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Volume 141 No. 21
Friday, July 18, 2014
The Tonica News
Single Copy Cost 50¢
Concert for a Cause a huge success Malahy: It’s money we don’t have to scrounge for By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com PERU — The Concert for a Cause at the Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru on July 13 benefitting Lostant Grade School (LGS) was a huge
success according to Lostant Superintendent Sandra Malahy. “We had a great time,” Malahy said. “The crowd was wonderful.” Merry Noonan of Lou’s LaGrotto named LGS the beneficiary of the first of this year’s annual Con-
certs for a Cause, with part of the proceeds going toward reading materials for the students. While Malahy doesn’t know how much the school will receive after expenses, there was a lot of money in the pot. “At the end of the day, I was told we had presold about 2,000 tickets. We had another 400 at the door, so we had roughly
2,400 people at the concert,” Malahy said. The country music concert grossed more than $80,000 according to Malahy’s figures, with attendees from throughout Northern Illinois. “As far as the money goes, here’s the way I feel,” Malahy said. “Whether it’s $50, or $500 or $5,000, it’s still money that we didn’t have before. It’s money
we don’t have to scrounge for.” Nearly half of the students served by Lostant Grade School are at or below the poverty level. The books purchased with the proceeds will be novels and chapter books that entertain and might encourage students to read more often. “We got really good support from the communi-
ty,” Malahy said. “There was no shortage of volunteers. They really got behind us. “I’m very grateful to everyone for their support,” Malahy said. “I can’t say enough about Merry and what this means for the school and our community.”
Water floats to the top of Lostant agenda By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — There was water on the minds of the Lostant Village Board members at its July 16 meeting. Most of the items on the board agenda addressed various water issues. The board passed a resolution regarding its Community Development Assistance Program grant. Water and Sewer Department Supervisor Dave Mertes told the board it was a required step for the CDAP grant.
“It authorizes signature authority for the community CDAP grant, letting the North Central Illinois Council of Governments write the checks for the project,” Mertes said. The CDAP grant is for the purpose of drilling a second water well for the village, something the board was directed to do by the Environmental Protection Agency. The board also agreed to direct the village attorney to draft a resolution that would bar residents from digging new water wells or
Lostant Page 3
Bullying targeted in Illinois schools Suarez likes the accountability By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
The issue of school bullying is being addressed by Illinois officials. A bill has been signed by Gov. Pat Quinn which will crack down on bullying in any state school or classroom. House Bill 5707 requires all public schools to create and apply an anti-bullying policy. The new law directs schools to include a definition of bullying and implement rules for the reporting of bullying. The school policy must include a parental notification Vol. 141 No. 21 One Section - 8 Pages
aspect. The policy must also specify how a claim of bullying is investigated and list actions that would be taken by the school if the alleged claim is then shown to be true. Both Lostant Grade School and Tonica Grade School have provisions in their school literature which deals with the issues of bullying. Lostant Grade School’s mission statement says, “Our mission is to provide a safe teaching and learning environment where all students are given the
Bullying Page 4
Tonica News photo/Ken Schroeder
Taking home the ribbon Claire Stillwell of the Bailey Creek Kids 4-H Club in Tonica holds her Rhode Island Red. Stillwell’s pullet took second place in its division at the LaSalle County 4-H Fair in Ottawa, where dozens of 4-Hers gathered to show their projects which they have been working on throughout the year. Several activities, learning opportunities and other fun events were planned for the 4-H members. See more photos on Page 2.
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