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GUARD IS READY TO FILL MISSILE GAPS FOOTBALL PREVIEW, B1
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Wednesday, August 17, 2016 n SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
LEE COUNTY | WIND FARMS
Winds of major change In what’s being hailed as the first-of-its-kind project, 63 turbines could be decommissioned on the Mendota Hills wind farm (shown here).
Company wants to decommission 63 wind turbines and replace them with fewer, more efficient models
BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
DIXON – The Mendota Hills wind farm could be the first in the nation to decommission its entire fleet of turbines and replace a portion of them with upgraded models. Dallas-based Leeward Renewable Energy, which
owns the wind farm, has requested a special-use permit from the Lee County Board to remove its 63 turbines in the southeast region of the county and build between 33 and 35 new structures. The board received the proposal Tuesday and referred it to the county zoning board to make a recommendation. TURBINES continued on A44
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This will be the first complete decommissioning on a wind farm in the United States.
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John Nicholson, acting Lee County Board chairman
Submitted
ELECTION 2016: DIXON WHITESIDE COUNTY FAIR
Lee County’s primary concern A crowded council ticket could cost county $50,000 BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
DIXON – If an influx of candidates runs for City Council next year, the county would have to foot a $50,000 bill for a primary election. Two council seats with 4-year terms will be placed on the consolidated election ballot in April, and if more than nine candidates throw their hats in the ring, the county would have to host a primary election in February. The two seats up for re-election are held by Councilmen Chris Bishop and Mitch Tucker, and Kevin Marx’s seat, a 2-year unexpired term, will also be on the ballot. Lee County Clerk Cathy Myers said if more than five candidates run for Marx’s seat, that, too, would prompt a primary. The primary would be mandated by state statute because of the city’s managerial form of government, and Myers requested Tuesday the County Board allocate $50,000 to prepare for the possibility. PRIMARY continued on A54
ROCK FALLS
City grant gets the green light Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Fair week kicks off ABOVE: J.T. Moore gets flipped off of Earl Tuesday evening during the Horizon Series Whiteside County Bull Bash at the Whiteside County Fair in Morrison.
Officials get word that state will finally release $400,000 grant BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
ROCK FALLS – A $400,000 green space grant, frozen during the state’s budget battle, will be released, the city learned Tuesday. Mayor Bill Wescott received the final word from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, after state Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Rock Island, told the city late last week of its probable inclusion on Inside The city will receive a list of unfrozen grant programs. “The IDNR said we’d get a 50 permoney from an EPA cent advance payment, and the other loan program to tear half later, but there was no exact time down the Limestone Building on the city’s frame for either payment,” Wescott told council members at Tuesday’s riverfront. Page A5 meeting. The Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant is part of $50 million appropriated for the program in the stopgap budget.
RIGHT: Isaiah Tolivar gets bucked off Burrito on Tuesday night at the Bull Bash. INSIDE: Turn to Page A3 to see more Bull Bash photos and what’s in store for fair-goers today.
GRANT continued on A54
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 166 ISSUE 76
INDEX
ABBY.................... A8 COMICS................B6 CROSSWORD.....B12
FOOD...............A9-11 LIFESTYLE............ A8 LOTTERY.............. A2
OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6 POLICE................. A2
Today’s weather High 84. Low 65. More on A3.
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