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Saturday, May 17, 2014
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County OKs administrator search Report on padded cell at county jail By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The Bureau County Board has voted to go ahead with its search for a county administrator.
county has not had an administrator since. In her report Tuesday evening, Fees and Salaries Committee Chairman Marshann Entwhistle encouraged board members to contact committee members with their ideas or suggestions concerning hiring another coun-
At Tuesday’s meeting, the board decided to hire a facilitator to do the search, as it had done in 2005 when the county hired Austin Edmondson as its first administrator. After Edmonson’s resignation 15 months later, the
ty administrator and, if so, how to go about the search. Board member Bob McCook recommended the county board discuss the topic that night and at least get a general consensus whether to pursue hiring an administrator. In his comments, board
member Tom Dobrich said the Finance Committee itself has discussed the issue quite a bit and sees the positives of having a county administrator to help run the county. His recommendation would be to hire a search firm to look for an administrator, Dobrich said.
After further discussion, the board approved a motion by Dobrich to go ahead and hire a firm to handle the search for an administrator. The motion was approved on voice vote, though not a unanimous one.
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Princeton to host first Cystic Fibrosis Walk By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — Princeton’s first ever Great Strides Cystic Fibrosis Walk is being planned for Saturday, June 28. The event is being brought to the area by Princeton resident Cheriz Kunkel, who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) when she was just a few weeks old. The disease is a genetic one that can affect any number of organs, but primarily affects the lungs. Today, at the age of 29, Kunkel has only 50 percent lung function. Each day, she is forced to do nine breathing treatments and take more than 50 pills to maintain her current lung function. Kunkel is one of many local people who travel to other CF Walks around the state to raise awareness and funds to assist with research in the disease. This year, however, she thought, why not bring a walk to the Princeton area? “We are hoping to make Princeton an annual walk site,” she said. “Great Strides is the CF Foundation’s largest national fundraising event. Each year, more than 125,000 people participate in hundreds of walks across the country to raise funds for CF research and drug development.” According to Kunkel, there are crucial medicines currently being researched that could help people with CF.
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BCR photo/Donna Barker
Local pork producers are keeping a lookout for a new virus that’s creating great harm to the swine industry. It’s known as PEDV (Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus). The disease causes the animals to have high fever and severe diarrhea. While the warmer weather has slowed down the spreading, there are still new cases popping up. Thus far, the virus has posed no danger to humans or other animals.
Virus causes concern among farmers By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — There’s a relatively new virus that’s creating devastating effects and has forced area pork producers to prepare action plans in case it reaches their farm. It’s known as the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV), and it’s wiping out every 14 day old or younger piglet it reaches. PEDV is a coronavirus that infects the cells that line the small
intestine of a pig, causing severe diarrhea and dehydration. The virus can kill young piglets within five days of contracting it. The effects of the virus have not yet posed a threat to humans or other animals, and is known solely to be a swine virus. According to Dr. Lynn Keller of Wyoming, Ill., who specializes in swine studies, there are three strings of the virus. The first was witnessed in Europe in the 1970s and eventually disappeared. It then resurfaced in China a number of years ago and is still a
common virus there today. The virus in China is very similar to the PEDV virus, Keller said. Many believe the PEDV was brought into the U.S. from China, but the how and when are still being debated. The PEDV first appeared in the U.S. about a year ago. Keller reported most cases of the virus coming from areas that have large hog confinements, like in southern Minnesota, Iowa and western Illinois. A Polo pork producer, Brian Duncan, recently reported
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to the Sauk Valley News that he had contracted the virus in March. He estimated to have lost between 1,000 and 1,200 piglets. While he is known to wean about 300 piglets a week, he was forced to go one month without weaning any little piglets. Older pigs fare better against the virus. When it hits older pigs, it’s more like a mild flu. With proper management, operations can return to normal in about four weeks.
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