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Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
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WIAAA being forced to close Agency’s closure will have an impact on Bureau County seniors By Goldie Rapp grapp@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — An agency committed to providing care for local senior citizens has been forced to close due to the state budget impasse. Effective Sept. 2, Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging (WIAAA) will no longer be able to provide services — with little hope of being reimbursed by the state for its expenditures. The agency assists seniors and adults with disabilities in 10 counties including Bureau, Henderson, Henry, Knox, LaSalle, McDonough, Mercer, Putnam, Rock Island and Warren counties. Having to close WIAAA will directly impact the Bureau County Senior Center. “WIAAA is like the mom of the group. They send us our
grant application, they send us our checks we get every month; so everything comes through them. With (WIAAA) closing, we won’t see a dime. We will have to use what money we already have,” Denise Ihrig, director of the BC Senior Center said, adding every cent they are taking in right now is going toward trying to stay open. According to a press release issued by the WIAAA, the agency will not receive the needed $546,326 in federal funding, $697,491 in state general revenue funding and $221,336 in other state/federal funding, which would allow the agency to provide services from July 1 to Sept. 30. Perhaps the most frustrating part about this situation is the federal funds have already been allocated by Congress and President Barack Obama for all Area Agencies on Aging in the U.S. However, these funds cannot be released to the WIAAA until the Illinois General Assembly passes legislation to release these funds and Gov. Bruce Rauner signs the bill.
“We had hoped they would have come to a budget agreement. Personally, I believe there will be something that happens before June 30, like a temporary budget will get signed,” Ihrig said. Right now, those working hard to keep the senior center running are relying on Rauner signing the Stopgap Bill that’s currently sitting on his desk. The bill would allow the federal monies already allocated by Congress to pass through the state to the WIAAA and other human service organizations that are relying on those monies for their services. “People will say to us, ‘What can we do to help?’ The best thing to do is to get a hold of your legislators and get them to have Gov. Rauner sign the Stopgap Bill that’s on his desk,” Ihrig said. “This would be able to guarantee us federal payments for July, August and September.” Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.
Photo contributed
Dr. Dennis Farrell (from left), Kevin Baumgartner, Jennifer Baumgartner, Scott Lathrop and Chuck Manon all took part in the Twin Rivers windshield wash Sunday, May 15 at a local rest area. The motorcyclists used the opportunity to hand out educational literature on the motorcycle culture to motorists passing through.
Back on the track
Area riders speak of motorcycle racing and teaching residents about respect By Eric Engel eengel@bcrnews.com
BCR photo/Mike Vaughn
With temperatures nearing 100 degrees, participants of the first Met Ruck 837 challenge run through the countryside carrying a log, weighing upwards of 100 pounds.
Raising a ‘Ruck’-us
By Terri Simon tsimon@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — Just the very concept of it makes one weary ... Imagine a day where the mercury is nearing 100 degrees. You meet up with a group of people — all
who are carrying a ruck sack on their backs weighing 15 to 20 pounds or more. With that strapped on your back, you spend the day doing intense military-inspired challenges, all geared to test you mentally and physically.
Met Ruck Page 4
Year 170 No. 77
PRINCETON — Sometimes a person can pursue their dreams for years, even decades, before those dreams come to fruition. In Randy Senneff’s case, he placed the love of his youth — motorcycle racing — on the back burner throughout his adult life, but the wheels never stopped spinning in his heart. Senneff said he and many buddies all bought street legal dirt bikes when they were younger and shredded the dirt, gravel and forest paths all across Bureau County. While hanging around a Yamaha shop in Wyanet, Senneff bought a bike and fixed it up for flat track racing, which he competed in for three years. “The competition was awesome, and hanging out with your buddies and watching the fastest guys was great — just the whole culture of dirt bike racing,” Senneff said. Senneff decided to dedicate his finances to a college education instead of motorcycle racing, hanging up his motorcycle helmet for many years. He raced bicycles for 13 years — training 200 to 300 miles each week — so it got to be more work than fun. He worked at Caterpillar as an engine engineer, where he gained great knowledge on how to maintain the mechanisms of his motorcycles. His passion for racing never left his veins, and after decades off the throttle, he decided to crank it up once again.
Motorcycle Page 4
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