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Saturday, February 8, 2014
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Winter’s fury and local business Merchants talk about the good and the not-so-good By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The snowy weather and frigid temperatures haven’t seemed to budge this winter, which has left
many local business owners facing just as bitter hardships with fewer customers and forced closures due to weather conditions. Jyl Morse, co-owner of Hoffman’s Patterns of the
Past in downtown Princeton, said looking out and seeing no cars out on the street has been rough. “Thank goodness for the few customers we have had and our online sales,” she said. “We’ve still been able to ship out quite a bit.” The positive factor, however, is the slow
business has allowed her employees to transition the store’s winter decor into spring. “We have the heat turned up in here. Come and use it,” Morse said. “You can come find spring in here; you won’t find it out there.” For Janice Woodford, owner of The Feed Store
and Watering Hole in Malden, winter weather has never affected business this much. “It’s been rough. I’ve been in business over 20 years, and it’s never been like this,” she said. “The biggest hit is all the snowstorms have come on weekends, when it’s normally our busy time.”
And when the roads are cleared, the subzero temperatures seem to still keep customers tucked away in their homes. The pattern has forced the restaurant to close its doors early a few times with the lack of business.
See Merchants Page 3
Where’s the pork? County’s Pork Producers call it quits By Terri Simon tsimon@bcrnews.com
For years, it’s been a common and most welcome sight ... In the midst of all the hoopla surrounding the Homestead Festival and Pork Days event in September, a group of Bureau County Pork Producers can be seen at Soldiers and Sailors Park as they grill up thousands of pork chops and pork burgers. It’s a tradition that has stood the test of time ... until now. With only a handful of members remaining, the Bureau County Pork Producers made the bittersweet decision to disband. “We saw it coming,” said rural Sheffield resident Norm Von Holten, adding the years of transition in the pork industry and the fall of the actual number of pork producers in the county sealed the deal. “There’s not a lot of new blood in the industry. Basically, we’ve got a bunch of old boys who are getting tired out.” At the last Homestead Festival/Pork Days event in 2013, Von Holten said he started hearing “rumblings” that the Bureau County Pork Producers wanted to be finished with the longstanding tradition of grilling up those pork chops/burgers for event-goers. After a few telephone conversations, the group met in mid-January and made the decision to disband.
See Pork Page 4
BCR photo/Mike Vaughn
It might be a reach, but warmer weather is on the way This squirrel doesn’t mind reaching for his breakfast, compliments of the birds and the family who feeds them. While more snow is in the forecast for today, Saturday, next week — so far — appears to be dry with temperatures warming up as the week progresses. It might be a stretch ... but could winter be dwindling away?
Mother Nature: A record-setter January 2014 was one of the coldest on record By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — As if Mother Nature hasn’t given Bureau County and the rest of Illinois enough snow challenges this winter, she’s also made it one of the coldest winters on record, specifically for the month of January.
Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel has announced January 2014 was the eighth coldest January on record for Illinois. The statewide average temperature this January was 18.2 degrees, which is 8.1 degrees below the 1981-2010 average of 26.3 degrees. However in comparison, the coldest January on record was in 1977, with an average temperature of 10.3 degrees, Angel said.
Though there were very few subzero temperatures for the past two winters, this year’s below-zero temperatures were common in January 2014, Angel said. As one prime example, the low temperature at the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago was at zero or below for 13 days in January. In fact, every day of the month had low temperatures at below freezing in Chicago, he said.
See Weather Page 4
For breaking news, sports and current weather conditions, go to bcrnews.com Year 168 No. 17 One Section - 20 Pages
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