TON-05-23-2014

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1 Front Volume 141 No. 13

Friday, May 23, 2014

The Tonica News

Single Copy Cost 50¢

EPA approves Tonica’s plans Village can go forward with wastewater project By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com

TONICA — The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the plan for Tonica’s proposed new water treatment plant. Village engineer Jack Kusek released the news during

a public hearing before the Tonica Village Board discussed the agreement. This allows the village to go forward with the project and start soliciting bids for the work. The estimated finish date for the plant is fall of 2015. In an earlier hearing, the board agreed to pur-

sue the option of filing for a Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP) grant in the amount of $350,000. The grant will be used to completely renovate a lift station which has had some mechanical problems for some time. The lift station was not included in

the wastewater treatment plant proposal, therefore making it eligible for the CDAP grant, according to North Central Illinois Council of Governments representative Kendall Cramer. In other action, the board: • Discussed the Bailey Creek situation. A dredging of the creek is the most

heavily congested areas is in the planning stages to remove the sediment that has gathered there. Board President Kevin Sluder again said he does not want the Army Corps of Engineers to get involved in the problem, a proposal put forward by LaSalle County. • Retained Eckels and Associates for auditing

purposes for the village. Village attorney Bob Steele told the board Hopkins and Associates — the previous auditors — did not send the results of last year’s audit until September last year. • Passed resolutions guaranteeing support and commitment of funds and

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Go to study hall! Lostant school to implement mandatory program By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com

LOSTANT — Lostant Grade School will enact a new policy next year aimed at helping students get their homework completed. Teachers proposed instituting an after-school study hall for students who come to school without completed homework. The action was taken at the school board meeting on May 19. Teachers will be able to assign the study hall to students who have not completed homework. The study hall would be mandatory to attend that afternoon for one hour. The first missed study hall would result in a one day out-of-school suspension with harsher penalties for future violations. The study hall would also be available for students who want more instructional time with teachers or extra study time of their own. The supervisor of the study hall will receive a stipend for the added duty. The position will be offered to teachers before being advertised out-of-house. In other action, the board: • Agreed to leasing a new copy machine for the school. The current machine was purchased only four years ago, but Superintendent Sandra Malahy told the board it’s “on its last legs.” The lease agreement includes

Study Hall Page 2 Vol. 141 No. 13 One Section - 12 Pages

© The Tonica News

Tonica News photo/Dixie Schroeder

Tonica Grade School seventh-grade students Emily Anderson (from left), Hayley Soria, Janelle Bernardoni and Josh Sensiba put the finishing touches on their decades project on the 1900s before presentation to their class on May 14.

Reliving the past TGS students research days gone by By Dixie Schroeder news@tonicanews.com

TONICA – History is being taught in a very unique way at Tonica Grade School this spring. Elizabeth Wiegers’ enrichment class is doing The Decades Project. Groups of students have been assigned a particular decade to learn about. Each group researched their assigned decade for four weeks. They found out information including how much food and gas cost. They learned who was

famous, what the customs were and who was president. Then they made a poster with a pictorial display demonstrating their research. The groups were encouraged on presentation day to dress as people would have done in their particular decade. They presented to the class. The students were allowed to pick the people in their group and were assigned the decade they researched. One group of students, Emily Anderson, Hayley Soria, Janelle Bernardoni and Josh Sensiba, worked on the 1900s decade. Along the way, they

learned some interesting things. “It was pretty surprising about how many things that were popular then that are still popular and in use today,” Sensiba said.”Popsicles were invented back then, and they are still one of the most popular sugary foods there is today.” “I was surprised that mechanical pencils were made back then. They, however, were bigger back then,” Bernardoni said. “Crayons surprised me,” Soria said. “I’m not an artist, but that was cool.” “The big earthquake that happened was interesting. It caused a three-day fire,” Anderson said.

“They still had the Richter scale, but it took a long time to put out the fire.” Learning about the great earthquake in San Francisco gave the group opportunities to learn about other things which happened in the decade they researched. It was a cause and effect learning situation. “The fire was very devastating. Many people were killed, and most of them were not expecting it,” Sensiba said. The earlier decades were harder for the students to find out information about according to

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