BCR-03-15-2014

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Serving Bureau County Since 1847

Saturday, March 15, 2014

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Keeping an eye on road conditions County talks weight restrictions By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com

PRINCETON — County road conditions are an area of concern as winter’s frigid and snowy conditions finally appear to be turning toward springtime.

At this week’s meeting of the Bureau County Board in Princeton, Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Sondgeroth said it’s been a rough winter, and there will be weight restrictions posted on county roads, though none had been set

as of Tuesday evening. When the spring thaw comes into play, county roads could be posted at any time, he said. County roads do not have the same substructure as state roads, and weight limits have to be posted, Sondgeroth said. Also, the shoulders of the county roads are soft,

and drivers should be careful not to get off the road onto the shoulders, he added. So far, there hasn’t been “bleeding” on the roads yet, which is when the water below the surface oozes to the top of the pavement, and at that point, heavy traffic needs to stay off those roads,

Sondgeroth said, adding once roads are posted, they are typically posted for 90 days at the discretion of Bureau County Highway Engineer John Gross. Depending on the weather, weight limits could be lifted for a period of time. But farmers should try to get their

grain hauled before roads are posted, as well as take care of any livestock or seed deliveries. If there is a specific concern about a specific road for a specific time, the person should call the county highway department to get permission prior to the need.

See Roads Page 4

And the questions are ... Four referendum questions on the ballot By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com

Bureau County residents in four communities will have referendum questions on Tuesday’s primary ballot. Those referendums are binding and will be determined by a simple majority vote, Bureau County Kami Hieronymus said. Three of those four questions have to do with proposed tax increases. The fourth question has to do with the deactivation of a school district. If the referendums are approved at Tuesday’s primary, the governing boards of those individual taxing districts then have the authority to take the next necessary steps to have the tax increase implemented or the school district deactivated, Hieronymus said. The questions are as follows:

Spring Valley “Shall the corporate authorities of the city of Spring Valley be authorized to levy an additional Retailer’s Occupation Tax at a rate of .5 percent for expenditures on municipal operations, expenditures on public infrastructure, or other property tax relief? • Yes or No.

See Referendums Page 4

BCR photo/Mike Vaughn

Drawing on Widmark’s past Local artist Bartlett Lee Kassabaum (right) discusses one of his Richard Widmark drawings with Princeton resident Judson Lusher during an event held at Princeton Public Library Wednesday evening. Kassabaum donated two, framed prints he created of Widmark along with a Widmark biography to the library. The reception of the donations was followed by Widmark Wednesday, a movie night featuring a Widmark film, “Night and the City.”

Rabies 101 for Bureau County More than 4,000 animals tested in Illinois By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com

PRINCETON – More than 4,000 animals were tested for rabies last year in Illinois, but only 55 of those animals, all bats, tested fluorescent antibody-positive for the disease, according to information released this week by

the Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois Department of Agriculture. Of the 4,026 animals tested in Illinois during 2013 for rabies, there were 1,517 bats, 1,393 dogs, 691 cats, 181 skunks, 113 raccoons and 25 squirrels. There were also 26 animal brains not suitable for testing. The majority of testing occurred from May to September when bats, the most commonly tested animal, are very active and more likely to come in contact with humans or pets, the report stated.

Bureau/Putnam County Health Department’s Director of Health Protection Kurt Kuchle said Bureau County sent four bats during 2013 to be tested for rabies, with all the tests coming back negative. Typically, the local health department sends an average of four bats a year to the state lab, he said. In his 27 years of working at other county health departments, there was only one

See Rabies Page 2

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