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LOCALS’ BIDS FOR STATE FORCED TO WAIT
Tow fund report expected this week
GOLF SECTIONALS, B1
OGLE COUNTY, A3
dailyGAZETTE Tuesday, October 14, 2014
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
DIXON
Old Village Inn out Ken Nelson tearing down vacant building, expanding BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5535
DIXON – Things got a little noisy Monday on North Galena Avenue. Rick Curia, owner of Ken Nelson Auto Plaza, is taking down the former Village Inn Nursing Home building so he can expand the business, which has outgrown its space across North Court Street at 1000 N. Galena Ave., he said.
Demolition began Monday morning. The building sits on 2 acres that, once cleared, will become a lot for additional inventory, Curia said. Eventually, he will put up a building on the site. He bought the site in January, but couldn’t begin the teardown until he passed an EPA inspection and got all the permits in order, which was “a long, drawn-out ordeal,” he said. The expansion is in keeping
with the dealership’s philosophy of keeping everything in one place, which not only is more convenient for customers and workers, but also is less expensive than having lots all over the area, he said. The auto group has 10 newcar franchises, and having everything under one roof “reduces expenses immensely,” he said. “I think we’ll be able to stock more inventory and be more organized,” he said. Not only that, but the expansion will make the area more aesthetically pleasing by getting rid of a longstanding Dixon eyesore, Curia said.
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
An excavator tears apart the derelict Village Inn Nursing Home on North Court Street in Dixon on Monday afternoon to make way for the expanding Ken Nelson Auto Plaza.
ROCK FALLS | WILLIAMS SYNDROME AWARENESS
He would go 5,500 miles
STERLING COUNCIL
Mayor: Alderman likely to fulfill term Cox will not run again in April BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5570
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Kevin Payne (left) and Daniel Burkoski, both 19 and of Baltimore, make a pit stop Monday night at Workman’s HarleyDavidson in Rock Falls before resuming their cross-country, round trip this morning. The duo rescued the dogs, C.B. (left, and short for Coffee Black) and Hitch, along the way. Kevin’s 21-year-old brother, Jacob, has Williams Syndrome, inspiring the younger sibling to take on the monster run in order to raise awareness and cash for the cause.
To raise funds, awareness, Baltimore teens crossing country twice BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521
ROCK FALLS – When Kevin Payne set out to ride his bike across America, round-trip from Baltimore, he only had $150 in his pocket. The 19-year-old had fallen on some hard luck. A corporate sponsor fell through 2 weeks before he started his trip, and he was all of a sudden faced with the fact that he’d have to foot the bill for the high-end bike equipment he’d purchased for the trip.
Be part of the journey – without limbering up Check out Kevin Payne’s website, kevinpayne.com, to donate to the Williams Syndrome Association, or to follow him and Dan Burkoski along their cross-country journey. To learn more about the condition, visit williams-syndrome.org. But, he wasn’t about to quit. There was too much planning that went into it, and the purpose behind the journey was too important. That purpose: Kevin’s 21-year-old brother, Jacob. Jacob has Williams Syndrome, a genetic condition that can cause learning disabilities, and can affect the cardiovascular system
and the kidneys, and cause other difficulties. When Kevin lost a track-and-field scholarship after being injured in a car crash, he realized he couldn’t afford to pay for school anymore. And so, after a first semester, he dropped out. The trip was his way of doing something important with his time.
On April 1, he set out on a solo bike trek across the southern portion of the United States, before heading north along the Pacific Coast Highway to Bend, Oregon, where on July 28, his friend Dan Burkoski flew out from Baltimore to join him. MILES CONTINUED ON A3
STERLING – After resisting pressure to resign for more than a year over residency questions, 2nd Ward Alderman Barry Cox has said he will not run for re-election in April. “I’m definitely not running again,” Cox said. “There will be someone else taking papers out in my ward, and they’ll have my support.” Cox would not say who he thought would be running, and no one has picked up papers yet to run in that ward. Barry Cox, a 23-year Cox council member, Sterling had established 2nd Ward residency in his alderman ward at 1203 E. 20th St., but in 2010, bought another house at 24269 Hillcrest Drive, 5 miles northwest of Sterling. City officials had reason to believe that Cox was no longer living at the 20th Street home, and the house is still up for sale. At one point, Sterling Mayor Skip Lee said that if he were in Alderman Barry Cox’s situation, he would leave the council. The mayor said the city would take a close look at the state residency law and speak with the state’s attorney and attorney general’s offices. That was about 6 months ago, and now Lee said Cox will most likely serve out the rest of his term. ALDERMAN CONTINUED ON A4
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 160 ISSUE 218
INDEX
BUSINESS ......... A11 COMICS ...............B6 CROSSWORD....B11
DEAR ABBY ......... A7 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 NATION/WORLD .. A9
Today’s weather High 64. Low 50. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B7.
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