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Depot Days chugs in to Amboy next week
DUKE’S GAME IS ON THE UPSWING GOLF PREVIEW, B1
dailyGAZETTE PAGE A9-12
Thursday, August 18, 2016 n SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
TWIN CITIES | RURAL FIRE PROTECTION
Rural fire tax hike on the radar Out-of-town residents aren’t shouldering their fair share, say city officials BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Sterling and Rock Falls are asking their rural fire protection boards to consider a tax increase. Both cities have rural fire protection districts with which they contract. The contracts are up, and the cities are asking for more money to keep up with rising costs.
With no end to escalating police and fire pensions in sight, budget planners in both cities have zeroed in on the rural fire protection district levy, which is lower than in the rest of the county. Both cities are asking for about 20 percent of total fire costs from the rural components, based on the breakdown of calls. The current levy numbers fall well short of what the cities say is needed to pay for fire costs.
“Our total fire costs are $3.5 million a year, and we have the rural portion at $700,000, but we’re only getting $300,000 now,” Sterling City Manager Scott Shumard said. He said about half of the total fire costs are for pensions. He said rural fire takes a bite from other levies as well. “Rural fire is part of workers’ compensation, the tort levy, and the corporate levy,” Shumard said.
Shumard said one of the reasons covering rural areas is so costly is because of expensive equipment, such as brush trucks and tankers. Rock Falls officials say they need about $400,000 from the rural protection district to pay the city’s fair share of its $1.6 million fire budget. The rural fire board could double the rural levy and still fall woefully short. RURAL FIRE continued on A54
DIXON SCHOOLS
DIXON
Putting the public in public relations
The golden touch Petunia City pooch provides unconditional love and comfort to people near and far
School district seeks volunteers to help spread the word on referendums BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 CHeimerman_SVM
BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
DIXON – Wherever Shiloh goes, she brings with her something simple but greatly needed by others: comfort. Shiloh has consoled thousands of people grieved by tragedy. Those devastated by a tornado, a shooting, a death – they have found her waiting nearby, quiet and calm. The extent of her work is pretty impressive for a 3-year-old. “As a comfort dog, Shiloh’s mission is to provide compassion, comfort and prayer wherever we go,” said Pat Quinn of Dixon, Shiloh’s handler. The well-mannered golden retriever began her training as a service dog with Lutheran Church Charities when she was 8 weeks old. GOLDEN continued on A74
Shiloh, a comfort dog, sits at the feet of handler Pat Quinn at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Dixon. She meets with first responders and others who witness tragedy first hand. Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Online extra
Click on this story at saukvalley.com to see a video of Shiloh and her handler, Pat Quinn, from Wednesday’s interview.
DIXON – The school district is prohibited by law from using any of its resources to promote a “yes” vote on the referendums to build a new high school, so Superintendent Margo Empen is looking for a few good volunteers to carry the torch. A fundraising committee is in place, but the district still is seeking folks with passion and a willingness to commit time and expertise in areas such as canvassing and public relations, Empen said. The public relations firm Unicom-ARC, which has helped the district reach this point, will lead what’s expected to be about a 2-hour training session for volunteers. She is in the process of setting up leaders for committees she plans to start forming late next week, after the training is complete. “The committees will run the referendum,” Empen said. “The only thing Unicom-ARC will assist us with is providing the ‘do’s and don’ts,’ and then the committees will do the work.” PUBLIC continued on A54
ROCK FALLS Tiffany Purdy gets her first-year students fired up over chemistry on Wednesday at Rock Falls High School.
Sparking an interest in science A formula for success in the
classroom: Teachers mix in some fun with their lessons BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 CHeimerman_SVM
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 162 ISSUE 178
INDEX
ROCK FALLS – By seventh hour Wednesday, it was pretty stinkin’ hot in Tiffany Purdy’s second-floor chemistry classroom at Rock Falls High School.
ABBY.................... A8 COMICS................B6 CROSSWORD.....B10
LIFESTYLE............ A8 LOTTERY.............. A2 PLAN!T.............A9-12
OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6 POLICE................. A2
It wasn’t quite as sweltering as her old physics room around the corner and down the hall, where her husband, Todd, now teaches. But it was warm enough that, in order to keep heads from hitting desks and eyes from glazing over on the first day of school, it would take some magic. Cue the flames – that’s right, flames. Tiffany, 43, lit sanitizer on fire, then sprayed it with different chemicals to produce differentcolored flames. She combined clear fluids and turned them pink, then added another and shook the solution to make it clear again. Then she turned other clear liquids into a viscous, canary-yellow mixture. SCIENCE continued on A24
Today’s weather High 87. Low 67. More on A3.
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