There was a special meeting of the Village of Utica Board of Trustees last night. Village Engineer Kevin Heitz and Director of Village Affairs Jamie Turczyn made a presentation regarding the 1.25 million dollar Rebuild Downtown and Main Street Grant.
The grant was applied for in August of 2022 and the Village was given the go-ahead to start spending money this August.
The grant will redevelop the plot of land destroyed by the April 20th, 2004 tornado, a block just north of downtown Utica between Mill Street and what will become Clark Street extended, and between Church and Grove Street. The block will be called the new Market on Mill Street.
The first order of business will be to lift that block out of the flood plain. The first construction phase will be 12 colorful booths and a concrete walkway stamped to look like wood around a central green.
There will be four separate entrances to the green with the main one being through the current tornado memorial on Church Street. Decorative flat stones will surround the entire Mill Street project. Public restrooms, constructed solely on the Village’s budget, will be added north of the green by the current pumping station.
Mayor David Stewart said the village had a lot of input from the community. One of the key requests was adequate parking. That issue will be addressed by the Village’s acquisition of a parcel of land that was formerly a gas station southwest of the proposed new block. That entire corner will be dedicated to parking and extra parking will be added north of the library on Grove Street.
One member of the public was concerned that the new view from a sidewalk along Mill Street by the current public library, for example, would just be the backs of cookie-cutter shacks. Turczyn addressed that concern saying the back of the shop will each have a decorative window with shutters and a European-style flower bed. Turczyn said they got a lot of input on the European-styled Berwyn boardwalk.
Heitz said that each booth would have electricity and if they sold flowers, for example, access to water. Victorian-themed strings of light similar to Jordan Block will create a festive light scheme above the green. The rent for each booth is priced more to cover the cost of heat and electricity. The concept is not seen as a money-maker per se but each of the 12 booths being a “business incubator”. It is hoped that after a year they will exit the booth and start or move into a brick-and-mortar shop in Utica or somewhere in La Salle County. Two of the requirements for shop applicants are they operate at least on weekends from May to December and only sell goods currently not available downtown.
There will be room eventually for 18 booths. In winter it is envisioned the green will become an ice skating rink.
Construction of Mill Street Market is planned for March of 2024 and to be complete by the end of May weather permitting.
An envisioned project design is available to see on the WCMY Facebook page.
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A rare event took place Wednesday morning, an actual earthquake. The Geology Professor at IVCC, Mike Phillips, says they happen in Illinois about every 5 to 10 years and they are rare because LaSalle County is not near a plate boundary, rather Northern Illinois is over the middle of a giant plate which rarely shifts in the middle.
12,000 years ago this part of Illinois was covered with about 2,000 feet of ice that’s no longer in 2023, however, the Earth’s crust does still react from time to time by the loss of weight and pops occasionally from time to time. Earthquakes are measured in two ways, by magnitude and by intensity. The intensity is assigned a Roman numeral. Here is where listeners who experienced the quake can help seismologists. You can go to earthquake.usgs.gov and report what you experienced. Most people in Putnam County report they were jolted awake, their bed did feel the quake. Students in Phillips’s class reported it reminded them of a lot of typical quarry blasts. We also heard a report it felt like a sonic boom when a military plane breaks the sound barrier. Though over 350 reports have been filed at the USGS website, Phillips cannot stress enough how important it is to file a report if you feel something while it’s still a fresh memory as it helps them to learn more about the intensity of this morning’s quake.
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The Peoria County Coroner is confirming that the human remains found this past weekend in a wooded area in Peoria County belong to a missing Brimfield man. A hunter discovered the remains of Logan Dunne Sunday east of the Kickapoo Creek in the 300 block of North Kickapoo Creek Road. Dunne was identified by dental records. His death is under investigation.
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WEATHER:
Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. Breezy, with a south-southwest wind of 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
Thursday Night
Showers are likely, mainly between midnight and 3 am. Cloudy, with a low of around 45. Breezy, with a south-southwest wind of 15 to 20 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. The chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts to less than a tenth of an inch possible.
