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GOLFER KEEPS HIS HEAD IN THE GAME
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW, B1
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
LEE & OGLE COUNTIES | PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
On the edge of their drivers’ seats A lack of state funding has LOTS worried about how long it’ll be able to keep routes running BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
DIXON – Unless the state ponies up a backlog of about $500,000 in bills owed to the Lee-Ogle Transportation System, hundreds of residents could be put in a
tough spot by year’s end. The decade-old agency provides more than 75,000 rides a year to area residents primarily for medical, employment or education purposes. Without state funding, it could be forced to begin reducing services next month and potentially shut down by the end of the year.
LOTS Executive Director Jaime Blatti said the agency was able to side-step the brunt of the budget impasse “circus” in Springfield during the past year, but the financial pain is beginning to set in as state payments to the Illinois Transportation System have ceased,.
“Public transportation is the biggest component to keeping our community well-rounded and mobile, and if steps are not taken, it could be detrimental to folks that rely on it, and that is a very scary thing,” she said. LOTS CONTINUED ON A5
WHITESIDE COUNTY
LEE COUNTY
Here comes the sun plan County works on putting process in place to get ahead of the curve in attracting solar power companies BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
ABOVE: Kirk Smalley receives a hug from a teacher Tuesday during an anti-bullying assembly. BELOW: Students raise their hands after being asked whether they’ve ever been bullied. Seconds later, Smalley asked those who are bullies to raise their hands, and three students, out of about 450 in attendance, raised their hands.
Change is in
your hands A father who lost a son tells students that whether their hands tremble with fear or make a fist, they can reach out for help
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 CHeimerman_SVM
AMBOY – Gosh, it must be hard to look a stranger in his bleary eyes, a guy whose 11-year-old son committed suicide because of bullying, and admit to being a bully yourself. Three youngsters from the Ashton-Franklin School did just that during an assembly Tuesday afternoon at Amboy Junior High School. Kirk Smalley of the Perkins, Oklahoma-based activist group Stand for the Silent had spent nearly an hour telling fourth- through eighthgraders about how his son, Ty, shot himself, and how 55,000 children who have committed suicide because of bullying. And those are just the children Stand for the Silent knows about. Then he asked the 450 or so kids how many of them have been bullied. CHANGE CONTINUED ON A11
MORRISON – Solar energy companies have expressed an interest in the area for many years, and the talks could finally be turning serious. “We’ve had three inquiries from three different companies,” said Gary Camarano, Whiteside County economic development director. “One company is moving along faster than the other two, but nothing is going to happen any time soon.” Cypress Creek Renewables, Dedicated Community Solar Energy, and Silver Farms are among the companies that have had the area on their radar for new projects. Whiteside County officials are workGary ing to put a process in place in anticiCamarano pation of renewable energy growth. The county board already has an ordinance on the books governing wind energy projects, and has now turned its attention to solar power. The topic was discussed at the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in August, and an ordinance could be ready to present at the Oct. 20 commission meeting. “We’re trying to get in front of this so we’re not just reacting to solar opportunities,” Camarano said. SOLAR CONTINUED ON A5
OGLE COUNTY
Official says board needs to be cut down He says cutting members from 24 to 16 could save thousands of dollars BY VINDE WELLS Shaw Media vwells@oglecountynews.com
OREGON – If you ask Bruce McKinney, two dozen county board members is too many, and he’d like to see the issue put in a committee’s hands to see whether it agrees. “We’re too large for our size of county,” the Ogle County Board member said at Friday’s meeting. “There are other counties larger than us that have 10 or 12 members.” BOARD CONTINUED ON A5
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 166 ISSUE 115
INDEX
ABBY ................... A8 BUSINESS ......... A12 COMICS ...............B7
CROSSWORD....B11 LIFESTYLE ........... A8 LOTTERY ............. A2
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
Today’s weather High 67. Low 36. More on A3.
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