Single Copy Cost 50¢ Volume 148 No. 1
âPRSRT STD.â US Postage Paid No. 486 SHAW MEDIA POSTAL PATRON LOCAL R.R. BOXHOLDER CARRIER ROUTE PRESORT
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Helping and housing the homeless ... Illinois Valley PADS opened Sept. 1 By Goldie Rapp
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
PERU â Illinois Valley PADS (Public Action to Deliver) opened its doors at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1. Those who are experiencing homelessness in LaSalle, Bureau or Putnam counties will now
have a place to seek shelter. The locations in Peru and Ottawa serve men, women and families. The Ottawa shelter has 50 beds with three designated rooms for families. The Peru shelter has 24 beds. Looking back on last
year, there were 237 individuals served, which included 14 families and 18 children using the shelters from Sept. 1, 2014, to May 31. The shelter also provided 15,951 meals, while beds were used 6,987 times. This year, Carol Alcorn,
Illinois Valley PADS executive director, anticipates seeing an increase in homelessness due to loss of preventative services. Alcorn said she is already getting calls from individuals, who are losing their housing and have no place to go as local agency resources that help with rent and utility assistance are
closing, due to lack of funding. âThe state of Illinois is working through a period of adjustment that is closing or reducing some of the local resources,â Alcorn said. âThere are going to be more people who lose their housing because of those issues.â Illinois Valley PADs continues to seek support from the commu-
nity to help serve those in need. The organization provides case management, support groups, budgeting, computer and finding a job classes and thousands of hours for volunteerism. Its work includes assisting in funding housing, employment, health care
PADS Page 2
A lifetime of service Remembering Marion Kuhne By Dave Cook
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
HENNEPIN â Through a lifetime of community service, Marion Kuhne was a significant figure who improved life for Hennepin residents. He passed away on Aug. 20 at the age of 89 and will be missed by many. Kuhne began his life in Hennepin in 1925. He graduated from John Swaney High School in McNabb in 1943, and he then, like others of his generation, joined the fight of World War II. Kuhne was in the Pacific with the 8th Army and was part of the occupation force in Japan after their surrender. Returning home, he married his love, Irene Mekley, on March 18, 1948. Together, they raised two children, who then provided the couple with nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. For a short time, Kuhne worked at Caterpillar before returning home to Hennepin and working for the Continental Grain Co., Illinois Power Co. and the Hennepin Public Water District before retiring in 1999. In the same year he was awarded the Illinois Outstanding Older Worker Award and represented the state at a conference in Washington, D.C. A tireless community leader, Kuhne was instrumental in many key aspects of Hennepinâs growth through the decades. âMarion was a kind and hardworking man. He was committed to serving others in whatever he did. He was
Kuhne Page 3 Vol. 148 No. 1 One Section - 16 Pages
Š The Putnam County Record
PCR photo/Dave Cook
Granvilleâs Lloyd Schrowang stands next to his first and favorite tractor, a 1953 International Harvester Super M. Purchased new by his father, Lloyd took it over in 1958 and has since logged countless hours aboard the old red tractor.
Harvester red, born and bred
The Schrowang family builds an impressive collection By Dave Cook
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
GRANVILLE â The only green tractor youâll find on Lloyd Schrowangâs family farm in Granville is located on a shelf in a toy cabinet. Everything else on this
farm is associated with one color and one color only â red, International Harvester (IH) red to be exact. âI started collecting toys when I was a kid. Iâve repainted some of them, but you didnât worry about keeping them back
then, you played with them,â Schrowang said. His family has been farming the same land for three generations, and theyâve always been an IH family. âThatâs what we always had, itâs what I grew up with. Itâs why I kept with
IH,â Schrowang said. His sons are farming the land now, and the sense of connection between family and the land is apparent. âIâve lived here all my life. Iâve never lived any place else except the two years I spent in the
Army,â said Schrowang. His father bought a new IH Super M in 1953, and Schrowang took it over when he started farming in 1958. That Super M is still part of the family. It was easy to find among the 48 tractors he, his wife Loretta, and their
Harvester Page 2