1 Front Volume 141 No. 39
Friday, November 28, 2014
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School programs in jeopardy TGS to continue school lunch program By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — Threatened school programs brought parents to the Tonica Grade School Board meeting Nov. 19. Since passing a school budget this year with a $100,000 deficit, the board has been searching for a way to cut expenses without causing any disruption to the school’s learning environment. Recently, the board has looked at cutting or scaling back the school lunch and pre-school programs, ideas which concerned parents of students in the
district. Ten parents came to express views and suggest alternatives to cutting the programs. After lengthy discussion, the board voted to continue the school lunch program at least through the end of the 2015-16 school year. Currently, the school loses an average of $150 a day with the program at its current funding levels. The board is conflicted on the state of offering pre-school programs. More discussion and research will be needed before the future of the program will be decided, and discussion was tabled for a future meeting.
IDNR cites Tonica for regulation violations By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has notified the village of Tonica it is in violation of three state regulations. According to Downstate Floodplain Program Manager Paul Osman, the citations are not yet being treated as a full violation, but the failure to address the situation could result in problems for village residents in getting floodplain insurance. Osman said the discoveries were part of a routine inspection the IDNR performs, and while two of the issues are not as important, the largest issue Osman saw was the construction of a house on the floodplain without a permit filed with the IDNR. Osman also questioned whether the building met flood plain standards. Tonica Mayor Kevin Sluder said the village has received a letter from the Vol. 141 No. 39 One Section - 8 Pages
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IDNR, but he had not yet contacted Osman himself. Sluder also said the issues mentioned in the letter were questionable. “His biggest complaint was a new house built near Casey’s and the floodplain,” Sluder said. “That house has been there for a couple of years. I don’t know why it’s a concern all of a sudden.” Other concerns were a rip-rap fill along Minnehaha Street and a retaining wall which Osman believes might violate water flow standards. Sluder said both were the result of recent village work, and neither of them violated IDNR regulations. He noted the issues were less part of a routine inspection and more likely a result of a current push to address the Illinois Valley flooding problems from April 2012. “This is all from that series of meetings this summer, and they’re trying to find anything they can to show they’re fixing the problem,” Sluder said. “I’ve said before, once they start digging into our issues, there’s no stopping them.” As a result of the meetings this past summer, representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers toured the village looking for possible problems, but Sluder said they told him the village had done everything possible to alleviate flooding problems.
Tonica News photo/Dixie Schroeder
A piece of history from Germany to Lostant: Two pieces from the Berlin Wall were sent to Lucky Strode in 1990. He has kept them ever since that time.
A random act of kindness pays dividends By Dixie Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — The Berlin Wall was created in 1961. It was constructed by the German Democratic Republic of East Germany in a response to the start of the Cold War. The wall completely cut off by land the town of West Berlin from the surrounding area of East Berlin until it was opened in 1989. History showed the Berlin Wall became the symbol of Communist Block oppression, especially in Germany where it kept residents from fleeing the Communist regime. Along the barrier, the land was called a death strip by some as it was mined and had well-armed guards in towers that kept residents from fleeing East Germany. In the summer of 1990, the dismantling of the wall began and was completed in 1992. A random act of kindness in 1962 by Lostant’s Lucky and Janet Strode allowed them their own claim to fame in the area. Lucky Strode ran Harlan’s Standard service station off of then Route 51. He was known as an expert mechanic, especially on
Tonica News photo/Dixie Schroeder
Lucky Strode of Lostant holds pieces of the Berlin Wall sent to him by a couple from West Germany in 1990. exotic foreign cars as they were known back then. One day a neighboring gas and service station owner in Wenona called and told Strode they had a couple who were tourists from West Germany with
a car problem. Ingrid and Manuel Icart had been driving their Volkswagen across the United States, and the couple had car trouble. The car had broken down in Wenona. “I think he was Polish,
and his wife was German,” Strode said. “She spoke English fairly well, but he couldn’t speak hardly anything. She told me that the motor was knocking. He just kept repeating ‘What’s wrong?’ over and over.” Strode, thinking the bearings in the car were going out, explained to the couple he didn’t have the tools to fix the car right away, but he could arrange to do so. He explained he could pull the motor and have it rebuilt in LaSalle and then put it back in to the car. The Icarts initially told Strode they would stay at the station. Strode explained to them the process would take about 10 days or so to complete and invited them into his home to stay. The Strodes had their oldest daughter give up her room, and the guests slept there. “They ate a couple of meals with us and then Manuel told us ‘I cook.’ He then proceeded to do so during the rest of their stay,” Strode said. “Our kids thought it was great. One of my kids was taking German at the time
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LGS passes levy School safety also discussed By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
LOSTANT — The Lostant Grade School Board passed its levy at the Nov. 19 meeting, and the rate will go up less than allowable by state law before a required public hearing. Organizations cannot
raise their levy amount by more than 5 percent without holding a public hearing for approval. The school district levy will increase by $3,102, approximately 3.8 percent more than the previous year. This year’s levy amounts to $95,769. The Regional Office of Education annual inspection didn’t bring up any major infractions, according to Lostant Superintendent Sandra Mala-
hy. Malahy detailed the infractions found, most of which have already been addressed. The school’s winter concert will be postponed until February. Malahy told the board the music instructors were not able to arrange a suitable concert before the holiday break. School board member Jeff Skinner presented the board with a tentative crisis plan for consideration
for the next meeting. Skinner, a law enforcement official, explained he felt Lostant Grade School should do as much as possible to ensure the safety of students in the case of any emergency, and especially the possibility of an active shooter in the building. The plan includes a tentative emergency schedule to help law enforcement agencies determine what stage the school should be at by a certain time.