The La Salle City Council met last night at 6:30 pm and the meeting began with comments from those residents in attendance. Official steps seem to be happening towards checking air quality near the Carus Chemical plant on the East Side. The Community has been asking for a second monitor to check the quality of the air as close to the Carus plant as possible. There is already one at the La Salle library south of Carus. The City obliged with a second one at the Rotary Park. LaSalle resident Dawn Hicks has been waiting for an update for weeks. Hicks said she has been asking for a second monitor to check the quality of the air as close to the Carus plant as possible. The City obliged and reported the second monitor had arrived completely sealed at City Hall. No calibration or setting changes were needed, it just needed to be installed and plugged in at the Rotary Club. Deputy Clerk Brent Bader says residents can access the new air quality monitor with an app which you can access at iq air dot com. You’ll need to request the library location or the Rotary Park location. The information is updated daily. If residents see if the air quality is poor, the app will tell residents by a color coding system, green meaning the air is safe, orange, yellow, and red are unsafe air quality days and you can read what precautions to take if you are going out for the day. You can also now compare two devices for extra peace of mind or help you decide not to be outside for so long on a bad day.
LaSalle resident Jamie Hicks also delivered remarks before the board last night. He says the City is relying on daily self-testing done by Carus to keep the city safe. Hicks maintains the city needs to be more proactive and test Carus quarterly in keeping with their ordinance. Currently the City of Lasalle tests runoff from Carus once a year.
Mayor Jeff Grove responded that the City is comfortable testing Carus’ discharge at the City wastewater treatment facility annually as there have been no issues so far. If they see elevated levels at the treatment plant, they would then follow up on where it’s coming from although by then any unsafe levels of contaminants from Carus would have already passed through the city sewer system untreated.
La Salle resident Eric Dyas was also present at the meeting. His main concern was why LP High was not contacted on January 11th, the day of the Carus Chemical fire. Dyas understood that the school had no idea what was going on at Carus that day and could not take appropriate action. Dyas is the only citizen on a committee with Carus officials and city alderman and the fire chief that will meet Thursday at Carus to decide what is the best way to get word out to the school should another HazMat event happen at Carus. Mayor Jeff Grove took a broader approach saying the city has a system in place to alert the community, not just one individual building, it’s a code red system, like a reverse 911 where the City contacts you about emergencies. You however must be “on the list” to get the text and LP High School was not on the list on January 11th.
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If you’ve ever wondered what the different sirens you hear coming from the Naplate Fire Department are, you are not alone.
When reached for comment, Naplate Fire said when you hear their sirens you should go to the Naplate Fire Department Facebook page where they will post details. There are two main blasts and both are per FEMA regulations. The Department said a fire siren will last 45 seconds and a weather siren will be a continuous blast for 3 minutes.
The Village can also employ a high low tone just before a missing person message is announced over a PA or a hazmat notice.
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WEATHER:
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 64. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35. South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
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OBITUARIES:
Lance W, Valle, 66, of Ottawa, passed away peacefully on November 9th, surrounded by his loving family. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on today at Gladfelter-Roetker Funeral Home. Interment will follow at St. Columba Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. to service time today at the funeral home.
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Norma (Bridwell) Jameson, 96, of Ottawa, passed away on Sunday morning, November 12th, at her home surrounded by family.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 16th, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottawa. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, at the church. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa.
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Barbara Olson, age 75, of Ottawa, passed away Monday, November 13th, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, November 17th at Gladfelter-Roetker Funeral Home. A luncheon will follow at the American Legion Post 33 in Ottawa. Visitation will be at the funeral home from 4:00 to 7:00 PM on Thursday, November 16th. Cremation rites will be accorded following services.
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LOCAL SPORTS:
Ottawa Dolphins Finish 2nd out of 6 teams at ILVY Meet
186 Swimmers competed from 6 teams
The Ottawa Dolphins had 60 swimmers participate.
Team Scores – Ottawa Y Dolphins – 826
Personal Best Swims
- Caden Brown, Clayton Budnick, Teagan Gill, Evelyn Hansen, Davis Hawkins, Declan Hawkins, Olivia Hogue, Quinn Kohut, Kaiden Lemke, Reagan Mathews, Willow Murley, Shane O’Brien, and Corbyn Rutherford swam all of their events in best times.
