Ottawa High School’s Homecoming Week has been disrupted by a concerning incident involving a gun on campus. The school’s superintendent, Dr. Michael Cushing, has issued three safety alerts in response to growing fears among students and parents. The latest alert was sent on Thursday morning to address rumors on social media about a potential threat to the school. Dr. Cushing reassured parents that the school’s investigation found no credible evidence to support the rumors or indicate an active threat to student safety. As a precaution, additional law enforcement officers will be present at the school for the remainder of the week. The series of events began on Tuesday when rumors led school officials and Ottawa police to discover an unloaded gun inside a student’s locker. Two students have been charged, and one is currently in custody at the La Salle County Detention Home. In a message to parents on Wednesday, Dr. Cushing emphasized that the incident seemed to be isolated, with no ongoing threat to the school community. He urged students, staff, and community members to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity. Despite the disruptions, the school administration is working to ensure that Homecoming festivities can continue safely, with the added security presence providing extra reassurance to the school community.
Also on Thursday, the Marseilles Police Department concluded its investigation into a threat made by a middle school student, determining that it posed no credible risk to the safety of students or staff. Authorities were alerted immediately after the statement was made, prompting the school to implement safety protocols. According to officials, the threat, made around 10:30 a.m., was confined to a single classroom. While there was no mention of a weapon on campus, police conducted a thorough search of areas accessible to the student, finding no evidence of a weapon. The Marseilles Police Department and school administration emphasized their commitment to maintaining a secure learning environment and assured the community that any threat, regardless of intent, is taken seriously. For further inquiries, the public is encouraged to contact the Marseilles Police Department or Marseilles Elementary School.
An investigation is underway after threats were made against two schools in Dixon. Police say both Reagan Middle School and Madison Elementary Schools received a phone call yesterday morning from someone saying “Get ready for a school shootout today, bye.” The school resource officer identified the caller as a Madison Elementary School student, and two other students were identified as possibly being involved in the threats. The students told police they were “just joking when they made the call”.
—————————————————————–
The Ottawa Elementary School District is looking for a new superintendent as the current superintendent, Dr. Michelle Lee, is retiring. The district aims to announce the final candidate by March 10. The District 141 School Board has enlisted the help of an executive search firm to find a replacement. The board is stressing their commitment to a comprehensive search, raising questions about background checks, candidate exposure, and their access to the search firm’s candidate database. The search firm assured the board that the process would be fully customizable, accommodating specific requests and traditional elements of superintendent searches. The board has shown interest in conducting one-on-one meetings with members to create a leadership profile, organizing site visits, and holding a board meeting at the prospective new superintendent’s current school.
—————————————————————–
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is warning the public about a new scam that targets student loan borrowers. Scammers contact borrowers and make false promises that they can guarantee lower monthly payments or loan forgiveness, often demanding upfront fees to do so and promising immediate results. Borrowers typically can request these services for free from the U.S. Department of Education or their student loan servicer. Scammers will contact targets by phone, text, email, and regular mail, and may falsely claim to have ties to government agencies.
—————————————————————–
Illinois is providing electronic vehicle chargers for use throughout the state. Electric mobility company EVBox has donated 40 chargers to be placed at Illinois state parks, historic sites, museums, beaches, and other widely used public areas. These are the first EV chargers made available for public use by the State of Illinois. The state will not charge a fee for drivers to use them.
—————————————————————–
The Illinois Department of Central Management Services is hosting the 2024 State of Illinois Vendor Summit this month. The event will be held on October 17th at the CMS Regional Complex in Springfield. The Summit offers an opportunity for businesses to learn about upcoming contracting opportunities with State agencies and State universities, to connect with industry experts, and to attend workshops and training presented by subject matter experts.
—————————————————————–
No one is in custody after Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ Chicago home was defaced with paint this week. The incident happened early Tuesday, just hours after pro-Palestinian activists protested outside a fundraiser for the Treasurer downtown due to his oversight of the state’s investments in Israel. Frerichs released a statement accusing the protesters of attempting to “cause fear and intimidation through scare tactics,” claiming they threatened his twin one-year-old boys.
—————————————————————–
Ottawa Police arrested 31-year-old Felicia N. Skalnik of Ottawa Thursday following an incident in the 2700 block of Columbus Street. Skalnik faces charges of domestic battery, aggravated battery to a police officer, and resisting a peace officer.
—————————————————————–
Just after 4:30 Wednesday morning, LaSalle County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a single-vehicle accident with no injuries in Fall River Township near the intersection of North 2653rd Road and East 21st Road that resulted in several charges against the driver. Deputies say 28-year-old Haley Edgar of Marseilles was westbound on North 2653rd Road and swerved to avoid a deer, lost control of her vehicle, and veered into the yard of a residence at 2181 North 2653rd Road. The vehicle struck a gas line and a wooden fence before coming to a stop. Following the investigation, Edgar was arrested and charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to report an accident, leaving the scene of an accident, and driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content over 0.08. Edgar was taken to the LaSalle County Jail and later released with a notice to appear in court.
