Your source for community news and sports 7 days a week.
STERLING SETS SIGHTS ON ANOTHER SECTIONAL
United Way lunch program expands WHITESIDE COUNTY, A3
SOFTBALL, B1
dailyGAZETTE Tuesday, June 3, 2014
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
STERLING | MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION
City picks 3-year electricity deal Bid awarded for sewer project; city manager’s pay raise approved BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5570
STERLING – The city received a second round of bids at Monday’s council meeting and opted for a 3-year electricity aggregation deal with MidAmerican Energy.
ComEd came in with the lowest rate for the first year, but because ComEd’s rates change each May, and its second and third years are unknown, the council voted 5-1 to go with the lowest rate over the 3-year period. Based on average monthly use
of 670 kilowatt hours, Sterling’s current program with FirstEnergy costs $31.28 per month. The cost per kilowatt hour is 4.67 cents. The new deal with MidAmerican, based on the same average monthly use, would be $53.39 in the first year, $52.72 in the second year, and
$50.92 in year 3. ComEd’s first year rate, based on the same monthly use, would be $50.88 in the first year. ComEd also adds a price energy adjustment of up to 0.5 cents per kilowatt hour. ELECTRICITY CONTINUED ON A4
FIRING UP THE WAYBACK MACHINE IN DIXON
Scott Shumard
DIXON POLICE | NEW CHAPLAIN PROGRAM
Spiritual spearhead for those in need Battle-tested leader to provide counsel, oversee team of qualified chaplains BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
ABOVE: Eric Riser, 30, poses with his son, Graham, 2, and a photo that ran in the Dixon Evening Telegraph on March 11, 1991, of the elder Riser driving the Power Wheels electric car that has been passed down a generation. Eric’s parents, Sue and Harvey of Dixon, pulled the old sled out, fired it up and let Graham zip around the sidewalks Saturday afternoon while he visited from Naperville. RIGHT: Harvey Riser of Dixon helps his grandson, Graham, of Naperville start up the Power Wheels electric car once owned and driven by Graham’s dad, Eric.
DIXON | MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION
Citywide savings could be $880,000 Move from ComEd to Verde could pocket $160 per resident this year BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529
DIXON – Dixon residents could save about $160 this year on their electricity bill, thanks to municipal aggregation, a commissioner said. During the election in April 2013, Dixon voters approved giving their city government the power to negotiate for lower electricity rates, which is also known as municipal aggregation.
$1.00
TODAY’S EDITION: 20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 160 ISSUE 125
INDEX
It was the third time the choice had been put to city voters, the first two getting voted down. Commissioner Dave Blackburn said compared to the recent ComEd rate increase – up to about 7.6 cents a kilowatt hour – Dixon residents will play 23 percent less – about 5.85 cents a kilowatt hour – with the city-negotiated deal with Verde Energy, based on information he was given by Rock River Energy Services. SAVINGS CONTINUED ON A4
BUSINESS ........... A9 COMICS ............... A8 CROSSWORD......B9
DEAR ABBY ......... A7 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
Next meeting The City Council next meets at 5:30 p.m. June 16 at City Hall, 121 W. Second St., on the second floor in the Council Chambers. Go to www.DiscoverDixon.org or call City Hall at 815-288-1485 for an agenda or more information.
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 SPORTS ...............B1
DIXON – It was during his service in the Vietnam War that Rev. Dr. Vincent Marrandino first knew he wanted to be a chaplain. He was a psychiatric specialist then, a young man with an undergraduate degree in psychology and an interest in helping fellow humans through unimaginable pain and emotional turmoil. Troops would be evacuated, and the soldiers would step out of the planes. They’d be separated into diff e r e n t g r o u p s Rev. Dr. Vincent – those in need Marrandino of medical atten- Senior volunteer tion, psychiatric chaplain with attention, the Dixon Police prisoners of war. Department Depending on is also full-time director of who was on the plane, he might pastoral care switch gears a little at KSB Hospital bit and work with the medics, talking to men who had lost their legs or their arms. “I kind of fell in love with doing that kind of work,” Marrandino said, sitting in the office of Dixon Police Chief Danny Langloss. “And it was amazing how the ministry was so well correlated with psychiatry.” Marrandino is the the new senior volunteer chaplain for the Dixon Police Department. He’ll head up what will eventually be a team of qualified chaplains who will work with department members, crime victims, their families, and witnesses to talk through what they’ve seen. SPIRITUAL CONTINUED ON A2
Today’s weather High 83. Low 58. More on A3.
Carnival Days Get underway in Sterling, A3.
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PAPER, CALL 815-625-3600 OR 800-798-4085