Bureau County official to begin involvment with regional emergency dispatch center

Call 911 in Bureau County and you’ll be connected to a dispatcher with BuEComm, the agency that fields all emergency calls in Bureau County.

The board members of BuEComm are closely watching the development of a dispatch center that would handle all emergency calls for La Salle, Peru and Oglesby.

The board decided last week to have four members on the Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch Center planning committee according to BuEComm Director Diana Stiles. She says the board is exploring the option of the regional dispatch center because the state is trying to consolidate services.

As for now, BuEComm will continue to handle all of Bureau County’s 911 calls.

Colorado man accused of having more than 100 pounds of marijuana during I-80 stop

For the second time in less than a week, police officers say they found more than 100 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop in Bureau County.

The latest arrest happened Tuesday on Interstate 80. Officers with TRIDENT arrested David Besser of Leadsville, Colorado for unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, a class X felony. Besser allegedly had 108 pounds of marijuana in his car. He’s being held in the Bureau County Jail with his bond set at $1 million.

A man and woman from New York were arrested last Thursday for allegedly having 109 pounds of marijuana

Two traffic stops leave three people facing felony drug charges in Bureau County

More than 100 pounds of marijuana is what police officers say they found after stopping two people from New York in Bureau County.  24-year-old Ariel Zapata and 25-year-old Dominic Thompson were arrested Thursday after being stopped on Interstate 80 by a Bureau County Sheriff’s Deputy.

Police say they searched the car and found 109 pounds of marijuana.  Zapata and Thompson were arrested for unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver, a class X felony. They were being held in the Bureau County Jail with their bonds set at $100,000.

Their arrests follow a similar arrest made Wednesday. 75-year-old Ray Slife of Colorado was arrested for unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, a class three felony.

Slife is accused of having four pounds of marijuana when he was pulled over Wednesday on I-80 in Bureau County. Slife was being held on $30,000 bond.

Officers with the drug team TRIDENT are also involved in the investigations.

Hermann leaves office in Bureau County

Seeking justice for victims while treating the accused fairly can be a tough line to walk, but it was the path former Bureau County State’s Attorney Pat Hermann tried to take.

Hermann’s last day as prosecutor was Saturday. He was appointed to the position in 1998 and says there were many changes to state law between then and now.

Hermann says the rules for prosecuting DUI, domestic battery and assault cases were made more complete, something he says was helpful. And his office had new territory to learn with the advent of computer and internet crimes.

Hermann, like all states attorneys in Illinois, lost the option of seeking the death penalty with a change in state law several years ago. He says ending the death penalty took a very serious plea advantage from the state.

The next phase of Hermann’s career will be working as a personal injury attorney with an office in Peru.

Geno Caffarini is the acting States Attorney until the Bureau County Board makes an appointment. Hermann recommended Cafffarini for the job and says Caffarini is very calm, a good quality for a prosecutor.

Big money being played on gaming machines in the Illinois Valley

Many in the Illinois Valley like games of chance and the numbers are there to prove it when it comes to video gambling.

According to the Illinois Gaming Board, over $258 million was wagered in La Salle County on video gambling machines in 2014. Payouts were over $238 million.

In Bureau County over $42 million was pumped into video gaming last year with over $39 million paid out. In Putnam County just under $4 million was gambled with the payouts totaling over $3.5 million.

Streator leads the pack in the Illinois Valley with over $51 million wagered in video gaming machines last year. B&R Café in Streator saw the most action with $10.7 million played in its five machines. That was enough for the city to make over $189,000 as part of its share of the revenue.

Both Peru and Ottawa saw over $30 million played in video gaming machines last year while over $20 million was gambled in La Salle and Princeton. Even a village the size of Naplate had over $12 million wagered with video gaming.

Statewide, gamblers wagered $8.2 billion into video gaming machines in 2014. The state’s take of the revenue was around $164 million.

Unemployment rates show improvement over December 2013

In a year’s time the local unemployment rates have dropped nearly four percent. The Illinois Department of Employment Security Thursday released December’s unemployment numbers.

December unemployment in La Salle County was 7.8 percent, down from 11.5 percent in December 2013.

In Bureau County, unemployment was to 7.4 percent, down more than three percent from last December.

Putnam County unemployment declined by four points from December 2013 to 7.1 percent last month.

The Ottawa-Streator area unemployment went from 11.1 percent in December 2013 to 7.7 percent in December 2014.

The area saw new construction jobs, but loss jobs in government, manufacturing, and information.

Caffarini to act as a temporary Bureau County States Attorney

An attorney that’s been a familiar face at the Bureau County Courthouse for 17 years will be the acting States Attorney beginning February 1. Geno Caffarini will take over for Pat Hermann.

Hermann recently announced that he was resigning from his position as States Attorney to go into private practice. He told the Bureau County Board that he wanted Caffarini to be his replacement. The county board will pick Hermann’s replacement, which will have to be a Democrat.

Caffarini says his appointment is temporary but he would accept the job if appointed by the county board.

Caffarini is also an attorney with Raccuglia and Associates.

Deputy Chief named in Bureau County

It’s a new era for the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department, but if you’ve spent any time in Princeton, you’re probably familiar with much of the new leadership.

A month after being sworn-in, Sheriff Jim Reed has chosen Lieutenant Bret Taylor to be his Deputy Chief. Taylor has been with the department for 26 years and will help Reed run the sheriff’s office and jail.

Timothy Trevier has been chosen to be the Administrative Lieutenant. Trevier has been with the department for 28 years.

Marijuana bust made on Interstate 80 near Spring Valley

Tis the season for transporting drugs up and down Interstate 80.

According to state troopers, they pulled over Karly Ketron and Scott Ragan of California Monday morning for speeding. The trooper says he saw cannabis in plain sight and eventually found nearly 30 pounds of the drug in the rear of the vehicle.

Ketron and Ragan were arrested for possession of cannabis with intent to deliver. They were taken to the Bureau County Jail.

They were pulled over going eastbound on Interstate 80 near the Spring Valley exit.

Peru sand processing and loading hearing to continue Thursday

A public hearing for sand processing and transferring facilities proposed for Peru was to continue Wednesday, but the discussion won’t resume until Thursday. Because too many members of the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Commission won’t be available Wednesday night, the hearing will open at 6pm and recess until 6pm Thursday.

Northern White Sands and Illinois Rail want to annex and develop land west of Plank Road and north of Interstate 80. Most of the land is in Bureau County. Company representatives and people opposed to the project were able to testify and ask questions during the first three and a half hours of the hearing last Wednesday.

They will need to make recommendations to the Peru City Council. The council has the final say.