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LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT, A7-8, 10-11
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Thursday, October 31, 2013
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
DIXON SCHOOLS | LINCOLN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
School’s fate will wait Superintendent: No action on closure planned at Nov. meeting BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
DIXON – The fate of Lincoln Elementary School may be discussed for a little longer. After a public meeting Wednesday night about the possibility of closing the school, Dixon Public Schools Superintendent Michael Juenger said that he won’t place the question on the Nov. 20 school board agenda as
an action item. However, the issue likely will be discussed during the meeting. With nearly 100 people in the cafeteria of Reagan Middle School, Juenger, Business Manager Dave Blackburn and Director of Buildings and Grounds Kevin Schultz presented residents with the case for closing Lincoln. FATE CONTINUED ON A2
Where were you when you heard?
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Dixon schools Superintendent Michael Juenger listens as a resident speaks her mind during a public meeting Wednesday night at Reagan Middle School.
HALLOWEEN FEATURE | THE BLOODY GULCH ROAD STORY
‘It was actually scarier than any of us came up with’ S
BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
cary stories, sometimes based on true events, are a big part of Halloween. And in Dixon, there’s a chance the story of Bloody Gulch Road will be among those told.
EDUCATION | HOW SCHOOLS RATE
Most fail to meet standard
A.K. Thompson had heard and told those stories growing up in Dixon. But she also spent time researching what actually happened for her book, “Relentless, Envious Death: The Biographies of Katherine Shaw Bethea and Solomon Hicks Bethea.” “I remember, when I was a little girl, at sleepovers, people would say, ‘Oh, Bloody Gulch Road. What happened?’” she said. “We’d speculate and everything. It was sort of this urban legend or whatever. And then when I came across the original reporting in the Telegraph, it was actually scarier than what any of us came up with as kids.” On Sept. 18, 1885, 18-year-old Frederick Thiel’s body was found by a farmer named James Penrose near a farm just south of Dixon. His cattle, which he was crossing near the spot where Thiel’s body was, had reacted to the body’s smell, Thompson said. Thiel’s throat had been slit so severely his head was nearly detached, said Thompson, who researched the event from articles published in the Telegraph. Thiel also had his skull crushed in, several defensive wounds and some fingernails removed, she said.
One district puts ‘limited stock’ in federal ratings BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
SCARIER CONTINUED ON A14
About the book A.K. Thompson’s book, “Relentless, Envious Death: The Biographies of Katherine Shaw Bethea and Solomon Hicks Bethea,” is available at the KSB Hospital gift shop and Books on First, 202 W. First St., for $19.95.
At one time, it was Pearl Harbor. In more recent years, it was 9/11. But for a different generation, it was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas. Sauk Valley Media will publish a package of stories in late November in observance of the 50th anniversary of that national tragedy. We would like to hear readers’ recollections of where they were, what they were doing, and how they reacted when they first heard the president had been shot. You are invited to share your memories, in 200 words or less, by sending an email (slug line: JFK) to news@saukvalley. com or a letter to JFK Memories, 3200 E. Lincolnway, P.O. Box 498, Sterling, IL 61081. You may also take what you write to the SVM office in Dixon or Sterling. Please include your name, address and a phone number. Submission deadline is 5 p.m. Nov. 15.
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Dixon author A.K. Thompson stands at the top of the gulch where the body of Frederick Thiel was found in 1885. The gruesome murder is one of the subjects of Thompson’s book and also led to the naming of Bloody Gulch Road.
Most local schools failed to meet the federal standard of “adequate yearly progress” this year. But few administrators, in any case, are confident in the standard, saying it’s not a good gauge for student performance. The state plans to release the latest adequate-yearly-progress information today, but Sauk Valley Media contacted local districts Wednesday to see whether they had met the standard. Over the years, the AYP standard has increased. The national goal was to have all students reaching proficient levels in reading and math by 2014. The Rock Falls High School district already has posted the latest information on its website, showing that it didn’t make adequate yearly progress, as has been the case since 2007. None of the schools in the Sterling and Dixon districts made it either. FAIL CONTINUED ON A11
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TODAY’S EDITION: 28 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 129
INDEX
BUSINESS ......... A14 COMICS ...............B8 CROSSWORD....B14
DEAR ABBY ....... A12 LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4
OPINION .............. A6 PLAN!T ................. A7 SPORTS ...............B1
Today’s weather High 63. Low 39. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B9.
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