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HOW TO RUN FOR MILES
ENTERTAINMENT, A5
TRACK & FIELD, B1
Students work trade show CEO CLASS, A5
TELEGRAPH Thursday, May 7, 2015
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
DIXON | BUDGET
DIXON | ANTI-HEROIN FORUM
Version 2.0 coming soon
‘I am proud of me’
Mayor: Myriad factors create need for changes BY BRENDEN WEST bwest@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529 @BWest_SVM
DIXON – The city is less than a week into its current fiscal year budget, and the city council is days into its new term. Don’t expect either to sit idle. Council members and Mayor Li Arellano Jr. said
during Monday’s city council meeting that they plan to align the city’s budget with their priorities. No one on the council had any input into the fiscal year, since all five members took oaths Monday to replace the outgoing council. Arellano said there are a number of factors fueling unspecified tweaks desired by the new council. For one,
the budget is currently operating $20,000 “in the red,” he said. Dixon is also undergoing a structural shift in government, which will impact finances. And in general, new elected officials have a different approach to streamlining governance. “Following the election … we own this budget. We’re responsible for it,” Arellano
said Monday. “We want to make sure the budget we inherited follows the direction of our priorities.” State law necessitates that city governments finalize their budgets before the fiscal year begins. Fiscal Year 2015-16 started Friday, 3 days before the council took office.
200 attend, hear stories of redemption
BUDGET CONTINUED ON A4
FARMERS MARKETS
BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521 @SeaWarren
Green means go
DIXON – A young, slender girl with long purple hair takes the microphone. “I’m very grateful that you guys are all here,” she says timidly in front of the audience of 200. “So, here’s my story: My name is Keri Chambers ...” What followed was a personal history of physical abuse, drug abuse, sexual abuse, homelessness, prostitution, and, finally, thanks to the help of Lee County Drug Court, recovery. She started regular IV heroin use when she was 13, but had previously tried it.
Local markets up and running
PROUD CONTINUED ON A7
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Several of the about 200 people packed into the Elks Lodge in Dixon listen attentively Wednesday during an anti-heroin forum.
ROCK FALLS | UTILITIES
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Ed Kaminski tends his table Wednesday during the farmers market Wednesday morning at Haymarket Square. Kaminski and his wife, Mary, sell a wide array of vegetables and seedlings.
Billing cycle to be extended
BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521 @SeaWarren
DIXON – It’s farmers market season! Wednesday, a handful of vendors set up shop in Haymarket Square for the Dixon Park District’s second market of the season. Robin Ackerson, owner of Homegrown Perennials and Stuff, has been driving to the farmers market from Ohio for the past 5 or 6 years, she said. On this beautiful May morning, she’s already had about 10 people swing by to check out her wares – all organic, all grown in her greenhouse: vegetables, herbs, and flowers galore. “I don’t use any pesticides,” she says. “No -ides of any kind.” GREEN CONTINUED ON A5
Slow mail delivery, resulting late fees cited as reason
Robin Ackerson, owner of Homegrown Perennials and Stuff, makes cement bird baths, using leaves as molds.
BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Local farmers market information Sterling
Rock Falls
Dixon
Morrison
The Twin City Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, year round, in the historic Twin City Produce Building, 106 Ave. A. Find the market on Facebook, go to twincityfarmersmarket.com or call 815-499-7268 for a list of vendors, upcoming events and more information.
The Rock Falls Farmers Market, at Fourth Avenue and Second Street, offers a variety of vendors selling produce, crafts and other wares, from 8 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, through October, rain or shine. Call the Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce, 815-6254500, for more information.
The Dixon Park District’s Farmers Market is open from 7 a.m. to noon Wednesday and Saturday through October in Haymarket Square, 317 W. Third St. downtown. Call the Dixon Park District, 815-2843306, for more information. The Dixon City Market is open from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, starting May 27. It runs through Sept. 30, with the exception of July 1, when it will be closed for Petunia Festival. For more information, go to dixonmainstreet.com or call 815-288-2308.
Locally grown, fresh produce is available at the Morrison Farmers’ Market from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays, rain or shine, May 23 through Sept. 5 at 204 E. Lincolnway. Go to morrisonfarmersmarket.com or call 815-772-3757 for more information.
$1.00
TODAY’S EDITION: 36 PAGES 3 SECTIONS VOL. 164 ISSUE 260
INDEX
ABBY ................... A8 BUSINESS ........... A7 COMICS ...............B4
CROSSWORD....B13 LIFESTYLE ........... A8 LOTTERY ............. A2
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
ROCK FALLS – City utilities customers will have a little more time to pay their combined water, sewer and electric bills. The city will extend the utilities billing cycle from 17 days to 22 days. The bills had been due on day 17 of the cycle, and a late fee kicks in on day 18. The new due date will be on the 22nd day after the billing date, and the penalty will kick in on day 23.
Today’s weather High 84. Low 63. More on A3.
BILLING CONTINUED ON A4
Hot pursuit
Ogle deputies led on chase, A3.
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