1 Front
Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Thursday, May 28, 2015
NEWSSTAND PRICE 75¢
TCI deal off the table for Princeton
From $1 an acre to $16,000 an acre By Zita Henneberry and Terri Simon news@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — One proposal ... a second proposal ... No deal. TCI Manufacturing of Walnut has refused to accept an offer from
the city of Princeton to locate a new facility in the Princeton Logistics Park, north of Princeton and south of the Red Covered Bridge Road. “The city of Princeton changed the incentive package, and so it was no longer feasible for us to move out of Walnut,” said Mike Maynard, president of TCI Manufacturing. Initially, the city of Princeton offered to sell 15 acres of land in the
Princeton Logistics Park to TCI for $1 an acre. The offer also included an option to TCI to later buy 10 more acres at $10,000 an acre. That offer was made prior to the April election, where now-Mayor Joel Quiram believed there were three council members who were in favor of this offer and two who were not, including himself. The initial offer was never voted on by the council prior to the election; Quiram said the wording in that
offer to TCI stated it was contingent on the Princeton City Council’s approval. Quiram said after the election and after talking one-on-one to other council members, he understood three other council members and himself were not in support of the initial offer to TCI, so he made the decision to take the offer off the table. Princeton withdrew the offer to TCI. Quiram said Commissioner
Jerry Neumann, Princeton City Manager Jeff Clawson and himself met again with TCI last week and made another offer on behalf of the city. “We went up (to TCI); we wanted to get some value out of that property. We looked at it as a proposal. Jerry, Jeff and I made a proposal on the land purchase. We had a frank discussion, a professional
TCI Page 4
BV chooses Option 6 New K-5 school may be built in south central By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
Editor’s note: This is the first part in a two-part series on the Bureau Valley School Board meeting held Tuesday, May 26. The second part will feature public comment. MANLIUS — Option 6 is the winner at Bureau Valley. The school board on Tuesday, May 26, voted 6-1 to accept the option to consolidate the junior high into the high school in Manlius, keep K-5 in Walnut and build a new south central K-5 building somewhere in the south. Board member Bill Gebeck was the single ‘no’ vote. He said he was more in favor of Option 5, which was to shut down the towers at BV South and build classrooms onto
the newer portion of the school. He said the upfront costs of that project, which were projected to be less than other options proposed, seemed to make the most sense for the district at this time. Board members Matt Wiggim, Justin Yepsen and Board President Rick Cernovich, however, felt Option 5 was just a band-aid to the problems at the current BV South building. Before accepting Option 6, the board voted to eliminate Options 2 and 5. The elimination of Option 5, which included the Buda addition, passed with a 5-2 vote. Gebeck and board member Kent Siltman voted no. The elimination of Option 2, which was to bring all grades to Manlius, passed with a 4-3 vote. Board Vice President Don King,
BV Page 3
One-on-one with SLS Principal Mary Paula Schmitt Schmitt retires after a 33-year career in education Editor’s note: Mary Paula Schmitt, principal at St. Louis Catholic School in Princeton, is retiring after 33 years of service. The Bureau County Republican asked Schmitt a host of questions about her past, her career and her future. Name: Mary Paula Schmitt. Occupation: Principal of St. Louis Catholic School in Princeton. BCR: Tell our readers about your years of service: Schmitt: I’ve served 33 years at St. Louis School — 12 as a teacher, starting in 1971; I took a few years off for family; 21 years as principal BCR: Years ago, you made a decision to go into teaching. Why: Schmitt: I love working with children; in high school I taught a CCD classes; I grew up in a large family and as the oldest sister, I had lots of experience working with my siblings. It seemed like the natural thing to do! I also Year 169 No. 64 Two Sections - 28 Pages
© Bureau County Republican
strongly believe that the Lord was directing my choice in this vocation. He knew my talents and led me into teaching, to St. Louis and then guided me to get my master’s, I could be the principal here at St. Louis School BCR: What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment during your service at St. Louis Catholic School: Schmitt: I am proud that St. Louis School has expanded over the years to include preschool and junior high. Families in our parish and community have a choice for educating their children in faith and values, starting at our preschool and then in our K-8 program and possibly at St. Bede’s for high school. Also I am proud of our teaching staff over the years – with their guidance our students have consistently exceeded national norms on our ITBS standardized tests and the ACRE Religion tests!
Schmitt Page 4
BCR photo/Zita Henneberry
A sweet little cupcake Levi Brisbois, 3, enjoyed his pink frosted cupcake at Princeton’s Lunch in the Park Friday, May 22. Brisbois sat with his family eating his treat while good friends played near by at this community event. Hosted by various non-profit organizations and churches, Lunch in the Park will continue weekly on Fridays through the end of September (with the exception of Aug. 28 and Sept. 11).