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Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Thursday, July 23, 2015
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The health care battle Princeton motion dies for lack of a second
By Goldie Rapp grapp@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The city of Princeton will not continue health insurance coverage to former Princeton City Manager Jeff Clawson, who retired from the city last week. Due to a lack of a second on a motion to approve health insurance for Clawson at the Monday, July 20, council meeting, the motion died. Commissioner Jerry Neumann made the motion the city of Princeton shall allow Clawson to participate in the city health care plan on the same terms and conditions of coverage as available to retirees of the city of Princeton from time to time. Following the motion, there was a long pause followed by commissioner Laura Favia asking
for a clarification on the motion. City attorney John Isaacson told her there could be no discussion on the motion until the motion was seconded. “If not, it dies for a lack of a second,” Isaacson said. There was another long pause before Favia passed to commissioner Bob Warren, in which he replied, “Mayor, being there’s a lack of a second, I think we need to move on to regular business.” Mayor Joel Quiram announced the motion had failed for a lack of a second. While there was no further discussion on this matter at the meeting, Quiram has not been silent about the issue, as he publicly took a stand on Facebook, a social media website. On Thursday, July 16,
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Facade grants on SV’s agenda By Eric Engel eengel@bcrnews.com
SPRING VALLEY — The Spring Valley City Council gathered at City Hall Monday, July 20, to discuss upcoming improvement techniques for the city and how to allocate grant money to downtown businesses. Spring Valley Mayor Walt Marini began by expressing his gratitude to everyone involved in the second annual Outdoors Expo, held June 27, calling it a great success on which he hopes to build in the future. Also, Alderman Dave Pelligrini stated tables and benches were purchased and electrical work was performed in an effort to improve Spring Valley’s southern shelters, and Spring Valley Police Chief Kevin Sangston introduced a plan to install security Year 169 No. 88 Two Sections - 32 Pages
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cameras tied to a controlled recording system at Savitch Park and Kirby Park. Spring Valley City Engineer Larry Good noted the Well 11 rehabilitation project, the Power Street sewer replacement project and the Greenwood Street sewer replacement project were all successfully completed. Good said bids for the wastewater treatment plant project will be opened at City Hall at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 29, and aldermen approved a water and sewer committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 30, to discuss the bids. The state has given Spring Valley pre-final plans concerning finances on the bridge and roadway projects related to the treatment plant, and Good said costs should be lower than originally estimated.
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BCR photo/Goldie Currie
Preparing for the 4-H Fair Emma Glafka, 13, (left) and Bethany Swanson, 15, both of Wyanet, set-up their booth for the 4-H Fair at the Bureau County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, July 22. The 4-H Fair exhibits opened this morning, Thursday, July 23. The fair will continue through the weekend and will provide all sorts of fun entertainment — from the animal shows to the unique exhibits and more — all displayed by children from all over Bureau County.
VonHolten resigns as Walnut treasurer Walnut Chamber abandons pharmacy project By Nita Wyatt news@bcrnews.com
WALNUT — Walnut Village Board President Dennis Grobe announced the retirement of the village’s long-time village treasurer. Grobe announced at the Monday, July 20, meeting of the Walnut Village Board that he had received the resignation of the Walnut Village Treasurer Nita VonHolten. Grobe further said VonHolten will be retiring, effective Dec. 31. He also expressed his gratitude to VonHolten for her years of service to the Walnut community and thanked her for providing the village with ample time to find a suitable replacement. Grobe and the village board will discuss the requirements for the
position and the next steps to be taken for filling this position. Brian Smith, representative from the Walnut Chamber of Commerce, reported to the board the Telepharm project for a pharmacy within the village is being abandoned by the Chamber of Commerce. The company the Chamber was dealing with had rescinded the original contract and presented a new contract with changes that were not according to the original agreement. Therefore, the Chamber was not comfortable with the changes and felt that proceeding with this project would not be in its best interest. Money had been raised to further the Telepharm project, and Smith would like to see this money used to bring other busi-
ness into the community. He would like to see some kind of partnership formed with those who had produced this money to further new business development. Smith also proposed the village board and the Chamber possibly look at having someone write grant proposals for rural development or other state money that might be available to encourage and help new businesses come into the Walnut community. Representatives from the Walnut Fire Department were also present at the board meeting to discuss the closure of Jackson Street during a portion of the recent July 4 celebration. This street is used as direct access by members of the fire department, and in the case of an emergency, their personnel need to be able to reach the fire station quickly to provide service to the area. The board discussed with these fire department
representatives that closing streets during this celebration is controlled by the Celebration Committee and not by the board. The board did understand the department’s concern but did assure them that if an emergency had occurred, any barricades in place would have been immediately removed. The board agreed to check with the Celebration Committee regarding this street closure and also stated that the car show, held on Jackson Street, was a new event to the weekend activities, and possible adjustments might be made in future years as this committee sees the need. Also, Superintendent Carl Minks confirmed the “brown” water problems that were being experienced by all village residents for several weeks has been rectified. The board thanked Minks for his work on this project. Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.