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Soup: January’s OFFENSE AND DEFENSE ADD UP TO A WIN FOR DIXON comfort food GIRLS BASKETBALL, B1
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Wednesday, January 18, 2017 n SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
DIXON | MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
The clock is ticking for airport Spend money, lose money, or risk having to pay back money? Council faces tough choices BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
DIXON – The Dixon Municipal Airport is in a holding pattern on what direction to take, but the city will need to decide soon whether it will be able to continue to receive federal funding.
The airport is part of a Federal Aviation Administration grant program that provides $150,000 a year toward improvement projects, but City Manager Cole O’Donnell said the airport could lose its spot if it doesn’t move forward with any work. Airports need to undergo an improvement project at least once every 3 years
to keep the entitlement funds rolling, and if the airport is booted out of the program, he said it might not be able to get back in. “Because we have not used that grant program for the last several years, basically we’ve been put on notice that if we don’t do a project this year, we’ll be taken out of the program, so the money
is lost forever,” O’Donnell said Tuesday. Moving forward with the improvements is up to the City Council, which has been hesitant to act, given the 20-year obligation the funds carry. If the airport closed before the 20 years, the city would be responsible for paying back a portion of those funds. AIRPORT continued on A34
LEE COUNTY
SAUK VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Sheriff: We need to make our case
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store Sauk’s west mall has been transformed into a one-stop shop for just about everything a student would need, from a cup of coffee to college testing
Simonton tells board communication with constituents is key in winning support for jail BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Betsy Thrasher, manager of the Sauk Valley Community College bookstore, talks about the expanded space and offerings. Because of the expansion, she said the store will feature a wider selection of merchandise. BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 CHeimerman_SVM
Christine Hoyle shows some of the pieces of equipment at the new Y – including Cybex’s Bravo Pull strengthtraining system.
DIXON – It’s no longer your dad’s west mall at Sauk Valley Community College. Across the way from the $1.9 million Student Services Center that opened in November 2015 is a brandnew YMCA, as well as a new testing center, business offices and two new classroom spaces. The latest renovation, which began this summer and wrapped up on schedule, cost a little less than $1.2 million, more than $1 million of which came from the Public Health and Safety Levy. The remaining $130,000 or so came from leftovers from bonds sold in 2014 for the Student Services Center Project. SAUK continued on A34
Ribbon-cutting Sauk Valley Community College, 173 state Route 2 in Dixon, will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Monday in front of the recently opened Sauk YMCA – one of several new spaces that will be christened during the event. Expected to attend are Skip Lee, Bill Wescott and Li Arellano Jr., mayors of Sterling, Rock Falls, and Dixon, respectively, as well as state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon. The event will open with a scavenger hunt, during which staff will show attendees the highlights of the new spaces. Contact Dana Chacon at dana.j.chacon@svcc.edu or 815-8356303, ext. 303 for more information.
ROCK FALLS
City leaders peer into a crystal ball Bright future predicted for riverfront, interstate areas BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
ROCK FALLS – The city’s economic development consultants were in
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town Tuesday to present results of a study undertaken to forecast its retail future. Owasso, Oklahoma-based Retail Attractions was hired last April to help attract retailers to the city, especially its interstate and riverfront properties. Adam Chandler, a development partner at the firm, gave an overview of the retail impact study during the Rock Falls
INDEX
ABBY.................... A8 COMICS.............. A12 CROSSWORD.....B13
City Council session. Chandler said the results give the city a starting point for determining its retail future and how it will spill over into other facets of the community. “This breaks down the town into several regions and provides an educated guess as to where it will be in the next 5 to 20 years,” Chandler said. FUTURE continued on A34
LIFESTYLE............ A8 LOTTERY.............. A2 MONEY..........A13-14
OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6 POLICE................. A2
DIXON – Lee County Board members got a first glimpse of what a new jail would look like Tuesday. Last month, the board approved a referendum asking voters for a one-half percent sales tax to fund a new jail, which would be attached to the south side of the Lee County Courts Building, 309 S. Galena Ave. If it passes April 4, the measure will mean consumers will pay an extra 50 cents per $100 purchase, excluding items such as groceries, medications, medical appliances and John vehicles. Simonton The cost of a new jail likely will run $15 million to $17 million, and the sales tax increase would bring in about $1.1 million a year. Lee County Sheriff John Simonton told board members the best way they can help make the new jail a reality is by speaking with constituents about the need for the project. He also gathered their feedback on a list of frequently asked questions about the referendum and presented early designs for the building. The addition would take up most of the parking lot and include the jail, sheriff’s department and coroner’s office. The current jail would be demolished and converted into a parking lot. Plans also include an underground parking lot for court officers, judges and staff, and the sally port could accommodate vehicles for the coroner’s office, Simonton said.
Today’s weather High 44. Low 29. More on A3.
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JAIL continued on A54
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