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Ashton gets ready to put its Fest foot forward
ROCKETS WELL-ARMED FOR VICTORY BASEBALL SECTIONAL, B1
dailyGAZETTE
A8-10
Thursday, June 2, 2016 n SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
ROCK FALLS
City shops for development Officials return from Vegas event where they worked to drum up new businesses BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
ROCK FALLS – The process of luring retail business to the city’s interstate and riverfront properties has begun in earnest. The city hired economic development consulting firm Retail Attractions on
April 19 to help market its available land. The Oklahoma-based firm has established relationships with developers and retailers, and the city is using those contacts. Mayor Bill Wescott and City AdministraBill tor Robbin Blackert Wescott attended the International Council of Shopping Centers Convention from May 22-25 in Las Vegas, equipped with a game plan drawn up by the consultants.
A record 36,000 retailers, developers, lawyers, and real estate brokers were brought together for this year’s RECon convention. A dealmaking paradise, the ICSC estimates that about half of all retail Robbin real estate deals are Blackert started or finished at this huge global event. A big day on business calendars, it’s hard to come up with a retailer that didn’t send a real estate team to the
Las Vegas Convention Center. Restaurant chains like Darden and Starbucks and retail giants like Walmart, Home Depot, Costco, and Walgreen are on the attendees’ list each year. Although the city can’t divulge which retailers it expressed an interest in, the mayor said conversations were initiated with about 35 businesses in general retail and restaurants. “Retail Attractions told us if you think you want it, go for it,” Wescott said. “You get a chance to sell yourself in a 5-minute speech, you get information from them, and then they’ll follow up.” SHOPPING continued on A54
DIXON
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Former Lee County Sheriff John Varga, shown here in 2014, is the new Dixon Correctional Center warden. Wednesday was his first day on the job.
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
JeAnne Vargas leads participants in a session on mindfulness meditation, which is designed to reduce stress, pain and anxiety.
Relief ... It’s all in the mind
People plagued by chronic pain are finding help through a form of meditation See for yourself Free Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction meditation sessions are offered at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays in the lower level of the United Way of Whiteside County, 502 First Ave. Go to mindfulnessineverydayliving.com or contact Vargas at jann@mindfulnessineverydayliving.com or 563210-6516 for more information on the sessions or her 8-week program that begins in late July.
BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
STERLING – After more than 25 years of experiencing chronic pain, JeAnne Vargas needed a change. A regular visitor to hospitals and medical centers, Vargas has undergone a slew of surgeries, including having 24 stents implanted as well as 10 balloon angioplasties in her coronary arteries, and a quadruple coronary bypass that failed after 6 weeks. “Some people hit the genetic lottery, others don’t,” Vargas said. The Rock Falls resident sought a way to cope with a variety of degenerative disorders that cause constant pain and fatigue. She specifically wanted an alternative to around-the-clock pain medications. “I said to myself, ‘What kind of life is this?’” she said. One day, she was handed a flier about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, a type of mediation geared toward reducing pain, stress and anxiety. MEDITATION continued on A44
There’s a new warden in town Former sheriff takes over at correctional center BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra
DIXON – Former Lee County Sheriff John Varga is the new warden at the Dixon Correctional Center. Wednesday was his first day on the job, Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Nicole Wilson said in an email. He replaces Donald Enloe, an IDOC veteran with more than 20 years’ experience, who was acting warden since October 2014. Varga, 49, of Harmon, Inside was sheriff for 8 years The Dixon Police beginning in 2006. He was defeated while seek- Department, which is about seven officers ing a third term in the down and racking up 2014 Lee County Repub“countless hours” of lican Party primary elecovertime, plans to hire tion by current Sheriff John Simonton, 3,156 three more officers, to 2,411 votes, or 57 to Police Chief Danny Langloss said. Page A3 43 percent. “It obviously just wasn’t meant to be,” Varga had said of the results at the time. “[But] I’m still sheriff until Nov. 30, and I still gotta run the department and do what needs to be done to make the decisions, so I’ll continue to do the job until that time.” WARDEN continued on A44
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TODAY’S EDITION: 20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 162 ISSUE 124
INDEX
ABBY.................... A7 COMICS................B5 CROSSWORD.......B9
LIFESTYLE............ A7 LOTTERY.............. A2 OBITUARIES......... A4
OPINION............... A6 PLAN!T.............A8-10 POLICE................. A2
Today’s weather High 77. Low 56. More on A3.
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