TEL-10-10-2013

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SVM PREVIEWS WEEK 7 GAMES

LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT, A9-12

PREP FOOTBALL, B1

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Thursday, October 10, 2013

SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851

DIXON | CRUNDWELL AFTERMATH

Burke: Hold questions Mayor decides against allowing public inquiries tonight BY DEREK BARICHELLO dbarichello@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 526

DIXON – The stage was set for Rita Crundwell questions to steal the show tonight. On second thought: “We’d be a little more comfortable waiting until everything with the [lawsuit] settlement is finalized,” Mayor Jim Burke said Wednesday. The City Council is hosting a meeting at 6 tonight in the auditorium of Loveland Community

House, 513 W. Second St. Tuesday, Burke said he and other officials would take questions from the public during the meeting about Crundwell, the former comptroller now in federal prison for stealing nearly $54 million in city funds over 2 decades. Instead, Burke said Wednesday, those questions will have to wait until an out-of-court settlement is finalized in the city’s suit against auditors and a bank that will bring $40 million to Dixon. Going on as planned tonight will

be a presentation from Finance Director Paula Meyer on the city’s finances and options for spending the approximately $40 million it will receive – after legal fees are paid – from the settlement and sales of Crundwell’s assets. The public also will be able to give input on how to spend the money. Burke said he will address tonight the reasons for holding off on Crundwell questions. QUESTIONS CONTINUED ON A7

Mayor Jim Burke Said public can ask questions after lawsuit settlement is finalized

Assessing the damage Repairs planned as time, weather catch up to Chief BY VINDE WELLS vwells@shawnews.com Shaw News Service

CHIEF CONTINUED ON A2

$1.00

TODAY’S EDITION: 32 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 114

Effects felt from D.C. to Morrison Ties to USDA present challenges BY BRENDEN WEST MCT News Service

MORRISON – Dave Harrison does not work for the federal government. He’s not on furlough because of the federal Inside government Congress shutdown. He takes no doesn’t have steps to end to worry about stalemate, A4 his paycheck even as the shutdown enters its second week, and no one has told Dave Harrison not to work since the shutdown took place on Oct. 1. Regardless, Harrison realizes day-to-day life for him will continue being inconvenient until Congress resolves its issues and the government is up and running. Even then, a week spent away from his office – which is less than 2 miles from his home – already has set costly repercussions in motion. “We’d have people who’d walk in our door and say, ‘I’ve got this problem; how do I fix this?’” he said. “There are people working on projects who may need to reach for different reasons, but they can’t.”

OREGON | BLACK HAWK STATUE REPAIRS

OREGON – Ogle County’s most famous centenarian is getting a 3-D full-body scan this week. Structural engineers began work Tuesday to determine the condition of the Black Hawk Statue before they decide the best way to repair the 102-year-old concrete sculpture. Aldo De La Haza and Daniel Schultz, who work for the Dynasty Group in Chicago, used technology to look beneath the surface of the statue, which sits on a high bluff at Lowden State Park, northeast of Oregon. De La Haza said his company has been hired to investigate the condition of the structure and do nondestructive testing. Their high-tech scanners allow them to see inside the concrete to assess the statue’s condition and to determine the amount and location of steel reinforcing. Another company will do scanning with rotating lasers to create an exact threedimensional model of the statue, he said. The findings will help to determine what needs to be done to repair and preserve the statue, which has been ravaged by time and weather. The statue, which is under the authority of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, has cracks, and large pieces of its concrete surface have dislodged. The folded arms of the 50-foot monolith have been especially affected. The cost of the assessment and repairs has been estimated at $625,000.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IMPACT

MORRISON CONTINUED ON A7

WEATHER

First frost expected to be late BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529

Earleen Hinton/Shaw News Service

Aldo De La Haza and Daniel Schultz, structural engineers with the Dynasty Group of Chicago, examine the Black Hawk Statue on Tuesday afternoon northeast of Oregon. The assessment work will continue this week on the 102-year-old statue.

INDEX

BUSINESS ......... A16 COMICS ...............B8 CROSSWORD....B15

DEAR ABBY ....... A13 LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4

OPINION .............. A8 PLAN!T ................. A9 SPORTS ...............B1

The first frost of the year may be later than usual. The first frost, which usually marks the end of the growing season, is typically witnessed in northern Illinois between Oct. 1 and 10, said Jim Angel, the Illinois state climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey. The first frost varies from region to region, and also by plant type, with northern Illinois typically seeing its first one before the rest of the state. The first frost happens once the temperature reaches 32 degrees, at which point the growing cycle for most annuals will stop, Angel said, adding that some perennials can continue to grow after the first frost. “The northwest part of the state, the dates [for first frost] are in the early October time frame on average,” Angel said.

Today’s weather High 76. Low 52. More on A3.

FROST CONTINUED ON A6

Car Care

Maintenance tips, A14.

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