Weather service schedules annual severe weather spotter classes

Maybe this will have you thinking of warmer weather. The National Weather Service has planned another round of severe weather spotter classes.

In La Salle County, there will be a storm spotter class Tuesday, March 3rd at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby. It starts at 6. In Putnam County there’s a weather spotter class Monday, March 23 at the Putnam County Emergency Management building in Hennepin starting at 6:30pm.

The severe weather classes train you to identify storms and tornadoes and then report them to the National Weather Service. They are free and usually last a couple of hours.

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.

Updated: driver hurt in Putnam County rollover crash

A crash before sunrise in Putnam County sent a woman to the hospital. The Putnam County Sheriff’s office says Amy Scruggs of Spring Valley was heading north on Route 89 around 5am Thursday when she claims she swerved to avoid another car. Her car rolled once into a field.

Scruggs was taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru. Deputies say she had her dog with her and it wasn’t hurt.

 

Man accused in Putnam County burglary arrested in Ottawa

A search of an apartment in Ottawa turned up items investigators say were stolen in Putnam County. Richard Young was arrested Tuesday evening after officers from the La Salle County Sheriff’s Department, Ottawa Police Department and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office searched his place on Route 6.

Young was arrested for felony theft and was being held in the La Salle County Jail with his bond set at $100,000.

La Salle County Sheriff Tom Templeton says Young is suspected in several burglaries that happened in La Salle County too.

New States Attorney selected

The next States Attorney for Putnam County has been chosen. The NewsTribune reports that Christina Mennie was officially appointed Saturday the Putnam County Board.

Mennie will replace James Mack who is leaving the post after being elected a circuit judge position. Like Mack, Mennie is a Republican.

Unemployment numbers continued to improve in September

Gasoline prices aren’t the only numbers declining. Local unemployment figures continue to improve. The Ottawa-Streator Area September unemployment rate was 7.6%, down more than three percent from last September.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security says the last time the unemployment rate was lower was in 2008. Jobs were added in professional-business services and transportation-warehousing. Jobs were lost in manufacturing.

La Salle County’s September unemployment rate was 7.6%, down three percent from last September.

In Bureau County, unemployment improved to 7.7%, down from 8.6% and Putnam County was at 7.3%, down from 9.7%.

 

Crash leads to a car fire on Route 18

Driving in a pouring rain is different than driving on a dry day. A woman from Peoria will be shopping for a new car after hers was destroyed in a crash Tuesday evening in Putnam County.

Police say Sreyoneel Biwas was on Route 18 near Route 26 when she lost controlled. Her car went down a hill and overturned. She was able to get out before it caught fire. She wasn’t hurt, but the car was a total loss.

Liquor commission tickets five area businesses

It’s probably been awhile since you were carded before buying alcohol, but there was a time when your age wasn’t so obvious.

Five businesses in Putnam County were ticketed for allegedly selling alcohol to people under 21 during a sting Wednesday by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission.

Ticketed were Bellino’s Tavern in Standard, Country Corner Convenience Store in McNabb, Da Rajun Cajun Bar and Grill in McNabb, Marko’s in Mark and Pagan O’Leary’s in Granville.  Eight other businesses passed the test.

Area unemployment rates show declines

An 8.8 percent unemployment rate is high, but it is an improvement over the same time last year. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says La Salle County’s August 2014 unemployment was 8.8 percent, down from 11.1 percent last August.

Putnam County’s unemployment rate also declined from 9.7 percent to 7.8 percent last month. The decline in Bureau County was slight, going from 9.2 percent in August 2013 to 8.9 percent this August.

For the Ottawa-Streator Area, gains were made in the transportation-warehousing-Utilities sector but jobs were lost in the manufacturing and government sectors.

Woman in critical condition following motorcycle crash

Three days after a crash in Putnam County, a woman from Magnolia remains in critical condition. Kathleen Dilbeck was flown to St. Francis Medical Center Sunday afternoon.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department says Dilbeck was riding a motorcycle tricycle Sunday afternoon on Route 89 when it crashed with Damodara Karkera of Streator.

James Dilbeck of Magnolia was treated at Illinois Valley Community Hospital. Karkera was ticketed for failure to yield turning left.