Single Copy Cost 50¢ Volume 147 No. 52
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Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Hennepin looks at I-180 reduction By Goldie Rapp
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
HENNEPIN — The talk of reducing Interstate 180 from a four-lane expressway to a two-lane highway has caused concern for many area villages. On Wednesday, Aug. 19, Hennepin Village Board President Kevin Coleman said he has talked with many people about the interstate, including Congressman Adam Kinzinger and State Rep. Frank Mautino. He said the local politicians were aware of the situation and working on the issue. Coleman said reducing the interstate wouldn’t just impact Putnam County but other surroundings counties, including Peoria, which uses the interstate as a quick route to Chicago. “You’re talking a couple hundred thousand people, if not more,” he said. “And it will affect the Peoria area as well.”
Hennepin village engineer Bill Shafer said he had spoken with an Illinois Department of Transportation representative who told him the Interstate reduction was in the preliminary stages. He said there’s a lot of maintenance work that needs to be done on the interstate, particularly on the river bridge, and the government is short on funds and looking at all options. “If they are going to do something as drastic as that, he said there would be public hearings,” Shafer said of the IDOT representative. “The probability of it actually happening are pretty slim. There would be quite a bit of an initial cost to make that conversion.” Shafer said he didn’t think it was something to get too excited about. Village trustee Quentin Buffington said he also spoke with someone from the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the representative told him the decision wouldn’t happen quickly. “It’s basically just a feeler, and he said any plans would
PC schools hoping for another year in the black
be 10 years out. He said there are projects scheduled for the next few years to maintain it. There’s no concern for at least five to 10 years,” Buffington said.
Ongoing improvement projects in the village
Shafer updated the village board about the upcoming storm sewer project. As reported last month, the village is having drainage and water flow issues in the area near Sixth and Locust streets. Shafer said the tentative bid date on the project is Monday, Sept. 14. After the bids come in, he will give a recommendation to the board at next month’s meeting. Shafer said a possible gas line may be in the area where the project will take place, and he was investigating it further to ensure plans did not interfere with the
Hennepin Page 2
Seeing red ... Lloyd Schrowang and his family displayed their collection of more than 40 International Harvester/Farmall tractors and memorabilia Aug. 20-21 at their Granville farm. The Schrowangs welcomed more than 50 people on Thursday, and with the warm weather, they were expecting even more on Friday. Read next week’s PCR for a feature story about Schrowang.
By Dave Cook
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
GRANVILLE — Superintendent Jay McCracken presented the tentative budget for the upcoming school year during the Putnam County School Board meeting on Monday, Aug. 17. “I will remind all of you this is very, very tentative. This is a working budget; it’s very fluid. Even our final budget is a flexible, working document,” McCracken said. The board approved the tentative budget. It will be available and on display in the district office for at least 30 days, as required by statute. The final budget will be approved in September. The budget hearing for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 will be at 6 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Putnam County Primary School, prior to the regular board meeting at 6:30 p.m. “We have no debt. We are still one of the few districts in the state that has no outstanding debt and no bonds,” said McCracken. A major expense in the upcoming budget is the roofing project at the junior high school, but the district can still end up in the black at the end of the year because of its positive financial situation. “We have some of the nicest facilities in the entire area, and we can be very proud of how
PC Schools Page 2 Vol. 147 No. 52 Two Sections - 24 Pages
PCR photos/Dave Cook
From the Ground Up ... Bureau and Putnam County’s farmers’ market loyalty program By D ave Cook
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
When making a purchase it’s become almost expected to be asked if you belong to or would like to join a frequent shopper/loy-
alty program or if you have a rewards or frequent shopper card. One place you don’t expect it to happen, though, is at a farmers’ market. The Bureau and Putnam County Health
Department has changed that with their new program From the Ground Up. It’s funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP). It’s meant to encourage people to support local farmers’ markets, growers and food and to also eat healthy. Participating farmers’ markets are in Gran-
ville, Sheffield, Spring Valley and Walnut. So far the program has been well received. “A lot of people have been coming in with their punch cards. They’re really excited about it because they’re getting T-shirts, bags, cutting boards and getting their names entered for the dinner. We’ve been giving a lot of stuff away. It’s gone over very well,” said
Kathy Tarmann, from Boggio’s Orchard and Produce in Granville. While the Princeton farmers’ market is promoted on both the health department’s website and its Facebook page, the Princeton farmers’ market board has chosen not to participate in this successful and free program.
Market Page 2
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