1 Front Volume 142 No. 28
Friday, June 17, 2016
Single Copy Cost 50¢
First West Nile Virus human case confirmed By Terri Simon
tsimon@tonicanews.com
SPRINGFIELD – We’ve come to expect the dreaded announcement of human West Nile Virus (WNV) cases in Illinois, but historically, those cases are confirmed later in the summer. However, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced the first human case of WNV has been reported in Illinois for 2016; an adolescent became severely ill in late May and was ultimately diagnosed with WNV. The youth is
from West Central Illinois. “We typically don’t start to see human cases of West Nile Virus in Illinois until the end of July or beginning of August,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D. “This first human case is much earlier this year, reminding us that it’s important to protect ourselves against mosquito bites now and not wait until the hotter months of summer.” The IDPH said the first human case of West Nile virus last year was on Aug. 19, 2015. In 2015, 64 Illinois counties
reported a WNV-positive mosquito batch bird and/or human case. Also last year, IDPH reported 77 human cases (although human cases are under-reported), which included nine deaths. When searching for WNV in Illinois, the IDPH uses laboratory tests on mosquito batches, dead crows, blue jays, robins and other perching birds. The focus is also on testing sick horses and humans who exhibit WNV-like symptoms. If you see a sick or dying bird, you should contact the LaSalle County Health Department,
and the local experts will instruct you how to proceed. WNV is transmitted through the bite of a Culex pipiens mosquito, commonly called a house mosquito, which has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. The most common symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches, which can last a few days to a few weeks. In some cases, the illness can become quite severe; meningitis, encephalitis or even death can occur. People older than 50 and immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk
The state budget and students
Tonica News photo/Amelia Bystry
Ari Ochuba studies Monday, June 13, at the Illinois Valley Community College campus in Oglesby. Illinois legislators continued failure to pass a budget leaves colleges and universities throughout the state uncertain about their funding levels for the upcoming school year.
By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — When the Lostant Village Board discussed insurance on police vehicles Monday, June 13, one added expense came as a surprise and caused the board to realize it needed a new protocol for the workings of the equipment acquisitions program. The members had begun talking about the need to reinsure the
Vol. 142 No. 28 One Section - 8 Pages
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In the loop
police vehicles, as well as the effect selling some old equipment would have on the overall cost, when resident Randy Railey mentioned an additional vehicle in need of insurance. Railey works with a program to obtain equipment for the Lostant Police Department, he explained, and had picked up a box truck for its use, having asked Village President Fred Hartenbower beforehand whether the vehicle would be good and useful for the town.
However, the board had remained unaware of this additional equipment. After being updated, the board decided how best to allow Railey to go about this business while still keeping informed about the situation and new equipment beforehand. “I only really have half a vote,” Hartenbower said in explanation of why his personal approval did not carry over as a village endorsement.
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for severe illness from the bite of an infected mosquito. According to the IDPH, the first bird to test positive for WNV this year was found in Arcola Township in Douglas County on May 20. The first mosquito batch to test positive for West Nile virus was collected on May 23 in Glenview. The LaSalle County Health Department regularly checks different mosquito traps in the area for mosquitoes that could test positive.
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Guarding the well By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — With a particular group of outof-towners depleting Lostant’s water, the Lostant Village Board looked into what it can do about the situation. The issue, as Village President Fred Hartenbower explained at the Monday, June 13, meeting, is a group of people buying water from Lostant, from out of town, in amounts occasionally exceeding the town’s capability. “We were getting awful close,” he said regarding the town’s water supply. Hartenbower said a regular customer, someone who has bought water from Lostant for years and always in reasonable amounts which does not strain the town’s resources had to be turned away. The town’s inability to serve this regular customer because one group had already used too much town water caused the board to examine the issue. “We determined that was not really fair,” Hartenbower said. When the individuals in question had first stopped by to get water, there had seemed no obvious reason to deny them access. “I didn’t know who they were, and we’ve had an open policy for that,” Hartenbower said. However, the town has decided it needs to forge a stricter guard on its water supplies. “Now what we’ve got to
do is stop them,” Hartenbower said. “I’ve told them they can’t get water here any more.” “It’s kind of by word of mouth that we told them,” trustee Jack Immel said. “I think it might be better if we had an officer tell them.” That way, Immel reasons, there will be a further authority who can corroborate that this group has been told not to use the town’s water. It was suggested that a better idea might be to send a certified letter to the group in question, as this process would create a record the town could point to if anyone tries to say there was never any such contact. In the meantime, Hartenbower asked to be informed if the group comes by again for more water. “If anybody sees them there getting water, come get me and I will send them out. I will turn off the water myself,” he said. “Matter of fact, any board member probably has the right to do that.” With water level being an issue in discussion, the board asked public works employee Mitch McCaw to clarify how low the water could be allowed to go. “Forty-two feet is where the pump catches on,” McCaw said. McCaw said 40 feet would be low enough that the town need not let the water level go further down. “You don’t want to deplete your water source. That’s your fire protection and everything too,” McCaw said.
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