WGFA NEWS NOTES FOR Friday, November 21, 2008 >

Trial date set in Iroquois County Clerk’s case…. Bomb Threat arrest…. KAMEG arrest…. Police presence on roadways dcasering holidays….. Winter forecast: warmer than normal….. Vermilion County 9-1-1 completes move…..

A sunny Friday in Illiana, high near 29. Weekend outlook: sunny Saturday, high at 38. Sunday high of 45 and sunshine.

–Central Comets host Elmhurst (Immaculate Conception) in 2A IHSA football action Saturday, 5 pm on 94.1 FM –

• Judge William Schmidt has set a March 17, 2009 trial date for Iroquois County Clerk Mark Henrichs. A defense motion asking for the State to pay the indicted clerk’s legal fees was taken under advisement. Henrichs pleaded not guilty to eight felony counts, including felony theft, forgery and official misconduct. The case is being prosecuted by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. The indictment alleges Henrichs falsified sale documents of a camping trailer that he personally owned. He sold the trailer to the county for $17,500 to be used as an emergency polling place. The accusation alleges Henrichs did not disclose he owned the trailer and the sale price was well-over what he paid for it. Judge Schmidt (Wednesday) heard arguments from Henrich’s attorney Frank Simutis and Assistant A-G Mary Bucaro concerning Simutis’ request that he be appointed a special-state’s attorney in the case, which would require Henrichs’ defense be paid by county taxpayers. (State’s Attorney Jim Devine’s involvement poses a conflict of interest). A status hearing prior to the March trial date is set for January 30th.
• Reed-Custer High School senior will be in Will County Circuit Court today. 17-year-old Robert Angone was arrested Thursday on felony disorderly conduct charges for making a bomb threat at the School Wednesday. About a dozen police officers, plus bomb sniffing dogs from the state police, searched the school and found no bomb, according to acting Braidwood Police Chief Brandon Myers. Police said there was a confession. Angone will be charged in Will County Circuit Court and is in custody at the Will County Adult Detention Facility in Joliet.
• State troopers will be out in force to crack down on speeding, drunken driving, failure to wear seat belts and other safety issues, as motorists travel to-and-from their Thanksgiving get-togethers. Troopers will be posted every 10 miles on highways the day before Thanksgiving and the Sunday afterward, according to state police Master Sgt. Brian Ley. The patrols will be from noon to 10 p.m. Nov. 26 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov 30, but state and local agencies will have extra patrols throughout the holiday weekend.
• The government reports Winter looks likely to be mild in the Midwest and dry in the Southeast. Warmer-than-average temperatures are expected for the nation’s center, especially Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said above normal readings are also likely in a large area extending from New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska in the west to southeastern South Dakota and southern Wisconsin. The rest of the 48 contiguous states have equal chances of being warmer or cooler than normal, the forecast said.
• The project to set up 911 communications in Vermilion County is coming to fruition. Director Vic Vanesse says the older 9-1-1 center simply ran out of room. Work has been ongoing since March to set up 911 operators in a new communications center in the sublevel of the Public Safety Building. The new center takes over the space used a number of years to coordinate emergency management agency services in the county. Unlike the current setup, the new location allows for more storage as well as training and locker rooms, and larger offices for Vanesse and the 911 coordinator. At the center of the area, five operator stations are setup with a sixth available for expansion. Funding for new 911 communications center comes from a number of sources. A state grant of $63,000 was applied toward the new computer system while the Danville Building Commission and Vermilion County and Vermilion County Emergency Telephone System Board joined together to pay for the rest — about $137,000.