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Warm up with coffee cakes
HOW DID PROPHETSTOWN AND EASTLAND FARE IN SECTIONAL SEMIFINALS?
FOOD, A9
GIRLS BASKETBALL, B1
dailyGAZETTE Wednesday, February 19, 2014
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
LEE COUNTY COURT | DIXON MURDER TRIAL
Texts barred at trial Admission depends on whether Sigler knew of alleged infidelity – saying that the couple’s January 2013 confrontation that led to her death was sparked by the messages Sigler, 35, found on his wife’s phone. Sigler’s wife, Yolanda, was 35 at the time of her death. Judge Ron Jacobson said that although the text messages’ effect on the defendant’s state of mind could matter eventually, he would for now deny the defense’s motion to admit them. The denial, Jacobson said, could be changed if the text
BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 521
Brian Sigler Charged with seconddegree in the Jan. 13, 2013, death of his wife, Yolanda, in their Dixon home
DIXON – A Lee County judge on Tuesday barred certain text messages from being presented during the murder trial of a Dixon man. Brian Sigler’s defense attorneys, James Mertes and James Fagerman, had previously submitted the text messages – sexual conversations that, the defense says, occurred between Sigler’s wife and another man
messages ended up being pertinent to trial proceedings, but that would depend on whether, for example, the state was able to produce evidence that Sigler had extended prior knowledge of infidelity. If the state couldn’t provide such evidence, the text messages then might be admitted, and their alleged discovery could then show a greater effect on Sigler’s state of mind. TEXTS CONTINUED ON A11
DIXON
Union set to expand strike zone Plans to involve other Bay Valley Foods sites
Judge Ron Jacobson Said texts could be admitted if state can’t show Sigler had extended knowledge of infidelity
WINTER WEATHER | DEEP FREEZE IN THE SAUK VALLEY
Trying to hold the salt
BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
DIXON – The strike at Dixon’s Bay Valley Foods plant could extend to other company sites throughout the country, a union leader says. Steve Mongan, president of Teamsters Local 722, which represents more than 100 employees at the Dixon location, said he contacted the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and is extending the picket lines and strike benefits to workers at other plants. Bay Valley Foods, a Green Bay, Wis.-based company, has factories in Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Illinois and Pennsylvania, among others, according to the company’s website. Unionized plants in Michigan and Pennsylvania could be among those with workers going on strike once union members from the Dixon plant arrived in those cities and started picket lines, Mongan said. STRIKE CONTINUED ON A2
Strike update The employees at Bay Valley Foods in Dixon went on strike at 11 p.m. Feb. 6 after they had worked without a contract since Dec. 28. No talks are planned for this week.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Piles of snow make driving on Fourth Avenue in Sterling difficult Tuesday. To clear the snow, the city of Sterling moves large piles of the white stuff from the streets and city lots to old industrial sites.
Cities run low on road salt, could see increase in potholes BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
With the first official day of spring still a month away, cities are running low on road salt. Dixon started to cut its salt use by adding stone chips in an effort to make what it has last, while Sterling and Rock Falls haven’t had to do that yet and are hoping they won’t have to. With the heavy snowfall for the area this winter, cities have also had to deal with finding places for snow removed from streets and parking lots. Sterling has moved some snow to its riverfront area, near the former factories, Mayor Skip Lee said. Some snow piles in parking lots have made turning or exiting difficult, he said, by blocking the view of oncoming traffic. Dixon City Commissioner Jeff Kuhn said that adding stone chips – similar to
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 160 ISSUE 52
ONLINE EXTRA
The forecast Today: Sunny and calm. High 38. Low 31. Thursday: Warm and rainy early, with a high of 46. Colder and snowy later, with a low of 16. Friday: High of 37. Low of 16. Saturday: High of 24. Low of, sigh, 10. pebbles – doesn’t help to melt the snow, but does help with traction. “We’re just about out [of salt] now,” Kuhn said. With cities running low on salt, demand for additional salt is high. Dixon gets its road salt near Ottawa, and Kuhn said he heard there was salt available there, but what it has is on a barge, and there’s an issue with the Illinois River freezing.
INDEX
SALT CONTINUED ON A11
COMICS ...............B6 CROSSWORD......B9 DEAR ABBY ......... A8
Read “The List” Have you gone to saukvalley.com to check out our new blog, “The List,” yet? You should! Today, see where shoveling snow rates on the list of chores SVM News Editor David Giuliani has to do. Share your thoughts on chores.
LIFESTYLE ........... A8 LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4
Bi-County looking for fat to trim BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 535
STERLING – How to cut up to $300,000 from its $2.5 million budget without negatively impacting its special ed students: That’s the challenge facing the Bi-County Special Education Cooperative. Its board held a special meeting Tuesday to begin discussing where such trims can be made. The overwhelming theme, as Morrison School District Superintendent Suellen Girard put it: “Let’s look at what we can do that doesn’t hurt the kids, to start with.” Among the measures being considered: s 2EPLACE EIGHT RETIRING TEACH ers with less-experienced, and therefore lower-paid, teachers. BI-COUNTY CONTINUED ON A3
OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2 SPORTS ...............B1
Today’s weather High 38. Low 29. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B7.
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