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Saturday, January 17, 2015
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Illinois’ new governor, Bruce Rauner Both sides of the aisle comment on first few days in office By Zita Henneberry zhenneberry@bcrnews.com
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has “hit the ground run-
ning,” according to Sen. Darin LaHood. “I think Bruce Rauner brings hope and optimism to the state of Illinois.” LaHood, a Republican
from Dunlap, said earlier this week. In Rauner’s first executive order released Tuesday, the day after he was sworn in as governor, the new Illinois Republican governor said, “The state of Illinois needs to rebuild its trust with its citizens, and today’s executive
order takes steps to ensure that starts now,” Rauner said. “We have a moral obligation to rebuild the reputation within our state, along with our perception within the country, to ultimately renew taxpayers’ faith in government.” Rep. Frank Mautino,
a Democrat from Spring Valley, however, has yet to form his opinion on Rauner’s new administration. “I really don’t want to pass any judgments or try and assess any strengths or weakness off of just pieces of paper I’ve read,” Mautino said. Sworn in Monday,
Rauner has taken action to address the various burdens facing Illinois. In Executive Order 15-09 mentioned above, Rauner addressed the need for ethical responsibility in government. “Business as usual is
Rauner Page 4A
On the road with BPART BPART officials tell county board about growth, challenges, financial issues and more By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The Bureau Putnam Area Rural Transit (BPART) has hit a sudden growth spurt in the last couple of years. A growing fleet, increased ridership and a new dispatch location are all reasons why 2014 was a good year for the public transportation system in Bureau and Putnam counties. At Tuesday’s Bureau County Board meeting, Larry Kerrick, BPART transportation administrator, gave an overview of the program’s annual report. Looking at the ridership from July 1 to Dec. 31 in 2014, passenger trips totaled 42,522. According to Kerrick, the number is about 10,000 more trips compared to last year’s numbers during those months. “At the rate we are going, we are going to end up with about 85,000 trips for this fiscal year, which is quite a bit more than we had in the past,” he said. The amount of riders almost doubled projected growth for 2014. Mick Johnson, operations manager at BPART, confirmed the projected growth was between 5,000 to 7,000 riders. “A lot of our business is word of mouth between patients either at the hospital or doctors offices and families at the nursing homes,” he said. Year 169 No. 8 Two Sections - 20 Pages
“That’s where a good majority of our instant growth is from, but we do get a lot of fellow transit services say, ‘Hey, saw your van in the area and gave your number to this person.’” Kerrick said routes to Peoria, which are provided on Thursdays, has also improved the ridership numbers. He confirmed there are many residents in the LaSalle, Peru and Ottawa areas who travel to St. Margaret’s Hospital in order to catch rides to Peoria. “To me there is a real need for trips to Peoria,” he said. Additional riders, however, means more wear and tear on vehicles within the fleet. To help save on vehicle repair costs, a new mechanic was hired on July 23. Since being on staff, repair expenses have decreased by nearly $50,000. Kerrick said at this time last year, BPART had spent $70,000 just on labor alone for vehicle repairs. Looking at the numbers this year, only $2,500 has been spent on repairs. BPART also added to its fleet in 2014 with the purchase of two, 12-passenger vehicles; one, 14-passenger vehicle; and one Entervan. One of the 12-passenger vehicles was assigned to St. Margaret’s, and the others were assigned to Gateway. The total costs of the vehicles totaled $192,100, which was covered by grant monies received
BPART Page 3A
BCR photo/Zita Henneberry
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night Aaran Elston, a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Princeton, said after seven years of working as a mailman, he is used to being out in the cold. “The key is layers,” said Elston, but moving around helps too. From about 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Elston walks from home to home out in the winter weather. He advises people, while he may be used to the cold, to avoid being out in it if they can. Bureau County residents can expect warmer temperatures this weekend, according to WQAD News 8.
Safe at school A security update at PHS By Zita Henneberry zhenneberry@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — In May of this past year, Princeton High School (PHS) received a $13,000 School Security Grant from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Secured through the efforts of Barb Valle and Sam Pickard, the $13,000 grant allowed for the update of PHS safety systems and technology. All things are installed and working well, said
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PHS Superintendent Kirk Haring. Haring declined further comment on the matter, preferring all further questions be directed to PHS Assistant Principal Jesse Brandt. According to Haring, Brandt works with the cameras and security updates on a more regular basis. The new high-resolution security cameras, visitor identification system and shatter-resistant film on the entry door windows have improved the overall safety of the school, said Brandt. Brandt finds the new cameras have greatly increased the video coverage of the building. PHS
added an additional 32 cameras to the existing eight. At 40 cameras, the video surveillance of the schools is five times what it was previously. Students seem to be more aware of what they are doing, said Brandt, adding they are better behaved. While the cameras are not watched all day, if an incident arises, the cameras can provide educators with the full story. Brandt explained the new visitor identification system requires visitors to show their driver’s license/state identification, which is then scanned and checked
against several state databases. After checking the person’s identification, an identification badge is then printed for the visitor. With cameras in place at every entrance, visitors are identified before they even enter the building, said Brandt. Those cameras, however, have been in place for years. “We are continually doing all we can to ensure the safety of the building and the safety of our students,” said Brandt. “The new security measures in place are just another part of that constant effort.” Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.
Princeton, 815-875-4444 815-876-1122