1 Front
Volume 141 No. 29
Friday, June 26, 2015
Single Copy Cost 50¢
Personnel on TGS’ agenda School board makes hiring decisions By Becky Kramer news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — Interim Superintendent Dr. Lawrence Carlton presided over his first official meeting as superintendent of the Tonica Grade School.
The meeting was held Wednesday, June 17. The Tonica Grade School Board made many decisions regarding employment of personnel during the meeting. The autism program will be seeing some new faces during the upcoming school year. Two new teachers will be hired to fill the open positions. The first position will be filled by Elisa Dolan. Dolan was also hired to
coach volleyball and softball. Board member Kim Goodbred made the motion to hire a second teacher, but that motion did not receive a second. Goodbred also made the motion to hire the same person for the extended school year position, and that motion also died for lack of a second. Nick Heuser was hired for summer maintenance at a rate of $12 an hour,
and Tom Haynes was also hired for summer maintenance on an as-needed basis. Betsy Patyk was hired for summer school tutoring of a student who missed several months of school. Patyk was approved to work 56 hours this summer at a rate of $22 an hour. The board approved technology coordinator Rob Polacek’s extended contract.
Kayli O’Flanagan was hired as girl’s basketball coach. The secretary and bookkeeper salaries and contracts were approved. Secretary Monica Kreiser will be full time with a 55-cent an hour raise and bookkeeper Cassie Graham will also receive a 55-cent raise. Carlton explained to the board they will be hiring a second co-head teacher. Newly-hired Principal
Duane Schupp will be instrumental in the decision making process once he officially begins his job on July 1. Two teachers have applied for the position. There will be a special board meeting held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 1. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 15. Both meetings will take place in the school’s media center.
Reading scores up at LGS By Becky Kramer news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — Lostant Grade School Superintendent Sandra Malahy provided the Lostant School Board with the end of the year AIMSweb data at the Wednesday, June 17, Lostant Grade School Board meeting. “Students did extremely well in reading this year,” Malahy said. Malahy credits the new reading program for kindergarten to second grade for the increase in the scores, as well as an afterschool study hall for students in higher grades. AIMSweb tests students in early literacy skills and/ or reading fluency three times a year. The scores in math slipped slightly this year, as the emphasis was placed in literacy. Students at Lostant Grade School received a thank you note from Hiawatha School. The students, staff and community of Lostant raised $340 for Hiawatha School after a tornado ravaged the homes of many students that live in the district. Malahy thanked board member Dianna Ioerger for working all day at the silent auction and also Doug Miller for volunteering for several hours during the auction. Malahy also thanked on the behalf of her staff, all
LGS Page 2 Vol. 141 No. 29 One Section - 12 Pages
© The Tonica News
Tonica News photo/Dave Cook
No lack of water options No one in the area will dispute we’ve had a lot of rain recently. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island district, as of June 23, the water at the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center near Starved Rock is 15.78 feet higher than usual. There were no figures available for how much water is currently flowing through the dam.
‘Hey, watch this ...’ Staying safe on the Fourth of July By Dave Cook
news@tonicanews.com
PRINCETON — Summer is here, and the Fourth of July is the crowning jewel of the season, summer’s peak. It’s a holiday that seemingly everyone participates in; it’s the nation’s birthday party.
Instead of a birthday cake, however, it’s fireworks which are most closely associated with this celebration. But ... a handful of fireworks is considerably more risky than a handful of birthday cake. Fireworks have a long history throughout the world. China is credited with the invention of the basic idea, and much of the core chemical structure and also their subsequent development related to warfare. It was in Italy, though, and
later, the rest of Europe, where they were refined into what we would now recognize as modern fireworks. Although, one thing which has never changed is they are explosives, and therefore, highly dangerous. There are some, such as Illinois State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet), who would like to make the purchase of Class C fireworks within the state legal. “Virtually every state around us is selling fire-
works, and our people are buying fireworks; we’re losing out on that income, on the sales tax income and the jobs created,” Rose said during an interview last summer. The Illinois Fire Safety Alliance has taken the opposing view, stating, “States which have legalized Class C fireworks have seen a 400 percent increase in injuries,” Fireworks remain illegal, and violation of the Fireworks Use Act carries a penalty of up to a year in
jail and a $2,500 fine. There are several towns in the area, as well as across the nation, that all spend considerable money to hire federally licensed professionals to put on spectacular, orchestrated fireworks displays for the public to enjoy. In the case of a mishap during a professional show, there are always professional firefighters present. “Every year we have an
Fireworks Page 3