1 • Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018 - The Scoop Today/Shopper’s Guide
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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 21, 2018
Elizabeth Police plan increased patrols for Thanksgiving Week
The Elizabeth Police Department and law enforcement throughout Illinois will be working around the clock through Thanksgiving and the remainder of the year to make certain that travelers are buckled up an driving sober. The department is joining IDOT, Illinois State Police, and nearly 200 local police and sheriff’s departments to remind motorists to Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. Drivers and passengers can expect a ticket from the Elizabeth Police Department if they are spotted without a seat belt or with an unbuckled child in their vehicle. Additionally, motorists are being warned that driving after drinking or using drugs or other impairing substances will not be tolerated. Stepped-up patrols including seat best enforcement zones and roadside safety checks will be seen throughout the Village of Elizabeth and the state. The goal is simple: Prevent motor vehicle crashes and resulting injuries. Correct seatbelt use is the most effective way to protect vehicle occupants in a crash. According to IDOT, the statewide seat-belt usage rate is 95.2 percent, yet unbuckled occupants make up a disproportionately large number of fatalities, representing more than 50 percent of people killed in motor vehicle crashes. “Wearing your seatbelt is second nature for most, but we are looking for those few Illinois motorists who skip this lifesaving step,” said Elizabeth Police Chief Scott Toot. “During Thanksgiving weekend and throughout the year, motorists
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COURTESY PHOTO The Scoop Today
99 years young
Lunchtime regulars at Stockton McDonalds surprised Violet Tessendorf on her 99th birthday with cake, cookies, flowers, and balloons! L to R: John & Geri Hendren, Diane & Shirley Fraiser, Sally Tucker, Donna Wilson, Violet Tessendorf, Gary Tessendorf, Fred Pfeiffer, Ken Tucker.
Stockton Schools’ Advisory Task Force brainstorms improvements By Tony Carton EDITOR
About 60 area residents gathered Monday for the first of five meetings that Stockton School administrators hope will lead to long overdue improvements to the district’s facilities. “Our district has identified that close to seven million dollars is needed to meet Health and Safety requirements throughout our district, and that means the elementary, the middle, and the high school facilities,” said Stockton School Superintendent Colleen Fox. “Before the school board commits to investing those dollars we want to determine what the long-term vision is for the school district.” Health and Life Safety codes are the minimum standards for public school facilities which will protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the pupils, school personnel, and others who use them. Fox said the district needs community involvement to bring that long-
term vision to fruition. “The school belongs to the community and we need to know what the people are feeling,” she said. “That’s why we’re gathering the community together to give input on what they would like to do in a process that is going to engage the public in a task force that will consider options and then make recommendations to the school board.” The five Advisory Task Force meetings are open to the public. “All community members are more than welcome to attend,” said Fox. “We’ve posted things on Facebook and our website is a great spot to get information. We are also hoping to be able to create a type of pod-
cast of the meetings, so that even if you are not able to attend you could still stay abreast of the discussions.” The second taskforce meeting is Nov. 27 at 6 p.m. in the Elementary School gym. The meetings scheduled for the first week in December are going to be design meetings. “They will be full day meetings where we encourage the public to provide input,” said Fox. “We’ve reached the point where a decision needs to be made and in order to make that decision we really need to hear from the community, so we strongly encourage people to come and participate in this process.” FEH Design Vice President Kevin
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Eipperle led Monday’s discussions. His firm is currently contracted to help Stockton achieve its long-term vision for education. And, after reiterating Fox’s call for community involvement Eipperle threw the floor open for comment. Suggestions from the assembled committee ranged from ways to provide a 21st Century learning environment to methods for providing the tools that will position Stockton students to be successful in the world; and from updating all district facilities to current State standards to starting from scratch with the creation of an entirely new multi-grade
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