La Salle Alderman suggests extending the hours for alcohol sales

Your neighborhood convenience store might be open around the clock but you can’t walk in anytime to buy a case of beer. In La Salle, stores can sell packaged liquor from 6am until 11pm.

Alderman Boo Herndon wonders if they couldn’t extend those hours to be more competitive with stores in Peru. He says with a new 24-hour Casey’s and a 24-hour Beck’s on the way, stores should be allowed to sell later at night.

Stores in Peru can sell package liquor from 6am until 2am the following morning Monday through Friday and until 3am on Saturdays and Sundays.

Herndon brought up the issue Tuesday night. The city council could decide to revisit their liquor ordinance.

Poetry gathering coming to the La Salle Public Library

Poetry is often personal and that makes it all the more powerful to hear read aloud. You’re invited to bring your poetry and listen to others share their work during a poetry gathering Thursday at the La Salle Public Library.

The gathering will focus on the work of Marydale Stewart, a retired college English instructor and librarian. Stewart will be reading from her recent book, Let the Thunder In.

The gathering will be set up as an open mic and open to everyone. It starts at 6pm.

La Salle downtown snow removal proposal fails

Getting anywhere, even if it is just to a store in downtown La Salle, can be hassle after a large snowfall. While many business owners will shovel the sidewalk in front of their store, not all do.

Aldermen Diz Demes and Jerry Reynolds last month proposed creating an ordinance that would require building owners to clear snow from the front of their property. The idea was discussed by the Street and Alley Committee Tuesday night.

Committee Chairman Jim Bacidore thought it would just create more work for city employees because they would end up clearing the sidewalks in front of empty buildings. Alderman John Duncan also didn’t like it and wanted to know the specifics.  Finally the committee agreed to suggest to the whole city council that they just send a letter to the businesses asking them to shovel.

An hour later, the suggestion of sending letters came up before the entire council and failed six to two with even Bacidore, the chairman of the committee, voting no. So business owners are still not required to shovel their sidewalk.

Regional economic development group wants to bring industry to the three-county area

Attracting new industry to La Salle, Bureau, and Putnam Counties has become a regional effort. A group of public officials and business people have been meeting for a year to create a regional economic development group.

The group so far is just an interim committee but they want create a 13 to 15 member executive board according to Jeff Clawson, the City Manager of Princeton. Clawson says the idea came out of a discussion started by the Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce, but the new group would be different from the chamber.  Clawson says it would be proactive in attracting business.

Clawson and Hennepin Mayor Kevin Coleman Tuesday night shared the group’s vision with the La Salle City Council. La Salle is one of many local towns they want to join them. Membership would cost a community approximately $1.30 per resident and towns are being asked to join for three years.

For La Salle that would be $12,000 a year.  La Salle Mayor Jeff Grove says he appreciates them coming to talk to the city council.  Grove, nor any aldermen indicated whether they think La Salle should get involved.

Fence ordinance under review in La Salle

A white vinyl fence will give your front yard privacy and security and arguably, it will look nicer than a chain-link, but the white fence technically isn’t an option if you live in La Salle.

The city’s fence ordinance is complicated according to Building Inspector Chris Covert, the man that has to enforce it. He plans to work with the public works superintendent and city attorney to revise the ordinance to clarify the fee structure for getting a fence permit. Covert also wants to change the rule requiring front yard fences to be chain-link because he says the rule has been broken all over town.

He also wants to create different standards for fences on commercial properties.   As the ordinance stands, residential and commercial fences are required to follow the same six-foot height guideline and he knows many business fences are higher.

If you have suggestions for the ordinance, let them know.

Neil Simon set to music is the latest production at Stage 212

A love story with a twist and a lot of song opens Friday at Stage 212 in La Salle. “They’re Playing Our Song” was written by Neil Simon and is directed by Joe Ennenbach.

It stars familiar Stage 212 actors, Daniel Haun and Emily Hank.

Performances are this Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon and next Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon. Tickets are available through the Stage 212 box office in La Salle.  Learn more about the production by listening to an interview that’s available at the Classic Hits 103.9 WLPO news page.

La Salle man arrested on an immigration warrant

A traffic stop in La Salle led police to a man wanted on an immigration warrant. Heber Borland of La Salle was stopped early Wednesday morning and arrested on the warrant issued by the Department of Homeland Security. He was also ticketed for driving while license suspended and a La Salle County failure to appear warrant.

Borland was being held at the La Salle County Jail before being taken into custody by immigration officials.

Downtown a major focus of 2015 economic development in La Salle

You’ll find salons, clothing stores and restaurants in downtown. The city has tried to concentrate new retail to First Street and surrounding area and the strategy working.

La Salle Economic Development Director Don Aleksy says 11 focus groups that met while they were updating the comprehensive all mentioned the downtown. Major renovation work is underway at the old Blakely’s building on the northeast corner of First and Marquette Streets. The building will be the new home of a clothing store that’s already in La Salle.

At the other end of the block, a store and nail shop are planning to move into a renovated building that already has a video gaming business and two upstairs condominiums. A few blocks away a new Beck’s gas station is under construction.

Learn more about economic development in La Salle by listening to an interview that’s available at the Classic Hits 103.9 WLPO news page.

Fire chief offers advice for safely using heaters

Keeping your house warm when it’s below zero can be difficult, but before you plug in a space heater for added heat, make sure you have one that’s safe.

La Salle Fire Chief Andy Bacidore says if you’re going to use a space heater, make sure it is UL approved and has safety mechanisms that work. You also need to be careful not to place it close to beds or furniture that could catch fire.

If you’re using a heating device that uses fossil fuel or wood, Bacidore says carbon monoxide poises another danger. He says you should have working smoke detectors and a CO detector because both smoke and CO will put you into a deeper sleep and most fatal fires and CO poisonings happen while people are sleeping.

Don’t use your kitchen stove or oven as a heat source. Bacidore says that’s not what it was designed for.

Learn more about space heater safety by listening to an interview that’s available at the Classic Hits 103.9 WLPO news page.

Crews called for an accidential fire in La Salle

An accidental fire at an auto shop in downtown La Salle could have been worse. Firefighters were called to Last Muffler and Brake on First Street late Friday morning for a fire that started while employees were draining fuel from a car.

The fuel was going into a container on a tool cart when it started on fire. Workers were able to safely push the cart outside. Firefighters had it out in minutes.  Only the container and the cart were damaged.