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Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Saturday, February 21, 2015
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Technologically speaking at JFK Tech plan put on hold until next board meeting By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
SPRING VALLEY — When it came to acting on a technology plan for next year on Wednesday, Feb 18, Spring Valley Elementary School Board members held back from the vote and expressed concerns they’ve been hearing about technology and curriculum in the classrooms at John F. Kennedy School. Board member Jack Kusek communicated his worries with how effective technology is in the class-
room, and he questioned whether or not students are really learning subject matter through online programs. “I think we have a good program going, and we need to be proud of it. But we need to make sure it’s efficient and the students are really getting good benefits from what we are doing,” he said. “I think we’ve slipped there a little, and we need to be careful how we proceed in the future.” Kusek pointed out there’s a technology
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Princeton OKs business district project Council approves using PVC piping By Zita Henneberry zhenneberry@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The Princeton City Council agreed to move forward and prepare the legal work for the business district recommendation at the Tuesday, Feb. 17, meeting. With commissioners Joel Quiram and Ray Mabry voting against the business district recommendation and commissioners Ray Swanson and Bob Warren and Mayor Keith Cain voting yes, the recommendation was approved. Legal preparations will
be made for the project at a cost of $7,500. Swanson said he liked the program because Princeton needs to get incentives on the table. In other business, Paul Hanson, regional engineer of the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association of Valparaiso, Ind., appeared before the Princeton City Council to discuss Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) piping versus Ductile Iron piping. “The pipe price may be less, but the total installed cost may be more than ductile iron pipe when the additional cost for correctly installing PVC are correctly added,” he said. Hanson made an appeal to the safety of Princeton’s drinking water. He said
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BCR photo/Trudy Heinz
Who’s the new person in the neighborhood? This duet of deer got a bit distracted with the snowman windsock they discovered in the woods. Meteorologist Eric Sorensen of WQAD News Channel 8 said these deer could probably expect to see a few more snow showers Saturday, with the majority of accumulation remaining south of Route 34 — perhaps an inch or two. The brutal cold the area has been experiencing is expected to continue, with one blast coming in Saturday night and another shot of bitter air on Tuesday night.
ILA/ComEd appeal ICC decision on RICL By Terri Simon tsimon@bcrnews.com
The battle continues for Rock Island Clean Line (RICL) and those who oppose it. That battle has now moved into the Illinois court system. On Tuesday, Feb, 17, the Year 169 No. 23 One Section - 20 Pages
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Illinois Landowners Alliance (ILA) filed an appeal of a November order issued by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) which granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to Rock Island Clean Line LLC, a subsidiary of Clean Line Energy Partners LLC based in Houston,
Texas. The CPCN allowed RICL to build and operate a 121-mile Illinois portion of a new 500-mile direct current electric power line. In mid-January, ComEd, the Illinois Agriculture Association (aka Illinois Farm Bureau) and the ILA asked the ICC for a new hearing, touting a variety of reasons
why the ICC’s ruling didn’t set well with these entities — the most pressing issue being RICL is a private company seeking authority of eminent domain to attract investors for a private, speculative project. The ICC denied that request for a new hearing. On Feb. 17, the ILA filed a
petition in the Third District Appellate Court in Ottawa and asked for a review of the ICC’s November 2014 order and its January denial to rehear the case. According to a press release from ILA, “Current laws are written for traditional utility projects; the Illinois Commerce Com-
mission’s application of the existing laws, as applied to this novel case, is being challenged.” The ILA is a non-profit organization representing more than half of the landowners on the proposed Illinois portion of the route.
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