TEL_05052016

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DUCHESS DIALS IT UP A NOTCH, LONG DISTANCE TRACK AND FIELD, B1

Thank God they’re some country boys, and girls PLAN!T, A9-12

TELEGRAPH Thursday, May 5, 2016

SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851

ILLINOIS BUDGET BATTLE | SAUK VALLEY

Suit: Pay now, not later Local social service agencies join lawsuit against Rauner for overdue payments BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra

Three social service agencies in the Sauk Valley are among a coalition of more than five dozen suing Gov. Bruce Rauner and six other state officers for $100 million in overdue payments, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday

in Cook County Circuit Court. Sinnissippi Centers and the Whiteside and Carroll County health departments are a part of a lawsuit filed by advocacy group Pay Now Illinois. Sinnissippi is owed about $900,000 of $1.2 million in contracts for services rendered since the state failed to pass a budget on July 1. That’s between 10 percent and 12 percent of the behavioral

health center’s yearly budget. “We lost grants totalling $600,000 going into this year,” CEO Patrick Phelan said. “Those caused cuts in services, [but] the [contracts] involved in this suit have not been paid.” It becomes a cash flow issue, and if nonpayment continues, a decision would need to be made in the next 6 to 9 months to figure out what more can

be done, Phelan said. But core services, such as crisis intervention and residential programs support, already have been affected. “How do you turn those folks out on the street?” Phelan asked. Whiteside is owed $180,000, but its budget primarily comes from federal money, Administrator Beth Fiorini said. LAWSUIT CONTINUED ON A4

NORTHLAND MALL

EDUCATION

Dunham’s goal: Open doors July 1 Chain hopes to reopen store in time for Independence Day weekend BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier

Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Dylan Kenney (left) of Sterling gives a gun safety demonstration to a group of eighth-graders Wednesday afternoon with an Airsoft pistol. Whiteside Area Career Center held an open house for junior high students to help them learn more about the center in Sterling.

Quest for

DUNHAM’S CONTINUED ON A5

DIXON

Park District: Come enjoy the great outdoors

knowledge

Nearly 1,400 students get a look at what the Whiteside Area Career Center has to offer BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM

STERLING – Rock Falls High School senior Anna Musselman remembers her first Career Quest at Whiteside Area Career Center. She was shy back then, and had an interest in teaching little kids, which was solidified by the tour of the facility. Now she’s an 18-year-old ramping up for college and wrapping up a year in Mary Sue Neubauer’s early childhood education program, which has taught her that her passion was true, but that she’d rather teach elementary than preschool or kindergarten. “I found that out through my internship at Jefferson [Elementary School in Sterling],” she said. “Yeah. Definitely older kids. They have a better sense of independence.”

STERLING – Dunham’s Sports has targeted July 1 as the reopening date for its Northland Mall store. A spokesman at the retailer’s Troy, Michigan, corporate headquarters said the date isn’t etched in stone, but that is the goal. Although plans could change, there is incentive to open in time to catch the Independence Day weekend crowd, he said. If the reopening stays on schedule, there will be a ribbon-cutting event at 9 a.m. that day, along with door prizes and special sales that will continue through the weekend.

Le Hartman, instructor for WACC’s Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities program, gives a brief synopsis of the program during Wednesday’s open house.

Online extra Click on this story at saukvalley.com to watch eighth-graders check out the criminal justice program during Career Quest at Whiteside Area Career Center.

QUEST CONTINUED ON A2

First Outdoor Fun Day will showcase city’s recreational offerings BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers

DIXON – With summer not far on the horizon, the Park District is hosting its first Outdoor Fun Day, to showcase recreation opportunities the area has to offer. “With most of our recreation activities being outside with the river and trails and parks, we want to zero in on all of the fun things to do outdoors and bring them to the community,” Executive Director Debra Carey said. The event will be May 21 at Vaile Park and Reynolds Field, weather permitting. Admission is free. More than 20 vendors will be on hand, and there will be vehicle show featuring trucks, boats, motor homes, bikes, canoes, kayaks and ATVs. FUN DAY CONTINUED ON A5

$1.00

TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 166 ISSUE 4

INDEX

ABBY ................... A7 COMICS ...............B6 CROSSWORD....B11

LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2 POLICE ................ A2

OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 PLANIT ............A9-12

Today’s weather High 65. Low 45. More on A3.

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Need work? Check out your classifieds, B7.


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