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Cook up some VICTORY JUST OUT coastal cuisine OF WARRIORS’ REACH SOFTBALL, B1
FOOD, A9-10
dailyGAZETTE Wednesday, June 8, 2016 n SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
STERLING
OGLE COUNTY | BLACK HAWK RESTORATION
Slipping through the
CRACKS
An already crumbling Black Hawk statue is exposed to the elements again as work halts on the iconic landmark BY VINDE WELLS vwells@shawmedia.com Shaw Media
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
TVs pile up at the Public Works Department on Tuesday. Sterling has started a free collection service for electronics waste exclusively for city residents.
Don’t dump it
OREGON – By the end of this week, the view of the iconic Black Hawk statue, high on a bluff overlooking the Rock River, no longer will be obstructed by the scaffold and green mesh that have protected it for the past year and a half. That’s not good news. Workers from Diversified Construction Services in Chicago were at Lowden State Park on Tuesday morning, unwrapping the mesh and dismantling the scaffolding. By noon, the head and arms of the 105-year-old concrete monument were uncovered, revealing the cracks and crumbling areas in its surface. Project conservator Andrzej Dajnowski, from Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio in Forest Park, hired DCS, construction foreman Bob Kalis said. He and his crew of six expect to have the scaffold down and the tall chain link fence around the work area removed by the end of the week. CRACKS continued on A44
City taking e-waste for free BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – The city started a free collection service for electronics waste Tuesday at its Public Works Department. Residents have had few options for discarding electronics since Jan. 1, 2012, when those items were banned from landfills. The service is exclusively for Sterling residents, who will be required to show a current form of photo identification when dropping off items. E-WASTE continued on A54
ROCK FALLS CITY COUNCIL
Vote moves RB&W project forward BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
A worker dismantles the scaffolding surrounding the Black Hawk statue at Lowden State Park in Oregon on Tuesday. The scaffolding and mesh that have protected the statue from further damage for the past 18 months are coming down while the state tries to find another conservator to finish repairs.
ROCK FALLS – After falling one vote short of a majority May 17, the Rock Falls City Council approved a resolution to begin the bond process for the first phase of the RB&W green space project. A representative of Robert W. Baird & Co. gave a presentation at a special finance committee meeting held an hour before the May meeting. The committee gave its recommendation for the underwriters to work on a $2 million bond proposal and the council voted 3-2 in favor of the bond issue, but it fell short of a majority. RB&W continued on A54
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media
FISHING
The ones that didn’t get away
Dixon residents Andy VanOosten (left), 43, and Nathan McClain, 39, haul two of the three 25-pluspound catfish they caught Friday during the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament, en route to a runaway victory in the eighth event in the Rock River and staged in Dixon.
Dixon trio’s 88-pound catch of the day helps win tournament BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 CHeimerman_SVM
DIXON – In 75 minutes, three Dixonites pulled more than 85 pounds of catfish out of the Rock River with their bare hands and sheer giddiness. There was still 45 minutes left to fish on the first day of the 2-day Cabela’s King Kat Tournament in Dixon on Friday. But at that point, Andy VanOosten, 43, Nate McClain, 39, and their co-father-in-law, Bill Sweet, had effectively won the event after pulling out a 30.4-pounder, and 28- and 25-pounders, all
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INDEX
between 1 and 2:15 p.m. They ultimately hauled in 117.48 pounds of fish to bring home $4,000 in first-place winnings and another $925 for the big fish prize. Virtually any other year, runners-up Aaron Schrader of Sterling and Mark Sanders of Dixon would have taken the cake with their 79.78-pound haul. With a veterinarian in the boat – McClain, who works at River Ridge Animal Hospital – imagine the shame if the Dixon team had shown up for weigh-in and one of the cats hadn’t survived. CATCH continued on A54
ABBY.................... A8 BUSINESS.......... A12 COMICS................B5
CROSSWORD.....B12 FOOD...............A9-10 LIFESTYLE............ A8
LOTTERY.............. A2 OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6
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Today’s weather High 77. Low 58. More on A3.
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