Volume 144 No. 8
Friday, January 26, 2018
Single Copy Cost 50¢
LASALLE
Shared police services in the works LaSalle, Peru, Oglesby, Spring Valley involved in ‘unprecedented, historic’ initiative BY DAVE COOK news@tonicanews.com LASALLE — Organizations everywhere have been forced to realize that working together and sharing limited resources is a benefit that can’t be overlooked. The mayors and police chiefs of Spring Valley, Peru, LaSalle and Oglesby announced Jan. 18 they’re moving forward with plans to share certain aspects of their law enforcement services. With the mayors calling it an “unprecedented and historic move,” the press conference was the official
announcement that the successfully quiet discussions that have taken place between the four mayors and their police chiefs and city councils will now be moving forward publicly to further develop their plans. “Nothing like this has been done before, especially between four different cities in two counties,” LaSalle Mayor Jeff Grove said. Peru Mayor Scott Harl said the idea began to develop when his city began discussing the construction of a new police headquarters for its department. He said officials realized it would be a benefit to all the surrounding communities if they
were able to share a newly constructed facility. The cities have already consolidated their dispatching services with the Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch Center based in Peru. The shared dispatch went live in 2016 after being planned since 2010. In a meeting with officers prior to the press conference, Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei assured officers from all departments this wouldn’t threaten either their jobs or their pensions. “This won’t result in less officers Tonica News photo/Dave Cook on the street. This isn’t a layoff sce- Spring Valley Mayor Walt Marini joined the mayors and police nario, and it will have no bearing on chiefs of LaSalle, Peru and Oglesby, along with Spring Valley pensions,” Bernabei said. Police Chief Kevin Sangston, to announce Jan. 18 that they intend “We all have the same needs. This
See POLICE, Page 3
Strikes, splits and gutter balls
to move forward with discussions to plan a joint police headquarters. This would allow the four cities to benefit from significant savings as well as share training and equipment costs.
TONICA
Burst boiler pipe prompts repairs 16-foot section was slated to be replaced in the summer BY ZACHARY J. PRATT news@tonicanews.com
Tonica News photo/Dave Cook
Tonica Grade School 8th-grader Gavin Wolfe was one of the many students who enjoyed the school’s physical education field trip to Peru’s Illinois Valley Super Bowl on Jan. 19. According to teacher Nick Heuser, the use of the lanes for more than 60 students was provided by the bowling alley, and the trip was additionally funded by the student council and the Parent Teacher Council.
TONICA — Even items scheduled for replacement in the near future can be in need of immediate repair, as evidenced by recent work at Tonica Grade School. Despite being scheduled for replacement this summer, a 16-foot section of pipe saw need for immediate repair after bursting underneath the main hallway. The pipe is included in the district’s summer health and life safety work that was approved by the Illinois State Board of Education. Principal-Superintendent Chuck Schneider explained that the pipe is part of a network for all piping in the heating system, for which there are two pipes: one that provides heating, and one that returns water to the boilers. Because the returning water corrodes the piping faster than the outgoing water, those pipes in question have reached the end of their useful life and are due for replacement. In other discussion, the district’s four certificates of deposit at Illini State Bank were voted for renewal for two years at a new rate of 1.24 percent.
OGLESBY
IVCC trustees buy new academic planning tool OGLESBY — The Illinois Valley Community College Board approved the purchase of a webbased academic planning tool for students Jan. 11 — an acquisition made possible, in part, by a gift from IVCC alumnae Wil-
Vol. 144 No. 8 One Section - 8 Pages
liam and Dian Taylor of Winnetka. A $12,500 donation from the Taylors will help to buy a web-based College Student Planning module that will eventually replace Webadvisor. The $41,057 Ellucian program
helps students and advisers define the courses and requirements they need to stay on track toward graduation. “Ellucian has not announced an end-of-life date for Webadvisor yet, but they have indicated
their plan to replace it with Student Planning in the future. Implementing this now will give us a head start on the process,” IVCC President Jerry Corcoran said. Of the Taylors, Corcoran said, “Bill and Dian are
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among our most generous benefactors, and without their donation, this purchase may have stayed on the wish list for another year or two.” The Taylors, who attended LPO Junior College in the 1960s, fund numerous
scholarships for students at IVCC and Northern Illinois University and have contributed $150,000 to IVCC fundraising campaigns. In other business, the
See IVCC, Page 2
since 1968
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