1 Front Volume 141 No. 34
Friday, October 24, 2014
Single Copy Cost 50¢
Hog factory still on hold for now By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
WENONA — The proposed hog factory farm facility planned for Wenona is still in limbo. VMC Management of Iowa continues to push for the Sandy Creek LLC facility, which would house an estimated 20,000 hogs while contributing up to 20 jobs for the area. Many local residents are overwhelmingly opposed
to the hog farm, citing damage to local roads and businesses and possibly irreparable impact on the aquifer which provides water to most area residents. The Illinois Department of Agriculture has yet to approve the project since VMC has not yet addressed concerns the facility does not meet Illinois environmental standards. That is a situation that may have changed. “We sent an e-mail to
Red ink mars Tonica audit By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — The audit was clean, but the financial prospects are dim. That was the news delivered to the Tonica Village Board at its meeting Oct. 20 by auditor Carrie Echols of Echols and Associates. “In your independent auditor’s report, I’ve given you a clean, unqualified opinion on the financial statements that are presented here,” Echols said. “Your figures match up with your bank statements.” However, while the numbers match, the numbers do not tell a happy story. “This statement is set up to show you the burden on the tax revenue on the village itself, that burden being negative $730,000,” Echols said. “That’s the burden to be funded by your property tax revenues, income tax revenue and replacement tax which are $568,150 for this past year.” Echols said the big difference in village revenue was a substantial drop in property taxes collected. She added one of the main components of the village’s burden is the water and sewer fund, which operates in the red. “I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Your water and sewer fund is really at a deficit,” Echols said. “It’s $120,000 in the red. The reality of it is it’s going to take $300,000 a year to operate the water and sewer plant, and at the rates you have right now, you’re bringing in Vol. 141 No. 34 One Section - 8 Pages
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$225,000. Each year, you’re going to be running in a deficit.” “So we’d have to increase the rate by $30 a month?” board member Dennis Ford said. “It’s going to be more than that,” village President Kevin Sluder said. “The way we were looking at numbers, if we want to stay even, it was $60 a month for a town this size at a bare minimum. We need to get something into town to generate some sales tax, and it’s not happening anytime soon. We know that. But we were mandated by the EPA to build a new plant. Our only godsend is going to hopefully be they extend the loan for 30 years with zero percent interest; and we dump a boatload of our TIF money on it; and we get a lucky miracle and someone says they can build the plant for less than was quoted.” Echols made several suggestions concerning the operation of finances in the village, including more separation of duties among village personnel in order to aid in accountability. Sluder told Echols that was something the village couldn’t do. “We are small, and I don’t want to put any more weight on our staff than we already have,” Sluder said. “I understand what you’re saying, but it just isn’t practical.” In other action, the board: • Heard requests from Lowell Beenenga and Vicki Trumpinski concerning
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the company on Oct. 8,” Illinois Department of Agriculture Environmental program manager Brad Beaver said. “We received a response on the 14th, but we have yet to act upon it. The case is under review.” Beaver said if the outstanding questions are satisfactorily answered, the department will issue a permit. In the meantime, VMC is also pressuring local authorities to allow the
facility’s construction. Last month, the developers threatened Marshall-Putnam County Engineer Patrick Sloan with a lawsuit, claiming he falsely filed a negative review of a road plan that is integral to the factory farm’s construction. Sloan reported the main road for the facility was not rated high enough to support the weight of the trucks expected on the road, and the $1,400 annual impact fee from the company was
insufficient for road maintenance. The road in question — County Road 2800 East — is rated at 72,000 pounds from May to January and 42,400 pounds from February to April. Trucks using the road are expected to carry 80,000pound loads. The developers of Sandy Creek LLC claim Sloan’s report is unfounded, and he is personally using his position to block the construction of the hog facility.
Even if approved, the factory farm faces resistance from local residents and government officials. In May, the Marshall County Board voted 14 to 1 against recommending site approval to the IDA, citing negative impact on the surrounding environment, residents and businesses. The proposed site for the hog facility is in northwest Marshall County within a few miles of both LaSalle and Putnam counties.
Good behavior has its rewards As part of a rewards assembly at Tonica Grade School last week, the students, all participants in the TGS Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Program, earned chances from their good behavior to duct tape five TGS teachers/administrators to the gym walls at an all-school assembly. Including in the taping were Superintendent/Principal John Suarez (right) and music teacher Joel Studebaker (below). Tonica News photos/Dixie Schroeder
What is PBIS? PBIS is a proactive systems approach to preventing and responding to classroom and school discipline problems. Emphasis is directed toward developing and maintaining safe learning environments where teachers can teach and students can learn.
The price of a hot lunch? TGS program loses almost $3 a day per student By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — Faced with more than $100,000 in red ink this fiscal year and the possibility of losing more state funding due to
pending state legislation, Tonica Grade School is eyeing ways to cut future expenses, and a major overhaul of the school lunch program was under the microscope at the school board meeting on Oct. 15. The program has
operated in the red for some time. The board had asked what it would take to break even on providing meals for students. “The state took $6,000 away from my budget this year,” kitchen manager Michelle Carmean said. “We would have to charge $2.55 for breakfast and $2.90 for lunch. That’s an increase of $1.25 for breakfast and $1.65 for
Spooks haunt this house in Lostant. See Page 2.
lunch.” The price for breakfast was raised at the beginning of the year to $1.30, the first increase in seven years. Lunch prices were raised the previous year. Lower state funding and additional requirements for nutrition standards have increased the gap between cost and price.
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