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Friday, December 16, 2016 n SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
DIXON | LIQUOR LICENSES
LOCAL BUSINESS | McLAIN STABLES
ALONG FOR THE RIDE
Sterling couple buys fixer-upper, ends up in horse-boarding business
BY DANA FRANCIS For Sauk Valley Media
STERLING – Dan and Tera McLain never meant to get into the horse-boarding business. A few years back, they were looking for a home in need of renovation. Dan is a carpenter for Northwest Homes in Sterling, so he would do the bulk of the work. When they happened upon a house for sale on Hickory Hills Road, a one-story sitting atop a low hill, they definitely found a fixer-upper. Dan, sitting in the kitchen of that now-pristine home, said the house, the yard, and the horse barn out back were “in dismal shape.” So he got to work gutting the house, then building it back up. That’s when things got interesting. “People who owned horses would drive by and ask about the barn out back,” Dan says. The work on the house was his primary concern, and he wasn’t yet sure whether the barn would stay a horse barn or become something altogether different. He told them, though, that if they wanted to rent a space and treat it as their own, he was fine with that.
Use them or lose them? Council to vote on restrictions; mayor says some businesses not putting them to proper use BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Dan and Tera McLain own and operate McLain Stables at 17380 Hickory Hills Road in Sterling. They bought the property while looking for a fixer-upper home, and the horse barn provided and unforeseen, fortuitous opportunity once boarders started asking about its availability for boarding. BELOW: The stables can board up to 12 horses, and still has room for one more boarder.
DIXON – The city will vote on new liquor licence restrictions Monday to make sure businesses holding one or more of its limited number of licenses are using them. The proposed restrictions say a business must be operational within 90 days of receiving a license, and it cannot close its doors for more than 30 days and keep its license without written approval. The city code allows a limit of 71 licenses split up into several categories, including restaurants, bars, groceries and other businesses. Mayor Li Arellano Jr., the city’s liquor commissioner, said a few categories are maxed out, and two licenses are going unused. “This will limit the ability to tie up liquor licenses,” he said, adding that he has had to turn down businesses that could use them. RESTRICTIONS continued on A24
DIXON SCHOOLS
Students’ new email accounts ‘just the tip of the iceberg’
RIDE continued on A54
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 CHeimerman_SVM
DIXON – Dixon High School students are getting district email addresses and an initial wave of software to make their lives easier during and after school. Microsoft 365 is about to become a learning experience for everyone at the school. “Our students are digital natives,” Assistant Principal Doug Stansford said. “They’ll figure it out faster than we can disseminate it to them.” That’s why the district is starting small, and why it has contracted a third party to monitor activity with computers and, when necessary, humans who work around the clock. EMAIL continued on A44
TOP5 Your Weekend
1
It’s a Lego block party
STERLING – Spots are still open for the 10 a.m. Lego club for kindergartners through fourth-graders Saturday at the Sterling Public Library, 102 W. Third St. The 11:30 a.m. club is full, but you can get on the waiting list, in case a spot opens up. Call 815-625-1370 or visit the children’s desk to register your kiddo for the free building challenges.
$1.00
TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 166 ISSUE 161
Santa Claus is comin’ to market
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DIXON – Santa will swing by the Dixon Winter Farmers Market on Saturday. The market will be open from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the lower level of Loveland Community House, 513 W. Second St. Kids can come by from 10 a.m. to noon and parents can take their own pictures. The Dixon High School madrigal singers will perform, too. Visit facebook.com/dixonwinterfarmersmarket or contact DWFM2015@gmail. com or 815-244-4451 for applications and more information.
INDEX
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Fiddling around in Dixon
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DIXON – Jay Vonn and Triple Threat, an American/ bluegrass band from Dixon, will open for Lillie Mae Rische (below), a fiddle player for Grammy Award-winner Jack White, on Saturday at Rosbrook Studio, 107 S. Peoria Ave. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8. Work by local artists will also be on display. Vendors will sell goods, face painting will be available, and Mama Cimino’s will sell food and drinks. Tickets are $6.
ABBY.................... A8 BUSINESS.......... A11 COMICS................B6
CROSSWORD.......B9 DAY TRIP.............. A7 LIFESTYLE............ A7
Rock out in Rock Falls
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ROCK FALLS – Dys Functional Gents will play from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. today at Whiskey Barrel Saloon, 305 W. Second St., while The Ryan Joe Trio will play from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at The Cooler, 311 W. Second St. Saturday night, Slick Trigger plays 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Whiskey Barrel, and Killbourn is on from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at The Cooler.
LOTTERY.............. A2 OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6
Stay inside, you holiday nut!
Got all your shopping done? Consider making some hot cocoa, baking some cookies and binging on holiday movies. As of 10 this morning, there will be a chance of snow until … well … Sunday. Sound frightful? The fire is so delightful, and there’s enough holiday programming to get all of us through this.
Today’s weather High 22. Low 19. More on A3.
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