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Tuesday, August 9, 2016
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GMOs: The labeling law
New law will help consumers, farmers By Goldie Rapp grapp@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — President Barack Obama recently signed into law a bill that will require labeling of genetically-modified (GMO) ingredients. It’s been a long battle fought between both the pro-GMO and anti-GMO positions leading up to
the passage of this new law. Now that the ink has dried, many are saying neither sides are 100 percent agreeable to the bill. While some points in the new law are still unclear, the one requirement that’s for sure is food packages will have to include either a QR code, a symbol, 800 number or plain text if the ingredients contain GMOs.
Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) President Richard Guebert Jr. made a statement on behalf of the IFB saying it was pleased with the labeling bill, which would prevent a rise in food prices. “In addition to protecting Americans’ wallets from a jump in prices at the grocery store, this bill will help prevent an
expensive patchwork of state-by-state mandatory GMO food labeling laws,” he said. Russ Higgins, an ag educator with the University of Illinois Extension office, also stated he felt it was an advantage the bill supersedes state requirements, especially after states like Vermont had already began passing its own GMO requirements. “Trying to imagine the
retailers — if the states all had different rules, what would that entail them to do?” Higgins questioned. “I think it’s important a federal law was passed rather than what could have been potentially 50 individuals states addressing this issue.” Higgins pointed out how that could have trickled down and impacted costs for producers, who are already concerned over
the low commodity prices. “If you’re out on the countryside, any enthusiasm for this great crop we’re watching is just tempered because of commodity prices. It’s just a little sobering in the farming community right now,” he said. Higgins was part of a recent national research study on GMOs. The two-
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Raising up the summer scholars
Local parents go the extra mile to heighten their child’s summer education By Eric Engel eengel@bcrnews.com
“Illinois veterans are very special and deserve recognition, respect and admiration for their dedication to protecting our state, nation and freedom around the world,” Rezin said. “This is a small token of our appreciation as we can never do enough to honor
Editor’s note: This is the second story in a three-part series on helping students retain what they’ve learned throughout the summer break. LADD/TISKILWA — All parents want their children to succeed in their academics because an active and intellectual mind serves to offer a better experience in all walks of life. When it comes to mental momentum over the summer months, a few local mothers shared thoughts on what works and what can be improved. Gina Louise Worden, a mother of two from Ladd, said she believes all children lose some amount of knowledge throughout the summer months. She prepares her children by having them do worksheets designed for higher grade levels two to three times each week. “My soon to be third-grader, Vincent, has been doing third-grade sheets this summer, along with reading third, fourth- and fifth-grade reading-level books for a minimum of 20 minutes per day,” Worden said, adding her soon to be seventh-grader, Paige, is diligent on practicing her vocabulary. “She picks two words a day out of a dictionary and tries to use those particular words in conversation throughout the day, and she enjoys reading 20 to 30 minutes each day.” Meagan Funderberg, a parent of three in Tiskilwa, said she has a major concern with how much knowledge children lose over summer break. “We like to participate in summer reading programs that the library offers — because the library makes reading fun and offers small prizes for a job well done — and we try to do math workbooks over the summer with incentives for completing pages,” Funderberg said, voicing her desire for Princeton to offer a form of summer school to
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BCR photo/Goldie Rapp
Bureau County Fair royalty The 2016 Little Miss, Junior Miss and Miss Bureau County Fair Queen pageants were held Sunday, Aug. 7, in Bureau Valley High School auditorium. Maddy Ellis (center), 19, of Princeton was crowned Miss Bureau County Fair Queen, Kamilla Klingenberg (right), 14, of Princeton was crowned Junior Miss Bureau County Fair and Ashlyn Maupin (left), 8, of Wyanet was crowned Little Miss Bureau County Fair. See more photos of the Bureau County Fair Queen pageant on Page 2.
Bridging the gap by honoring veterans Rezin introduces resolution to name Route 89 bridge By Terri Simon tsimon@bcrnews.com
SPRING VALLEY — Past Commander Art Buck of the Spring Valley American Legion has his fingers crossed ... and
so do several other members of the Spring Valley VFW and American Legion. In a press release from Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Peru), she acknowledged there is a resolution on the table to name
the new Route 89 bridge that connects Bureau and Putnam counties the Illinois Valley Veterans Memorial Bridge. Rezin sponsored the resolution (HJR 142). She said the resolution has already passed the House, and she is hopeful the Senate will pass it when lawmakers return to Springfield in November.
Year 170 No. 95 One Section - 20 Pages
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