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dailyGAZETTE Wednesday, June 15, 2016 n SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
ILLINOIS | TAX ASSESSMENTS
Bill breezes through
A bill sponsored by state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, will keep the process for taxing the wind industry in place for another 5 years.
Unanimous votes in House, Senate send wind-energy measure to Rauner BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
DIXON – A wind energy bill sponsored by state Rep. Tom Demmer received unanimous approval in both
legislative chambers, and is expected to receive the governor’s signature. Senate Bill 2612 will renew the process by which wind energy devices are assessed for property taxes. The bill extends the law that was scheduled to sunset Dec. 31 for 5 years.
The Dixon Republican said the bill is important for the wind industry and local taxing bodies. Before legislation first was passed in 2007 to streamline the process, costly and time-consuming legal challenges were not uncommon. BILL continued on A74
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
DIXON
WHITESIDE COUNTY
Dixon One coming into focus Group gears up to unveil proposal, but some people would like a clearer picture first BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Jim Casson, 74, reminisces about his days as a school counselor in Prophetstown and Lyndon while giving a tour of Riverside Cemetery in Prophetstown on Tuesday afternoon. He spent 43 years teaching and counseling in the school district, and has overseen the care of four rural cemeteries for 14 years.
No
grave danger Thanks to a Prophetstown man and his team, the monumental task of taking care of area cemeteries is in good hands
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 CHeimerman_SVM
PROPHETSTOWN – Most of Jim Casson’s reunions with his former students are bittersweet. The longtime school counselor retired 9 years ago, and has Take the tour been overseeing four rural Click on this story at cemeteries for the past saukvalley.com to 14 years. get a tour of Riverside “It’s interesting work, and Cemetery in Prophetyou meet tons and tons of stown from its curanice people from all over, tor, Jim Casson. and from all different environments – unfortunately, a lot of kids I had in school, because someone’s passed away,” the 74-year-old said. That’s where all that experience in counseling comes in handy. GRAVE continued on A54
DIXON – The Dixon One advisory task force has been putting together pieces of a puzzle for the past 6 months, and the picture is beginning to emerge. The group members have one meeting left this month before they plan to present an overarching proposal to the Dixon Area Chamber of Commerce and Dixon Main Street on how the organizations could fit together to form a marketing and tourism hub for the city. “It has taken us a while to figure out what works and then put the meat on the bones,” task force chairman Gary Gehlbach said during the group’s meeting Tuesday. Pieces of the consolidation being developed by the task force include structure and organization, job descriptions and salaries, budgetary estimates, bylaws, building capacity, and the Dixon One name. A presentation date is set for July 12. Chamber board member Brenda Humphrey, who’s not on the task force but attended Tuesday’s meeting, said that information needs to be distributed to the board members prior to the presentation for them to get a look at the logistics ahead of time. Dana Considine, task force member and Chamber chairwoman, said the Chamber had a special meeting to discuss Dixon One in February, but they haven’t had much opportunity to discuss specific progress made in the meantime. FOCUS continued on A54
STERLING
Drug busts go down
After the initial search, officers will often change their search areas for another go-through just to add a second set of eyes. With this method, officers found drugs hidden in the refrigerator.
$1.00
4 people rounded up in early morning raids BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 162 ISSUE 133
INDEX
ABBY.................... A8 BUSINESS.......... A12 COMICS................B6
Editor’s note: Sauk Valley Media was invited by police to ride along on the first operation. STERLING – Two houses suspected of having drug connections were searched Tuesday, yielding four arrests, three of
CROSSWORD.....B12 LIFESTYLE............ A8 LOTTERY.............. A2
OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6 POLICE................. A2
which produced multiple felony narcotics charges. Two men and a woman were arrested in a predawn drug raid on a house on the city’s south side, and a second woman was picked up in a separate heroin investigation just one block north of the first address. BUSTS continued on A114
Today’s weather High 90. Low 66. More on A3.
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