Using money from donations, insurance, and the school district, the district is hiring JL Weiler, Inc. to rewire, clean and repair it.  The organ has suffered water damage. 

Superintendent Steve Wrobleski says the main electric cable for it will be replaced and brought up to code.  The company will also see what parts from a similar organ may be used to restore LP’s. 

          The work is costing $36,000.  Board member Dennis O’Keefe voted against it Wednesday night.

Wrobeski says so far they’ve had about $13,000 in private donations and he’s hoping to have a capital campaign to pay for the next stage of the restoration. 

           The IVCC Board of Trustees Tuesday night gave President Jerry Corcoran the go-ahead to get proposals.  They would like to have an armed officer on campus for at least 20 hours a week. Corcoran says other community colleges are doing it.

            The college already has a contract with a private security company.

You’ll be able to view three ship replicas including a mini LST that will be under a tent throughout the festival.  Tours of the Hogan Grain Elevator will be Saturday.  It’s the only standing grain elevator on the I and M Canal.

The festival wraps up Saturday with fireworks.

You can learn more about it by listening to an interview at the WLPO AM and FM news page.

La Salle officials want remind you to leave your dogs at home when visiting their parks.  They’re worried about dogs not getting along and dog waste.

A dog park will be opening soon at the new La Salle Rotary Park.

RP Lumber V.P. of Corporate Development Jason Plummer says they closed on the property last week.  He didn’t release details of the purchase.

Plummer says they’ve been looking at Ottawa for awhile now and says the town represents a “good trade area” and “great community”.  He says RP Lumber has a history of buying old box stores in other towns.

Plummer says they will likely use at least some of the existing building although he admits a little “TLC is needed”.  The purchase doesn’t include the nearby strip mall with a tattoo shop and alcohol store.

Plummer thinks you’ll see some activity for the new RP Lumber store within a few months.

La Salle County deputies were called to Lake Holiday last night for a fight.  They arrested Bryan Meyer of Lake Holiday for two counts of aggravated battery and one count of aggravated assault.

Meyer’s accused of hitting a man and woman with a tire checker, or small bat.  He also allegedly threatened the woman with a samurai sword.

Meyer was taken to the La Salle County Jail.

The Ottawa City Council and Ottawa Planning Commission will hold a joint public hearing and meeting to discuss proposals from Archer Daniels Midland to transport sand for Mississippi Sand.  ADM is asking for a conditional use permit for a barge fleeting operation along Route 71 and also requesting to annex the property into the city of Ottawa.

Groups like the Sierra Club have been successful in delaying Mississippi Sand from mining east of Starved Rock State Park.  The sand company has been going through the permit process for over a year and a half.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the last submerged barge was hauled away yesterday.  The barges broke loose April 18^th and smashed into the Marseilles Dam, doing structural damage.  A couple flood victims in Marseilles are suing the barge company Ingram Barge Company claiming the barges led to record flooding.

The Coast Guard says five gates at the dam were damaged by the barges and two were considered inoperable.

The city will be responsible for parking so they need volunteers willing to work outside of the concert that Saturday.  If you would like to, sign up at City Hall.

Farris was arrested last week on a La Salle County Warrant and remains in jail with his bond set at $100,000.

Adding up video gaming wagers in La Salle, Bureau and Putnam County equals $8.2 million dollars wagered in May with $7.8 million won.  $6.3 million was wagered last month in video gaming in La Salle County, an increase of about 400 thousand dollars the month before.  Video gamers in Bureau County wagered $1.7 million in May, up from $1.5 million in April.  In Putnam County, 241 thousand dollars was wagered in May, about 70 thousand more than in April.

The most action in the area continues to be at Road Ranger truck stops in Mendota, Princeton and rural Ottawa with nearly two million dollars played between the three businesses.

Justin Seibert was arrested for allegedly stabbing a man Saturday in the 700 block of Colorado Street in Marseilles.  The victim was taken to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa.  His name hasn’t been released.

Seibert was arrested for aggravated battery with a weapon.  He’s at the La Salle County Jail on 30 thousand dollars bond.

Old railroad ties somehow caught fire in an area that looked like it used to be a building.  Firefighters were there for two hours.

Opperman Construction will be separation the storm and sanitary sewer in the part of town engineers call area one. The area goes from Route 251 to Grant Street and from the river north to the library.
They had the lowest bid out of eight or nine bidders at $493,000.
Sewer separation work will likely start in mid July and take three months.

While rumors are swirling that RP Lumber has bought the property south of Interstate 80, Ottawa Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Boyd Palmer won’t confirm or deny the purchase.  He does hope there’s a sale announcement within weeks.

Palmer also says the old Hardees has been sold but won’t say who bought it.  He says the empty Walmart building isn’t on the market because an owner wants to sell that property along with 30 others all at one time.

WLPO News did leave a message with RP Lumber about the potential Kmart purchase.