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www.newstrib.com | Tuesday, November 5, 2019 | 75 cents

Will cannabis come to town? La Salle opens the door for manufacturing and dispensing By Ali Braboy

NEWSTRIBUNE REPORTER

No one has showed interest yet in manufacturing and dispensing cannabis in La Salle, but city officials showed their support for the possibility in the future. Monday night at the city council meeting, the council approved an ordinance making it possible for a future where people could create a facility in town that would dispense or manufacture cannabis. “No one appeared to object at the planning commission hearing,” said city attorney Jim McPhedran. Alderman Jerry Reynolds was the only “no” vote. Alderman Tom Ptak was absent. The ordinance would allow a dispensary facility in C-2- C-3, M-1 and M-2 zoning. A cultivation and craft growing facility can only be in M-1 and M-2 zoning. Any potential facility would also have to apply for and follow the process on obtaining special use permits. The facility may not be located within 1,500 feet of the property line of a pre-existing public or private nursery, preschool, primary or secondary school, day care center, or residential care home. Learning centers/vocational/ trade centers are not classified as school in this section. The facility may not be located in a residential dwelling unit or 250 feet from the property line of residential zoning. FINGERS CROSSED FOR LA SALLE City employees will present tomorrow in the hopes the city receives money to make Prairie Lake and the surrounding land accessible. Right now, there isn’t an easy way to get to the scenic 143 acres of undeveloped land in La Salle that includes a 15-acre lake, but La Salle wants to make it possible for everyone to visit this beautiful “gem.” La Salle’s economic development director Katherine Koyak and city engineer Brian Brown will make a presentation today to the Department of Natural Resources in the hopes La Salle will receive a grant to open up 143 acres of undeveloped land, which includes a 15 acre stocked lake. The grant would give the city See LA SALLE Page A2

TONIGHT Low 29. Weather A8

NEWSTRIBUNE PHOTO/SCOTT ANDERSON

Too cold for bridge work? Not this year. High river levels continue to plague Utica bridge construction and the project supervisor said workers will be out erecting steel beams through Thanksgiving, and maybe even as Christmas approaches. Motorists are reminded to watch for workers and lay off the gas.

Bridge work to go past Thanksgiving Relentless flooding could push Utica span’s steel work to mid-December By Tom Collins

NEWSTRIBUNE SENIOR REPORTER

If you’re headed over the Illinois River to or from Utica, then please slow down. Despite the cold and recent snow, workers still will be out there plugging away at the new Route 178 bridge. And they’ll be there even after Thanksgiving rolls around. “They’ll be out that late for sure,” said Kyle Videgar, con-

struction engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation. “It’ll probably be closer to mid-December.” Why is there a chance workers could spot Santa Claus flying overhead in his sleigh? You can thank Old Man River for that. Videgar confirmed bridge construction was impeded and delayed by a bad combination of cold, rain, high river levels and early snow. He said workers are trying to link steel beams before New Year’s Eve and they will get it done. “And next year, weather dependent, we’ll start on the decking of the bridge,” he said. Utica police chief Rodney Damron echoed the call for villagers — all travelers, really — to take a foot off the gas as they ap-

proach the bridge, mindful that worker safety is paramount. That said, Damron acknowledged the project has gone on long enough and become sufficiently familiar to motorists that people generally are abiding by the signage and posted limits. “People have been really good so far,” Damron said, “but they still should be cautious.” Construction doesn’t seem to have disrupted tourism, either. The Burgoo Festival was roundly deemed a success — Videgar said he was made aware of no construction-related issues — and the village is poised, with a good Christmas shopping season, to have one of its strongest retail years ever. Whether bridge contractors do their Christmas shopping

after completing the day’s bridge work depends on Old Man River, who’s been in a decidedly bad mood of late. The good news is the Illinois River, which stood 3 feet above flood stage Monday morning, receded more than a foot in 24 hours and the current levels are nowhere high enough to prompt evacuation warnings in Utica. The bad news is the area remains under a flood warning through Friday evening and the warning was supposed to have lapsed Sunday. Last week’s rain and snow resulted in the flood warning being extended five full days. It’s been a theme all year, actually. See BRIDGE Page A2

Forecast calls for continued high water in Great Lakes TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A new forecast says Great Lakes levels are likely to remain unusually high and may set additional records. Storms over Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior caused beach erosion, flooding and damage to seawalls and roads. Lake levels this summer neared the tops of or slightly covered many small Lake Michigan docks and jetties, threatening damage and creating boating hazards. Some dock owners and harbor operators have been adding higher, outer walls or berms, and building owners in some lakeshore towns have been pumping out lake water seepage almost constantly to keep basements and crawl spaces dry. The U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers office in Detroit on Monday released its outlook for the next six months. Hydrologist Keith Kompoltowicz says a wet October interrupted the usual fall drop-off of water levels. Kompoltowicz says all five Great Lakes are expected to resume their seasonal decline. But they’ll remain well above normal and will be higher in January than they were at the beginning of this record-setting year. He says Huron and Michigan are likely to set monthly records in February, while Superior will come close. Kompoltowicz says a lengthy ROBERT FRANKLIN/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE VIA AP, FILE dry spell would be required to Waves crash over a breakwater at Michigan City, Ind. Lakes Superior and reverse the trend. Erie reached record highs this year and Lakes Huron and Michigan have been near record highs. A rainy October halted the usual seasonal decline. It’s a The NewsTribune contributed to this report. remarkable turnaround, as the lakes were near record lows in 2013.

INDEX Astrology B5 Business A5 Classified B7 Comics B5 Lifestyle A7

Local A3 Lottery A2 Obituaries B6 Opinion A6

SOCK-IT-TO-ME This bundt cake has flavor and isn’t too sweet

Firefighters’ labor deal by departing city manager becomes hot topic Mayor likes the deal; Mabry says next city manager should do it

would be stepping down from her position earlier this year, the Princeton firefighters union came to her and asked to negotiate a union contact before her departure. The contract won’t go into efBy Goldie Rapp fect until May 1, 2020, but with SHAW MEDIA Skaggs’ good record with doing three favorable union contracts PRINCETON — With with the city without the need Princeton City Manager Rachel of an attorney, union members Skaggs’ announcement that she figured why not try negotiations

while she was still around. This work went on without some city council members knowing, until last week when Skaggs emailed them an update on what she was working on. The idea that the negotiations went on without some of the council members knowing didn’t sit well with council member Ray Mabry, which is one of the reasons why he cast the lone “no” vote for the firefighters

union contact during Monday’s regular city council meeting. The firefighters union contract passed 4-1 on Monday. But before the vote, Mabry expressed his concern about not knowing negotiations were taking place until last week, and he wished the city would wait to vote on a contract until after the incoming city manager had a chance to review it. See PRINCETON Page A5