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TIME TO STRIKE HAS ARRIVED BOWLING, B1
LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT, A7-8
dailyGAZETTE Thursday, January 16, 2014
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
SCHOOLS | SPECIAL EDUCATION
No petition for another hearing Sterling will withdraw request to present to ISAC BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 570
STERLING – After a panel of regional school board trustees denied its request to leave the Bi-County County Special Education Cooperative, the Sterling school district has decided to abandon its plan. The board voted 7-6 on Tuesday in favor of Sterling’s withdrawal request, but a two-thirds majority was needed to approve it. School officials said that although the district had discussed its options before Tuesday’s meeting with the Whiteside and CarrollStephenson-Jo Daviess regional boards of education, a leadership
team gathered Wednesday afternoon to talk about the hearing. The team issued a statement saying that the district would not file a petition for a new hearing, and Sterling would withdraw its request to present a comprehensive plan to the Illinois State Advisory Council on the Education of Children with Disabilities. Had the regional board approved the request, the district would have made its presentation to ISAC in April. The district’s focus is to now move forward and work with BiCounty to do what is best for the students, said Becky Haas, Sterling’s director of curriculum and instruction, and special education.
“I think we can come together for the kids, and work together to improve services and communication,” Haas said. Haas said district officials believed that panel members lost sight of the one question they were supposed to be voting on: whether it was in the best interest of the special needs students in the petitioning district that the request for withdrawal from the co-op be granted. “The interpretation of the school code should have been the main focus,” Haas said. “I think they got away from that.” HEARING CONTINUED ON A4
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Regional Board of School Trustees President Jerry Norman (center) listens Tuesday night at Sterling High School during a public hearing on whether to allow Sterling schools to leave the Bi-County Special Education cooperative.
ROCK FALLS | CIVIC CENTER II EVACUATION
OGLE COUNTY | SPENDING IN THE SHERIFF’S DEPT.
Sheriff: Bills were corrected, not altered Changes to invoices were to remove personal purchases BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Thomas Avila, a Civic Plaza II maintenance employee, has worked long hours cleaning up and getting the building back in shape. Sixty-three residents returned home after a pipe burst Jan. 4, triggering a series of unfortunate events.
‘There’s no place like home’ Sixty-three tenants return after 11 days spent elsewhere BY DAVID GIULIANI AND PAM EGGEMEIER news@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 591
ROCK FALLS – Rita Krummel, 73, walked into the fivestory Civic Plaza II with her cane in hand Wednesday. Her cat, Tommy, awaited her. The manager, she said, fed her cat and even took care of the litter box since Jan. 4, when Krummel and the other tenants were evacuated from the complex because of flooding. “They spent time with all of the pets,” Krummel said. “We got taken care of.” The 63 elderly and disabled residents were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday. They had been forced out when a frozen sprinkler system pipe burst and flooded the building. Their return was delayed Friday when a water line break flooded the first floor and elevator shaft. By Wednesday, the problems were fixed, and the building passed a city inspection. Some restoration work will continue after the residents’ return to the building, Rock Falls building inspector Mark Searing said. HOME CONTINUED ON A2
During the inspection of Civic Center II in Rock Falls, Deputy Fire Chief Bill Milby seemed mostly concerned that hallways and stairwells stay clear and passable.
OREGON – Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn says his personal charges on his county-issued credit card were deleted from invoices because he never intended for the county to pay for them. His comments echoed those made earlier by County Board Chairman Kim Gouker, who had said he saw nothing fraudulent about alterations made to the credit card bills. Michael Copies of the Harn Ogle County Sheriff’s Department’s credit card bills were obtained by Sauk Valley Media through a Freedom of Information Act request. On Dec. 28, Sauk Valley Media reported that since 2011, at least three bills had been altered to change the month’s balance or to remove charges. The charges were personal purchases that had been paid directly to the credit card company. “I corrected my statements before I ever turned them in to the clerk’s office,” Harn said Tuesday, adding that he didn’t think he was covering up anything “because those things were paid for previously.” At the time, Ogle County didn’t have a countywide credit card policy. Each department with a credit card set its own policy. The county has since established a countywide policy. CORRECTED CONTINUED ON A2
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 160 ISSUE 28
INDEX
BUSINESS ......... A12 COMICS ............. A10 CROSSWORD....B11
DEAR ABBY ....... A11 LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4
OPINION .............. A6 PLAN!T ................. A7 SPORTS ...............B1
Today’s weather High 33. Low 7. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B6.
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