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4 local teams play for regional titles
HOW TO TAKE A RIDE AND RAISE FUNDS LOCAL, A3
GIRLS BASKETBALL, B1
DIXON | CHARGES IN HEROIN DEATH
Woman faces homicide charge Police: 22-year-old victim was first-time user; arrest of a second woman pending BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra
DIXON – A Dixon woman accused of providing the heroin that killed another woman – who was using the drug for the first time – is in Lee County jail on three felony charges, and another arrest is pending, police say. Felicia L. Halstead, 22, of Dixon overdosed Nov. 11. Rebecca S. Dixon, 35, is in Lee
County Jail on $100,000 bond; she has pleaded not guilty to druginduced homicide, punishable by 6 to 30 years in prison, delivery of a controlled substance (less than 1 gram of heroin), punishable by 3 to 7 years; and possession of a controlled substance (less than 15 grams of heroin), punishable by 1 to 3 years. Public Defender Bob Thompson is her attorney. According to autopsy results, it was the first time Halstead had
used the drug, which was given to her by Dixon and an unnamed woman, Police Chief Danny Langloss said in a news release late this afternoon. He declined to name the second woman ahead of her arrest. Dixon, who was arrested Jan. 22, appeared in court Thursday, unsuccessfully seeking a bond reduction. Halstead was found unresponsive just before 9 a.m. that Wednesday at a house in the 700
block of Assembly Place; she was pronounced dead at KSB Hospital. “This is a tragic, senseless, and preventable loss of life,” Langloss said in the release. “Even when the signs of overdose were evident, Dixon failed to act. She would not be charged with this crime if she would have called for help when she recognized Felicia was overdosing.”
Rebecca S. Dixon Dixon woman is charged with drug-induced homicide
Felicia L. Halstead Dixon woman died of overdose on Nov. 11
CHARGE CONTINUED ON A2
WEEKEND FEATURE | LOCAL SCHOOLS
Easier than 1-2-3
BUILDING CODES
County moves to streamline its codes BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Kyver Toppert and Elley Weidel work out a math problem Thursday in Karen Mayberry’s first-grade class at Northside Elementary School in Morrison. Mayberry has students pair up to solve a math mystery. Pairs are determined by a draw of Popsicle sticks. (Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com)
Northside first-graders use patterns, tools to build toward abstract thinking BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
MORRISON – After a few minutes, the chorus of coughs at Northside Elementary School became white noise, and a visitor could practically hear the gears turning – some faster than others, but all of them churning toward solutions. Even though most of them are still fighting off walking
pneumonia or the stomach flu, or dealing with the hacking aftermath, Karen Mayberry’s first-graders came up with all four possible solutions for Thursday morning’s pressing math mystery: If Mrs. Mayberry has 10 fruit snacks, and there are more red ones than yellow ones, and fewer blue ones than yellow ones, how many different combinations can there be? NORTHSIDE CONTINUED ON A5
Online extra Click on this story at saukvalley.com to watch youngsters Kyver Toppert and Elley Weidel propose ideas, debate them, and come to solutions.
Sunny
VOLUME 8 ISSUE 24 40 Pages
Today: 14/5 For the forecast, see Page A13
Karen Mayberry works with a group of her first-graders Thursday as they figure out a math problem in her classroom at Northside Elementary School in Morrison.
Business
State treasurer visits Mount Carroll to tout Ag Invest program. See Page C1
Community SVCC students and faculty are sharing their favorite blackand-white photos in an exhibit titled “Exposed.” Get a glimpse of their work inside. See Page C12
The Northwest Illinois Regional Building Code is a collaborative effort to standardize building, electrical, and plumbing codes in the region. Counties and municipalities are using the regional code as the framework for streamlining a system that can be difficult for developers and contractors to navigate. Nine counties and 22 cities have joined the regional organization. The more consistency there is with building standards, the easier it becomes for building professionals to plan and deal with paperwork and permitting. The cities involved in the unification effort either have adopted or plan to move to the 2015 International Building Code. Whiteside County, Sterling, and Rock Falls are adopting the 2015 code, and work has started on an intergovernmental agreement for building inspections. “The county formed a committee last April to start looking at possibly adopting the international code, and they have been meeting just about every month since,” Whiteside County Administrator Joel Horn said. The panel eventually will make a recommendation to the County Board. At that time, public hearings will be called to gather input. The process is still in the early stages, but it could reach the full board sometime this summer, Horn said. The process is perhaps more complicated for the county because the cities already use the International Code, and so are only updating to the 2015 version. CODES CONTINUED ON A3
Index Business........... C1
Lottery .............. A2
Classified .......... B9
Markets .......... A13
College news .... C5
Obituaries ......... A4
Comics ........... A12
Opinion............. A8
Community ..... C12
Scoreboard ...... B4
Crossword Saturday ......... B13
Scrapbook ....... C3
Crossword Sunday ............. C8
Support groups .. C5
Dave Ramsey ... C1
Weather.......... A13
Dear Abby ........ C6
Wheels ........... B14
Sports .............. B1 Travel .............. C10