Your source for community news and sports 7 days a week.
First of a 3-day look at the Comets
YOUR GUIDE TO LOCAL HOOPS
PREP BASKETBALL PREVIEW, SECTION INSIDE
STATE FOOTBALL, B1
TELEGRAPH
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
SVM INTERVIEW | DAVID NORD, DIXON CITY ADMINISTRATOR
Taking job ‘worth the risk’ Dixon’s first city administrator sets up shop in Crundwell’s former office BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
DIXON – Dixon’s first city administrator is tied to a former city employee. Not by name or actions, but by how he got to Dixon and the office where he works, now that he’s here. David Nord was hired by the Dixon City Council during a special meeting Nov. 12. The next day was his first on the job, when he
moved into the office once occupied by then-City Comptroller Rita Crundwell. Crundwell’s 2012 arrest for stealing nearly $54 million from the city during 2 decades ultimately led to the City Council’s decision to hire a city administrator. Enter David Nord, who was born and raised in Garden Prairie, a small town less than 10 miles east of Belvidere. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Augustana Col-
lege and a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University. “In an awkward way, Dixon has done a service to other small towns,” Nord said. After Crundwell’s arrest, Illinois towns started to ask questions about their bookkeeping, he said, and many made appropriate changes. Nord spent 25 years as the village administrator in Cherry Valley, a suburb of Rockford, where he started as an intern while a student at
NIU, he said. He joined the city full time after earning his master’s and became its first village administrator. Cherry Valley, which had a population of about 900 at the time, hired him because village officials saw what tasks they could put on him and the value of having that position, he said. The village decided to keep that job after his departure and is seeking a successor.
David Nord Started as Dixon’s first city administrator Nov. 13.
NORD CONTINUED ON A2
STERLING
WINTERY WEATHER
Freedom Bank has new owner Bank expected to merge with Rockford bank in ’14 BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Rescue personnel from Ashton, Franklin Grove, Rochelle and Ogle County work in the snow to free the driver of an overturned semitrailer Monday morning on South Chana Road near Ashton. Stephanie L. Williams, 32, of Stillman Valley, suffered minor injuries in the rollover.
Drivers put to first test of season BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 521
STERLING – Quite a few accidents were reported in Whiteside and Lee counties Monday, as the first measurable snow of the season swept the Sauk Valley. “It’s the first snowfall of the year,” Lee County Sheriff
John Varga said. “People forget how to drive during summer weather.” Varga noted that his agency responded to a number of calls about minor accidents, but that none involved injuries. In Ogle County, a Stillman Valley woman suffered minor injuries when the semitrailer
she was driving rolled over north of Ashton. According to a news release from the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, the semi, driven by Stephanie L. Williams, 32, was southbound on South Chana Road at 10:37 a.m. Monday near state Route 38 when it crossed the road, went into
a ditch and rolled on its side. Williams had to be extricated from the cab by Ashton firefighters. She was taken to Rochelle Community Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and released. DRIVERS CONTINUED ON A2
2014 ELECTION | 17TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Candidates begin filing in for 17th District race STAFF REPORT news@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 591
STERLING – U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, filed her petitions for re-election Monday, the first day major-party congressional candidates and others running for state and local offices in 2014 could do so. Bustos will have company in the 17th Congressional District race. Former U.S.
$1.00
TODAY’S EDITION: 28 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 147
Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Colona, also filed Monday. He’s hoping for a rematch with Bustos, who defeated him in 2012. Eric Reyes on Monday also turned in his paperwork to run as a Republican. In 2012, Reyes, a Rock Island attorney, filed to run as a Democrat to represent the 17th district, which includes Whiteside County.
INDEX
17TH CONTINUED ON A4
BUSINESS ......... A13 COMICS ............. A12 CROSSWORD....B14
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos D-East Moline
DEAR ABBY ......... A8 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
Bobby Schilling, R-Colona
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 SPORTS ...............B1
Eric Reyes R-Rock Island
Freedom Bank, which has branches in Sterling and Rock Falls, has been acquired by an Iowa-based holdings company. Heartland Financial USA Inc., through its flagship bank, Dubuque Bank and Trust Co., took control of the Sterlingbased Freedom Bank last week. No jobs will be lost in the deal, and the bank will look to add jobs, said Pam Topper, president of Freedom Bank. Freedom Bank was previously owned by River Valley Bancorp Inc. The transaction has been approved by regulatory authorities and the River Valley Bancorp board of directors, according to a news release. Freedom Bank’s locations in Sterling, Rock Falls and Seaton, Ill., will operate as independent subsidiaries of Dubuque Bank and Trust until at least the first quarter of 2014, according to the release. Additionally, Heartland Financial will apply for regulatory approval to consolidate Freedom Bank with Rockford’s Riverside Community Bank. Riverside Community Bank is also owned by Hearland Financial, and the holdings company prefers for its operations in the same state to be consolidated, said John Berg, vice president of marketing and retail banking for Heartland Financial. The holdings company also owns Galena State Bank and Trust Co., but no decision about consolidating it with the two others has been made, Berg said. For local business and retail customers, the deal will mean new lending and cash management services and deposit, fraud prevention, and investment products, officials said. The deal will get Heartland Financial closer to its goal of having $1 billion in assets in each state where it has operations, Berg said, adding that details and terms of the acquisition were not being released.
Today’s weather High 30. Low 13. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B9.
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PAPER, CALL 815-284-2224 OR 800-798-4085