1 Front
Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Saturday, March 22, 2014
NEWSSTAND PRICE 75¢
Hall project on schedule By Becky Kramer news@bcrnews.com
SPRING VALLEY — Even with the rough winter, work continues at the new Hall High School. The Hall High School Board heard a construction update from Leopardo Construction at its meeting Wednesday evening.
Vissering Construction is currently on site performing concrete foundation work. To date, they have poured 300 linear feel of concrete footings and 80 linear feet of concrete foundation walls, with another 120 linear feet of wall to be poured this week at the academic building. During the next couple weeks, Vissering will be
finished pouring all foundation walls, pier footings, the elevator pit in Building A, the academic building, and also begin work on the large retaining wall footing that separated Buildings C/D from Building B, the athletic field house. The work projected through the next two months includes the concrete foundation installa-
tion and commencement of structural steel and masonry installment. Bid Package 3 which consists of fire protection, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, masonry, miscellaneous steel, roofing, doors, frames and hardware, plus aluminum winBCR photo/Becky Kramer dows is currently being reviewed by the project Work continues on the new Hall High School. At Wednesday’s school board meeting, the board heard the project remains on schedule and budget. See Hall Page 3
A new district office PES looks at options
‘Grandpa touched me’ — A tragic story of child abuse
By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The Princeton Elementary School District office may have a new location next year. At this week’s board meeting, Superintendent Tim Smith reported he had recently met with the PES Buildings and Grounds Committee to discuss whether the current district office, located on Dover Road, should be upgraded or abandoned. The office building has experienced issues over the years, including flooding and field mice. Board member Doris Hamilton said the committee came to the conclusion to wait until next year’s move of PES students/teachers to different buildings to see how the offices stack up with the new population. “Then at that time we’ll be able to make a motion to move the office, and hopefully to move them some place to get them out of that particular environment,” she said. The two options mentioned at the meeting for the new district office home were Reagan Middle School in Tiskilwa and Douglas Grade School.
By Terri Simon tsimon@bcrnews.com
Editor’s note: The names in this fourpart series have been changed to protect the identity of the family involved.
I
t is one of a parent’s worst nightmares. The unthinkable. Horrific events that will haunt every waking hour ... perhaps forever. It is the story that might happen to someone else, but it could never happen to you ... until it does. The Smith family appears to have it all — a beautiful home, a steady and more-thansufficient income, a tightly-knit family who wears smiles on their faces. But underneath those smiles, there is turmoil, fear and secrets that some might think are better left untold. But the Smiths, who continue to search for healing, believe the sharing of their secret might just help someone else, another family who is struggling with similar circumstances. Here is their story ...
For quite some time, John and Jane Smith had worried about their daughter. While their other children were relatively easy to parent, their pre-teen daughter, Susie, was difficult. She bucked authority; she was often selfish, ungrateful, angry and disrespectful. John and Jane attempted different parenting strategies, but nothing seemed to work. And then one night, Susie divulged a secret to her parents that she had been hiding for quite some time. Suddenly, it all made sense ... Susie said her grandfather had been “touching” her for quite some time. “My husband and I were dumbfounded and in complete shock,” Jane said. “The image of a comic strip character with their chin on the floor comes to mind. I don’t think we were able to say anything before
See PES Page 4
(Susie) asked in a carefree, fun-loving voice if she (could go back to what she had been doing). It was as if the terribly heavy load wasn’t hers to carry any longer. “When (we) found our voices, we discussed our plan of action,” Jane continued. “We would talk with (Susie) more the next day to verify what she meant by ‘touching’ and call the counselor to make an appointment as soon as possible. Basically, we were in shock.” Jane said, adding they immediately began going through the motions of what they needed to do. She likened it to how one feels when a loved one dies — going through a grief stage and jumping through hoops to plan a funeral and eventually calling the other family members. The Smiths needed to remain silent about the abuse for six weeks while the investigation was ongoing. So now what? You have just learned a family member — Grandpa — has been sexually molesting your child. Jane said since the offender was a family member, the couple had to worry/wonder how this news would affect the relationships of their nuclear family with the extended family, but they vowed that regardless of the outcome — even if they were ostracized by the whole family, they would accept it and stand behind their daughter.
See Shadows Page 2
For breaking news, sports and current weather conditions, go to bcrnews.com Year 168 No. 35 One Section - 20 Pages
Liberty ViLLage of Princeton Is hosting an Informational Senior Seminar
Understanding Medicaid 98213 00012 1 © Bureau County Republican 7
Wed., March 26, 2014 • 2 - 3 PM For more information call 815-875-6600
Liberty Village Not-for-Profit Provider
www.libertyvillageofprinceton.com
140 N. 6th St., Princeton, IL Community Room (in the Bounce Back addition)