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Serving Lee, Whiteside, Carroll, Ogle and Bureau counties Saturday&Sunday, April 23-24, 2016 $2.00
Morrison hangs on against Newman
SUPERINTENDENT REACTS TO ERROR MADE BY STATE STERLING SCHOOLS, A3
SOFTBALL, B1
EDUCATION | FUNDING AT SAUK VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Bill to restore nearly $400K MAP students might get retroactive payment BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
DIXON – A bill that moved through the Legislature Friday morning would restore some funding for higher education in Illinois, including nearly
See the distribution Visit shawurl.com/2joe to see how the $74 million is slated to be distributed among community colleges in Illinois, as determined by the Community College Board. $400,000 for Sauk Valley Community College. That could mean low-income MAP grants recipients might be paid retroactively. After being pulled from a late vote Thursday night, and
after closed-door meetings Friday morning, Senate Bill 2059 sailed through the Senate 55-0, then through the House 106-2. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner indicated he would sign the
bill, which would include $356 million for universities, $74 million for community colleges and nearly $170 million for the Monetary Access Program grants. That $74 million is about 27 percent of the $274.6 million earmarked for the state’s community colleges in the budget Democrats pushed through last May, only to see it vetoed by Rauner because it
was $4 million out of balance. In that budget, $394 million was earmarked for MAP grants. The $74 million will be disbursed by the Illinois Community College Board, which designated $392,541 for Sauk – about $1.7 million less than the $2,141,784 Sauk received for fiscal year 2015. RESTORE CONTINUED ON A4
ROCK FALLS
HONOR FLIGHT
Casey’s Wait is over for Vietnam vets opening still set for fall Store slated to open in September; Dunkin’ Donuts eyes December BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Michael Thier (left) and Ronald Kruger look for names on the Vietnam Memorial on Thursday afternoon in Washington, D.C., during the 35th Honor Flight of the Quad Cities. Go to saukvalley.com for more photos and video of the trip.
Area veterans tour Washington D.C. BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – After nearly half a century of waiting, close to 90 Vietnam War veterans finally received the welcome home they deserved. When they came home after years of surviving a fight more than 8,000 miles away from their lives in Illinois, instead of smiling faces and warm embraces, they encountered the collective hate and anger that had stewed throughout the nation over the war. “I came back to Oakland, California, at midnight, and
Inside Lone World War II veteran sees memorial for first time, Page A5. college students were climbing the fences, spitting on me and calling me ‘baby killer,’” Vietnam veteran Peter Georgean said after seeing the Vietnam Memorial wall Thursday. Georgean, 66, was one of 105 area veterans who experienced a jam-packed day exploring the memorial sites at Washington, D.C., on the 35th Honor Flight of the Quad Cities, an organization that has flown more than 3,000 veterans since 2008.
Sunny
VOLUME 8 ISSUE 34 36 Pages
Today: 69/51 For the forecast, see Page A11
HONOR CONTINUED ON A9
ROCK FALLS – It looks as if two new chain businesses going up on First Avenue will open before the end of the year. The city’s third Casey’s General Store will be built at 1604 First Ave. It had been hoped that construction would begin in March, and the store would open in July or August. That timetable has been backed up about a month. “It looks now like the construction people are shooting for a September opening,” said Sam James, a spokesman at Casey’s corporate headquarters in Ankeny, Iowa. James said the store will be one of the company’s elite models, which at 46,000 feet is the largest store Casey’s builds. Casey’s acquired the land from local businessman Pete Harkness, and made plans to demolish the office building at the site. Rock Falls Building Inspector Mark Searing said the demolition is scheduled for May 4. CASEY’S CONTINUED ON A4
New retail
Dennis Reglin, a Vietnam veteran, is welcomed Thursday afternoon to Washington Dulles International Airport after the flight landed. See the veterans who went on Page A9.
Business
Flowers, plants and even terrariums are featured at K&R Greenhouse. See Page C1
Community This week’s installment of Working Artists in the Sauk Valley spotlights selftaught wood artist Adam Loescher of Dixon. See Page C12
New construction on First Avenue in Rock Falls: • Casey’s General Store – 1604 First Ave. Targeted opening – September 2016 • Dunkin’ Donuts – 1800 First Ave. Targeted opening – December 2016
Index Births................ C5
Lottery .............. A2
Business........... C1
Markets .......... A11
Classified .......... B7
Obituaries ......... A4
Comics ............. A8
Opinion............. A6
Community ..... C12
Scoreboard ...... B5
Crossword Saturday ......... B10
Scrapbook ....... C3
Crossword Sunday ............. C8
Support groups .. C5
Dave Ramsey ... C1
Weather.......... A11
Dear Abby ........ C6
Wheels ........... B12
Sports .............. B1 Travel .............. C10