Stay Awhile
Route 251 south of Mendota was shut down about four hours Friday night after a vehicle struck from behind a vehicle that had halted due to mechanical issues. There was no shoulder.
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Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
SHS English teacher Lauren Fritz said the Knitty Gritty Project teaches students how to knit scarves, which are then donated to local elementary schools. Fritz’s students recently donated 105 scarves to Franklin Elementary School — enough for every first-grade student.
From WIXN AM 1460
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Princeton vs. Rock Falls logo
The path to the Class 2A sectional championship game at Marengo was not an easy one for either Princeton or Rock Falls.
The Rockets got a buzzer-beater from Ryken Howard to slip past Winnebago 42-40 on Tuesday.
The Tigers had to rally from a 12-point deficit, fueled by a 17-0 run, to overturn Byron 46-42 in Wednesday’s semifinal.
The Tigers (21-12) and Rockets (24-8) will meet for the championship at 7 tonight at Marengo High School.
Princeton is riding a 12-game streak after standing 9-12. The Tigers own a 60-52 win over Rockets on Jan. 4 at Rock Falls.
Tonight’s winner will face the winner from the Chicago Christ the King Sectional in Monday’s Class 2A supersectional at Sterling High School. No. 2 Christ the King (24-9) meets No. 1 Montini Catholic (20-12) for the sectional title in Chicago.
Princeton will make its 13th sectional final appearance dating back to 1936, winning six of the first nine, but losing its last three. The Tigers last won a sectional championship in 2009 at Chillicothe, defeating Peoria Manual 71-65. The Tigers have also won sectional championships in 1954, 1955, 1992, 1994 and 2003.
Rock Falls has won nine sectional championships, its last in 2006 in Class AA.
Rock Falls won the 1999 Class A State championship with a state runner-up finish in 1958 in the one-class system. Princeton’s best state showing was a fourth-place finish in 1955, also in the one-class system, following a Sweet 16 run in 1954.
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
The Bureau County Good Citizens winners for 2024 are Connor Scott, Bureau Valley; Isabella Hagenbuch, St. Bede Academy; Bennett Williams, Princeton; Troy Anderson, Ohio, Ava Williams, La Moille; Jazmin Moreno, DePue; and Angela Guerrero, Hall. (Photo provided by Nancy Gartner)
The Princeton chapter of the National Daughters of the American Revolution held its annual youth luncheon March 1 honoring Bureau County’s DAR Good Citizen Award winners at the Underground Inn in Princeton.
This award recognizes and rewards high school seniors who possess the good citizenship qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities.
The DAR Good Citizens program and scholarship contest is intended to encourage and reward the sparkling qualities of good citizenship in students.
Each school’s DAR Good Citizen receives a DAR Good Citizens pin, certificate and wallet recognition card. The student is then eligible to enter the DAR Good Citizens Scholarship Contest. In 2023, 5,932 high school seniors participated, and nearly $500,000 in scholarships was awarded.
This year, Isabella Hagenbuch, a senior at St. Bede Academy in Peru was named the Illinois District II Good Citizens winner. She will be attending the Illinois DAR State Convention in Bloomington in April. This year’s ssays were titled Our American Heritage and our Responsibility for Preserving it: “What are the civic responsibilities of a good citizen and why are these duties, activities, and behaviors important to the shaping of the America you hope to experience.”
The Bureau County Good Citizens winners for 2024 are Connor Scott, Bureau Valley; Hagenbuch, St. Bede; Bennett Williams, Princeton; Troy Anderson, Ohio; Ava Williams, La Moille; Jazmin Moreno, DePue; and Angela Guerrero, Hall in Spring Valley.
Isabella Hagenbuch, a senior at St. Bede Academy, is pictured with Illinois Daughters of American Revolution District II Good Citizens Chair, Lydia Roberts. (Photo provided by Nancy Gartner)
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
The Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team announced three recent arrests Friday.
The Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team announced three recent arrests Friday.
Amanda C. Hayward, 43, of Mendota is charged with unlawful delivery of methamphetamine, a Class 1 felony carrying four to 15 years in prison. Hayward is alleged to have delivered more than 5 grams but less than 15 grams of methamphetamine to Tri-DENT agents in Peru.
Brandi J. Pyles, 35, of Peru is charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, a Class 2 felony carrying three to seven years in prison. Pyles is alleged to have delivered less than 1 gram of heroin/fentanyl to Tri-DENT agents in Peru.
Nicolas A. Kearfoot, 32, of Streator is charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, both Class 2 felonies. Kearfoot is alleged to have delivered less than 1 gram of bromazolam (a synthetic drug that works like Xanax) to Tri-DENT agents in Streator on two separate occasions.
Each was issued a notice to appear in La Salle County Circuit Court by the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty.
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Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Students in Sterling and Dixon engaged in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) activities Thursday, March 6, 2025, at their respective schools.
From WIXN AM 1460
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Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
The second annual Illinois Valley Library Road Trip begins April 6.
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Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
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Illinios State Police said Tuesday they are investigating a two-vehicle fatal crash on Route 29, about 1 mile west of Route 89, near Spring Valley.
The crash occurred at about 10:58 p.m. Monday. The roadway was closed during the investigation and was open at about 3 a.m. Tuesday.
The investigation is active and the Illinois State Police did not release any further information.
