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Dill: An herb worth remembering
SVM ATHLETES OFSPORTS, THE WEEK B3
FOOD, A9-10
dailyGAZETTE Wednesday, September 9, 2015
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
STERLING
Coming to a better understanding Council clarifies long-standing agreement; Razing an ‘eyesore’ also on the agenda BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – The city solidified a long-standing development agreement with Sterling Today made nearly 23 years ago, and also turned over the deed to an “eyesore” downtown that will, if all goes as
planned, meet the wrecking ball before the end of the year. The council Tuesday approved a memorandum of understanding to clarify the TIF redevelopment agreement entered into Oct. 29, 1992, for work on the Library Plaza and County Market area. Included in the original TIF agreement were provisions
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Sterling City Council members give CGH Medical Center more flexibility for projects. Page A5 for how the project expenses would be reimbursed when the TIF bonds were retired. The length of time that had
passed since the original pact had been drawn up, and the complexity of the agreement created a need for both parties to revisit the language. “This doesn’t change anything from the original agreement, it just simplifies language that was hard to understand,” City Manager Scott Shumard said.
The original bond issuance for the downtown redevelopment project was $4.66 million, which was retired in April 2013. The agreement calls for the city to receive $852,500 for expenses that came from the city’s infrastructure and general funds. COUNCIL CONTINUED ON A5
DIXON | GALENA BRIDGE PROJECT
HARMON
It’s water under the bridge now
Taming the tank
Council members – save one – say contractor has cleaned up its act BY BRENDEN WEST bwest@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529 @BWest_SVM
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
ABOVE: Firefighters move in to cool a propane tank Tuesday night during a fire training exercise in Harmon. Firefighters from Amboy, Harmon and Wyanet took part in the training and special apparatus was brought in to simulate a propane tank fire. Lt. Christina Wethington of Harmon organized the training for area departments. RIGHT: The goal of fighting a propane tank fire is to keep it cool to avoid explosion. Go to saukvalley.com for more photos of Tuesday’s training.
DIXON – Despite some debate, the council left the Galena Avenue bridge rail painting project alone during Tuesday night’s meeting. Questions about the low bidder – Bill’s Painting & Tuckpointing, of Mount Prospect – surfaced in the week’s following the council’s Aug. 17 approval of the bid. For one council member, concerns were compounded when the business delayed paperwork on the project. That prompted Mayor Li Arellano Jr. to place an item on the council agenda to “possibly reconsider” the bid award. At the time the agenda was published on Friday, city officials hadn’t received answers to all their the questions about the contractor. But during Tuesday’s meeting, the mayor said the city has performed its due diligence, checking, and rechecking, the bidder’s references. Every question that surfaced, he said, was answered. “I did have a number of ques-
tions,” Arellano said. “They have been addressed.” In 2013, two other cities – Arlington and Mount Prospect – also had concerns about BP&T. City officials discovered the contractor routinely lowballed the bidding processes, an attempt to win out on projects and kick start a relatively new company. BP&T bid $91,800 on Galena Avenue in August, $107,000 cheaper than the next closest bid. Like Dixon, both cities were concerned about BP&T’s placement on the state’s banned contractor’s list. However, the company was able to remove itself from the list ahead of schedule, and both cities have worked with and since become references for BP&T. Even so, councilman Mitch Tucker stood by his objection to hiring the company. The missed deadline on paperwork, the fact that the company has changed its name several times, and that there have been a number of other questions already about the contractor are cause for too much concern. CONTRACTOR CONTINUED ON A5
STERLING
They’re looking for a match made in heaven Family harnesses the power of the internet – and car windows – to find an angel with a kidney BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521 @SeaWarren
STERLING – Three years ago this month, Marty Rodriguez, 57, was diagnosed with kidney disease. Since then, with the support of her family, she has been going through the roller-coaster ride that diseases can bring to families: the bad days, the good days. The 3-hour dialysis sessions multiple times a week. The clogged arteries. The surgeries to open them up again.
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 161 ISSUE 193
And the anxiety as they wait, wait, wait, patiently wait until they find a willing kidney donor. Marty, of Sterling, is on a donor list. But her daughters, Desirae Ramirez, 32, and Brittain Rodriguez, 34, both of Sterling, have taken the matter into their own hands, creating a crowd-sourcing campaign, of sorts. They’ve set up a Facebook page: Searching for an Angel. They have a GoFundMe: Helping My Mom Find a Kidney. Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
KIDNEY CONTINUED ON A4
INDEX
ABBY ................... A8 BUSINESS ......... A12 COMICS ...............B6
CROSSWORD....B11 LIFESTYLE ........... A8 LOTTERY ............. A2
FOOD ..............A9-10 OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6
Marty Rodriguez (second from right) is looking for a kidney, and her family is doing its best to help find one. Her daughters, Brittain Rodriguez (standing) and Deisrae Ramirez, seen here with Desirae’s daughter, Sophia, 2, are using social media, pleas written on their vehicles, word of mouth – anything and everything they can think of to get the word out and find a donor.
Today’s weather High 78. Low 54. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B7.
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