1 Front
Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Thursday, February 27, 2014
NEWSSTAND PRICE 75¢
Breathing old life into Matson Old Matson building gifted to BCHS PRINCETON — One of Bureau County’s historic landmark buildings, the Matson Public Library Building located at 15 Park Ave. West in Princeton, has acquired new owners, and the future looks very promising for this stately structure. On Jan. 1, the Bureau
County Historical Society gained title to the former Matson building by accepting the gift of the building from Robert Sash of the Tiskilwa area and Chicago. This donation by Sash was given in memory of his grandparents, Francis and Lucille Statler and Paul and
Ethyl Sash. More than 101 years ago — April 15, 1913, the Matson Public Library was dedicated, and for 94 years was regarded as Bureau County’s largest and most widely used public library. Financed privately by a local author and historian, Nehemiah Matson provided in his will for the construction of a community library,
and the structure was built on land donated by the Sam Clark family. Fast forward almost a century to 2007 when the library moved to a new location and the Matson building was sold at public auction to Sash. The Matson Library building has remained empty the past six and one-half years on Princeton’s courthouse square,
raising questions about what would happen to this priceless, historical building. Now the former library building is about to have a second chance at a new and useful life as a county history and learning center. “On behalf of the BCHS Board of Directors and its membership, I am deeply
See Matson Page 4
BCR photo/Kath Clark
BV hires administrators Superintendent is a former BV grad By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
MANLIUS — Bureau Valley School Board has hired a new permanent superintendent and assistant superintendent. The decisions were made at Monday’s board meeting after a relatively short closed session. Stephen Endress was hired as superintendent, effective May 25, and Gavin Sronce was hired as assistant superintendent, effective July 1. Board President Rick Cernovich said it may seem a little unusual the board decided to hire two to replace one, but the board felt there’s a lot of work to be done. “Mr. Whitmore and Mr. Thompson have avidly filled in and raised the ship and stopped the damage,” he said. “We’re looking forward to these two taking over the reins and reaching for better things, and to restore BV to where it was years ago.” After the board unanimously approved their contacts — yearly salary of Endress to be $126,000 and Sronce to be $107,550 — the few teachers and community members in the audience had the chance to talk briefly with the new administrators. Endress is a member of the first graduating class at Bureau Valley. He grew up on a farm in Buda and said he is
See Bureau Valley Page 2
BCR photos/Donna Barker
Above, a two-story Wyanet home stands in shambles Wednesday morning after being gutted by an early morning fire. Firefighters from 10 different departments responded to the early morning fire on Wyanet’s West Main Street. As shown in the smaller photo at right, the siding on a neighboring house was melted by the intensity of the heat from the burning house. No injuries were reported.
Wyanet blaze renders home a total loss Fire is still under investigation By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
WYANET — The investigation continues into an early Wednesday fire which destroyed a Wyanet home. Wyanet Fire Chief Don Prince said the fire department received the emergency call at 1:06 a.m. Wednesday to respond to a house fire at 121 W. Main St. The owner and occupant of the two-story house, Jim Wilhite, was not home at the time of the fire.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, the wood frame house was fully engulfed with flames extending out the window on both the first and second floors of the house. With the cold temperatures, a lot of the water from the firemen’s hoses turned to ice on the house and the ground, which made for treacherous walking conditions. There was also a concern about frostbite for the firefighters, but no injuries were reported, Prince said. Firefighters had the fire under control and began leaving the scene in four to five hours, with the final firefighters leaving the scene about 10:30 a.m.
The Wilhite house was a total house, Prince said. There was also melted exterior siding and smoke damage to the house east of the Wilhite house. Assisting at the scene were the Princeton, Bureau, Tiskilwa, Buda, Sheffield, Manlius, Yorktown, Walnut and Malden fire departments and the Wyanet Rescue Unit. The Wyanet Village Police and Bureau County Sheriff’s Department also responded to the site. Prince said the state fire marshal is assisting in the investigation. At this time, it has not yet been determined in which part of the house the fire started or the cause of the fire, he said. Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.
For breaking news, sports and current weather conditions, go to bcrnews.com Year 168 No. 25 Two Sections - 28 Pages
98213 00012 1 7 © Bureau County Republican
Isn’t it time you got back to enjoying life? See what our Bounce Back program can do for you!
Liberty Village www.simplythefinest.net Not-for-Profit Provider
140 N. 6th St., Princeton • 815-875-6600 3230 Becker Drive, Peru • 815-224-2200