1 Front Volume 142 No. 51
Friday, November 25, 2016
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When one’s water won’t turn on ... Tonica cracks down on delinquent bills By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — Water shutoffs were a topic of discussion in Tonica, for those bills that go unpaid and especially for those residences which lack tenants. The board reviewed the issue at its meeting Monday, Nov. 21. “Water bills went out last week, and we had a crackdown,” village clerk Heather Sherman said. “There were three to four renters that weren’t paying,
and we shut their water off,” she continued. “And then my phone was ringing.” The water shutoffs were a point of interest for the Tonica Village Board, as they discussed the importance of trying to shut off water automatically when tenants leave. “My biggest concern is that there’s a couple of people who have left town, and they don’t have people yet,” Village President Kevin Sluder said, indicating residences in which nobody lives.
The situation could cause problems for the village if the water lines remain running, and the landlords do not maintain heat over the winter. “If they don’t turn on the heat, a pipe freezes and blows, we could be liable,” Sluder said. “As long as we turn the water off, we can’t have any pipes blowing up.” The main problem with the plan is that the village does not always know when this water needs shut off. “Sometimes they just up
and leave, and we don’t know about it,” Sluder said.
Sewer plant
Tonica’s sewer plant project is advancing better than expected, according to village engineer Jack Kusek. He has reason to be optimistic of the project, as the weather has allowed the workers to progress beyond expectations. “At this point, they’re probably about a month ahead of schedule,” Kusek said. “Mother Nature has been kind,” Sluder added.
Kusek agreed, with a caveat: “Mother Nature has been kind, and they’re really kicking butt.” With winter looking to swoop in, this advanced stage of work should be beneficial for the village and the project. A new phase of construction is about to begin, and Kusek believes it to be largely immune to the weather’s potential effects. “The weather is not going to slow them down too much regarding those,” Kusek said. “Unless it gets really frigidly cold, I expect they’ll still be working out
By Zachary J. Pratt news@tonicanews.com
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news@tonicanews.com
Summer school
For anyone who sees summer school as punishment, Lostant disagrees. The summer school program at Lostant was a success with 33 students electing to participate. “We didn’t think we would have anybody. And then we had so many,” Melissa Einhaus, a teacher at the school, said. “We
Lostant School Page 2
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Tonica’s map of the water system is well underway, as all the disparate elements have been located, Kusek told the board. In fact, the work went so well additional features were added to the map. The village invested a lot of time into the project, locating every feature of the water system, as noted by Marc Lemrise. “A lot of time went into
By Zachary J. Pratt
LOSTANT — Lostant Community School’s recent purchase of a salad bar has seen success at lunch. The Lostant School Board heard an update at its meeting Monday, Nov. 21. “We have been serving between 31-37 daily, salad bar,” the school cook Carol Spangler said of the students who are choosing this option. “For the kids, we put their lettuce on the plate,” she said. “They go through and put whatever they want on it.” The salad bar offers many options with which to top the lettuce. “Cottage cheese and egg, that’s considered your protein,” Spangler said. “Cottage cheese goes very well in this school. I was surprised.” While the initial period of operation might have been a little unsteady, Spangler said the children now eat it all. “The first couple days, they might have thrown half of it away because they weren’t sure,” she said. “Since they’ve figured that out, it’s worked very well.” The students even try new foods and combinations with their salad. Spangler noted students taking radishes and commenting that they had never had it before. Appreciation of the salad bar is offered from outside the school as well. A health department representative who recently preformed an inspection had kind things to say about the initiative. “She said we’re very lucky to have a salad bar because she doesn’t see very many K-8 that have one,” Spangler said. “She says the kids should feel special for it.” “I think it was a good investment for the school all around,” Spangler said.
One Section - 8 Pages
Water map
Keying in on security
Salads, summer school and literacy
Vol. 142 No. 51
there through the winter”
Tonica News photo/Mike Vaughn
The one that got away ... This Tom Turkey appears rather proud he escaped the dreaded Thanksgiving table on Thursday. From the way it looks, though, he’s happy to wish all of the Tonica News readers a belated Happy Thanksgiving. We hope it was a day filled with many blessings and memories.
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TONICA — Tonica Grade School is acting upon security concerns over keys never returned. Throughout the years, keys have been loaned out for various purposes, and some of those keys have never returned, leaving an opening for security concerns. “You’re only as good as the key you don’t get back,” Principal Chuck Schneider said. The school plans to replace the front lock with an interchangeable core, which will allow access through a rental key without the same key working elsewhere. If a key is lost or otherwise not returned, the core can be exchanged for another one the school will have on hand, and the one which had previously been in use can be re-keyed. Schneider said there will likely be a deposit required to cover the costs of new keys and re-pinning the cylinder. Furthermore, he explained all doors will be set to open with the key, not to unlock, which will prevent doors being accidentally left unlocked. “Right now, if somebody gets a key for the gym, they’re getting the same key everyone else has,” board President Jeremy Hillyer said. The process looks to be completed in a timely manner, hopefully by Christmas. In other news: • With record levels of updated policies, school officials are looking to digitize the school’s policy books. “Quite frankly, we’re struggling with our policy books,” interim Superintendent James Whitmore said. The current process requires board members add in new policies and remove those that are obsolete. If that upkeep isn’t completed, it leaves the policy book inaccurate. “I believe I have two accurate copies,” Whitmore said. “Other than that, I wouldn’t know.” A service from the Illinois Association of School Boards would publish the policy manuals online, providing easier support for the constantly-updating tomes. “I’ve worked with the service before at
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