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GIRLS BASKETBALL, B1
Coach leaves behind legacy of success, character OREGON FOOTBALL, B1
dailyGAZETTE Tuesday, November 22, 2016 n SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
STERLING CITY COUNCIL
Pension fund demands more After last year’s nearly 19 percent tax increase, city will ask for another to meet state mandate BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – The city will ask for a 6.06 percent tax levy increase, and nearly 91 percent of the new revenue would go directly to the fire and police pension funds. The levy extension increase is a bit lower than the city’s earlier projection
of 6.83 percent, but it exceeds 4.99 percent, triggering the need for a public hearing. The hearing will be held during the Dec. 5 council meeting. The city didn’t get much help from land value projections, which look about the same as they did last year. The city’s equalized assessed valuation is estimated to increase at 0.08 percent. That means levies set at the maxi-
mum rate, such as fire protection, police protection, and corporate, will go up only as much as the EAV. “The EAV peaked in 2009, and then it’s flattened out ever since,” City Manager Scott Shumard said. “The pension funds tax levies continue to grow far faster than inflation and EAV growth.” PENSION continued on A54
More Council news The consultant in charge of the city’s riverfront cleanup and remediation efforts fielded some criticism while giving a presentation to the City Council on Monday, with one alderman saying he had “a problem that you don’t stay without our budgets, and you just do whatever you want.” Page A3
OPIOID CRISIS | TREATMENT
LEE COUNTY
Goodbye to the high Lee County plans to give inmates a fighting chance against addiction with a new drug that kills their cravings BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5535 @KathleenSchul10
Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Kaleel’s Clothing & Printing in Dixon has a full-service print and embroidering shop. George and Mona Kalee have run Kaleel’s Men’s Clothing in Amboy since May 4, 1956. Two more generations of Kaleels are running Kaleel’s Clothing & Printing at 704 N. Galena Ave., Dixon
Patterns of success More than a century ago, an immigrant with a dream came to America and rode a horse and buggy to success. Today, the business he started is still growing, thanks to a family that’s cut from the same cloth
BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
DIXON – Nemer Kaleel arrived at Ellis Island from his native Lebanon in 1905, with nothing but his dreams. The 17-year-old Nemer, who spoke no English at the time, left Beirut on a cattle boat and eventually settled in Spring Valley. He scraped up enough money to buy a horse and buggy, and the framework of a family business was born – Kaleel’s Country Peddler. “Dad journeyed out to the Earlville, Troy Grove, Ohio, and Mendota area to peddle his merchandise,” said Nemer’s son, George. “He would leave the horse and buggy at a farmhouse, take the train, and continue his route.” PATTERNS continued on A124
More information Kaleel’s Clothing & Printing is open at its new location, 704 N. Galena Ave. in Dixon, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Call 815-284-5033 to reach Kaleel’s in Dixon, or find the Kaleel’s Clothing & Printing’s Facebook page. A website is in the works.
DIXON – Lee County plans to offer opioid-addicted jail inmates a shot that kills their cravings, and could help them stay off heroin and other drugs after their release. Vivitrol, or naltrexone, approved by the FDA in 2006, is a nonaddictive drug that targets receptors in the brain’s reward system, blocking euphoria and extinguishing urges. In short, you cannot get high while on Vivitrol. Stopping its use does not cause withdrawal, and a single shot, given in the buttocks, lasts 4 weeks. A person must be completely clean 7 to 10 days for it to be effective. The Submitted original cost of a single Lee County plans to offer opioid- shot was $1,100, but a addicted jail inmates Vivitrol, a recent shift for its covershot that kills their cravings, and age under Medicaid has could help them stay off heroin lowered that to $3 a dose. It is heavily regulated, and other drugs after their release. and because it is injected into the body, people who are administered the drug can’t resell it on the street. Any health care provider can administer it. Among its drawbacks, though, is research on its long-term effectiveness is not conclusive. ADDICTION continued on A44
ILLINOIS
Oversight blinded at group homes Investigation: Facilities police their own problems, reveal them to few CHICAGO (AP) – A newspaper investigation has found that self-policing played a role in determining whether neglect has occurred in investigations of Illinois group homes serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Chicago Tribune reports group home employees handled at least 550 cases and helped clear their own group home of wrongdoing in the majority of instances. Federal regulators say no other states have given caregivers at group homes full-fledged investigative powers. OVERSIGHT continued on A54
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 162 ISSUE 245
INDEX
ABBY.................... A7 BUSINESS.......... A12 COMICS................ A9
CROSSWORD.....B11 LIFESTYLE............ A7 LOTTERY.............. A2
OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6 POLICE................. A2
Today’s weather High 43. Low 37. More on A3.
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