Your source for community news and sports 7 days a week.
Letters to Santa
MOTIVATED BY A NEAR MISS WRESTLING, B1
SECTION INSIDE
dailyGAZETTE Friday, December 23, 2016 n SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
ILLINOIS | LEGISLATURE
NEW LAWS
BICYCLE RULES OF THE ROAD • FISHING RULES/REGULATIONS PESTICIDE APPLICATION • INCARCERATED PARENTS RIGHTS UNPAID LEAVE FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS PLUMBER LICENSING ACT • LEAD CONTAMINATION NOTICE MOBILE HOME PARK FINES • BATH SALTS PROHIBITION POLICE DOG RETIREMENT ACT • SEX OFFENDER MONITORING
New year, new laws Lawmakers live up to their job title, to the tune of nearly 200 new laws
EXPUNGEMENT OF JUVENILE RECORDS • URANIUM TESTING
Submitted by Illinois Senate staff
FOID REVOCATION NOTICE • OPIOID ADDICTION TREATMENT
SPRINGFIELD – As people throughout the state of Illinois ring in the New Year, nearly 200 laws will take effect. A significant number target crime, make changes to the criminal justice system, seek to assist law enforcement, advance safety provisions for Illinois motorists, and alter hunting and fishing regulations. • One measure to allow greater
CONTRACEPTION COVERAGE • BLUE LIGHT ON MOTORCYCLES STUDENT
MUSICIANS
AT
M I L I TA RY
FUNERALS
Rusty Schrader/rschrader@saukvalley.com
flexibility in granting probation for certain nonviolent offenders with no prior conviction for a violent crime takes effect Jan. 1. Senate Bill 3164 is part of a bipartisan package of legislative reforms to Illinois’ criminal justice system, and was introduced at the recommendation of the Governor’s Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform. LAWS continued on A124
bl
A
spirit
in
The complete list of laws was too big to fit into today’s paper, but you can find a complete listing and more details on all the new laws taking effect Jan. 1 at senategop.state.il.us
RECREATION
EDUCATION Jen Banks
Want to see them all?
m
Don’t park yourself in front of the TV
The legacy of a life cut short lives on in the kindness of children and the teachers who guide them, thanks to the people who will never forget their friend’s relentlessly positive spirit
Park Districts offer winter activities to keep people active
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
STERLING – The marigold’s lifespan is short. It’s an annual flower, whereas perennials return year after year. There’s something to be said, though, for what a flower does for the soil it inhabits, if only for a short time. Such was the case for Jen Banks, who passed away Dec. 16, 2015, shortly after a car accident west of Sterling. Reflections of her, reminders of her relentlessly positive spirit, abound throughout the Sauk Valley. The Marigold Club, which effectively replaced the Key Kids Club at Washington Elementary School, where Banks taught, does a lot more than community service projects. It’s given the school a sort of moral code. BLOOM continued on A54
DIXON – It’s easy to go into hibernation mode during the winter, but area park districts are trying to engage community members to stay active this season. Next week, the Dixon Park District will host a baseball camp led by Rock Falls native Robbie Minor, who played for the Gulf Coast Yankees, the minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees. District Executive Director Deb Carey said 28 people signed up for the camp on Monday and Tuesday. The district will have a tennis camp the following week, from Jan. 3 through 5, for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. The camp will run 10 a.m. until noon each day and costs $30. “Our goal is to get people out and doing something,” Carey said. “We don’t want people just sitting around and watching TV; we want to offer opportunities to stay active this time of year.”
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Part of the Marigold Club’s goal – along with supporting and encouraging each other – is to always be kind. That kindness was in full bloom Thursday when members of the club visited Parkway Center in Sterling to sing Christmas songs with residents.
PARKS continued on A34
TOP5 Your Weekend
Couple’s barn is pressed into service
1
ROCK FALLS – A Christmas Eve barn service begins at 3 p.m. Saturday in Howard and Kay Janssen’s barn at 11659 County Line Road. St. John Lutheran Church will present the service, which will include a live nativity. Dress warmly!
$1.00
TODAY’S EDITION: 28 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 11
Enjoy the holiday spirit
See what these paintings have to say
STERLING – The Holiday 2016 Exhibit is on display through Jan. 27 at the healing art gallery “Spirit of the Heart” in the CGH Main Clinic Atrium. The free show features selections from employees, volunteers and physicians. Several pieces will be sold, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting CGH Auxiliary. The gallery is in the north hallway between the hospital and the main clinic at 101 E. Miller Road. Email info@cghmc.com for information.
DIXON – Susanne Nestory’s work will be on display through Jan. 24 in the art gallery on the second floor on the east end of Sauk Valley Community College, 173 state Route 2. Nestory teaches drawing and foundations at Bradley University in Peoria and is “committed to developing a personal language within the realm of nonobjective painting,” Sauk said in a news release. Admission is free. Contact Sauk art professor Glenn Bodish at glenn.s.bodish@svcc.edu or 815-835-6250 for info.
2
INDEX
3
ABBY.................... A8 COMICS................B7 CROSSWORD.....B12
DAY TRIP.............. A7 LIFESTYLE.........A7-8 LOTTERY.............. A2
4
Holiday tunes
Feel like unwinding today before the Christmas weekend goes into full swing? A little slice of the nightlife in the Twin Cities might do the trick, and some spots even have music lined up. Here are a few: • Chameleon, a local jazz trio, will play holiday favorites and more from 8 to 11 p.m. today at The Rusty Fox, 1 E. Third St. in Sterling. • Alborn Theory will play from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. today at The Cooler, 311 W. Second St. in Rock Falls. • Rock Star Rodeo will play from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. today at At Whiskey Barrel Saloon, 305 W. Second St. in Rock Falls.
OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6 POLICE................. A2
5
A merry and bright Christmas
Packages wrapped? Baked goods baked? Stockings hung by the chimney with care? Good, now take some time to unwind. You’ve earned it. Grab the kids, go get Gramma and Grampa, and pile into the car to enjoy the light displays throughout the Sauk Valley. A lot of folks decorated their homes for the holidays, so spend the nights before Christmas checking out their work. And who knows, if you look up in the night sky Saturday, you might even see another light show that comes out but once a year: a certain reindeer’s nose that shines so bright.
Today’s weather High 34. Low 28. More on A3.
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PAPER, CALL 815-625-3600
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B9.