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FATHER, SON TO TEAM UP ONE LAST TIME
ALL-STAR GAME PREVIEW, B1
LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT, A9-11
TELEGRAPH Thursday, June 19, 2014
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
OGLE COUNTY | BEAR WATCH
Mississippi or bust? Bruin treed in Mount Morris, seeking suitable habitat BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5535
MOUNT MORRIS – The little black bear that’s been wandering around northern Illinois the past few weeks was 20 feet up an oak tree, southwest of Mount Morris off Lowell Park Road, Wednesday afternoon. He was being ogled, photoed and
filmed by a few dozen people until police came to break up the crowd. By evening, he managed to make it down the tree and wander off. An audience, experts say, is the last thing he needs. The bear’s best chance of survival is for people to keep their distance, so he can find his way back to his natural habitat and not
become accustomed to humans, said Chris Young, a spokesman with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “We have been counseling people to leave him alone. So far, it’s been Earleen Hinton/ehinton@shawmedia.com going really well, so we’re going A black bear that’s been sighted in Ogle and to keep reiterating that message,” DeKalb counties in the past week was found in a Young said. tree Wednesday morning southwest of Mount Morris off Lowell Park Road. BEAR CONTINUED ON A3
WHITESIDE COUNTY | THE SHELEY TRIAL
DIXON SCHOOLS | SUPERINTENDENT REPLACEMENT
Justice does not come cheap
District to handle candidate search Outside firm won’t be used; strategic plan leader picked BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529
Illustration by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Jury selection in the Nicholas Sheley murder trial began Monday, May 12, in Rock Island. On Thursday, May 29, he was convicted of four murders in Rock Falls in 2008. The 18 days it took to reach the verdict will cost Whiteside County about $100,000, according to County Administrator Joel Horn.
County’s bill $92K so far; more expenses are expected BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521
MORRISON – The numbers aren’t final yet, but Whiteside County spent at least $92,000 to put on Nicholas Sheley’s third Illinois murder trial. County Administrator Joel Horn predicted that, once all expenses are figured, the total will hover around $100,000.
Sheley’s first Whiteside County trial, for the murder of Russell Reed, 93, cost the county $85,193.70 – about $115,000 less than what was originally expected, Horn said at the time. Reed was the first of at least six people Sheley killed during what prosecutors have called a weeklong drug- and alcohol-fueled killing spree in the summer of 2008. JUSTICE CONTINUED ON A2
The breakdown s Defense attorney Jeremy Karlin expense: $50,702 s Prosecution expense: $33,103 s Jury expense: $8,316
WHITESIDE COUNTY| SALES TAX REFERENDUM
Rock Falls boards approve resolutions Superintendents: Property owners stand to benefit, if tax passes BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5570
ROCK FALLS – For the fourth time in 7 years, Whiteside County school districts are looking to get a 1-cent sales tax referendum
$1.00
on the ballot. The tax, known as the County School Facility Sales Tax, was instituted by state law in 2007 as a means of shifting the burden of school funding away from property taxpayers.
TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 35
INDEX
The boards at two of the counties’ nine districts on Wednesday voted for resolutions to put the facility sales tax on the Nov. 4 ballot. That would bump the county sales tax from 6.75 percent to 7.75 percent. The
BUSINESS ......... A12 COMICS ............... A8 CROSSWORD......B9
DEAR ABBY ......... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4
boards at Rock Falls Township High School District 301, and Rock Falls Elementary District 13 voted in favor of seeking the tax increase. TAX CONTINUED ON A4
OPINION .............. A6 PLAN!T ................. A9 SPORTS ...............B1
DIXON – When the district starts the process of replacing Superintendent Michael Juenger, who will step down after the next academic year, it will begin from inside the district rather than hiring a search firm. The School Board discussed the decision during Wednesday night’s meeting and gave Juenger direction on how to proceed. Juenger said he felt the district staff could handle the search itself, which would save the district at least $6,500. He expects to be Michael able to post the Juenger job opening in Resigning as September, and Dixon Public the board will be Schools able to vote on superintendent hiring the next after 2014-15 superintendent school year by the end of this year. Posting the job in September, Juenger said, will mean the district is among the first wave to post superintendent job openings and will have a better chance to be considered by higher-quality candidates. Also Wednesday night, the board voted 6-1 in favor of hiring Amy Yurko, of Brain Spaces, to lead the district’s strategic planning. Kevin Sward was the vote against, preferring the other finalist, Rod Wright, of Unicom Arc Inc. SUPERINTENDENT CONTINUED ON A2
Today’s weather High 89. Low 70. More on A3.
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