1 Front
Volume 142 No. 45
Friday, October 14, 2016
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Not chickening out on ordinance Lostant Village Board stands by its farm animal ordinance By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — A group of chickens is in Lostant, but a village ordinance says they shouldn’t be. “We’ve still got chickens,” trustee Ray Brierley told the Lostant Village Board at its meeting Monday, Oct. 10. Lostant Police Chief Darin
Crask said the residents who own the chickens were instructed to speak with the board. Trustee Dave Mertes said the owners had contacted the board. “They sent a two-page letter,” he said. “They want to keep them as pets. It’s very well written.” According to a village ordinance, however, farm animals are not allowed in Lostant.
“You can’t have any farm animals in town,” Crask said but explained the individuals had been directed to the board because of a similar lawsuit in Ransom, which that village had lost. “Ransom lost the court case because they passed it after they (the chickens) were already there,” trustee Jack Immel said, noting Lostant already had the ordinance in place before the
chickens were around. With an ordinance already in place, the board decided it had to be enforced. In other news, flooding issues continue to swamp Lostant. Immel said he hopes a solution to the flooding problems might soon be found. He said Lostant is in communication with Illinois Valley Excavating to determine a method through which the village
might alleviate the flooding problems on the east side of town. “We do have a problem there,” Immel said. “We’re hoping within the next week, he will have a bid on what we can do. We’re going to hope for a decent bid on that, and maybe we’ll even be able to do something yet this fall,” Immel said.
Animals Page 3
Lostant ordinance is lacking Board looks at problem vehicle
By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
farmers harvest according to seed moisture, the stems can make for a more challenging harvest. Although postponing harvest until the stem turns may increase harvesting efficiency, it can result in reduced yields due to lower seed moisture and a higher possibility for shatter.
LOSTANT — The village of Lostant might have to take a look at its ordinances, as prompted by a vehicle which the owner moves just enough to stay within the guidelines of the village ordinance. At the Oct. 10 Lostant Village Board meeting, trustee Ray Brierley brought to the board’s attention a particular vehicle which has been sitting six months on city property. “It can only sit there 10 hours if it’s abandoned,” Brierley said. “The officer visited them, and they moved it,” trustee Andy Forrest said. “They moved it 10 feet,” Lostant Police Chief Darin Crask specified, noting this technically falls under the requirements. “As long as they’re moving it, there’s nothing we can do.” When the question came up as to how the vehicle is being moved, Crask explained that it does not really matter, just so long as the vehicle has been moved and is, thus, not abandoned. “They can push it. I don’t know how they’re moving it, but they can push it,” he said. However, Brierley thinks the situation does not make sense. “The ordinance is worthless if they can just move it 5 feet, 10 feet, repeatedly,” he said. The board determined the ordinance does not do all they want it to accomplish. “If you can find an ordinance from a different town, that makes sense, we can incorporate it,” Village President Fred Hartenbower said.
Harvest Page 3
Ordinance Page 2
Tonica News photo/Mike Vaughn
The nearly ideal growing conditions of the 2016 season have allowed farmers to harvest with projected high yields. However, commodity prices are expected to decrease, meaning 2017 may be an economically-challenging year.
How’s the harvest?
2017 predicted to be challenging OGLESBY — As combines move through the harvest, Russ Higgins, commercial agriculture educator with the University of Illinois Extension, com- Russ Higgins mented on what this past growing season was like Vol. 142 No. 45 One Section - 8 Pages
for local farmers. He also gave his predictions for 2017. “We had almost perfect, timely and sufficient moisture, sunshine and warmth,” Higgins said of this year’s growing conditions. He added there was limited insect and disease throughout the state, resulting in a “probable record corn and soybean crop.”
Higgins said the harvest in Northern Illinois had sporadic interruptions due to rain, and reports showed much of the corn coming out in the 19-22 percent moisture range, saving farmers some drying costs. Some soybean crops have exhibited green stem syndrome, which is a condition where the pods and seeds mature, but the stem remains green. When
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