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SHARKS ENJOY A Sweeten up BANNER SUMMER your salsa YOUTH BASEBALL, B1
FOOD, A9-10
dailyGAZETTE Wednesday, July 20, 2016 n SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
ROCK FALLS | CITY COUNCIL
Council OK’s utility rate study Overdue study will help determine whether customers’ rates are keeping up with city’s costs BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
ROCK FALLS – The city hasn’t stayed on top of its utility rates, and that could be bad for its bottom line. What that means for ratepayers’ bottom line remains to be seen. On Tuesday, the city council
approved a proposal for a rate study of the city’s water and wastewater utilities to be done by Holland, Michiganbased Utility Financial Solutions at a cost of $19,100. City Administrator Robbin Blackert said the study won’t necessarily be a precursor to a rate increase, but said the city must be diligent in making sure rates are in line with operating
costs. When increases are in order, it’s in residents’ best interest to plan ahead. “Rock Falls has been good at keeping up with infrastructure improvements, and if you aren’t, that’s when you have big increases,” Blackert said. “We’d rather have small, gradual increases,” she said. STUDY continued on A54
Next meeting The Rock Falls City Council next meets at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 2 at City Hall, 603 W. 10th St. The agendas will be posted at rockfalls61071.com and at City Hall. Call 815-622-1100 for more information. The council meeting also airs live on Channel 5.
OGLE COUNTY
STERLING
Judicial center could get a neighbor: A new jail Board will vote on site for $27 million project BY CHRIS JOHNSON cxjohnson@shawmedia.com Shaw Media
Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
The marketplace to be on a Tuesday ABOVE: Liz Fischbach (right) of Baked by Liz in Morrison, talks about her products Tuesday at her booth during the Midweek Market in Sterling. The Twin City Farmers Market isn’t just a weekend-only offering anymore; it’s put down roots on a weekday. Through Sept. 27, the market will be open from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays at the downtown Grandon Civic Center, offering an array of goodies and goods, including produce, art and other treats. Janna Groharing, executive director of Sterling Main Street and market manager, said customers have been clamoring for a midweek market, and vendors were only too happy to oblige. For those who still prefer going to market on Saturday, the Twin City Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon all year ’round, in the Twin City Produce Building, 106 Ave. A. Admission is free. RIGHT: Rachel Woessner of Green Leaf Farms sells her produce Tuesday. She was among the 10 vendors who set up booths at the market.
OREGON – The new jail should be built on South Sixth Street, on county-owned property across the street from the judicial center. That’s the recommendation of the Long Range Planning Committee, its chairInside man, Don Griffin, Two told his fellow Ogle “halves” County board members Tuesday. The could board is expected to equal one: consider the site at Voters will weigh on its next meeting in merging August. townships. Before the counPage A5 ty meeting, Griffin attended an Oregon Planning Commission meeting to ask city officials to consider vacating a portion of Sixth Street, between Washington and Jefferson, for the project. The county owns the judicial center on the east side of Sixth and all the vacant lots on the west side. Preliminary plans call for building a jail large enough for 180 to 200 beds for adults and 32 beds for juveniles, at a cost of about $27 million. JAIL continued on A54
STERLING
City makes a hard sell harder Ordinance amended in response to rising complaints about solicitors BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – While cities can’t lawfully prohibit all solicitors, officials in Sterling are trying to make it more difficult for them to go about their business. The Sterling City Council on Monday approved amendments to an ordinance governing solicitation
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within the city limits. The changes target the timeframe in which peddlers and marketers can go door to door, and the cost of the required permitting. The administrative fee, which covers the cost of fingerprinting, was doubled from $5 to $10, and the permits were bumped from $25 to $35 a day, and from $75 to $85 for an entire week. HARD SELL continued on A114
ABBY.................... A8 COMICS................B5 CROSSWORD.....B12
FOOD...............A9-10 LIFESTYLE............ A8 LOTTERY.............. A2
OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6 POLICE................. A2
Today’s weather High 86. Low 74. More on A3.
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