Individual Double Winners
Hayden Bressendorf, Tucker Citta, Davis Hawkins, Jonathan Neu
Individual Single Winners
Jeremiah Abernathy, Caden Brown, Addison Fultz, Kailey Goetsch, Evelyn Hansen, Devyn Mathews, Atley Strow, Annabelle Threadgill
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HIGH SCHOOL LOCAL SPORTS:
Girls basketball
Mahomet-Seymour 61, Ottawa 52: At the Prairie Central/Pontiac Turkey Tip-Off Tournament in Fairbury, the Pirates fell short against the Bulldogs in their season opener.
Seneca 44, Herscher 23: At the Falcon-Irish Thanksgiving Tournament in Seneca, the Fighting Irish led the Tigers to get the season-opening victory.
Serena 55, Hall 34: At the Falcon-Irish Thanksgiving Tournament in Seneca, the Huskers opened the season with a win over the Red Devils.
Sandwich 48, Somonauk-Leland 36: At the Tim Hunes Breakout Tournament in Somonauk, the Indians began the season with a win over the host Bobcats.
West Chicago 54, Earlville 14: At the IMSA Tournament, the Red Raiders fell in their season opener to the Class 4A Wildcats.
Feildcrest 73, Marquette 49: Fieldcrest defeated Marquette 73-49 during the Integrated Seed Lady Falcon Basketball Classic tournament at Flanagan High School.
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PRO/COLLAGE SPORTS:
>>Bulls Comeback Bid Falls Short
(Milwaukee, WI) — The Bulls overcame a 17-point first-half deficit but still lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 118-09 at Fiserv Forum. DeMar DeRozan hit a free throw with under five minutes left in the third quarter to put Chicago up by one, but the Bucks quickly re-took the lead and went up by 17 points again in the fourth. Nikola Vucevic had 26 points and 12 boards in the losing effort, while Zach LaVine poured in 20. The Bulls are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference at 4-and-7. Chicago hosts Orlando tomorrow night.
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>>Cubs Introduce Counsell
(Chicago, IL) — Cubs fans got to hear their new manager speak for the first time when the ball club introduced Craig Counsell to the media yesterday. Counsell was hired away from the Brewers last week. He told reporters that he chose to go to Chicago because the team is in a good place competitively. Counsell’s first game as manager will be against the World Champion Texas Rangers next March.
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>>Bears Uncertain About Sunday’s Starting Quarterback
(Lake Forest, IL) — Justin Fields is getting closer to returning to the field. The Bears quarterback was limited in practice all last week, and he continued throwing during individual drills yesterday. Head coach Matt Eberflus says the team will know whether Fields will be able to go later this week. Fields has been out since October 15th with a dislocated thumb. If he can’t go, the team will turn once again to undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent. The Bears visit the Lions this Sunday.
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>>Blackhawks Prepare For Lightning
(Chicago, IL) — The Blackhawks are spending today and tomorrow gearing up for their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at United Center on Thursday. The Blackhawks lost to the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Sunday, but they earned a road win against the Lightning last Thursday. Chicago is in last place in the Central Division with ten points and a 5-8-and-0 record.
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>>Paddock Wins Big Ten Award
(Champaign, IL) — John Paddock is being recognized for his phenomenal performance over the weekend. The Big Ten named Paddock the Offensive Player of the Week yesterday. Paddock passed for 507 yards and four touchdowns as the Illini beat Indiana 48-45 in overtime on Saturday. Paddock got his first start after leading Illinois to a 27-26 comeback victory over Minnesota in the previous week, coming in for relief of Luke Altmyer in the final 90 seconds. Illinois visits number 22 Iowa this Saturday.
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>>Illinois Hosts Marquette
(Champaign, IL) — The Illinois Fighting Illini go for the upset when they host number-five Marquette at State Farm Center tonight. Illinois is in the top 25 for the first time this season, jumping to number 23 in yesterday’s coaches poll. The Illini are 2-and-0 after beating Oakland 64-53 on Friday. Tonight’s game tips off at 7:00 PM.
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>>Northwestern Welcomes Western Michigan
(Evanston, IL) — The Northwestern Wildcats look to stay undefeated when they host Western Michigan at Welsh-Ryan Arena tonight. The Wildcats beat Dayton last Friday to improve to 2-and-0 on the season. Tonight’s game tips off at 7:00 PM.
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>>College Basketball Round Up
In college basketball action yesterday, Northern Illinois crushed Illinois Tech 107-55. Tonight, DePaul hosts South Dakota, Bradley welcomes Tarleton State, Chicago State is at home against CSUN, UIC visits Loyola, and Valparaiso has a home game against Green Bay.