WGFA NEWS for Wednesday, November 18, 2009 >

WX > Rain likely again today, Cloudy, high near 49. SE wind 5-10. 60% liklihodd for rain today, up to a qtr-inch possible. There’s a 40% chance of rain tonite and 50% chance of scattered showers Thursday.

> Iroquois County residents are being reminded to keep their doors locked and be aware of suspicious activity, after a series of vehicle burglaries Sunday night. The reports came in Monday morning after several residents discovered they’d been victimized. More than 30 vehicles were entered; several items of value reported stolen.
Iroquois County Crime Stoppers has issued a notice, asking anyone with info about who may be responsible to contact authorities at 815-43-CRIME (432-7463).

> Residents in Rossvile are concerned about crime. Several people packed a village board meeting this week to let local officials know they want something done about the crime that seems to plague the village. The Danville Commercial-News reports five arsons in the last few months, drug activity and break-ins have community citizens on alert and concerned. The group of residents is concerned about police response and expressed a need for more police patrols after midnight. (policy is being reviewed to provide more coverage at night, but that info will not be made public). Mayor Terry Prillaman urged citizens to organize neighborhood watch programs to assist police.

> Danville police have arrested three people in connection with a Saturday night home invasion in which a 28-year-old woman was shot. Director of Public Safety Larry Thomason said that two of the subjects were arrested Monday at Danville High School, Deontae Bryant, 17, and Ochiel Keys, 18. Both were arrested on preliminary charges of home invasion and armed robbery. The third individual, a 16-year-old male, was arrested Tuesday morning by Danville police and U.S. Marshals from Urbana. His name is not being released because he is a juvenile.

Police were called to a residence in the 1700-block of Glenwood just before midnight Saturday. Officers found the woman at the residence shot in the abdomen. She reported two subjects broke into her home.

> A Rantoul man accused of forcing his way into an ex-girlfriend’s home and beating her is due back in court Dec. 29. 21-year-old Robert Mason was charged Tuesday in Champaign County Circuit Court with home invasion, unlawful restraint and domestic battery. If convicted of the home invasion, Mason faces six to 30 years in prison. The Judge set bond for Mason, who had prior convictions for aggravated driving under the influence and robbery, at $75,000.

> Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative will award two college scholarships of $1,000 each as part of its 2010 Youth to Washington Scholarship Contest. The winners of the scholarships will also each win a week-long all expense-paid trip to our nation’s capital to see – first hand – the workings of our government. The deadline for receipt of completed applications is February 1, 2010, and winners will be notified by March 1, 2010. Applicants must be high school seniors and sons or daughters of Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative members.

> Horizon Wind Energy Hosts Ribbon Cutting Event at Meadow Lake I Wind Farm Thursday in White County, IN. Horizon Wind Energy LLC, a leading wind project developer, owner and operator, owned by EDP Renewables, will host a Ribbon Cutting Dedication to commemorate the start of operations at Meadow Lake I Wind Farm located in northwestern Indiana. The ribbon-cutting event is set for 1:20 pm at the Intersection of S. 300 W and Route 18, Brookston, IN.

Horizon, which has regional offices in Brookston in White County and Indianapolis, is working on additional phases that could potentially add 700 additional MW in White and Benton Counties. (Other state projects totaling 500 MW are also under consideration.)

> CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A 1,679-mile pipeline crossing eight states is now fully completed and funneling natural gas from Wyoming and Colorado to the eastern edge of Ohio. The long-awaited Rockies Express Pipeline became fully operational Nov. 12 following the recent completion of the final 195-mile section between Warren and Monroe counties in eastern Ohio. The $6.8 billion pipeline carries 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas, enough to heat 4 million homes, and took three years to complete.

Insufficient pipeline capacity is one reason why prices at the Opal Hub in western Wyoming have lagged behind prices at other natural gas pricing points such as the Henry Hub in Louisiana. The new pipeline also runs through Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Wyoming gas producers and state officials are hopeful that the ability to export more gas to markets in the East will mean better prices and revenue. “We have for a long time in Wyoming wanted to get, with the gas we produce, farther east,” Gov. Dave Freudenthal said in a news conference Tuesday with pipeline officials. “This does it for us.” Houston-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners built the pipeline and owns 50 percent of it. Sempra Pipelines and Storage, a unit of San Diego-based Sempra, and Houston-based ConocoPhillips each has a 25-percent stake in the pipeline.

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