Christmas 4 Kids Nears Yearly Goal to Help Kids Get Clothes, Other Essential Items

It’s always nice to hear a charity initiative is close to reaching its fundraising goal, especially when it is one that helps children who are in need.

The Christmas 4 Kids program was established by the LaSalle County Sheriff’s MAP 723 in 2005. It helps kids all ages from birth to 16 get clothing, hygiene products, and sometimes school supplies and food. This year, the program is $1,500 shy if its $10,000 goal.

Deputy Felecia Rasmussen has worked with the event every year. She says the program also helps give kids a positive opinion of police.

The last big Christmas 4 Kids fundraiser will be a quarter auction in November at the Streator Moose. If you’d like to donate in the meantime, you can send your donation to the Sheriff’s Office at 707 Etna Road in Ottawa.

Home Sales up for September in LaSalle, Bureau Counties, Flat in Putnam

Do you know anybody who has sold a house in the Illinois Valley lately?

The number of sold homes continued going up in September. In LaSalle County, 123 homes were sold in September. That was 5 more than in August and 35 more than in September of 2015.

In Bureau County, 35 homes were closed on, an increase of 20 from the year before. It was also an increase of 6 from the month prior.

Sales were a little slower in Putnam County, with 2 homes sold in September. The same number of homes were sold in August, but that was four fewer than last September.

Man Cutting through School Property Leads to Precautionary “Soft Red” at McKinley

If you live on the south side of Ottawa the police are asking you to be vigilant and lock your doors.

Officers are looking for a man who allegedly attacked a woman Thursday morning on Marcy Street.  The woman wasn’t hurt and nothing was stolen.

Investigators think this guy could be behind home break-ins the last couple of years and other assaults.  If you have any information, call the Ottawa P.D.

You can see a picture of the suspect on the WLPO Facebook page.

Ottawa Man with Long Criminal History Arrested after Chase

An Ottawa man can add running from the cops to his long criminal history after a chase through the city yesterday.

Robert Kidd appeared in court Thursday to learn about the charges against him. According to the prosecutor, the 32-year old Kidd led police on a chase that included going 80 miles-per-hour through a school zone and running multiple traffic lights.

The State then explained that, at the time of his arrest, Kidd had 17 prior arrests on his record, some of them felonies. He did plead guilty to misdemeanor battery in LaSalle County back in 2012.

Kidd’s bond was set at $50,000. He’s due back in court November 3^rd.

Woman from the Caribbean found dead near Ottawa

If you’ve been following the story of a body being found along Route 71 north of Ottawa, the woman has been identified.

Sixty-three-year-old Kerstin Bobst of Aruba was found Monday night in a field along East 24th Road, south of Route 71. An autopsy was performed and the results are pending.

The sheriff’s office says more information will be released when it becomes available.

Spring Valley teen accused of residential burglary

Are there any neighbors on your block that you’re suspicious of? A Spring Valley woman is accused of trying to steal from a neighbor.

Nineteen-year-old Hailly Zeigler was arrested Wednesday evening in the 200 block of East Devlin Street in Spring Valley for residential burglary. She’s accused of breaking into a home on her block and stealing televisions.

Zeigler was taken to the Bureau County Jail.

Rollover crash sends two La Salle County drivers to the hospital

Both drivers were hurt in a rollover crash that happened Wednesday morning northeast of Streator.

Twenty-one-year-old Tyler Alsvig of Ottawa is accused of running a stop sign on a county road and hitting 45-year-old Linda Frazier of Marseilles. Both cars ended up in a ditch and rolled over.

Alsvig and Frazier were taken to OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa. Alsvig was ticketed for disobeying a stop sign and failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Somonauk officer being hailed as a hero

A Somonauk police officer is being credited with saving a couple lives.

Back on Tuesday night, Steve Kuester was on patrol when he smelled smoke coming from a home on Cook Court. He woke up two people inside of a home that was quickly filling with smoke. The folks in the house were checked out on the scene by paramedics.

Firefighters contained the fire to an attached garage. While the house had smoke detectors, they weren’t working.

Officer Kuester will be presented with a Life Saving Award at the November meeting of the Somonauk Village Board.

Child luring report in Lostant appears to be a misunderstanding

A report of an attempted child abduction in Lostant won’t be resulting in an arrest.

Back on Monday Lostant Police were told about a man with “swishy black hair” trying to lure a child into his 4-door sedan. On Wednesday however Lostant Police Chief Darin Crask announced that they tracked down the driver in question and cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Crask says he will always “err on the side of caution, plan for the worst and hope for the best.”