Single Copy Cost 50¢ Volume 146 No. 48
“PRSRT STD.” US Postage Paid No. 486 SHAW MEDIA POSTAL PATRON LOCAL R.R. BOXHOLDER CARRIER ROUTE PRESORT
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Putnam County Schools: In the black By Dixie Schroeder
dschroeder@putnamcountyrecord.com
GRANVILLE — The Putnam County School District Board received good news in regards to the final numbers of the 201314 school budget. The fiscal year end budget has the district with a positive balance of $280,962. Superintendent Jay McCracken presented the report.
“This is one of the strongest ending fund balance we have ever had,” McCracken said. Breaking it down, the educational fund revenues were set at $7,749,596. This year the same fund’s expenditures came in at $7,329,937. The budget had been set in the educational fund at $3.9 million and the actual year end fund balance for the educational fund was $4.1 million.
Due to many building projects during the school year, the operations and maintenance fund revenues were $638,230 while the expenditures were $916,631. McCracken pointed out the overall fund balance was at $1.8 million while the budgeted fund balance was at $1.7 million. The transportation fund for the district had revenue of $810,935 while the overall expenses were
$850,868. The board’s budgeted fund balance was $224,181 while the actual fund balance for the year was $255,856. “It is to be expected as the transportation fund money from the state has been cut,” McCracken said. “But we knew with Johannes we would be spending more money, but at the same time Pam (Ellena, board secretary) does a great job with the transportation budget.”
The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund revenues were $381,312, while the expenses came in at $294,687. This left the actual IMRF fund balance at $350,5834. The working cash fund revenue was $64,424 and expenditures were none during the school year. The actual fund balance ended at $2,066,685 against a budgeted fund balance of $2,072,136. The difference in the low
interest was earned on the fund investments. Under the Tort fund, revenues were $243, 312 and expenditures were $276,706. Under life safety funds, revenues were $58,335 and there were no expenses as the life safety work has been completed two years ago. This left the actual fund balance at $382,791.
Budget Page 3
Bird tests positive for WNV No positive tests in Bureau/Putnam counties By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — Area surveillance for the West Nile Virus (WNV) has confirmed a dead crow in Sterling has tested positive for the virus. The Sauk Valley News Daily Gazette reported on July 17 that Whiteside County Public Health Administrator Beth Fiorini had issued a press release confirming a crow had contracted the virus from a Culex mosquito, the primary spreader of the disease. Bureau/Putnam County Health Department’s Director of Health Protection Kurt Kuchle said local WNV surveillance continues, but the health department is having problem getting birds for testing this year. The health department has sent in only one dead bird for WNV testing this year. The bird was from the Granville area and tested negative for WNV. The health department has received other birds, but the birds which the health department has picked up so far, or were brought to the health department, have all been too decomposed. In order to be tested, a bird has to be fresh, dead less than 12 hours. In cases when birds have been brought to the health department on a Friday, those birds will not keep, even with ice packs, until Monday when the state lab reopens, he said. Vol. 146 No. 48 One Section - 16 Pages
The health department recommends the public not handle the birds too much. The best way to pick up the bird is with a plastic bag and then place it in a second bag, which should be put in a cooler or refrigerator if the bird is found after department open hours. Obviously, he is not talking about a cooler or refrigerator that is used for food, he said. As a reminder, the local health department needs five birds from Bureau County and five birds from Putnam County to be sent to WNV testing. The health department would like to get at least two birds in July and two birds in August from each county. The quarterly reports to the Department of Public Health don’t look so good without numbers to report, positive or negative, he said. “I’m sure other health department are having the same problems. We are conducting the required activities, but the reports don’t reflect a whole lot of activity. The Department of Public Health does ask for hours spent on collecting and testing, but not how many birds that were collected but could not be tested,” he said. As far as local mosquito surveillance, Kuchle said the health department has tested five mosquito batches from Putnam County and 10 from Bureau County. All have been negative, he said.
West Nile Virus Page 2
PCR photo/Dixie Schroeder
New PCCC outreach coordinator Gwen Bray works the dough for the raviolis as a group puts them together July 9.
PCCC hires new outreach coordinator By Dixie Schroeder
dschroeder@putnamcountyrecord.com
STANDARD — The Putnam County Community Center has a new officer. Gwen Bray has been added to the staff as the new outreach coordinator. The outreach coordinator passes information on the center’s programs to the appropriate population in Putnam County and surrounding areas. PCCC Director Autumn Keegan is thrilled to have Bray on staff. “So if people see Gwen come to their door, please talk to her.
She will be distributing information, coming door to door in the county,” Keegan said. “I have helped over here since I’ve came here. I’ve done wellness fairs here before. As a massage therapist, some of my clients are from around here, so they know me too,” Bray said. “It just kind of evolved from that point.” The PCCC was hard at work with an outreach project last week — making handmade ravioli. Keegan explained the process they were following. “We make the dough in a KitchenAide mixer. It’s just eggs, flour,
water and oil. Then we roll it out flat with our rollers. Then they take the meat and roll them, cutting into ravs,” Keegan said. Helping the project along was Bray who was rolling dough with Keegan. Wrapping up the meat with the dough was Helen Aimone, Norma Hrovat and Dorothy Grivetti as well as PCCC bookkeeper Kelli Keegan. The project of making the ravs is being held in conjunction with an event that is being planned at the center on Nov. 1. Details are still being worked out, but Autumn Keegan promises a lot of fun will be involved.
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