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Roby nets top spot on our All-Area Team
COMPTON MAN FACING FELONY ARSON CHARGE LEE COUNTY, A2
BOYS BASKETBALL, B1
ROCK FALLS | LIMESTONE BUILDING
City hits snag with demolition State budget woes impact federal program BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
ROCK FALLS – The city again finds itself caught in the web of the state’s budget mess. A bid was accepted in early February to knock down the Limestone Building, the city’s largest remaining obstacle to riverfront development. City officials had said the demolition on West First Street would be done by the end of
February, but then learned that money expected from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Revolving Loan Program to help pay for the $600,000 project is on hold. It’s federal money, but distributed through the states. Cities can get up to $500,000 from the program for brownfields projects. Rock Falls already has the $200,000 in federal EPA funds it learned it would get in spring 2014 for assessment work. “We were told by EPA that
we would get revolving loan money, and the very next day they informed us that everything in the brownfields program was on hold and the state couldn’t make the appropriations,” Mayor Bill Wescott said. The Illinois EPA said Thursday, though, that no payments from the loan program have been made this year, but that’s because there have been no applications. DEMOLITION CONTINUED ON A3
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Because the EPA loan that was to pay for the demolition of the Limestone Building has hit a roadblock, Rock Falls is looking for other ways to pay for the $600,000 project.
FRANKLIN GROVE
EDUCATION | STERLING HIGH SCHOOL
Ag Club delivering big yields
Nachusa to set fire to fields The plan is to help habitat, decrease threat of wildfires BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Sterling High School Ag Club students Abbagail Witmer, Maribel Vargas and Skylar Brown speak about the importance of agriculture. This is the second year for the club, but “the first year that it’s been more than just Tractor Day,” Witmer, a 17-year-old senior, said during an after-school meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Farmapalooza to showcase how much group has ‘exploded’ in second year BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
STERLING – Now this is what Sterling High sophomore Mitchell Clodfelter had in mind when he roped teachers Heather Johnson and Jessica Smith into becoming advisers for the school’s Ag Club. This is the second year for the club, but “the first year that it’s been more than just Tractor Day,” Abbagail Witmer, a 17-year-old senior, said during an after-school meet-
Farmapalooza for all Farmapalooza will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. April 1 on the Sterling High School practice soccer fields, behind softball diamonds between Fourth and Fifth avenues. In addition to the students’ ing Wednesday afternoon. More than a dozen students were working on their booths for Farmapalooza, an educational event April 1 on the practice soccer fields behind the school softball diamonds.
Rain or snow
VOLUME 8 ISSUE 29 40 Pages
Today: 44/28 For the forecast, see Page A10
informational booths, there will be a petting zoo, tractors, a Ziploc garden, an apple orchard, a make-your-own ear tag activity, and a chance to milk Bessie the cow. Admission is free. The rain date is April 8. More than 400 kids are expected to show up. “I never could’ve imagined it was going to get that big,” Clodfelter, 16, said. “I’m really excited to see where it’s going to go.”
Business
Shank’s Veterinary Equipment of Milledgeville brings a lot to the table. See Page C1
Johnson, an English teacher, and Smith, who teaches math, grew up on farms in rural Tampico, but neither considered herself a “farm kid.” What they’re great at is enlisting businesses to lend education and assistance to the group. The club has had four speakers, from Rock River Lumber, the Farm Bureau, Peabudy’s and Highland Community College, and is taking a field trip Friday to Marquis Energy in Hennepin, an ethanol plant that’s boomed of late. YIELDS CONTINUED ON A5
Community Irish eyes were smiling at the Rock River Valley Shamrock Club’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dixon. An SVM photo spread appears inside. See Page C12
FRANKLIN GROVE – Billows of smoke likely will be filling the air around Nachusa Grasslands this weekend. The preservation area plans to begin a series of controlled burns at 9 a.m. today, Sunday and Monday, weather permitting. The purpose is to maintain the wildlife habitat and lessen the risk of a wildfire being triggered by underbrush. The burning also helps to rid the grasslands of invasive species and provide a nutrient-rich base for seeding. In addition to benefiting plant life at Nachusa, control burns also benefit wildlife as bison prefer to graze on areas that have been burned, and redheaded woodpeckers are more likely to be drawn to the woodlands. Signs will be posted to identify the prescribed burning sites, and a fire crew will have a tank with about 425 gallons of water in tow. The members of the fire crew are trained in burning practices, including setting up fire stops to contain the blaze. NACHUSA CONTINUED ON A4
Field burning Nachusa Grasslands in Franklin Grove will be burning fields at 9 a.m. today, Sunday and Monday. Go to nachusagrasslands.org for more information.
Index Births................ C5
Lottery .............. A2
Business........... C1
Markets .......... A10
Classified .......... B9
Obituaries ......... A4
Comics ............. B8
Opinion............. A6
Community ..... C12
Scoreboard ...... B4
Crossword Saturday ......... B13
Scrapbook ....... C3
Crossword Sunday ............. C8
Support groups .. C5
Dave Ramsey ... C1
Weather.......... A10
Dear Abby ........ C6
Wheels ........... B14
Sports .............. B1 Travel .............. C10