short stretch of Dee Bennett Road is back open to traffic.

The county road that takes you along the north side of the Illinois River between Utica and Ottawa reopened to traffic Tuesday afternoon. Construction on raising the road to fight off flooding began the second week of July. At that time the county said the construction could last into October.

The construction area went from the west edge of Naplate out to the La Salle County Nursing Home.

Despite respiratory sickness going around, the vet’s home in La Salle deemed safe to visit

Despite some illness going around, don’t hesitate to pay a visit to the Illinois Veteran’s Home in La Salle. That’s the message from David MacDonna, the public information officer with the Illinois Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Word came out over the weekend that 11 cases of pneumonia were diagnosed at the home. One veteran also tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease, which poses a threat to the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. MacDonna says that veteran passed away but it was from a combination of medical issues.

MacDonna says the home is safe and health officials say nursing home workers have gone above and beyond with taking precautions. Because the bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease is often in water supplies, workers have been putting in water filtering shower heads and cleaning ice machines while also flushing water pipes and watching water temperatures at the home.

MacDonna stresses that Legionnaires disease is not something that’s passed from person to person.

Popular Ottawa destination making way for more parking

It’s usually a good thing for a city when a business needs additional parking for its customers.

Tuesday night, the Ottawa City Council approved a resolution authorizing a lease agreement with The Cheese Shop ‘n’ Deli in Ottawa. The shop recently purchased property across the street to expand their parking. Commissioner James Less said the agreement would “increase the effectiveness of his parking.”

The Fulton Street shop has been a mainstay of Ottawa since 1942.