State Briefs 3/4/08

<p class="MsoNormal">Scam artist accused of stealing checks

<p class="MsoNormal">HARRISBURG - Harrisburg Police Chief Bob Smith is spreading word there may be a scam artist working the elderly in the area.

<p class="MsoNormal">Police are building a case and looking for the man who purports to be selling for a reputable meat company, gets into houses, asks for a glass of water or another excuse for the resident to leave the room and then steals checks.

<p class="MsoNormal">One resident has been taken for $3,700, Smith said.

<p class="MsoNormal">Smith said the man is reported to be driving a white truck with red lettering.

<p class="MsoNormal">He asks anyone approached by the man or any other solicitor to ask for a city solicitation permit before continuing the conversation. Smith asks that residents call the police on any solicitor unable to produce the permit.

<p class="MsoNormal">"They need to ask them for a solicitation permit and if they can't produce that they need to call police and do not let them into the residence," Smith said.

<p class="MsoNormal">A permit normally takes four to six weeks, a check by the police and involves fingerprinting.

<p class="MsoNormal">The city is not so strict on youth soliciting for fundraisers for schools or scouting organizations.

<p class="MsoNormal">He said the scam artist is also wanted by police for similar frauds in Vincennes, Ind.

<p class="MsoNormal">Harrisburg Daily Register

<p class="MsoNormal">Hardin County teachers go on strike after months of negotiations

<p class="MsoNormal">ELIZABETHTOWN - After months of negotiations broke down, Hardin County teachers went on strike Tuesday morning.

<p class="MsoNormal">School is canceled until further notice and picket lines have formed in front of the Hardin County school building. Teachers are planning to set up a strike headquarters at the old Reed's restaurant building.

<p class="MsoNormal">Talks on the new contract started back in June, but the two sides remain far apart.

<p class="MsoNormal">The teachers worked all year without a contract, but chose the first day of Illinois Standardized Assessment Tests and a time when scholar bowl, WYSE academic team and the Future Farmers of America are scheduled for state competitions, the board of education said in a news release.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hardin County Schools Superintendent Ernie Fowler said another bargaining session, which will include a federal mediator, is set for 10 a.m. Monday.

<p class="MsoNormal">Harrisburg Daily Register

<p class="MsoNormal">Man OK after truck ends up in river

<p class="MsoNormal">OREGON - A Loves Park man suffered only minor injuries after he lost control of the box truck he was driving and ended up in the Rock River.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ryan Jacobs, 21, was driving south Monday on Illinois 2 when he veered off the road onto the west shoulder, Ogle County Sheriff's Sgt. James Messer said.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jacobs then struck a culvert, lost control of the box truck and traveled back across the road before the vehicle came to rest on its side in the Rock River.

<p class="MsoNormal">Messer said the truck veered about 20 feet into the river, where the water is about 3 feet deep.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He climbed out himself," Messer said. "He was already out before we got there."

<p class="MsoNormal">Jacobs was taken to Rockford Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. He was discharged Monday, hospital employees said.

<p class="MsoNormal">It's still unknown why Jacobs lost control of the truck, but Messer said alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the accident.

<p class="MsoNormal">Rockford Register Star

<p class="MsoNormal">One injured in explosion at pet food plant

<p class="MsoNormal">MONMOUTH - One person was injured in an explosion at a pet food plant Tuesday.

<p class="MsoNormal">The explosion apparently took place in a grain elevator at Wells Pet Foods, Fire Chief Jim Conard said. Conard said the injured person was conscious when taken to the hospital by ambulance.

<p class="MsoNormal">Employees were evacuated from the building while the grain continued to smolder and the fire department worked to empty the elevator.

<p class="MsoNormal">"The elevator is two-thirds full of grain and we have to get it to stop smoldering and empty it," Conard said.

<p class="MsoNormal">Conard said emptying the grain elevator required rebooting a computer system that shut down as a safety precaution.

<p class="MsoNormal">Two long vertical lines were made along the tower where the explosion occurred and Conard speculated they were either a result of the explosion or just blackened grain dust.

<p class="MsoNormal">Galesburg Register-Mail

<p class="MsoNormal">Man facing sexual assault charges indicted on separate rape allegation

<p class="MsoNormal">PEORIA - A 21-year-old man, already facing charges of sexual assault, was indicted Tuesday by a Peoria County grand jury for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl at knifepoint.

<p class="MsoNormal">Monterius Hinkle faces a charge of aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse for the Aug. 4 incident.

On that date, police were called about 7 a.m. to investigate a sexual assault. They found the victim crying, with the tops of her feet rubbed raw and bleeding.

The girl and several others were sleeping over in a main room at the home where Hinkle stayed. She said she had been forced from the house, threatened with a knife and dragged out to a garage and raped. Officers found marks in the backyard that looked like drag marks.

Hinkle remains in the Peoria County Jail on $200,000 bond for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl on Jan. 16 as she was walking to Trewyn Middle School and another $150,000 bond for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl June.

Peoria Journal Star