W eekend SV
Saukvalley.com
Your source for news and sports 7 days a week
Serving Lee, Whiteside, Carroll, Ogle and Bureau counties Saturday&Sunday, November 26-27, 2016 n $2.00
Sterling, Newman play at tournaments BOYS BASKETBALL, B1
STERLING BAR CLOSES INDEFINITELY LOCAL, A3
STERLING | RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT
Efforts still stalled City to take another crack at EPA grant toward work at Lawrence Brothers building BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – While progress continues in the cleanup and redevelopment plans at the Northwestern Steel & Wire Co. and Stanley-National sites, the city is still at square one with the Lawrence Brothers building.
LOCAL ECONOMY | STERLING DOWNTOWN
Building up the downtown
BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – The city manager has completed a 10-year capital projects list that will factor into upcoming decisions on a stormwater fee and a half-cent sales tax increase. The City Council has discussed instituting a stormwater fee and putting a referendum on the April ballot to seek an extra half-cent via the Local Option Sales Tax. Driving the conversation initially was an estimated $15 million in stormwater sewer projects that need to be done. Just alleviating flooding problems in high-priority areas, including the Woodlawn watershed area, would cost the city about $5 million. An estimated $30 million sewer plant project also looms large. The entire list of stormwater projects could take decades to address. Some on the City Council were favoring the sale tax referendum over the stormwater fee to generate more revenue for the sewer projects. As daunting as the sewer list is, it is only part of the capital needs story. “If this conversation was about stormwater, it would be simple, but with all of the capital projects facing us, do we want to spend everything we have on stormwater projects?” Mayor Skip Lee asked the council last month. To give the aldermen a better idea of the city’s other capital needs, especially road projects and riverfront development work, City Manager Scott Shumard unveiled a new 10-year capital projects study at Monday’s council meeting. The plan, covering years 2017 through 2026, separates capital projects into four major categories: building and equipment, roads, top-priority stormwater sewer, and riverfront. PROJECTS continued on A34
STERLING – The playhouse in the back of BB Children’s Boutique, the latest in a flurry of businesses to open downtown, is emblematic of the sort of fun Main Street and its business owners are having these days. The boutique at 313 First Ave. celebrated its grand opening Nov. 4. It’s attached to UOI Boutique, which opened about 3 years ago, and offers trendy and unique children’s clothing not typically found in the Sauk Valley. “Everyone that comes in just says that it is unique and you can’t find anything like it around here,” owner Jamie Shierry said. Case in point: that bright-blue slide kids are screaming down while their parents shop. Originally just a section of UOI, BB Children’s needed more space and inventory, owners Shierry and John Brady decided. Expanding the store let customers shop from one section to the next quickly, but also gave each boutique a separate entrance. Brady and Shierry named the kids boutique after their daughter, Brylee Brady, and offer distinctive clothing for infants, boys and girls. Mothers and their children now have a onestop shop for all their clothing needs. Brady first opened a men’s clothing store 16 years ago and said he’s attracted to providing unique clothing options. “I was bringing stuff here that my friends and I were wearing,” he said. DOWNTOWN continued on A24 Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
TOP RIGHT: A slide in the the back of BB Children’s Boutique, 313 First Ave., Sterling, adds another layer of fun to the shopping experience, as shown by Gabrella Mango (left), 9, and Brylee Brady, 7. Several businesses have recently opened their doors in downtown Sterling – a few of them just in time for Small Business Saturday. BOTTOM RIGHT: Jamie Shierry, owner of BB Children’s Boutique, named the business after her daughter, Brylee Brady, 7.
Today: 51/32 For the forecast, see Page A11
STERLING
Study will factor into decisions on revenue
BY ASHLEY CADY acady@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5521
VOLUME 9 ISSUE 13 36 Pages
STALLED continued on A94
City studies new capital projects plan
Children’s boutique among several new businesses to open
Mostly sunny
Plans at the 5-story riverfront eyesore hinge on getting a $300,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Assessment Grant. The city has applied for the grant every year since 2011, but despite coming close, has yet to bring it home.
Business
All signs are pointing to success at Compliance Signs of Chadwick. See Page C1
Community Red and green are Christmas colors, and the Sauk Valley has already seen a lot of holiday cheer this year. Photos of local festivities appear inside. See Page C12
Index Births................. C5
Lottery............... A2
Business............ C1
Markets........... A11
Classified........... B7
Obituaries.......... A4
Comics.............. A8
Opinion.............. A6
Community...... C12
Scoreboard....... B6
Crossword Saturday............ B9
Scrapbook........ C3
Crossword Sunday.............. C8
Support groups... C5
Dave Ramsey.... C1
Weather........... A11
Dear Abby......... C6
Wheels............ B12
Sports............... B1 Travel............... C10