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Another suspect has been apprehended in the Streator drug and theft ring.

The next monthly history lecture at the Ottawa Historical and Scouting Heritage Museum will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23.

So many things are changing. Change. It’s in my head where I’ve been replaying that song, the one where Quincy Jones laments the steamroller we call time.

What are you most passionate about?

Sandwich's Cooper Corder and Seneca's Jeremy Gagnon dropped semifinal matchups at the IHSA State Wrestling meet, while Streator's rally came up short in a regular season capper in boys basketball. That and more in Friday's Times roundup.

Seneca never trailed Friday, storming to the Class 2A Beecher Regional title 50-34 over Manteno.

Ottawa trailed Rochelle by just two points at halftime, but by the end of the third quarter found themselves behind by 22 in an eventual 67-55 loss Friday in the Hub City.

The Marquette boys basketball team, led by 36 points from Alec Novotney, topped Seneca 57-51 in overtime to finish out the Tri-County Conference and regular seasons at Bader Gymnasium on Friday night.

The scores/schedule for Illinois Valley/Herald-News schools in the IHSA girls basketball postseason, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025

Streator High School honored its students of the month for January and February 2025 during its regular school board meeting Tuesday.

A Marseilles man will stand trial April 28 for allegedly setting fire to his brother’s house while his brother was trapped inside.

Ottawa announced the opening of the application period for its 2025 Veteran Banner Recognition Program, which honors local veterans by displaying banners along busy streets downtown.

Sandwich’s Cooper Corder and Seneca’s Jeremy Gagnon both started 2-0 to earn berths into their respective weight classes' championship semifinals at the IHSA Boys Individual State Finals held in Champaign on Thursday. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland girls basketball team started hot and hung on late to win the championship game of the Class 1A Heyworth Regional on Thursday night with a 47-43 win over the host Hornets.

The Amboy-Ohio girls basketball team beat Marquette 47-29 on Thursday to win the Class 1A St. Bede Regional.

The Streator High School Scholastic Bowl won its Streator Hexagonal Tournament. 

The Ottawa City Council approved two TIF District Redevelopment Agreements during their regular meeting on Tuesday night.

Streator Police Chief John Franklin shared a letter of commendation for Officer John Thompson to the Streator City Council on Wednesday, after the officer's work led to two arrests following a reported incident with a gun.

If grant funds are secured, Streator will move forward on constructing a pair of pickleball courts in Merriner Park.

Heroes come in many forms.

Trinity Rose Montessori School will host an open house from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23, at its location in the education building at 717 Chambers St., on the Trinity Lutheran Church of Ottawa campus.

The Fieldcrest boys basketball team — led by a game-high 23 points from Eddie Lorton and 17 from Jordan Heider — played solid on both ends of the floor in Wednesday's 68-44 victory over Midland.

Newark's Dylan Long scored 40 points, including his 1,000th career point and Somonauk was a winner over Marquette in Wednesday's roundup.

The Streator boys basketball team carried a 10-point lead over state-ranked Morton into the fourth quarter and played a good final period ... just not good enough to hold off the hot-shooting Potters.

Maya Durdan, fifth grade teacher at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School in Streator, was named Q Hit Teacher of the Year for January.

The Sandwich boys basketball team had a tough start to this season, but since a 1-7 beginning have won 17 of their last 21 games and figure to be a tough opponent in next week's Class 2A Princeton Regional.

The scores/schedule for Illinois Valley/Herald-News schools in the IHSA girls basketball postseason, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025

Ottawa City Council approved the design work for the replacement of the Post Street Bridge, which has been closed since July.

Even as a Packers fan, I also have had respect for Chicago Bears long-time owner Virginia McCaskey.

Seneca and Serena both won girls regional semifinals, while Ottawa and Streator's boys both suffered road losses, plus more in The Times Tuesday Roundup.

The Ottawa girls basketball team defeated Streator 52-12 in Tuesday's semifinal of the Class 3A Kankakee Regional to advance to Thursday's 7 p.m. championship game against the host Kays.

Ottawa High School announced its honor for the second quarter of the 2023-2024 school year.

Congratulations to The Times Athlete of the Week, Somonauk/Leland girls basketball’s Kiley Mason!

The scores/schedule for Illinois Valley/Herald-News schools in the IHSA girls basketball postseason, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025

Charlie Ellerbrock, a sports and sometimes news reporter for Shaw Local Media who passed away unexpectedly at his Ottawa home late last week, will be remembered for his skill, his passion and his friendly heart.

Firefighters contained a fire Monday to the crawl space area and a single bedroom of a single-family home on the 300 block of South Market Street in Seneca.

Second graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Ottawa received Valentines from all 50 states and 22 other countries.

The Streator Fire Department welcomed a new face Monday to its team.

Charlie Ellerbrock’s stories were “hang it on the refrigerator” material for scores of readers over the decades. He featured the accomplishments of athletes, teams, students, artists and entrepreneurs, among other community members.

The Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland girls basketball team used a huge fourth quarter to pull off an upset in the Class 1A Heyworth Regional semifinals on Monday to advance to Thursday's championship game. Plus more results from around the Times area.

More from the sidelines on Streator, Ottawa, Marquette, Seneca, Woodland and more in this week's edition of The Times Boys Basketball Notebook.

From Class 1A to 3A, from regional play-ins to state championship games, here are boys basketball postseason schedules for teams across the greater Ottawa/Streator/Seneca area.

The scores/schedule for Illinois Valley/Herald-News schools in the IHSA girls basketball postseason, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025

The Boatyard Bar & Bistro will open this spring at the Starved Rock Marina.

Streator police received reports of two shootings into vehicles this weekend.

Karen Anderson will give a presentation at the Streator Public Library entitled “More than a color.”

Illinois Humanities Road Scholar Connie Martin will give a presentation at the Reddick Public Library in Ottawa as she shares the stories passed down by her great-grandmother, Lizzie, detailing how her family survived the antebellum period though trials and tribulations.

Two individuals were arrested Friday after a report of violence at the Walmart parking lot in Streator.

Marquette sophomore Alex Schaefer punched his ticket to next weekend’s state Class 1A wrestling finals at the State Farm Center in Champaign after a runner-up finish at 215 pounds on Saturday at the Oregon Sectional. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

Saturday’s meeting between the Streator Bulldogs and Ottawa Pirates didn’t start off all that physical, intense or competitive. But as anyone who follows high school sports along this little stretch of Route 23 could've predicted, it turned out that way.