Frequently Asked Questions
Q - How do I contact the Ladd Cemetery Association?
A - Call Paul Biccochi at (815) 894-3279.
Q - What is the phone number of the Ladd Post Office?
A - (815) 894-3030
Q - How do I contact the Police Department?
A - In an emergency, call 911. For non-emergencies, call the department's cell phone (815) 343-0267 or the office phone (815) 894-2351.
Q - What is a boil order?
A - A boil order is a notification made by the water department in accordance with state regulations advising people that are served by the village's water distribution system that the water may be contaminated with bacteria. This order advises people to boil the contaminated water prior to using it in order to make it safe for drinking. Public notification of the boil order is made to ensure that every water user on the affected system has knowledge of the contamination.
Why? - State regulations mandate boil orders to ensure high-quality water in the event water pressure drops below 20 pounds per square inch (PSI) in any part of a distribution system. In most cases, this happens when a water main is being repaired in your neighborhood. Boil orders are issued as a precaution with a customer's best interests in mind. It's possible, but unlikely, bacteria can enter the water system when pressure in the line drops below 20 PSI.
Notification - If a boil order is issued, the Village of Ladd notifies customers via the local news media, the village's website and signage. Customers who have opted in to receive Village of Ladd alerts from the News-Tribune will be notified via text message and/or email.
Careful Sampling - All boil orders last a minimum of 36 hours, as required by state law. Once the problem is fixed, water lines are flushed and samples are taken. Samples are taken from several sites within the affected area. The sites are spread out over the affected area. Samples are taken for chlorine, turbidity analysis and bacteriological analysis. If samples are acceptable, the boil order is removed.
Water Usage - During boil orders, water usage for toilet flushing, clothes washing or cleaning do not require boiling. Water used for drinking and food preparation requires boiling.
Q - What do I do when a boil order is issued?
A - Boil Order Instructions:
1. Strain the water through a cheesecloth, coffee filter, or other clean, porous material to remove as many solid particles and dirt as possible.
2. Bring the water to a rolling boil for 3 - 5 minutes.
3. Let the water cool. Pour into a container that has been boiled or sanitized with chlorine bleach.
4. To preserve the quality of the water, refrigerate the water until use.
Additional Information - Village of Ladd customers can get updates on boil orders by calling the Village Clerk's office at (815) 894-2440.
Q - Where can I obtain a copy of the Village of Ladd's Water Quality Report?
A - The 2011 Water Quality Report was directly mailed to Ladd's water customers with their May 2012 utility bill. Additional copies are available in the Village Clerk's office.
Q - Where is my property line?
A - The Village does not have this information available. If you cannot locate the property pins, you may consider having your property surveyed.
Q - Do you have the birth, marriage and death records of my Ladd ancestors?
A - No. If these events happened in Bureau County, the records can be found at the Courthouse in Princeton.
Q - Where can I purchase a Ladd Centennial history book?
A - All history books from the Village's 1990 Centennial celebration were sold. Occasionally a book is listed for sale on Ebay or can be found at a local estate auction.
Q - What additional books about Ladd are available?
A - Jim Piacenti's two books, "Greetings From Ladd, Illinois - May Sunny Days Be Yours Always" ($20) and "The Promise of a Better Life - The Coal Mines of Eastern Bureau County, Illinois" ($22) are both available in the Village Clerk's office. Copies of Pier Giorgio Ardeni's book "From the Apennines to Spoon River - Stories of Migration from the Mountains of Bologna and Modena to America at the Turn of the Twentieth Century" have sold out.
Q - Is leaf burning allowed?
A - Leaf and other landscape waste may be burned between the hours of 8:00am and 6:00pm, Monday through Saturday. Additionally, leaves and other landscape waste may be burned on Sundays between the hours of 8:00am and 6:00pm, but only from September 15th through November 15th of each year, inclusive. The open burning of leaves is permitted on public rights of way, except on sidewalks, roadways, alleys, parking lots or other paved areas. No burning is permitted within twenty (20) feet of any structure. All fires shall be constantly attended by a competent person until each fire is extinguished.
Q - Can I choose an electric provider other than the Village of Ladd?
A - Several Village of Ladd electric customers have reported receiving letters or phone calls from energy suppliers offering incentives, such as prepaid gift cards, when they sign up to purchase electricity through these alternative energy suppliers. These energy suppliers claim they offer large savings off Ameren customers' energy bills. Obviously, these offers are targeted to Ameren customers, not customers of the Village of Ladd. These solicitations should not have been made to Village of Ladd customers, and we apologize for any confusion or concern they may have caused you. These alternative energy suppliers are offering Ameren residential customers power savings achieved through an aggregate purchasing system. Because the economy has now opened a window of opportunity, these alternative energy suppliers have just now entered the market. They seek to sign up enough customers of investor-owned utilities (such as Ameren) to knit together a large enough pool of customers to allow them to achieve savings by buying electricity in bulk, at a discount price. (This is similar to the way people join buyers' clubs to get good deals on groceries and other staples.) What goes unsaid in these offers is that they contain only a portion of total costs, the electricity itself. To get a complete price a customer would have to add the cost of transmitting and delivering the electricity over the utility's lines, as well as other adders related to the delivery of electricity. The quoted figures are often less than half the total delivered cost.
Q - How do I dispose a worn out American flag?
A - The Ladd Cub Scouts will collect worn out & torn American flags for a flag retirement ceremony. For additional information, contact Tina Dominy @ (815) 894-2283.
Q - Where can I take electronic items that are no longer accepted in landfills?
A - Cimco Recycling in Ottawa will accept electronic items for recycling. They are located on Route 6 and their phone number is (866) 464-7070.
Q - Where can I dispose my unused or expired prescription medications?
A - A P2D2 (Prescription Pill Drug Disposal) box is located in the Village Clerk's office.