TOP NEWS NOTES on WGFA for Thursday, April 23, 2009 >
Earth Day…. Coroner’s finding on Bradley couple’s deaths…. Homegrown Film Festival in Kankakee next Tuesday…..Riverside Hospital granted OK for modernizing project…. Watseka man faces weapons offense in connection with McVay death….
ILLIANA WEATHER > Mostly sunny today, high near 71. SE Wind between 5-15 mph. Isolated showers and T-storms tonight.
* Visitors at KCC Wednesday learned something about conserving energy. A Sustainability Expo for homeowners featured green solutions for homeowners now and in the future. It was part of “Earth Day,” which found several communities and even state government promoting green practices. A 500-pound globe— Solar Earth — was expected to illustrare energy use around the world. The expo offered visitors information from 3:30 ’til 8 pm.
* Gov. Pat Quinn signed an executive order (Wednesday) that requires state government agencies and the governor’s mansion to waste less and conserve more. Quinn says the order is a big part of the state’s overall goal to go green. It requires agencies to cut solid waste by 40 percent by 2015, and by 2025, the governor expects them to cut electricity and natural gas use by 25 percent. The governor’s mansion has been equipped with 122 energy efficient LED bulbs this week, which Quinn says can last up to 50,000 hours. He also says the mansion staff intends to use rain barrels to collect gardening water. As with many things in state government these days, there’s also a saving factor involved with this initiative. Quinn says saving energy saves the state, and the taxpayers, money in the long run.
* The third annual Homegrown Film Festival will be held on Tuesday April 28th at the Meadowview Theater in Kankakee. The event, sponsored by the Living & Learning Series of the Kankakee Area YMCA, features films created by local filmmakers. The Festival is presenting prizes in several categories In addition, Written in Red, winner of the Homegrown Music Challenge will perform a song live at the festival. Kara Zediker will be on hand to accept this year’s Fred MacMurray award, which honors a person from the area who has made a mark on the national scene. Zediker is, perhaps, most recognized for playing Elizabeth Nash on the Fox series 24 opposite Keifer Sutherland and Dennis Haysbert, but she has also had key roles in the television shows Hercules, The Pretender, Becker, The King of Queens, Action CSI, Joan of Arcadia, Charmed, Star Trek Enterprise and many others. This year’s Festival will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Meadowview Theater in Kankakee. Doors will be open at 6 p.m. and admission is $5.
* Kankakee County Coroner Bob Gessner said carbon monoxide poisoning killed Anthony L. Wilcox and Anita D. Wilcox, who were both found in their Bradley home on Feb. 16. Gessner said foul play was not suspected, even though the investigation into their deaths could not determine what prompted the couples deaths. He officially ruled the cause to be undetermined — rather than accidental or suicide. There were troubling questions like ‘why the garage door was closed on that particular day while Anthony’s car was left running.’
* 23-yr-old Chad Walwer of Watseka is jailed for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Iroquois County Sheriff’s Police arrested Walwer Wednesday at his residence. A warrant was issued the result of an ongoing investigation concerning the murder of Roger McVay last week. The Watseka Police Department and the Iroquois County Sheriff’s Office are conducting the investigation. Further details are expected.
* The Illiana Health Facilities Planning Board has approved Riverside Hospital’s planned $81-million modernization project, which will add space for new programs and services. A new tower will be located between the Kankakee River and the current building. The new building will provide space for new operating rooms, maternity space, 18 new intensive care units and two-dozen private patient rooms. The hospital hopes to break ground in the Fall.
94.1 FM, WGFA — “Your Illiana News Source”