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OBITUARIES:
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 tomorrow 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 today. Cremation rites will be accorded following services.
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Jacqueline Curtin 93 of Ottawa, passed away peacefully with family at her side at the LaSalle County Nursing Home in Ottawa on November 8th. A grave service will be tomorrow, at 11 a.m., at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Utica. Burgess Funeral Home is handling the service.
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LOCAL SPORTS:
Girls basketball
Stark County 39, Streator 36: At the Princeton Holiday Tournament, the Bulldogs dropped (0-2) on the season with the loss to the Rebels on Wednesday.
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Newark 47, La Salle-Peru 41: At the Tim Humes Breakout Tournament in Somonauk, the Norsemen evened their record at 1-1 with the win over the Cavaliers.
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Rockford East 50, Earlville 43: At the IMSA Tournament, the Red Raiders dropped to 0-3 on the season in the loss to the E-Rabs.
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Boys bowling
Hall 2,741, Ottawa 2,593: At Ladd Lanes, the Pirates — despite a 469 series with high games of 176 and 175 from Corwin Diaz — fell on the road to the Red Devils.
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Fighting Irish Boys Basketball will play at the United Center.
On Thursday, December 21st, the Seneca Fighting Irish will play the Streator Bulldogs(Varsity Boys Basketball) at the United Center in Chicago at 1:30 pm. You must have a Bulls ticket for their game that night versus the Boston Celtics to get in.
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PRO & COLLEGE SPORTS:
>>Bulls Get Beat At The Buzzer
(Chicago, IL) — The Bulls were the victims of a Paolo Banchero buzzer-beater during a 96-94 loss to the Orlando Magic at United Center. Banchero hit a fadeaway as time expired just moments after Zach LaVine tied the game with a three. LaVine led Chicago with 19 points, while Vucevic chipped in with 17. The Bulls dropped to 4-and-8 and will host Orlando again tomorrow night.
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>>Blackhawks Host Lightning
(Chicago, IL) — The Blackhawks will try to get back in the win column when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at United Center tonight. The Hawks are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. Chicago is at the bottom of the Central Division with just ten points and a 5-8-and-0 record. However, the Blackhawks beat the Lightning in Florida last week. Tonight’s game starts at 7:00 PM.
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>>Fields To Start Against Detroit
(Lake Forest, IL) — The Bears will have their star quarterback back on the field when they take on the Lions this weekend. Head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters yesterday that he plans to start Justin Fields in Week 11. Fields has missed the last four games after dislocating his thumb against the Minnesota Vikings on October 15th. The third-year quarterback had 1,201 passing yards to go along with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions before the injury. He’s also rushed for 237 yards and a score.
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>>Wildcats Give Head Coaching Job To Braun
(Evanston, IL) — The Northwestern Wildcats have removed the “interim” label from David Braun’s title. The team announced yesterday that Braun would be the full-time head coach of the football team moving forward. Braun joined the Wildcats as a defensive coordinator during the offseason, but he became the interim head coach when Pat Fitzgerald was fired because of hazing allegations within Northwestern’s program. Braun has led the team to a 5-5 record overall and a 3-and-4 mark in the Big Ten while taking over a program that went just 1-and-11 last year. The Wildcats host Purdue on Saturday.
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>>Notre Dame Plays Auburn
(Brooklyn, NY) — The Notre Dame men’s basketball team goes up against Auburn in the first game of the 2023 Legend’s Classic from Barclays Center tonight. The Fighting Irish are coming off a 71-61 loss to Western Carolina last Saturday. Notre Dame is just 1-and-1 to start the season. Tonight’s game starts at 8:00 PM Central time.
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>>College Basketball Round Up
In college basketball action yesterday, Illinois State beat Eastern Illinois 69-61. Tonight, Chicago State visits Southern Illinois.