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Gerhard Ward tells the Utica Planning Commission about plans for Fox River Off Road 2.0 during the commission’s meeting Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. Ward and his family want to offer dirt bike riders a venue in rural Utica. (Tom Collins)
There once was a track for dirt bikes and off-road vehicles in rural Utica. Two developers want to reopen it – and manage it better than previous owners had.
On Tuesday, the Utica Planning Commission recommended that petitions, with assorted conditions, be granted to Gerhard and Patricia Ward, who hope to acquire almost 600 acres along the south side of 2803rd Road and turn the property into Fox Valley Off Road 2.0.
Tuesday’s votes only advanced a recommendation to the Utica Village Board, which has final say and could take up the matter Thursday.
Gerhard Ward said he had worked at the track years ago and “didn’t like how it was run.” He had no ownership stake then and no say in the operations.
Mindful of past nuisance complaints, Ward said dirt bikes today are less noisy and are increasingly electrically powered. An after-hours number will be available for neighbors to report unauthorized riders. The property will be enclosed, and riders will be warned: Drive off the complex and onto private property, and you will be banned for life.
Fox Valley Off Road Gerhard Ward discusses plans to reopen Fox Valley Off Road in Utica. The 600-acre complex was open under previous ownership until 2008. (Tom Collins)
Ward said that, weather permitting, the facility would be open from March to November for off-road riding – “almost exclusively dirt bikes” – and the parcel contains no arable land.
“There’s absolutely no farm ground at all,” Gerhard Ward said, adding later, “We have a 30-year agreement with the sand company that it cannot be mined again.”
According to the Wards’ petition, the property in question was established in the 1980s as an off-road riding park until it was sold to Unimin Corp. (now COVIA) in 2008. COVIA, according to the petition, is willing to exchange the property for parcels in Dayton Township.
(Actually, the Wards also propose using some of the land for a solar farm, but that matter will be settled later.)
Utica Fire Chief Ben Brown said he approached the Wards with a litany of questions and came away with a plan for how to reach the injured. There is a set landing zone. The complex will operate in daylight, when first responders are available. GPS technology will help emergency medical services find injured riders.
Public opinion was sharply divided.
Ben Wolfe of Poplar Grove said he has a law enforcement background and has found riding in a controlled environment is infinitely preferable to having riders run around in the wild. He also vouched for the Ward family.
“When they tell you they’re going to put a fence up, they’re going to put a fence up,” he said. “These are family-oriented people who will not set you up for failure because they’re not going to set themselves up for failure.”
Tom Keenan of Ottawa said he has ridden and has worked at other riding facilities, and the Ward family “sets the gold standard for how it should be done.”
Jim Blaydes of Peru said he is a longtime rider who called the Wards’ other facilities “a family environment, safe for kids.”
“What these people have done here is far superior to the riding parks in the area,” Blaydes said.
“How would you feel if this is coming to your backyard?” countered Roger Bauer, who lives near the proposed complex. “We’ve been taking a [heck] of a beating on our property values.”
Diane Gassman, another rural Utica resident, said there wasn’t much notification either by the Wards or the village.
“How long have you had this information? We just got it,” Gassman said, urging time for longer consideration and the imposition assorted conditions. She added later, “This seems like a done deal.”
Separately, a proposal to add camping spaces to a tavern at Utica’s south end was withdrawn. Benjamin Ruiz, owner of Ano del Gallo, at one point had sought the village’s OK to install “small lodging facilities” on 3.25 acres of unused space.
Finally, the Planning Commission approved a petition from Lucas and Kylie Mattioda to construct an accessory building, for pool use, at 2874 E. 752nd Road. Kylie Mattioda is a Utica village trustee and would have to recuse herself from any vote that comes up Thursday before the Utica Village Board.
Patricia and Gerhard Ward swear to tell truthful testimony at a Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, meeting of the Utica Planning Commission. The Wards want to redevelop almost 600 acres along the south side of 2803rd Road into Fox Valley Off Road 2.0, a complex for off-road riding. (Tom Collins)
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Princeton’s Common Green carries the football against Montini Catholic during the Class 3A quarterfinal game on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024 at Bryant Field in Princeton. Montini won 24-7. (Scott Anderson)
Lombard 24, Princeton 7
Scoring plays
M – Forio 25 pass from Abrams (Berberich kick), 4:23 1Q
P – Gibson 50 pass from Lanham (Morris kick), 1:12 2Q
M – Forio 21 pass from Abrams (Berberich kick), 0:00 2Q
M – Berberich 27 field goal, 9:06 4Q
M – Peterson 14 run (Berberich kick), 2:18 4Q
Individual statistics
RUSHING: M – Peterson 17-100 (TD), Abrams 11-65, James 4-52, Florio 4-11. P – Etheridge 17-65, Green 5-32, Lanham 8-29, Christiansen 6-5, LaPorte 1-9, Gibson 1-1.
PASSING: M – Abrams 11-15-1, 95 yards (2 TDs). P – Lanham 5-10-1, 70 yards (TD).
RECEIVING: M – Florio 6-63 (2 TDs), Mason 2-18, Peterson 2-10, Tenuta 1-4. P – Gibson 1-50 (TD), LaPorte 2-6, Burden 1-14.
TACKLES: M – Lane 6, Alexander 5, Barrett 5, Hubany 4, Castaldo 4. P – Lanham 10, Green 7, Etheridge 7, Burden 6, LaPorte 5, Morris 4, Christiansen 4, Odell 3.
INTERCEPTIONS: P – Burden.
Time of game: 2:02
Game-time temperature: 53 degrees
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Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network