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Golfers look for win at annual competition
NATION, LAWMAKERS REACT TO PAST 3 DAYS POLICE SHOOTINGS, A10-11
LINCOLN HIGHWAY TOURNAMENT, B1
STERLING | GIVING POWER TO ADOLESCENTS
Police probing possible theft Authorities investigating possible embezzlement from youth club BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5535 @KathleenSchul10
STERLING – Sterling police are investigating a possible embezzlement from Giving
Power to Adolescents, a youth club administered by Sterling Township. The theft was reported June 22, lead investigator Detective Sgt. Alex Chavira said Friday. The amount taken still is
being determined. The suspect is a township employee, not a club member, Chavira said. No arrest has been made. Township Supervisor Matt Howze, who reported the incident to police, refused to confirm to Sauk Valley Media whether a township employee is under investigation or whether a township employee has quit or been put on leave.
The money comes from fundraisers, donations, rent and other GPA endeavors. “Recently in the past few months, we’ve been noticing some missing money,” said GPA Vice President Emily Buikema, a Rock Falls High School sophomore. At first, the kids thought they simply had misplaced receipts. A more thorough investigation
All about location, location, location Downtown sees surge of activity in past few years BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
DIXON – Shelly Long sees potential for growth when she looks along the stretch of East First Street downtown. Long and her husband, Dan, purchased the building at 116 E. First St. on May 1 from Jean Miller, longtime owner of Dixon Floral Co., who also sold antiques in the space. It’s among several businesses that have opened, expanded or moved to the downtown area within the past year. The flower shop remained open during the ownership transition, and the Longs are remodeling the space while continuing to conduct business. The couple became interested in the building during their search for a bigger venue
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Len Levinson reflects on how he became an author at his apartment in Mount Morris. His initial novel about the first of his two marriages was rejected, as was a chronicle of stories he pulled from his experience driving a cab at night in New York. So he did something desperate. Something he’s not terribly proud of. Read more on A2.
A novel life Mount Morris author finishing book half-century in the making
H
christopher HEIMERMAN
Heimerman is the Enterprise Projects Editor at Sauk Valley Media. He can be reached at cheimerman@ saukvalley. com or 815-625-3600, ext. 5523.
VOLUME 8 ISSUE 45 36 Pages
Today: 79/59 For the forecast, see Page A12
for the Living Well Church of the Nazarene, where they both serve as board members. “The downtown has evolved quite a bit,” Shelly Long said. “There’s been a lot of activity and there’s a lot of potential for businesses on this block, and we would like to see it grow.” In addition to the flower shop and the church, the building also houses a community room filled with tables, couches and free wi-fi, where people can come in to read, study or have lunch. “Our vision is to make this a community-oriented building,” she said. The Longs aim to recruit a bakery or coffee shop to complement the community room, and they also have about 2,500 square feet of undeveloped space upstairs. They named the building Plan to Prosper and plan to host an open house at the end of August. The two Dixon natives also have owned Eagle’s Bluff Outfitters, a canoe rental operation along the Rock River, in Oregon for the past 3 years. LOCATION continued on A34
More about Levinson Find Len Levinson on Facebook to learn more about him. You can also follow @LenLevinson on Twitter.
Online extra
Debbie, to Mount Morris about a dozen years ago. “I had moved into Debbie’s basement and prepared to die,” he said, explaining why he moved to Illinois. “But as you can see, I have not died. Many years have passed, and I’m still here. But it’s not a good idea to live with your
Mostly sunny
THEFT continued on A44
DIXON | LOCAL BUSINESSES
THE PEOPLE’S VOICE | LEN LEVINSON
ere goes. Even though 83 of his novels have been published, Len Levinson is hanging a lot on his latest. Based on his 1964 marriage, which led to the loves of his life – his daughter and grandchildren – it’s more than half a century in the making. “It is the validation and the justification for my whole ridiculous, pointless life,” the 81-year-old New Yorkerat-heart said. “It would make me. And it might never be published.” After beating and rebounding from prostate cancer, he moved from the Aurora basement of his daughter,
by township officials turned up the potential theft, she said. GPA members now are scrambling to come up with money to pay for their activities, which include trips to training conferences, and their annual Youth Day, a day of free activities for kids, coming up July 23 at the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA.
Click on this story at saukvalley.com to watch video of Len Levinson describing the painting that depicts him as a “quintessential New Yorker.” daughter. She treated me like a child, and I treated her like a child.”
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Dixon Floral Co. owner Shelly Long is working and taking orders while the building undergoes renovation. Long and her husband, Dan, purchased the building at 116 E. First St. on May 1 from Jean Miller, longtime owner, who also sold antiques in the space.
NOVEL continued on A24
Business
Mud is only one of the challenges for youths who work in area cornfields. See Page C1
Community They painted the town, and then some, at the 52nd annual Dixon Petunia Festival. SVM photographers share some of their images. See Page C12
Index Births................. C5
Lottery............... A2
Business............ C1
Markets........... A12
Classified........... B7
Obituaries.......... A4
Comics.............. A8
Opinion.............. A6
Community...... C12
Scoreboard....... B6
Crossword Saturday.......... B11
Scrapbook........ C3
Crossword Sunday.............. C8
Support groups... C5
Dave Ramsey.... C1
Weather........... A12
Dear Abby......... C6
Wheels............ B12
Sports............... B1 Travel............... C10