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Dixon learns start date for plant shutdown

SVM ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

LOCAL, A3

SPORTS, B3

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Tuesday, September 16, 2014

SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851

DIXON CITY COUNCIL | LAND SALE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA OPERATIONS

DIXON SCHOOLS

Deadlocked on decision Vote tabled Monday, will be revisited tonight BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529

DIXON – A discussion that started Monday night, about which of two companies to sell a piece of land to, will continue tonight with a possible vote. Green Thumb Industries LLC and IPP LLC were the only two companies to submit bids to purchase Lot 5 in the Lee

County Industrial Park, which the city owns. Both companies want to use the land to build a medical marijuana cultivation center and plan on submitting applications to the state. But only one license for a cultivation center will be given for the area’s Illinois State Police district. The City Council opened the bids Monday night and reviewed them both before

Inside Stories

a representative from each company made a pitch and answered questions. With two council members siding with each company and one – Commissioner Jeff Kuhn – undecided, the council moved to reconvene the meeting at 5:30 p.m. today to complete the discussion and vote. DEADLOCKED CONTINUED ON A4

Rock Falls is working to make two parcels of industrial park land potential sites for a medical marijuana cultivation center and dispensary. Page A3 The decriminalization of marijuana is a liberal policy goal that has seen dramatic advances even though it hadn’t been embraced by the Obama administration. Page A12

Board to vote on school budget State aid continues to decline; $1.4M deficit in education fund BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5525

Renovation work in Dixon reaches a Crescendo

DIXON – The Dixon School Board will vote on the fiscal year 2015 budget at its meeting Wednesday. The school district faces a deficit of about $1.4 million in the budget’s education fund. The education fund, which pays for teacher salaries, educational programs, and other expenses, is the biggest concern for school officials. David Blackburn, business manager of the school district, said declining revenue is the main reason for the projected deficit. The Dixon district relies heavily on state funding and local property tax revenue. However, school officials say the state has done very little to help the district in recent years. BUDGET CONTINUED ON A2

Budget hearing The Dixon School Board will have a budget hearing at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the school district’s central office, 1335 Franklin Grove Road. The regular meeting will follow the budget hearing. Go to www.DixonSchools. org or call the school district’s central office, 815-284-7722, for an agenda or more information.

DIXON

No TIGER grant for city (again) Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

ABOVE: Matt Appleman cleans a paintbrush Monday afternoon as he works to renovate a building at 502 W. First Street in downtown Dixon. Appleman plans to move his salon, Crescendo Hair, to the building. RIGHT: Appleman has picked out Victorian era colors for the historic building. When it’s up and running, the salon will have all the services – hair, color, massage and nails – of a typical spa, Appleman said. Renovating the building is “a labor of love” for Appleman. With a new roof just put into place, Appleman hopes to have the rehab work complete by the time the weather gets cold so he can turn his efforts to work that needs to be done inside the building.

BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529

DIXON – The city has come up short again in its fourth attempt at a federal grant for a $12.8 million project. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the 2014 recipients of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants. In all, $600 million was awarded to 72 transportation projects in 46 states and Washington, District of Columbia. Two projects in Illinois – Chicago and Champaign-Urbana – will receive a combined $34.5 million. GRANT CONTINUED ON A4

$1.00

TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 96

INDEX

ABBY ................... A8 BUSINESS ......... A12 COMICS ............... A9

CROSSWORD....B11 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2

OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 SCOREBOARD ....B4

Today’s weather High 66. Low 41. More on A3.

Need work? Check out your classifieds, B5.

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