Issuu

Volume 143 No. 15

Friday, March 17, 2017

Single Copy Cost 50¢

‘My last official meeting as mayor’ Hartenbower bids village board farewell By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com

LOSTANT — With village officials transitioning to and from positions, there are expected to be a couple of vacancies on the Lostant Village Board. One major shift comes from the mayoral position with current Mayor Fred Hartenbower not seeking re-election. Trustee Jack Immel, instead, is running for the position, which is an expected source for

opening on the board. “As everyone knows, I’m not running again for mayor, so this is my last official meeting as mayor,” Hartenbower said at the meeting Monday night. “I want to thank everyone who’s served on the board with me.” “I’ve got 10 years in as mayor, and I think close to 15 as a trustee,” Hartenbower said, recounting his service to the village, mentioning another six years he served on the school

board. In other business at the meeting, Lostant has an opportunity to replace its current tractor with a newer mower, but allocated funds could hinder the purchase. Leland Decker informed the village board of a Hustler lawnmower which is set to be put up for sale, but which has been offered to the village first. Decker said the village currently uses a tractor with a snowblower and a blade, but the

deck is in bad shape. With the condition of the current tractor, it was suggested this new mower might be a good investment, especially since it has been described as being in good condition and taken care of in a good fashion. “We’re going to have to do something about a lawn mower pretty soon,” Trustee Jack Immel said. “It looks like this came along before we need it, but we know we’re going to need to do something.” Despite the timing, giving the village an open

project, the bid includes plaster and labor, but not paint. “Village supplies paint,” village treasurer Ray Brierley clarified. Brierley has looked into the issue of paint and has determined prices on epoxy paint and has worked on an estimate of how much the village might need for the project. The potential project had previously been discussed, with note the wall is crumbling. “It’s getting in bad shape,” Leland Decker said of the wall.

opportunity to buy a mower before the need arises, the board could not move on the offer at this time. It was discussed the village will consider the option, but it needs to determine how much money is allocated to such purchases. Also, the old brick wall in Lostant’s water plant will be seeing some much-needed maintenance. The village has received a bid of $800 to work on the wall with plastering and painting. While painting is included in the

Cell phone tax $$$ By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com

LOSTANT — The numbers are still unknown, but plans are already in motion for Lostant’s new cell phone tax money. Money from Lostant’s new cell phone tax is set to be allocated to different projects to benefit the town, once it starts rolling in. “We still have actually no idea what kind of money we’ll be acquiring from the village through the cell phone tax, but whatever we get from that, I’d like to allocate to certain projects,” Trustee Jack Immel said. Normally, new money might find its way into the general fund, but Immel finds this a less than satisfactory option. “I don’t want new taxes going into the general fund because once it’s in the general fund, we never see it again,” he said. The allocations would be set aside in a savings account, rather than checking, where they could be stored up until use. “I don’t think we need an entirely separate checking account,” Immel said. “I just want to have it more of a savings account, so that when we pay stuff off, we can throw it into checking.” One immediate need facing the village, for which Immel suggests the money could be set aside, is the flooding on the east side. Beyond that, there are other situations which could use funding. “Some of our equipment isn’t so great,” Immel said, noting others have expressed the same observation. After the flooding is resolved, equipment could be something the village looks at for which to save these funds. The board agreed to set aside these funds in a new savings account, to be allocated for certain projects. Vol. 143 No. 15 One Section - 8 Pages

Tonica News photo/Dave Cook

The wide space and high, vaulted ceilings gives Mark Fitzgerald plenty of room to practice his aerial maneuvers in Lostant’s gymnasium. For the past eight years, remote control pilots have been using the gym during the winter months.

Cleared for take-off Lostant gymnasium provides perfect flying conditions By Dave Cook

news@tonicanews.com

LOSTANT — With a sky covered in storm clouds and the wind increasing in strength, it was weather that would ground conventional aircraft. However, there was a small area of Lostant where flying conditions were ideal — the gymnasium of Lostant Elementary. For the past eight years, the Lostant Flyers have gathered in the gym on Mon-

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day evenings from November to March, when there’s no activities, in order to stay airborne through the winter. Each pilot makes a $3 donation to the school for their air time. Brian Burcar, owner of Leonore’s Dynamic Balsa, said in the past, the school has used the profits from the flights to purchase things such as cheerleading uniforms. Dynamic Balsa, a small business for all things remote control, also happens to be

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