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ROCKETS SET SIGHTS ON SWEEP SOFTBALL, B1
Student of the Month DIXON HIGH, A3
TELEGRAPH Monday, May 4, 2015
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
MILLEDGEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
ILLINOIS
‘A symbol of strength and pride’ Novel Here’s the mission behind the missile BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra
MILLEDGEVILLE – As it has for more than 40 years, a finned artifact stands watch day and night on Milledgeville High School’s front lawn. It might appear ordinary or ornamental at first glance, but during active duty, the missile was ready to take to the skies, capable of delivering a nucle-
ar warhead and a fiery rain of destruction for 15 to 30 miles. Now marked with white with orange and black letters, the school mascot perched on a marquee is what remains of the “Honest John” surfaceto-surface artillery rocket, a relic of the Cold War that was developed in the 1950s at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. MISSILE CONTINUED ON A4
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
The “Honest John” missile in front of the Milledgeville High School, an intimidator of fellow NUIC East member schools, was once armed and ready to fire.
PANCAKE BREAKFAST FUELS DIXON RURAL’S COMMUNITY OUTREACH
plan to attack unions Governor pitching empowerment zones one town at a time BY SARA BURNETT The Associated Press
PONTIAC (AP) – It’s the latest front in the continuing battle over organized labor’s influence. But what’s happening in Illinois looks nothing like the juggernaut unleashed in other Midwestern states where conservative statehouses have stripped power from unions with barely a second thought. In this blue state, where labor is strong and has been for more than a hundred years, new Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is trying another way of cutting unions down to size. He’s pitching city councils, county commissioners and business groups on the idea of local empowerment zones, in which Bruce Rauner Governor voters could taking approve making union member- town-by-town ship voluntary, approach to expanding rather than manright-to-work, datory, at unionrather than ized workplaces state action in their communities. “The special interests have got to be stopped,” Rauner told local officials during a speech in rural Livingston County, one of dozens of stops on a campaign-like tour that has stretched for weeks. “That’s the key to turning our state around.” This town-by-town approach to expanding right-to-work, rather than state action, has been tried only in a few other places, none of them like Illinois, and it’s not clear it will work.
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/ apaschal@saukvalley.com
ABOVE: Jessica Tucker, 4, licks her fingers while enjoying some sweet pancakes with her brother, Jacob, 9, on Saturday morning at a pancake breakfast at the Dixon Rural Fire Department. The inaugural event’s sales will fund the Dixon Rural Firefighters Association, which, in turn, uses the money for fire prevention programs and community donations. LEFT: Chuck Plock, president of the Dixon Rural Fire Department board, flips flapjacks for the breakfast.
UNIONS CONTINUED ON A5
For his eyes only? Gov. Rauner wants not-forprofit, private agency to oversee state’s economic development. Read more on A5.
RIGHT: Harlow Bond, 4, sits in the cab of a fire engine after enjoying some pancakes.
OGLESBY | STARVED ROCK STATE PARK
Hikers urged to stay on trails In wake of multiple accidents in recent weeks OGLESBY (AP) – Illinois conservation officials are cautioning hikers to stay on marked trails after three people fell in or near Starved Rock State Park and had to be rescued in recent weeks.
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All three had left marked paths, including an 18-year-old man who broke both legs after falling from a canyon ledge at Starved Rock in March, a 19-yearold who fell at Starved Rock
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on April 26, and a 21-yearold woman who fell from a ledge at nearby Buffalo Rock State Park on Tuesday, officials said. TRAILS CONTINUED ON A3
ABBY ................... A7 COMICS ............... A8 CROSSWORD....B10
LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2 NATION/WORLD A10
Carla Lindner Paschal/Special to SVM
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
There are ample opportunities for hikers to enjoy Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby. But if they don’t follow signs’ directions, there are also opportunities for injury, and officials are urging visitors to stay on the designated trails.
Today’s weather High 74. Low 53. More on A3.
Marching on Graduation listings, A3.
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