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OREGON GRABS VICTORY FROM EASTLAND GIRLS BASKETBALL, B1
FOOD, A9-10
dailyGAZETTE Wednesday, December 16, 2015
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
LEE COUNTY | ON THE BALLOT
Tax is the key to a new jail Board OKs putting tax on March ballot to replace facility sheriff says is outdated BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5525 @JPigee84
DIXON – The Lee County Board agreed Tuesday to ask voters to approve a 1 percent sales tax to raise money for a new jail. The 16-4 vote will put the measure on the March 15 primary ballot – and if approved, the tax would generate about $900,000 a year, money
that would go toward the jail’s $14 million-$15 million pricetag. “Right now, we are just asking the board to finance the jail,” Lee County Sheriff John Simonton said, adding that a specific timeline hasn’t been nailed down yet on when the jail would be built. “We are just asking for financing options right now.” But, he stressed, right now is the time to ask for the money.
The current facility, built in 1971, simply isn’t up to the task of housing today’s jail population and needs to be replaced soon, he said. “When it was built, the design did not afford us the opportunity to expand for the diverse amount of inmates we receive on a regular basis,” Simonton said. “We have one segregation unit, and no mental health units, or units for people who are brought in
on a wheelchair. We also have no availability to house juveniles.” A new jail could also generate revenue for the county. With the additional space, Lee County could house inmates from other facilities, bringing in another $70 per inmate per day, which could generate as much as a half-million dollars annually.
HELPING THEIR FELLOW MAN IN DIXON
JAIL CONTINUED ON A5
John Simonton
ROCK FALLS
Some final developments City votes to end agreement with economic development group BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
ABOVE: Amanda Lopez of Harmon looks over items Tuesday during the Goodfellows of Lee County’s annual Christmas give-out. The nonprofit agency collects items year-round, then distributes them during the give-out of toys, clothes and grocery vouchers. Families must apply and qualify, and applications are available at Dixon Public Library, 221 S. Hennepin Ave. If approved, families make an appointment to pick out items. The group helps about 1,000 people every year. This year’s event runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday in the basement at the Dixon Telegraph, 113 S. Peoria Ave. Call the agency’s president, Valynda Bushman, at 815-721-2025 for more information. LEFT: Bushman, president of Goodfellows of Lee County, speaks with Lopez as she begins her shopping.
ROCK FALLS – Most of the aldermen used their ward reports at Tuesday night’s council meeting to wish fellow officials happy holidays. Then the mood turned, as they voted 6-1 to end their 13-year-old agreement with the city’s economic development group. “This is probably as hard to do as it is to ask people to raise their taxes,” said 1st Ward alderman Daehle Reitzel, also a member of the This is probably Rock Falls Comas hard to do munity Developas it is to ask ment Corporapeople to raise tion’s board of directors. their taxes. Glen KuhleDaehle Reitzel mier, 2nd Ward 1st Ward alderman alderman and the chair of the Finance Committee, lamented the tough decision his committee weighed last week. The city has paid the RFCDC $100,000 each year. “Times change in 13 years,” Kuhlemier said. “It was a good idea, and it still is. They’ve done a lot of work, and some of it has succeeded, some of it hasn’t – but that’s no reflection on the hard work they’ve done. It’s been a matter of conditions and politics.” The city will give the RFCDC a 90-day notice of intention to break the funding agreement, which otherwise would have been automatically renewed April 30.
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DEVELOPMENTS CONTINUED ON A5
MILITARY
Dixon native answered a higher education calling Veteran featured in book about Afghan academy BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra
DIXON – Kevin Harshman, a former Marine and guardsman with 6 years of service, had been out of the military for 5 years in 2004 when an unexpected federal telegram appeared with marching orders, giving him 1 month to report
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to a Georgia training base for duty. “It was so shocking,” the 38-year-old said. “I was a civilian. ... Then I get this letter that says you’re going to get activated for up to a year and a half.” Even his original uniforms no longer fit. But he answered the call to duty, and today the Dixon native is featured in “We Answered The Call: Building the Crown Jewel of Afghanistan,” a book and documentary that recounts the origins of the National Military Academy of Afghanistan in Kabul, which he had a hand in assembling.
INDEX
ACADEMY CONTINUED ON A5
ABBY ................... A8 BUSINESS ......... A11 COMICS ...............B6
CROSSWORD....B12 FOOD ..............A9-10 LIFESTYLE ........... A8
Dixon native Kevin Harshman, a former Marine and guardsman, is featured in a new book and documentary that tells the story of the National Military Academy of Afghanistan, and his part in helping make it a reality. Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6
Today’s weather High 50. Low 29. More on A3.
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