—————————————————————–
A traffic stop early Thursday morning led to the arrest of a Mendota man for driving with a suspended license. Around 1:43 a.m. on Thursday, Mendota Police officers conducted a routine stop near the intersection of U.S. 34 and East 525th Road. During the stop, officers arrested 49-year-old Daniel R. Kuhn after discovering his driver’s license had been suspended. Kuhn was released with a notice to appear in court.
—————————————————————–
42-year-old Christian A. Biggins was picked up by Ottawa Police in the 1500 block of Pine Street Thursday on a warrant for failure to appear in court.
—————————————————————–
24-year-old Jacob Jones of Chicago was stopped by LaSalle County Deputies near Illinois 71 and East 30th Road in Mission Township shortly after Midnight Thursday. Jones was cited for speeding at 76 mph in a 55 mph zone as well as driving without a license. He was released with a court date.
—————————————————————–
WEATHER:
Today
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10 am, then a slight chance of showers between 10 am and 11 am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 73. East-northeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. The chance of precipitation is 50%.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low of around 53. East-northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
—————————————————————–
OBITUARIES:
Pamela Carlson, 79, of Sheridan, passed away peacefully on October 2nd. There will be no services for Pamela Carlson, Ottawa Funeral Home is handling all arrangements for the family.
—————————————————————–
Chad Allen Elliott Abram, 34, of Ottawa, passed away Tuesday, September 24th, at OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center. A visitation will be held on Saturday, October 5th, from 12:00 pm until 2:00 pm at Ottawa Funeral Home. A funeral ceremony will take place at 2:00 pm at the funeral home. Cremation rites have been entrusted to Ottawa Funeral Home.
—————————————————————–
LOCAL SPORTS:
FOOTBALL
At Ottawa: The Ottawa Pirates welcome the LP Cavaliers to King Field for homecoming tonight and their 126th meeting. There will be a 7:15 pm kickoff due to homecoming activities before the game. This is the second meeting between the two teams in a month, LP beat Ottawa in the first meeting 33 to 0. Hunter O’Dell & Chris Pagakis will be on the call for tonight’s game.
Marquette’s game against Walther Christian was cancelled for Saturday due to a forfeit by Walther.
—————————————————————–
GIRLS SWIMMING
At Pontiac: The La Salle-Peru co-op swept the relays on the way to a victory in a triangular Thursday.
—————————————————————–
VOLLEYBALL
Ottawa 2, Sycamore 0: At Kingman Gym on Thursday
Marquette 2, Midland 0: At rural Varna
Earlville 2, Sandwich 1:
Seneca 2, St. Bede 0:
Streator 2, Reed-Custer 0: At Pops Dale Gymnasium
—————————————————————–
GIRLS TENNIS
St. Bede 3, Peoria Christian 2: The Bruins earned a victory in Peru
—————————————————————–
Boys soccer
Ottawa 3, Morris 0: At Morris
—————————————————————–
You can find high school sports scores in our area on the WCMY Scorestream at 1430 wcmy.com/highschoolsports/
—————————————————————–
PRO SPORTS:
The Chicago Bears aim to get back above .500 when they host the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field on Sunday. Chicago improved to 2-and-2 last week with a 24-18 win against the Rams. Caleb Williams continues to struggle in his rookie season, but he’ll get a chance to take advantage of the worst scoring defense in the NFL. Defensive lineman Zacch Pickens and defensive back Terell Smith both missed practice with injuries yesterday. Sunday’s game kicks off at noon.
—————————————————————–
The Chicago Blackhawks continue preseason play with a game against the Minnesota Wild at the United Center tonight. The Hawks are coming off a 7-2 road loss to Minnesota on Tuesday. Chicago is 0-3-and-1 in exhibition play this year. Tonight’s contest gets underway at 7:30 PM.
—————————————————————–
The Bulls are adding to their preseason roster. The team signed Josh Primo to a training camp contract yesterday. Primo was the 12th overall pick in 2021 by the San Antonio Spurs. The 21-year-old averaged one point and half a rebound during his two appearances with the Clippers last season. The Bulls open up preseason play against the Cavaliers next Tuesday.
—————————————————————–
COLLEGE SPORTS:
The Big Ten basketball preseason media poll for the 2024-25 season is out. Illinois was picked to finish fourth in the conference. Purdue is tabbed to win the Big Ten.
—————————————————————–
The Northwestern Wildcats go for the upset when they host number-24 Indiana at Martin Stadium tomorrow. The Wildcats had their bye last weekend after losing to Washington 24-5 on September 21st. Northwestern is 2-and-2 overall and 0-and-1 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats haven’t lost to Indiana at home since 1993. Tomorrow’s game kicks off at 2:30 PM.
—————————————————————–
In other college football action this weekend, Northern Illinois hosts UMass, and Illinois State visits Southern Illinois.