The police department put out a message saying they are looking for a cash register and men’s boots that were pitched after an overnight burglary. They say to check your dumpsters, garbage cans and yards. If you find the boots and or cash register, don’t touch them, just call 309-364-3933.

The message goes on to say the suspect in the burglary took Christmas deliveries off someone’s porch. Officers have a Carhartt sweatshirt and Seattle Seahawk item that are waiting to be identified and picked up.

According to the NewsTribune, the Bureau County Board is buying property in Wyanet to house vehicles used by the transportation service. The board will use $125,000 out of their capital projects fund to buy the property.

The county board also passed a resolution approving a grant that provides funding for the transportation service.

A Wind Chill Advisory takes effect in the Illinois Valley at 9 Wednesday night and lasts through 10 Thursday morning. During that time, the wind chill could dip from 15 to 30 below zero.

If you’re going to be outside for any length of time, make sure to bundle up as much as possible. The frigid temperatures are expected to stick around through the weekend.

Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru is again opening its cafeteria as a warming center. To escape the cold overnight at the hospital make sure you enter thru the emergency department.

Department of Human Services offices are also open as warming centers during regular business hours. You can find DHS offices on Second Street in La Salle, on Backbone Road in Princeton and along First Avenue in Ottawa.

If it’s a struggle to pay winter heating bills and you have children six years old or younger, you can now apply for heating assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or LIHEAP. To qualify, a single person must make $1,485 a month or less. A family of four is eligible if your income is below $3,038 a month.

Applications for this help officially opened November 1^st. Besides families with young children, senior citizens and people with disabilities can also now apply for LIHEAP funds.

It’s the 6^th annual Beards for Christmas fundraiser at Maze Lumber. Spokesman for the event Chad Errio says they recently passed last year’s total, and they’re on track to hit their goal of $3,200.

If you want to have a say in whose beard is best, you have until Friday to cast your vote at Maze. Every vote cost a dollar which will go to the Illinois Valley Marine Corps League’s Christmas for Kids. If you just want to donate to the cause you can by checking out their  GoFundMe page.

The beard contest has raised over $11,000 in its first five years.

Floyd Campbell was back in an Ottawa courtroom Friday. The 21-year old is accused of bringing brass knuckles to a fight, which took place at 28^th Street Park back in June.

Lawyers asked that the trial, which was set to begin Monday, be pushed back. The reason being they wanted to set a date for a possible guilty plea.  Campbell has been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and mob action.

Another man, Mitchell Hampton, was arrested after allegedly firing a gun during that same brawl. Hampton pled guilty in November to reckless discharge of a firearm and an unrelated charge. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

Campbell, meanwhile, remains in custody, unable to come up with the $10,000 needed to be released. His next court date was set for January 6^th.

With frigid weather settling in, the Oglesby Parks Department has opened the city ice rink. The rink is on Walnut Street, just east of city hall.

It’s free to skate and you can play hockey on the rink as long as no ice skaters are around on Tuesday and Thursdays from 3 until 5. The rink stays open until 10 at night.

You need to provide your own skates.

Organizers with both the Christmas 4 Kids program and Blue and Red Christmas for Kids put out messages on Facebook that they had successful shopping trips in the past week. The Christmas 4 Kids involved La Salle County deputies shopping for nearly 60 children while Blue and Red Christmas involved about 30 children and members of the Peru Police and Fire Departments.

Some of the children helped are involved with the Youth Service Bureau and DCFS.

Alderman Dave Potthoff says in the future the city would like to double the amount of money they have available for façade improvements to businesses along Route 6 and Peoria Street. Right now the city’s façade improvement fund totals $50,000 a year.

As it stands right now, there is $33,000 left in that fund for the current year. The council is looking to give that money to the owners of the Westclox building so they can put in new windows and entry ways.

The Ottawa City Council met last night to discuss a few items, two pertaining to the city’s fire protection. Fire Chief Steve Haywood explained the south side fire station handles 35% of all calls for the city, and mentioned the need for a bigger station.

Commissioner Tom Ganiere then talked about the fire department’s need for a new rescue boat, as the old one is “dead.” He said the city would need to decide in the near future about whether to purchase another boat for more than $35,000, so it can be ready for next boating season.

No formal action was taken at last night’s meeting.

Congressman Adam Kinzinger first stopped at the Illinois Veteran’s Home in La Salle, where he delivered more than 400 cards to the veterans. He had previously put out the call to anyone in his district to make the cards for the veterans. The response was bigger than he expected, with cards being sent in from as far away as California.

After the event, he went to a reception in Ottawa for students he has nominated for acceptance into the military. Kinzinger said he enjoyed being able to honor both generations.

The Congressman’s day wasn’t solely about veterans, though. Between the events he stopped by Ottawa’s City Hall for a meeting of the Agriculture Advisory Committee.

The effort is organized by the Princeton Elks and Prescott Brothers of Princeton as part of their 2016 Toy Drive. They’re looking to fill trucks in the showrooms of their West Peru Street locations with new, unwrapped toys.

If you’d like to contribute, they’re looking for toys for boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 12. They say there are more than 200 children in need in the area.

Donations will be accepted through Wednesday.

According to the latest numbers released, State Troopers with District 17 gave out 625 tickets in November, more than double the 286 they issued in October. There were also 13 alcohol-related arrests last month compared to 8 the month before.

Other criminal activity stayed constant. For the second straight month, 25 people were arrested by state troopers for criminal offenses.

Unfortunately, troopers had to handle 50 crashes in LaSalle, Bureau, and Putnam County in October. The good news is that none of those crashes were fatal, but it was the second straight month that number had gone up.