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Girls, boys compete at Night Relays SPORTS, B1
FORMER MAYOR CHARGED WITH PUBLIC INDECENCY LOCAL, A5
WEEKEND ENTERPRISE | POLICE STAFFING
Struggling to stay at full force Turnover spurred by ‘generational’ differences, interim chief says BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra
The Sterling Police Department in 2015 logged notable decreases in traffic stops and tickets, DUI arrests, and community policing – a direct result of losing a fifth of its workforce, according to its latest year-end report. The decline in production at the department was due to a lack of manpower primarily caused by attrition that left 22 officers on the payroll, significantly less than its full strength of 30. Four officers left the department in the first quarter of this year alone.
“Do the math,” said Interim Police Chief Tim Morgan, who took over Jan. 18 for retired Chief Ron Potthoff. The problem is “generational,” Morgan said. It used to be that officers who started a job at a department had a career, and made it a point to stay. “Now it’s nothing to go to a place to stay for 2 or 3 years and move on to somewhere else,” he said. “It’s unique that we’re this short right now, [but] it’s not just about the money.” While salary plays a part, the decision to stay or go transcends the paycheck, Morgan said.
Sterling Interim Police Chief Tim Morgan says the problem of keeping his department fully staffed with officers is “generational.” The department currently has 22 officers on the payroll, significantly less than its full strength of 30.
New hires in Sterling typically make about $40,000 a year – about the same as in Dixon and Rock Falls – and that can be higher depending on experience, law enforcement officials said. Dixon applicants with prior service, for example, can start at about $46,000. Morgan called the trend a sign of the “me” generation – rookie officers who dream of becoming star detectives and K-9 officers, but grow impatient and leave when those positions do not open. The year-end report illustrates the effects of fewer officers: FORCE CONTINUED ON A4
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
WEEKEND ENTERPRISE | LOCAL SCHOOLS
STATE BUDGET
No spring break for students
Gears keep turning
Sauk won’t pay MAP grants retroactively
After industrial exodus and recession, low-income student numbers still rising
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
When Brody Rude accepted the assistant principal job at Rock Falls High School in 2006 and moved back to his hometown, the world he came from had changed. Industrial was crumbling, and the Great Recession hadn’t even hit yet. Since that rough stretch, the numbers say matters haven’t improved: The percentage of low-income students throughout the Sauk Valley has flatlined, at best, over the past decade. The deck is stacked highest against the Rock Falls elementary and high school districts, in which 84 percent and 59 percent of students are considered low-income, respectively, compared to 75 percent and 46 percent during the 2011-12 school year. Rude is hoping the threshold has been reached. “Even though they’re very high, it’s looking like the numbers have plateaued,” said Rude, now principal at Merrill Elementary School in Rock Falls. His father, Mike Rude, now works at Sterling Steel, but was working at Northwestern Steel and Wire Co. in 2001 when it announced it was closing. LOW-INCOME CONTINUED ON A3
Inside
Illustration by Alex T. Paschal/ apaschal@saukvalley. com
The percentages of lowincome students by local districts and schools, A3
Care Mobile coming to Oregon BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
OREGON – On May 5, uninsured or underinsured kids in the Oregon School District can get free physicals, free immunizations, free restorative dental work, and a variety of other free services. Did we mention it’s free? Early in the school year, the dis-
trict formed a committee to focus on wraparound curriculum – basically, the services the district would like to provide to kids who badly need those services. Administrators, social workers and the district nurse looked into dental, vision and other areas of health services, in response to a dive in the district’s socioeconomic numbers over the past 10 years. CARE MOBILE CONTINUED ON A4
DIXON – Sauk Valley Community College’s share of the $164 million released by the comptroller’s office Thursday will repay the college for the fall MAP grant, but won’t help students who had to go without this spring. Officials received word from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission Thursday that the college would receive $50,940 – the amount of the claim Sauk submitted to ISAC for the firstsemester Monetary Award Program grant distribution. ISAC administers the state funds, which assist needy students with tuition. Melissa Dye, Sauk’s dean of business services, said the administration had hoped the college would receive more than it did, which would have allowed it to assist students who qualified for the MAP grant this semester. “There are a lot of bills out there with MAP grant funding attached, and we’re hoping the state decides to release money for the spring,” Dye said. Senate Bill 2059, which passed April 22 and was signed into law by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, restored MAP funding, as well as $356 million in funding for universities and $74 million for community colleges. Sauk will receive $392,541 of the $74 million – about $1.7 million less than the $2,141,784 it received for fiscal year 2015. MAP CONTINUED ON A3
Rain likely
VOLUME 8 ISSUE 35 40 Pages
Today: 51/44 For the forecast, see Page A13
Business
Homes come down to make room for Sterling auto dealership’s expansion. See Page C1
Community Grade school students got an up-close-andpersonal look at pigs and other farm animals at an Ag Awareness Day in Milledgeville. See Page C12
Index Births................ C5
Lottery .............. A2
Business........... C1
Markets .......... A13
Classified .......... B8
Obituaries ......... A4
Comics ........... A12
Opinion............. A6
Community ..... C12
Scoreboard ...... B7
Crossword Saturday ......... B11
Scrapbook ....... C3
Crossword Sunday ............. C8
Support groups .. C5
Dave Ramsey ... C1
Weather.......... A13
Dear Abby ........ C6
Wheels ........... B14
Sports .............. B1 Travel .............. C10