1 Front
Single Copy Cost 50¢ Volume 149 No. 17
“PRSRT STD.” US Postage Paid No. 486 SHAW MEDIA POSTAL PATRON LOCAL R.R. BOXHOLDER CARRIER ROUTE PRESORT
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
State budget restrains Freedom House Domestic violence shelter/services searches for assistance to stay open By Goldie Rapp
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
PRINCETON — Since 1983, Freedom House has offered a safe haven for victims of domestic and sexual abuse. The agency has served thousands of women and children at their most vulnerable state and prides itself on the ability to provide compassionate, confidential, free services to those in need. In the midst of a major state budget crisis, though, the agency is turning to the communities it serves and asking for financial assistance to help keep its mission alive. At Freedom House, 85 percent of the
budget is reliant upon state and federal dollars. But since the start of the budget impasse in 2015, the agency has fell victim to chronically-delayed payments and severe funding cuts for services. Michael Zerneck, executive director of Freedom House, said the Illinois stopgap budget that expires Dec. 31 does not include funding for domestic violence shelters, and there is still no budget beginning Jan. 1. “(We) are in great need of cash donations from the communities we serve in order to keep providing essential services to every victim of domestic and sexual violence,” he said.
Freedom House received its last payment from the state in August. According to Zerneck, those funds were 160 days past due from the Fiscal Year 2016 budget. “We are vigilant in continually examining and eliminating any expense that is not absolutely necessary for providing direct services to our clients,” he said. While Freedom House hasn’t yet had to reduce services, the agency has been forced to maintain its workload on a limited budget, which has created hardships for both clients and employees.
Budget Page 2
Freedom House activity Throughout Fiscal Year 2015-16: Hot line: 957 calls received. Sexual assault services for100 clients: 1,018 hours. Domestic violence services for 518 clients: 5,241 hours. Emergency shelter: 2,268 room/ nights. Transitional shelter: 1,581 room/ nights. Prevention programming: 8,414 people reached. Public awareness: 64,947 people reached.
Princeton family avoids a tragedy
Ho, ho, ho!
The silent killer came to visit ... By Goldie Rapp
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
PCR photo/Dave Cook
Santa and Mrs. Claus, along with everyone at The Putnam County Record, wish the residents of Putnam County a very merry Christmas. Here the jolly couple can be seen during their visit to Hennepin when they helped to light the village Christmas tree on Dec. 3.
Living with Grace
Tame deer offers chance for gentle interaction By Dave Cook
news@putnamcountyrecord.com
PRINCETON — While a common site, deer aren’t known for being approachable. The only times you can get close is unfortunately after either hitting
them with a vehicle or by successfully hunting them. There is one, however, who is quite friendly. Grace is owned by Deb Moreland of rural Princeton and is part of the mobile menagerie known as the Furry Friends
Petting Zoo. For 18 years Furry Friends has travelled throughout the area and allowed people to interact with animals including Grace, a white skunk named Peaches, a Patagonian
Grace Page 4
Grace and Deb Moreland enjoy sharing their special bond with those who visit with the Furry Friends zoo. While it’s more enjoyable to meet her indoors or during warmer months, Grace doesn’t seem to mind the recent single-digit temperatures. (PCR photo/Dave Cook) Vol. 149 No. 17 One Section - 16 Pages
© The Putnam County Record
Stay Local. Save Local.
PRINCETON — Despite it being tasteless, odorless and colorless, carbon monoxide can be dangerous and deadly when it seeps undetected through a home. One Princeton family recently had a close call with the silent killer when their clogged furnace chimney prevented ventilation from the house. Ashleigh Pressy and Josh Dombroski, along with Pressy’s 15-year-old daughter, Miranda, are lucky to be alive and well today, thanks to a last-minute realization that their ill symptoms were not allergies or the flu, but rather carbon monoxide poisoning. Thanksgiving night, Dombroski came home from work and knew something wasn’t right. He could smell burnt gas throughout the house and figured it was a blown pilot light. But after checking around the furnace, he found nothing was out of the ordinary. “I thought maybe it was just in my head,” he recalls. When Pressy arrived later that evening from a Thanksgiving gathering at her family’s home, Dombroski asked her about the smell, but she shrugged it off thinking it was nothing.
Avoids Page 3
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