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SVM ATHLETES OFSPORTS, THE WEEK B3
Comets keep their lead over Marcos GIRLS BASKETBALL, B1
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Tuesday, February 9, 2016
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
CITY COUNCILS | BUDGETS
SAUK VALLEY
DIXON
Council sees red
It’s a pretty big dill
Sherry Hess returns a serve Monday during a game of pickleball at the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA.
Deficit discussion kicks off budget talks; mayor confident city will get back to black BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5525 @JPigee84
Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Pickleball is picking up quite a few fans, and cities are responding to the game’s growing popularity
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
STERLING – Looking to kick cabin fever? Folks of all ages and levels of athletic abilities are recommending pickleball fever as the cure – and you probably don’t have to go far to get your fix. The sport is not unlike an oversized game of ping pong, played with a whiffle ball and paddles on a badminton-sized court. Confused? Don’t sweat it, said Mike Shears, a 40-year-old parole officer from Whiteside County who caught the bug at Page Park in Dixon and carried it back to
Online
Visit the USA Pickleball Association’s website at usapa.org/ for more information on the sport, including its history. Read this story at saukvalley. com to see more photos. Whiteside County. “You can pick up the game in 10 minutes, whereas tennis might take years to learn all the shots,” he said. “Everyone is so friendly, and it’s a great way to meet people. You laugh and joke, and games only take about 15 minutes.” PICKLEBALL CONTINUED ON A5
Don Mekeel (right) and Tom Breed get in a game of pickleball Monday at the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA.
DIXON – The city will need to dig its general fund out of a deficit before the next budget is approved, and city council members want to make sure they’re not digging into the city’s cash reserves to do it. The council took a long, hard look at the city’s 201617 budget Monday night during a nearly 3-hour meeting, and one of the things that stood out was a $27,000 shortfall in the general fund. “We will have to look at making adjustments to get that to a zero balance,”
Next meetings The Dixon City Council will continue budget discussions at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 121 W. Second St. The next regular Dixon City Council meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at City Hall, 121 W. Second St. Go to discoverdixon.org or call City Hall at 815288-1485 for an agenda or more information. said City Manager Cole O’Donnell. “We want to make sure we are not dipping into our cash reserves.” DIXON CONTINUED ON A4
STERLING
Finding the right balance Budget estimates show city going from a negative to a positive BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – The city dissected its general fund during a 3-hour study session held Monday in council chambers. Department heads laid out their budgets for the Sterling City Council, as the city’s primary operating fund came together for the fiscal year 2016-17 budget.
No action was taken at the special council meeting, and the numbers are subject to change before they receive the council’s final approval. Based on preliminary figures just from the general fund, the city looks to be on track for a balanced budget, after incurring a deficit of about $500,000 last fiscal year. STERLING CONTINUED ON A4
EDUCATION
Rhetoric and reality don’t match up in school funding Local educators say talk is cheap, but running a school district isn’t BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
The funding formula for Illinois school districts hasn’t been updated since 1997, and legislators and school administrators alike say a fix is long overdue. But now that efforts toward doing just that
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TODAY’S EDITION: 20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 164 ISSUE 198
are ramping back up, local officials are as anxious as they are skeptical about a finding a funding a fix. An Education Task Force is slated to meet a week from Tuesday in Springfield. While most proposed new models would bring more funding to the Sauk Valley, its districts have seen their funding cut in the meantime.
INDEX
ABBY ................... A7 BUSINESS ......... A10 COMICS ............... A8
“When legislators say their hearts are in the right place, it’s rhetoric,” said Dan Arickx, superintendent of the Rock Falls Elementary District. State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie will lead hearings of the bipartisan Education Task Force beginning next Tuesday, but said the group met throughout 2015.
CROSSWORD......B9 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
FUNDING CONTINUED ON A4
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
Dan Arickx
Today’s weather High 20. Low 6. More on A3.
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Tad Everett
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B5.