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Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Saturday, November 23, 2013
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The good news ... might get better DePue Schools’ SIG Grant costs decrease By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
DEPUE — DePue Schools’ Superintendent Randy Otto reported positive news Wednes-
day on the district’s rebuttal of having to pay back monies apparently misappropriated under the Student Improvement Grant (SIG). In September, Otto confirmed state auditors had collected documentation from the district’s previous budgets and created a list of about 15 to 20 items totaling around $713,000 that were misappropriated. It was discussed the district
might have to pay the money back to the state. On Wednesday, Otto met with the Illinois State Board of Education, and a second review and determination of the state’s audit showed the district would only have to pay back around $473,289. “So the good news is, if you remember before, it was at $713,000,” he said to the DePue School Board on Wednesday.
“At least it’s gone down.” The second bit of good news, is Otto said of the $473,289, around $388,672 actually could end up being charged back to the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools (IARSS), because a portion of the amount is based on the fact that they did not keep good enough daily records on certain information in the district.
“Since that’s their problem and not the district’s problem, the cost (for the district) could go down,” Otto said. With that information, the district’s cost could be lowered to around $85,000. Otto also reported the district has 30 days left in their time frame to submit additional documentation to potentially
See DePue Page 4
Sheffield considers playground projects Village board donates $2,900
A book before bedtime! Karma Winn and her son, Cody Winn, take some time to enjoy a book at the LaMoille-Clarion District Library’s Family Reading Night, held Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. Adults and children were encouraged to wear their pajamas for an evening of bedtime stories. Snacks and door prizes were provided.
By Andrew Fisher news@bcrnews.com
SHEFFIELD — The Sheffield Village Board approved a donation this week for the ongoing project in the village to bring new playground equipment to Veterans Park. The village pledged to donate $2,900 to the effort. In addition to the donation, the village also pledged to support the project by looking into the construction of restroom facilities at Veterans Park. Board members agreed the addition of restroom facilities would make the park more accessible. The cost of the proposed restroom facility is estimated to be between $10,000$15,000.
BCR photo/Amelia Bystry
Mayor Bill Rosenow told the board he envisions the facilities to be similar to the block building structures found at the nearby Hennepin Canal Parkway. The cost for the restroom will be minimized through the use of an existing sewer line adjacent to the park. Initial thinking is the facility would be built near the park’s old sandbox. Board members want to provide the restroom facility as a means for the village to contribute to the playground project. The nearly $50,000 raised for the project was funded entirely through donations. The board also agreed that pea gravel will not be used to surface the park playground equipment area. The park will use a mulch-derived material. Pea gravel gets in people’s shoes and tears up the playground equipment, according to the mayor.
See Playground Page 4
Walnut: A $1.9 million sewer project By Nita Wyatt news@bcrnews.com
WALNUT — Approval has been received from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Financial Assistance Section for the improvements in the village’s sewer system. The sewer project has an estimated project cost of $1.9 million. At the Walnut Village
Year 167 No. 141 One Section - 24 Pages
Board meeting this week, village engineer Matt Hansen of Willett, Hofmann and Associates of Dixon discussed with the board the next steps in the sewer improvement project. The approval letter from the IEPA represents the acceptance of the village into the financing program of that agency. The next phase of this project will be to submit the actual loan
application for the funds needed. This phase includes a variety of projects, including the adoption of an ordinance by the village authorizing the borrowing of funds from the IEPA Loan Program and obtaining the IEPA loan agreement. Receipt of the loan agreement usually takes about three months from the date of submission of
the final design. After the agreement from the IEPA has been received, construction on the project will begin. If everything falls into place, construction could be completed by spring/summer of 2015. The board discussed the need for a rate increase to cover the payments to the IEPA loan. Hansen was asked to do an analysis of the village’s
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current rates and to then prepare some recommendations for rate increase. The increase can be done in one larger step or in multiple, smaller steps. Following the receipt of this information from Hansen, the board will reach a decision on how it wishes to proceed. In other business, Police Chief Tom Ptasnik provided copies of ordinances from other
municipalities with regard to the operation of sport vehicles within village limits. Ptasnik had been asked at the Nov. 4 board meeting to check out other ordinances in use. In reaching out to other communities in the area, Ptasnik feels if the board decides to enact this type of ordinance, it can be done and
See Walnut Page 4
Princeton, 815-875-4444 815-876-1122 Also serving Spring Valley, Henry, Peru and Oglesby
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