TON-02-28-2014

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1 Front Volume 141 No. 1

Friday, February 28, 2014

The Tonica News

Single Copy Cost 50¢

Tonica seeks flooding solutions By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com

TONICA – A busy agenda led to a three-hour meeting for the Tonica Village Board on Feb. 24, with flooding problems and solutions leading the evening.

Resident Art Foltynewicz brought highlights of the county meeting initiated by Sen. Sue Rezin held on Feb. 12. The meeting was centered on creating a countywide plan for dealing with flooding emergencies, such as those created

by the April 2013 rains. Among the topics discussed at Rezin’s meeting were ways to apply for grants to help in flood remediation. “We need to make preparations, and if I could get the board’s blessing, I’m pretty sure I can

procure funds and the money to do so,” Foltynewicz said. “We would not have to match (funds) at this point. Nobody says that’s going to change six months down the road.” “There’s one point that I’m concerned about. What they want to do is

take each town and give it a point system rating,” board President Kevin Sluder said. “It’s meant to get different ratings for flood insurance. My question is what’s that going to cost us? Nothing happens for free.” The Army Corps of

Engineers has volunteered to assist any community who asks for assistance, which met with resistance from the board. “If the Army Corps of Engineers shows up from

See Flooding Page 4

Communication upgrade Parents can send messages to superintendent, board By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com

LOSTANT — Parents of Lostant Grade School students will soon have a new way to bring concerns and questions to the school board. The school approved at its Feb. 19 meeting adding a computer address which will send the messages confidentially to the superintendent, individual school board members or the board as a whole. “The parents’ link will allow parents to make suggestions and comments directly to me or anyone on the board,” Superintendent Sandra Malahy said. “There won’t be any direct feedback, but this is one more way we’re trying to improve communication with parents and the board.” Although messages are confidential, they will not be anonymous. The program will require the sender to list a name in their message, although email addresses are optional. The school board also agreed to purchase a new server for the school using a grant for $3,500. The server will be quicker and larger than the current one and will aid in the upcoming connection to iFiber. “The equipment for iFiber is all hooked up, and we’re ready when they push the button,” Malahy said. “We believe this will provide the best service possible for our students and staff.”

See Upgrade Page 4 Vol. 141 No. 1 One Section - 8 Pages

Tonica News photo/Dixie Schroeder

Isabel Bangert explains her hypothesis of “Does Gender affect I.B.?” as Madison Freeman watches with other students at the annual Tonica Grade School Science Fair on Feb. 21.

TGS hosts annual Science Fair By Dixie Schroeder news@tonicanews.com

TONICA — The annual Tonica Grade School Science Fair was held Feb. 21 in the Tonica gym. Seventh- and eighth-graders have been working on their individual projects since last fall. First-year science teacher Elizabeth Wiegers has been pretty impressed with her students.

“I think it is a great experience for the kids; they have learned so much,” said Wiegers. “They have worked so hard. They should be so proud of what they have accomplished. It is wonderful.” The students are taught the traditional scientific method to investigate an idea that they come up with for presentation. They first ask a question, and then do some

background research. After becoming informed, they construct a hypothesis. The next step or steps is testing the hypothesis by doing experiments. After gathering date for these experiments, they analyze the data they have collected and then draw a conclusion. The final step is to communicate the results they have found. This is done by putting together a three-

Inside More photos from the Tonica Grade School Science Fair See Page 2

© The Tonica News

sided display and practice explaining the process just described. Once the process is started in the classroom, the students have due dates to achieve goals by for part of their science grades. At first it was a weekly event, but in the last month, it was almost a daily occurrence, said Wiegers.

See Science Fair Page 4


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