Braidwood Journal

Exelon participates in river study

Published by admin on Tue, 04/17/2018 - 6:01pm

Residents along the Kankakee River in Custer Park may notice some loud noises over the next several months near Exelon’s intake valves. But the nuclear provider has reached out to local stakeholders to let them know what the fuss is about.

Exelon’s Braidwood Station is participating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a study on the environmental impact of its water intake structure on fish and other aquatic organisms in the Kankakee River.

Firefighters promoted to new positions

Published by admin on Tue, 04/17/2018 - 6:00pm

Five members of the Braidwood Fire Department have new titles.

On April 11, they were elevated to new roles with the department, during a special promotion ceremony at the fire station on Main Street.

The new positions are:

• Rachel Andreina – EMS Coordinator

• Jared Nugent – Lieutenant

• Jacob Bolatto – Lieutenant

• Mike Pemble – Captain

• Chris Jude – Captain

Townes bids due back by June

Published by admin on Tue, 04/17/2018 - 5:57pm

The vacant lots inside the Townes of Braidwood are officially up for grabs.

But city leaders said they think this time around could be different, as housing is poised to make a comeback in Braidwood.

The city has asked for bids on the vacant lots to be in to the city by June 15. But even with the few lots sold so far, Mayor Jim Vehrs said things are already moving in terms of construction and finally getting some new homeowners to settle in.

Secretary of State mobile unit headed to Braidwood

Published by admin on Tue, 04/17/2018 - 5:56pm

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office will make a mobile visit to Braidwood City Hall on Wednesday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event will allow local residents to receive limited services, including renewal of state identification cards.

“If any senior citizens gave up their drivers license and would like to get a state ID, this is the perfect opportunity to come and get an ID,” Mayor Jim Vehrs said. “State IDs are nice for getting a passport and identification.”

Gaming funds a ‘windfall’ for city

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 6:04pm

The legalization of video gaming in the state of Illinois has earned big bucks for businesses, cities and the state.

Since 2012, the state’s municipalities allowing gaming have collected $226 million in tax revenues, while the state has pulled in $1.1 billion, and business owners took home a cool $4.5 billion.

In Braidwood, since gaming first went online in 2012, the city has collected a total of $96,750 in revenue.

Those payments change monthly as gambling habits change and as establishments may add or reduce the numbers of terminals they keep.

Firefighters gets hands-on training

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 6:03pm

Dozens of firefighters got a chance for some up close and personal training during this year’s annual Chief Shabbona 2018 Pow Wow Fire School.

The annual event took place on Sunday, April 8, in Morris.

This year’s fire school hosted 16 departments, with 95 firefighters from around the region spread out over four classes. This year’s school also featured 22 instructors from around the area.

The event is held by the Chief Shabbona Firefighters Training Association.

Four arrested on drug charges

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 6:01pm

A long-term investigation by officers with the Braidwood Police Department led to drug busts for four individuals this week.

On Monday, April 9, at 6 p.m., the BPD arrested three people while executing a search warrant in the 300 block of East Reed Street. The arrests followed an extensive investigation by the BPD and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

That investigation led the Will County States Attorney’s office to issue five arrest warrants and one search warrant.

Arrested at the scene were Alexander Martinez, 35, Jaime Acosta, 54 and Yolanda Acosta, 51.

Agreement could be weeks away in hotel talks

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 5:59pm

More than two months after the members of the Braidwood City Council took a deeper look into a proposal for a new hotel in town, city leaders said a decision on the proposal could now be just weeks away.

In January, local builder Tony Altiery and his business partner, attorney Frank Meents, proposed a hotel at Reed Road and Interstate 55, at the site of the former Sands Motel.

Braidwood Station outage boosts local economy

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 5:58pm

The city of Braidwood has grown by 1,600 residents, at least for the next few weeks.

On April 9, Exelon’s Braidwood Station nuclear generating station removed Unit 1 from service, kicking off the latest refueling outage.

The additional workers spend the time during the outage working on a host of maintenance activities, inspections and upgrades required to keep the unit maintained and running properly for the next 18-month operating cycle.

Visiting Scholar to Discuss Prehistoric Findings at JJC

Published by admin on Thu, 04/05/2018 - 12:26pm

Joliet Junior College plays host to a presentation on recently discovered artifacts from the Mesopotamia region in modern-day Iraq on April 10.