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Committee wants another referendum on ballot
IS FOUR A MAGIC NUMBER FOR CLIPPERS? PREP SOFTBALL, B1
DIXON SCHOOLS, A3
TELEGRAPH Friday, March 21, 2014
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
DIXON SCHOOLS
VISION 2030 | SCHOOL FUNDING
Safer, sounder schools?
THE SAY NAY KIDS
District looks to add cameras, tighten security BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Dixon Police Chief Danny Langloss speaks Nov. 3, 2012, to supporters of a 1 percent sales tax referendum that would have helped to pay for a proposed sports and activities complex in Dixon. Supporters hoped the facility would bring a better quality of life to the community, but voters rejected the tax increase, as they did another increase during Tuesday’s primary.
Another referendum for improvements shot down BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
Schools are seeing a drop in state funding for operations and transportation. And they struggle to get voters to pass referendums to pay for school improvements. In recent years, voters in Whiteside and Lee counties have rejected a 1 percent sales tax to fund school infrastructure. On Tuesday, Whiteside voters decisively turned down the request – for a fourth time. A referendum also failed in Carroll County, but by a closer margin. Before Tuesday, the tax proposal had
gained support in each attempt – 42 percent support in November 2008, 45 percent in April 2009, and 46 percent last April. This time, however, nearly 58 percent of voters said no. Passing a sales tax, Sterling public schools Superintendent Tad Everett said, would allow the district to cut its property taxes. “What this boils down to is that we have a cost to maintain our buildings, which has averaged $800,000 to $900,000 a year,” he said. “The way we have funded that throughout our history is bonding. This [1 percent tax] is an alternative to that structure.” NAY CONTINUED ON A5
Tuesday’s edition will include a 52-page special section, “Vision 2030,” that will examine what the Sauk Valley might look like in 2030. We will look at employment, the workforce, education, infrastructure, housing, religion and health care, among other issues.
Breakout body
Special Section coming Tuesday
Madalin Blumhoff, 11, of Dixon, holds a sign during a rally on Nov. 3, 2012, on Dixon’s riverfront.
RELIGION | LENT
DIXON – The Dixon school district is looking to add cameras and more secure entrances to its four schools for next year. Kevin Schultz, the district’s director of buildings and grounds, presented the school board with $173,882 worth of security upgrades to the high school, Reagan Middle School and Jefferson and Washington elementary schools. The Lincoln Elementary School building will be closed after this school year. The upgrades include 16 s e c u r i t y Superintendent c a m e r a s a t Michael Juenger each school, recording equipment for the cameras, and vestibule upgrades at Reagan, Washington and Jefferson. There are more security upgrades that could be done to the high school, that weren’t included in the proposal, Superintendent Michael Juenger said, but with their high cost and the future of the high school being discussed during strategic planning, those additional upgrades will wait. Often, school shooters take the path of least resistance, Superintendent Michael Juenger said, so adding more secure entryways might make access for visitors more inconvenient, but it will be worth it. SAFER CONTINUED ON A4
TEEN TURF TO SERVE UP SOME SURF
‘Great time to stop by and pray’ Area Catholics called to ‘Be Reconciled’ BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 570
ROCKFORD – The Rockford Diocese is reaching out to Catholics during Lent with an intiative to make it easier for them to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The “Be Reconciled” effort has been launched throughout the diocese, which includes 105 parishes in 11 counties. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is also known as confession or penance. In the Catholic Church, parishioners confess their sins to a priest and are given absolution through doing penance.
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Bishop David Malloy asked all diocesan parishes to add April 9 to their regular confession schedules. Most churches will offer the sacrament from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on that day. Plans for a “Be Reconciled” day were announced this month during parish Masses. Traditionally, Lent is a 40-day period of fasting and prayer that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. This year, that is March 5 through April 19. Confession should be about honesty, not guilt, said the Rev. Bernard Sehr, parochial administrator at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Dixon.
TODAY’S EDITION: 28 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 227
INDEX
Confession schedules For confession times at all churches in the Rockford Diocese, visit www.bereconciled.rockforddiocese.org. The site also has information about the sacrament and listings for other Lenten activities, including parish missions, Stations of the Cross, and Friday fish fry events. “In a world where we tend to distance ourselves from any wrongdoing, this is a time to remember that we don’t do everything perfectly, but we always have the opportunity to come back to God,” Sehr said.
BUSINESS ......... A13 CHURCH............ A11 COMICS ............. A12
RECONCILED CONTINUED ON A4
CROSSWORD....B10 DEAR ABBY ....... A10 LIFESTYLE ........... A9
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Trenton Chandler, 13, signs a banner for Teen Turf Inc. director Eileen Piper Thursday afternoon. The after-school program is hosting a fundraising fish fry Friday at its center, 234 W. Main St., Amboy. Fish will be served from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Cost is $7 for those 12 and up, and $6 for those under 12 and seniors. LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6
Today’s weather High 60. Low 29. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B6.
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