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Thursday, October 24, 2013
Walnut board hears progress Report reviewed on new aggregation program By Nita Wyatt news@bcrnews.com
WALNUT—Walnut’s new Community Aggregation Electricity Program was reviewed by the village board at Monday’s meeting. Village residents had agreed in March 2012 by referendum to enter into a Community Aggregation Program to provide an alternative to ComEd for the supplying of electricity to village residents. The new program went into effect in July 2012. Mike Mudge of Rock River Energy Services Co., based in Oregon, Ill., manages the electricity program for the village and met with the village board at Monday’s meeting. Mudge said Walnut was one of the first communities in Illinois to implement an aggregation program. Currently there are more than 600 cities, villages, townships and counties in the state that have passed referendums and have these programs. At its inception, 500 customers in Walnut were transferred from ComEd to the new program, Mudge said. Currently, there are 458 customers participating in the community program. The idea of this program is to provide electricity at a lesser rate than the ComEd rate. The summer rate for ComEd was .06011 per kilowatt hour and the community program rate is .0484 KmH, he said. Mudge reported the 458 subscribers to the program have averaged a savings of $321.24 each, or $154,690.58 total. He also reported the contract signed was initially a two-year commitment and he has been working on bids for a new contract for the village program and also for a new contract for the village itself for the electricity needed for the municipal water and sewer works.
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Garbage doesn’t belong By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — News flash: The Princeton Recycling Center is not a dump site for garbage. At Monday’s meeting of the Princeton City Council, Commissioner Ray Mabry said 95 percent of residents are doing the right thing in what they bring to the recycling center, but it’s the remaining 5 percent who are the problem.
Last week was a tough week at the recycling center, Mabry said, with three separate incidents of people leaving garbage at the center. One night someone dropped off a bunch of furniture, including a sofa, recliners and dressers, plus some clothing. The night before that incident, someone dropped off automobile parts, Mabry said. If residents have a question about what is accepted at the recycling center, they can call city hall, Mabry said.
The information is also available on the city’s website. Mayor Keith Cain also addressed the recycling center issue, urging people to be responsible and to follow the guidelines set for acceptable items. “I’m pleading with the people out there. Let’s be adults and quit dumping junk there,” Cain said. “We aren’t a garbage site.”
See Garbage Page 4
BCR photo/Amelia Bystry
Are you kidding me? Harvest in Bureau County came to an abrupt halt Tuesday morning as rain and then snow stopped tractors and combines in their tracks. Tuesday’s precipitation kept many farmers out of the fields even on Wednesday. Though chilly temperatures will continue throughout the rest of the week, Bureau County should be done with any more snow, though the area could see some spotty rain showers, according to WQAD meteorologist James Zahara.
DePue to start charging fees for IVHS courses By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
DEPUE — DePue students taking courses through the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) program will soon have to pay a fee per class. On Monday, Superintendent Randy Otto held a discussion with the school board about the option to begin charging up front fees to IVHS students, similar to fees charged to students taking courses through the Area Career Center (ACC) program. ACC students are currently charged an upfront fee of $150 per course, which is refunded to students who pass the course with an average grade or better. Otto explained there has been an increase in students now taking classes
through IVHS, which costs $225 per course. Right now, students are charged no fees to take courses through IVHS. Otto said about 20 students are currently enrolled in IVHS, which is costing the district budget around $4,000 — a price that is not refunded to the school. “And we don’t get any money upfront from the students,” Otto said. The school offers students the opinion of online courses for two reasons: the first, is for those interested in taking classes the school doesn’t offer. The second, is for students who are taking classes to make-up credits needed to graduate. Otto proposed the district begin charging a $50 fee per IVHS class, which would be refunded to students who passed the course.
“If they don’t pass we would keep the money as in the case of the ACC students,” he said. Board member Nickole Barto said students who were taking courses for credit recovery should have to pay the full price per course on their own. “I don’t have a problem with the kids who want to take something the school doesn’t offer,” she said. “They could pay a fee that we would reimburse like ACC as long as they got a passing grade in it.” The board concurred, and was in favor of charging IVHS students the full $225 to those taking courses for credit recovery, and $50 for students taking courses the school doesn’t offer. The $50 fee would be reimbursed to students who passed the
See DePue Page 4
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