The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 1

Demolition begins on the 'Extreme' house Local FRIDAY August 21 2009 www.pantagraph.com I Rloomington-Normal CENTRAL ILLINOIS TORNADO 1 Teen called 96 pounds of pot miracle' Plan to smoke ill-gotten stash keeps 18-year-old out of prison IK At the same time, he came across several trash bags filled with almost 100 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of about $96,000 that proved too tempting for the man to pass up, according to a statement read in court Thursday by Assistant State's Attorney Jeff Horve. "He thought it was a miracle that he had found it," said Horve, adding that Reiss told police he didn't plan to sell the marijuana just smoke it. So Reiss moved the bags SEE POT PAGE A10 By Edith Brady-Lunny eblunnypantagraph.com BLOOMINGTON Jordan Reiss' "miracle" turned out differently from what he planned, but his good fortune may have saved him in the end. The 18-year-old said he was feeling lucky Dec. 8, 2008, when he stumbled upon 96 pounds of marijuana outside a Bloom -ington mobile home.

Reiss, of Bloomington, was attempting to crawl through the window of a trailer to visit a teenage girl when he determined it was the wrong home, said' police. The PantagraphSTEVE SMEDLEY Volunteers help to clean up what is left of the Joe and Kelly Elias property at 716 400th Street in Logan County, North east of Williamsville, onThursday. Tornado's devastation damages 22 structures in Logan Co. i w' I. r5 Vv By Kevin Barlow kbarlowpantagrarjh.com ELKHART Gary Bobell's arm was grazed by window glass shattered in Wednesday's tornado, but it could have been much worse.

A 2-by-6-foot piece of wood ripped from a shed and driven into a sofa just a few feet from where he was standing testifies to that. "I was watching the storm and I thought it was over because it looked like it was beginning to clear up," said Bobell, an Elkhart -area farmer who lost his house and several outbuildings in the storm. "I can't hear real well, but it was quiet and everything got very calm. "Then, I heard things starting to crash, the wall started shaking, the window shattered, and a couple of seconds later, it was all over and very calm again." It was over so quickly, Donna Johnson, left, and Cheryl Davis, both of Elkhart, carry recovered items at the Joe and Kelly Elias property. The Elias home was leveled by the tornado.

Associated Press JUSTIN C0NNAHER Jason Lasky, ownerpartner of Sadoff Rudoy Industries in Fond du Lac, stands in a yard where Cash for Clunkers vehicles are shredded and recycled Thursday. Cash for Clunkers set to end Monday mon County and then tracked northeast toward Elkhart, Chester-ville and Beason. Along the way, it damaged at least 22 structures in Logan County, including those seven homes, Fulscher said. Damage estimates were still being compiled SEE STORM PAGE A10 he didn't have time to take cover. Bobell's home was among seven homes destroyed by the tornado that tore up portions of Sangamon and Logan counties Wednesday afternoon.

It may have been on the ground for at least 25 miles, said Dan Fulscher, head of the Logan County Emergency Management Agency on Thursday. "That's not merely a guess," Fulscher said. "We were watching it with spotters all the way." The tornado first touched down in Williamsville in Sanga line to the automobile industry, jump -starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work." He said the, department was "working toward an 'Sense of panic' as tornado sirens fail to go off orderly wind down of this very popular -gram." The White House has tout By Ken Thomas and Stephen Manning ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. The Obama administration will end the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program on Monday, giving car shoppers a few more days to take advantage of big government incentives. The Transportation Department said Thursday that the government will wind down the program at 7 p.m.

on Monday. Car buyers can receive rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 for trading in older vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient models. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the program has been "a life Ray LaHood By Ryan Denham rdenhampantagraph.com ELLSWORTH When weather spotters saw a possible tornado approaching the village of Ellsworth on Wednesday afternoon, they went to activate the outdoor warning siren. But it didn't work. "It startled me and frightened me," Ellsworth Mayor Jay Smith son said Thursday.

"It was a sense of panic there for a minute." The siren failed due a fuse blown in a recent lightning strike, but the village didn't realize it was broken until it was needed. The county's monthly siren test was canceled Aug. 4 due to a real-life storm that day, and there is no tracking system to confirm when the Ellsworth siren was last tested successfully. The storm didn't do any significant damage in Ellsworth or elsewhere in McLean County. But Smithson said the village is planning to perform a regular, physical test of the siren, perhaps even adding a paperwork trail to track successful tests.

That would be in addition to the county's monthly test, when the siren is set off on an automated timer. The siren failed about 4:40 p.m., shortly after spotters reported funnel cloud activity south of town. The village told the county's Emergency Management Agency SEE SIRENS PAGE A10 ed the program's success in providing a targeted boost to the sluggish economy since its inception in late July. Through Thursday, auto dealers have made SEE CLUNKERS PAGE AIO FIND INSIDE Abby D2 Movies D5 Classified C3 Obituaries D4 Comics B6 Opinion A6 Crossword C6 Scoreboard B4 Horoscope B6 Sudoku C6 Chance of showers Hi jj low hi ill I Job hunt A local woman seeking a job rents a billboard on Veterans Parkway. Money, CI Don't put it off Choosing a guardian can be a couple's hardest task, but it's an important one.

Life, Dl Toddler hurt Police found a 16-month-old girl seriously injured in a west-side home Thursday. Local, A3 Bolt strikes Jamaica's sprinting great Usain Bolt sets a world record in the 200-meter. Sports, Bl 75 cents Bloomington, III. Copyright 2009 The Pantagraph 5 sections, 64 pages Today's weather symbol was drawn by Rachael Burk of Oakland Elementary School, Bloomington. Thursday lottery Pick 3 1-2-4 3-6-4 Pick 4 0-3-6-4 3-0-9-9 Little Lotto 04-17-22-27-38 JACKPOTS Lotto $2.35 million Mega Millions $207 million 1.