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Tennis, volleyball players CREDIT EARNED talk about summer workouts IN LOCAL COUNTY TECH TYPE, A2 PREP SPORTS, B1
ROCK FALLS | RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT
THOMSON PRISON
City still seeing green Entertainment venue in works for green space in RB&W District BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
ROCK FALLS – Pink Heals, fireworks, and Touch a Truck are just a few of the events that bring crowds to the RB&W District, even though nothing in the area remotely resembles an entertainment venue. So the thought of what might happen if the city’s planned green space project comes to fruition is intriguing. Plans call for an amphitheater with tiered stone walls, a skate park, water feature, and scenic overlook piers, surrounded by
bike and walking paths. The project even could end up being a nice 150th birthday present for the city if it is completed by 2017. That’s Mayor Bill Wescott’s goal. “We just have a concrete slab and a grassy knoll, and people are flocking to the area for entertainment,” Wescott said. “I think residents already see the vision and support it by going to those events.” “They’re there, and we haven’t built it yet,” City Administrator Robbin Blackert said. GREEN CONTINUED ON A3
The race to find a place Realtors work with new employees on housing options BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521 @SeaWarren
Artist rendering submitted by city of Rock Falls
An amphitheater is among the facilities planned for an entertainment project the city of Rock Falls hopes to have completed in 2017 along the Rock River.
OREGON | BLACK HAWK STATUE RENOVATION
THOMSON – For Thomson and many nearby towns in the northwestern corner of Illinois, the past few years have been a roller coaster ride. When would the long-promised federal prison be opened? The one that was supposed to boost the towns’ economies, swell their populations, and increase school enrollments? That moment, it seems, is finally arriving. As of Friday, there were 79 minimum-security inmates housed at the Thomson Correctional Center. There are 203 staff positions filled, and 33 more employees are expected to report in the next 2 or 3 months, said Michelle Gonyea, public information officer for the prison. Most of those staffers face major relocations – having been brought in by the Bureau of Prisons from places as far away as Texas, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, and Missouri. HOUSING CONTINUED ON A8
More jobs also means more students Earleen Hinton/ehinton@shawmedia.com
Andrzej Dajnowski, director of Conservation of Sculptures and Objects Studio in Forest Park, talks about the cracks in the head of the Black Hawk statue in Lowden State Park near Oregon. Dajnowski’s company is working to restore the 104-yearold statue, which had deteriorated significantly over the years. The project is projected to cost $825,000.
Chipping away at Black Hawk Delicate work underway to restore historic structure BY CHRIS JOHNSON cxjohnson@shawmedia.com Shaw Media
O R E G O N – Ta d e u s z Mlynarczyk leans in close to the side of the Lorado Taft creation as he uses small tools to carefully remove dirt
and grime from its 104-yearold surface. His light taps with a petite hammer and chisel provide a steady rhythmic clinking that softly fills the air nearly 50 feet above the Rock River Valley. It’s a typical work morning on the painstaking restoration of what is commonly known as the Black Hawk statue. Mlynarczyk, a technician
Watch online Go to saukvalley.com to watch a video of some of the work being done on the Black Hawk Statue in Lowden State Park near Oregon. with Conservation of Sculptures and Objects Studio Inc. of Forest Park, sits on the sixth level of scaffolding July 30 to perform the delicate tasks as he works on a 3-foot-square section of the sculpture. “All right, the calcium was
really, really hard and thick,” Mlynarczyk says. “It was a lot of work to get to this point. We have to clean and remove the stuff. It is looking like it is original.” BLACK HAWK CONTINUED ON A5
BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5525 @JPigee84
MORRISON – Not only is the Thomson Correctional Center bringing jobs to the area, it’s also bringing more students Inside to local school Vision districts. 20/20 for the The f e d - state’s public eral prison is schools gets e x p e c t e d t o a boost from employ 1,100 two new laws, people once A5 f u l l y o p e ra tional. There are about 200 employees now working there. About 18 miles away, the Morrison School District has had 25 new students in the past 2 years because of the prison. That number could increase when official enrollment numbers are known in a few weeks, Superintendent Scott Vance said. STUDENTS CONTINUED ON A4
Mostly cloudy
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 49 40 Pages
Today: 80/66 For the forecast, see Page A9
Business
American farmers, trade groups are at odds over lifting of beef embargo. See Page C1
Community Native American attire and culture were on display at the ninth annual Intertribal and Traditional Pow Wow on the Rock River in Prophetstown. See Page C12
Index Births................ C5
Lottery .............. A2
Business........... C1
Markets ............ A9
Classified .......... D1
Obituaries ......... A4
Comics ............. B6
Opinion............. A6
Community ..... C12
Scoreboard ...... B9
Crossword Saturday ........... D6
Scrapbook ....... C3
Crossword Sunday ............. C8
Support groups .. C5
Dave Ramsey ... C1
Weather............ A9
Dear Abby ........ C6
Wheels ............. D8
Sports .............. B1 Travel .............. C10