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LOCAL EVENTS, A8-10
TELEGRAPH Thursday, July 16, 2015
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
DIXON | COUNCILMAN RESIGNATION UPDATE
‘Personal reasons’ led to decision Arjes says he supports direction new City Council has taken BY BRENDEN WEST bwest@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529 @BWest_SVM
DIXON – Nearly a week after he resigned from the City Council, Jesse Arjes said Wednesday that “personal reasons” had led to his decision. The city firefighter said
he did not want to publicly disclose details, but said that his job was not a factor. He said some people had suggested he had a conflict of interests between his city job and council seat. “I made this decision for personal reasons, but it is not with the conflict of
interest,” Arjes said during a phone interview. “There are some factors out of my control at this time that affected my decision. I want the city to move forward, and I think it’s in everybody’s best interest if I allow the council that’s in to do this.”
Arjes officially submitted his letter of resignation July 9, just days after his last meeting as a councilman. He said Wednesday that he had decided the day before submitting the letter that he was going to resign, after he spoke with others about the pros and cons.
On Monday, the four remaining council members went into executive session to discuss a successor for Arjes. The council has 60 days from the date of his resignation to appoint a new member. PERSONAL CONTINUED ON A4
STERLING MUNICIPAL BAND CONCERT
Jesse Arjes Ex-councilman says he chose to resign because of personal reasons
ILLINOIS | BUDGET
NO ‘BONES’ Stopgap ABOUT IT heads to SAXOPHONIST GUEST STARS AT GRANDON
Rauner
1-month temporary budget OK’d, but it’s likely doomed BY JOHN O’CONNOR AND SOPHIA TAREEN The Associated Press
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Tom “Bones” Malone was the special guest at Wednesday night’s Sterling Municipal Band concert. Malone, who plays a variety of brass instruments, is famous for being a member of The Blues Brothers band, the Saturday Night Live Band (He served as leader of the band from 1981 to 1985.), and a member of the CBS Orchestra, the house band for the Late Show with David Letterman. The Dixon Muni Band will be playing a Halloween-themed show at 7:30 tonight at the Page Park band shell. Check out all the local happenings in our listings on A8-10.
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers sent a stopgap budget plan Wednesday to Gov. Bruce Rauner, who will likely dismiss the one piece to emerge from a flurry of Capitol activity, which did little to move the state toward a yearlong spending agreement. Despite the governor’s well-known opposition, the Senate put up a partisan vote on a $2.3 billion, 1-month budget to keep state government functioning. It was approved 39-0 with 15 voting “present.” Democrats, who have used provisional fiscal plans several times in the past decade, want to keep essential and emergency services available during the budget standoff. Rauner wants a permanent fix. But the day’s bursts of activity provided more heat than light. STOPGAP CONTINUED ON A4
SAUK VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE | PRESIDENT’S MEET AND GREET
New leader focuses on 3 keys Wants school visible, viable, and involved in manufacturing BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5525 @JPigee84
DIXON – David Hellmich is already making good on his word. The sixth president at Sauk Valley Community College has spent his first 2 weeks on the job doing a lot of listening and learning – something he emphasized throughout the interview process for the job. “I’ve been meeting with a lot of people and getting to know the college,” Hellmich said. Hellmich, 56, was the center of attention at a meet and greet Wednesday afternoon at KSB Town Square in Dixon.
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City leaders in Dixon visited with Hellmich to hear his vision for the college. “Community colleges is all about access, all about quality, all about giving people a second chance and giving people an affordable chance,” Hellmich said. “My whole career has been in community colleges, and any vision that I have is built on that bedrock.” Based on the conversations, Hellmich has three main focuses: establishing more of a presence in the community, creating a better relationship with manufacturers in the area, and coming up with new revenue streams. Hellmich said he wants the
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college to be very visible in the community. He also wants the college to lead the conversation about education. “Whether it’s a conversation about education, post-secondary education or workforce development, Sauk needs to have a person there,” Hellmich said. “I want to be involved as much as I can, and that is something we will do early on.” Hellmich especially wants to have more of a presence in the Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com manufacturing world. He wants the college’s relationship with David Hellmich (center), the sixth president of Sauk Valley Commanufacturing to be a major munity College, speaks with Sinnissippi Centers CEO Patrick focus in the upcoming year. Phelan (left) and John Thompson, president of the Dixon Area Chamber of Commerce, on Wednesday afternoon during a meet and greet at KSB Town Square in Dixon. PRESIDENT CONTINUED ON A11
ABBY ................... A7 BUSINESS ......... A11 COMICS ...............B6
CROSSWORD....B11 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
Today’s weather High 79. Low 69. More on A3.
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