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Long-term bridge closures ahead
YOUNG LOCALS SHOW PROMISE AT STATE
TRANSPORTATION, A2
TRACK COVERAGE INSIDE
TELEGRAPH Monday, June 1, 2015
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
LEE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Agency offering Hep C rapid test Department applying for grant to help create needle exchange, other services BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521 @SeaWarren
DIXON – It’s not just law enforcement agencies that are taking a proactive approach to Lee County’s increased heroin usage – the health department
is making strides, too. This week, the Lee County Health Department started offering rapid screening for Hepatitis C. It’s an action that Administrator Cathy Ferguson hopes will stave off any future heroin-related public health crises, like the one that south-
eastern Indiana has seen. According to the latest figures, 162 people in Indiana have been diagnosed with HIV as part of an outbreak that, officials say, stemmed from the sharing of heroin needles. “Any time people share needles, we worry about infectious
diseases,” Ferguson said. “In light of the current HIV outbreak in Indiana, it makes you think about it. ... So there is that link to the heroin use, but it’s just another service that we want to be able to offer the community.” TEST CONTINUED ON A4
Get tested If you’re interested in being tested for Hepatitis C, first schedule an appointment with your nearest health department. Lee County Health Department: 815-284-3371 Whiteside County Health Department: 815-626-2230
ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE
DIXON HIGH SCHOOL | CLASS OF 2015
Summer ad war likely to fuel feud Dem leaders began pushing back Sunday against new governor
Students look to the future
BY SARA BURNETT AND JOHN O’CONNOR The Associated Press
Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Students of the class of 2015 walk out of Dixon High School for the last time Sunday. The 174 seniors received their diplomas on A.C. Bowers Field in front of friends and family on a windswept sunny afternoon. See more photos on A10.
Some use mortar boards to stick out from crowd, show off plans BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5525 @JPigee84
DIXON – Dixon High School graduate J.D. Gieson will do something that hasn’t been done in 40 years. He will be the first student from the Sauk Valley to attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. He will also play quarterback on the USMMA football team. Gieson was one of 174 seniors to graduate from Dixon High School Sunday afternoon. The Dixon grads, decked out in purple robes and topped off with the hard-tomiss mortar boards, received their diplomas on A.C. Bowers Field in front of friends and family on a windswept sunny afternoon. Some of the students used their mortar boards as billboards to not only help their loved ones point them out, but to show off their plans after high school. One student had a picture of the Missouri Tigers mascot, advertising his plans to
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Aryanan Sue Ann Halfman takes a selfie with Jacob Harrison and Mary C. Harrison on Sunday after getting their diplomas. attend the University of Missouri. Another graduate, who plans on attending the University of Iowa, adorned his graduation cap with an Iowa Hawkeye logo.
DHS principal Michael Grady choked back tears as he addressed the seniors. “Some of you, I’ve known since kindergarten,” he said. “It’s my sincere hope that we have prepared you
for the future. It’s difficult to look at the young adults before us when we see you as the sweet little child we took care of.” FUTURE CONTINUED ON A10
SPRINGFIELD – The increasingly nasty feud between Gov. Bruce Rauner and majority Democrats is about to spill from the Illinois statehouse to voters’ mailboxes and televisions, as the rookie Republican unleashes a multimilliondollar ad campaign against Bruce lawmakers Rauner he claims are intransigent over the state budget and his political agenda. The entrenched, more experienced Democratic leaders – who say they were warned by Rauner of the coming campaign – began pushing back Sunday. Senate President John Cullerton said GOP lawmakers are being “lured away by the siren song of Gov. Rauner’s John campaign cash,” Cullerton hindering compromise. “We find ourselves trying to work with a governor who continues to run campaigns rather than the state that elected him,” the Chicago Democrat said. “Rather than roll up your sleeves and work on solutions, he’s dictating demands and threatening those who defy him.” Majority Democrats in the General Assembly approved a $36.3 billion spending plan they say preserves Rauner-proposed cuts to essential programs. They acknowledge it’s $3 billion short on revenue and want Rauner to agree to a tax increase. FEUD CONTINUED ON A4
INDEX
ABBY ................... A7 COMICS ............... A9 CROSSWORD....B12
LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4
OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2 SPORTS ...............B1
Today’s weather High 68. Low 43. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B8.
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