2009: The year in review
As 2009 draws to a close, the Bureau County Republican will highlight what made front page news this year. Following is the segment of that review. The next installments will appear in the consecutive editions of the BCR.
Jan. 1: Barto Landing in Spring Valley remains underwater as the Illinois River begins its descent from a high water mark of 29.44 feet, almost 10 feet above flood stage. Water poured into the river from weekend rains and melting snow.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency approves Bureau County’s Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. The county worked on the plan for about two years with Marshall and Stark counties and 18 communities within the three-county area.
Jan. 3: Kent Balensiefen of rural Buda takes the first photos of a black bear that has been roaming through western Bureau County. Balensiefen saw the bear about three-quarters of a mile west of his house. The bear has been sighted in the county several times since the summer.
Jan. 6: One year after the Smoke Free Illinois Act became law, Bureau County State’s Attorney Patrick Herrmann says the law can’t be enforced criminally in Bureau County because of Associate Circuit Judge C.J. Hollerich’s Sept. 30 dismissal of a smoking violation case involving a Spring Valley tavern.
Jan. 8: Spring Valley Police Chief Mike Miroux discusses the city’s CodeRED emergency message system with the city council. Less than 50 percent of residents were reached in a recent test of the system, Miroux said. Some of the system’s listed telephone numbers weren’t valid.
Jan. 10: Princeton City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh presents a $11.4 million list of proposed capital improvement projects which could benefit from President-elect Barack Obama’s federal economic stimulus plan. Topping the Princeton list are sewer system and street projects.
Jan. 13: State Sens. Gary Dahl and Dale Risinger say the Senate is ready to begin the impeachment trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The Senate will meet this week to adopt rules for the trial, which is set to being Jan. 26.
Jan. 15: Bureau County receives another 6 inches of snow, with temperatures bombing out at about 18 degrees below zero. Area schools cancel classes for the second day in a row. Bureau County Sheriff John Thompson urges people to stay home if at all possible.
Jan. 17: Princeton firefighters spend about nine hours battling a house fire in adverse and subzero weather. Several firefighters receive minor injuries, including frostbite. Fire Chief Gary Hanna calls for mutual aid from 10 other departments.
Jan. 20: Bureau County residents turn on their television sets to watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama. A number of Bureau County natives, including Dean Devert, Samantha Warren, Jenna Underwood, Beau Underwood and Chris Kromphardt, attend the ceremony in Washington D.C.
Jan. 22: The 2008 Northern Illinois Market Facts study shows 12 percent of Bureau County residents have four years of college, compared to 10 percent in 1980. The median price of a Bureau County house was nearly $130,000 in 2007, compared to $82,000 in 2000.
Jan. 24: Larry Carlson of Princeton makes plans to fly to Washington D.C. after his 20-year-old son Aaron Carlson of Annawan is seriously injured in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan. The younger Carlson is a member of the Galva unit of the Illinois National Guard.
Jan. 27: DePue village attorney Melissa Sims tells the council a new state bill could bring hope for DePue and other Illinois communities dealing with Superfund sites and environmentally hazardous former industrial areas. The bill mirrors DePue’s November 2008 ordinance seeking to collect fines from the owners of the abandoned zinc smelting site in DePue.
Jan. 29: A group of concerned residents present petitions to the Ohio High School Board requesting a proposition to deactivate Ohio High School be put on the April ballot. The petitions are signed by about 19 percent of registered voters. Superintendent Sharon Flesher says she’s been advised the question cannot be put on the ballot. Flesher recommends the board form a committee to study the future of the school.
Jan. 31: Area political leaders respond in favor of the Illinois Senate’s unanimous decision to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office. Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville, says the evidence is clear Blagojevich abused the power of his office.
The Mineral Village Board decides to close the village’s recycling center following continued breaking of the center’s use rules.
Feb. 3: About 20 people attend the Princeton Park District’s bid opening for the proposed Zearing Park expansion project. With the bids all higher than expected, the park board decides at its regular meeting to look for further ways to cut costs from the project.
Feb. 5: The black bear of Bureau County is captured by Illinois Department of Natural Resources staff and relocated to an IDNR site in southern Illinois. The bear was found in a semi-hibernation condition, sleeping in a ditch in rural Neponset.
Feb. 7: Hall Township’s Echo Bluff youth hockey program receives more than $10,000 worth of equipment and outfits for 20 kids from a National Hockey League Players Association grant.
Feb. 10: Local steelworker union members return from a meeting in Washington D.C. to discuss the announced closing of the ArcelorMittal steel finishing plant in Hennepin. The closing would mean a loss of 285 jobs.
Feb. 12: The Bureau/Putnam County Health Department announces it will not need a temporary loan from the county to pay its bills. County board member Loretta Volker, who serves on the health board, tells the county board the health department has met its expenses. A future loan could be needed if payments are not received from the state and others who owe the health department money, Volker said.
Feb. 14: The Arlington Fire Protection District receives word it will receive $71,250 in U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds. The Seatonville Fire Protection District will receive $10,260, and the Ohio Fire Protection District will receive $5,921.
Feb. 17: The Spring Valley City Council discusses a list of shovel-ready projects that could be started if the city receives any money from President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. Projects include culvert replacements and sewer upgrades.
Feb. 19: The Princeton City Council votes unanimously to approve a Smoke Free Princeton ordinance prohibiting smoking inside all public places and within 15 feet of entrances to those places. The ordinance gives police the power to issue tickets to violators and to conduct spot checks at businesses.
Feb. 21: Teachers representing the Hall Education Association read a written vote of confidence in support of Principal Patti Lunn at a Hall High School Board meeting. No reason was given as to why a vote of confidence for Lunn was necessary, or why the statement was read.
Feb. 24: The Spring Valley Elementary School Board and Superintendent Dan Marenda discuss ways to accommodate the district’s growing enrollment, which has increased by more than 100 students since 2006. An additional 100 students could be enrolled during the next three years.
Feb. 26: About 20 members of the public attend the Ohio High School Board meeting to express their varying opinions on what should be done about the future of the high school. Some residents want to deactivate the high school; others want to keep it open.
Feb. 28: The Ohio High School Board agrees to form a six-member committee to help determine the future of the high school. Recommendations for people to serve on that committee are to be submitted to Superintendent Sharon Flesher.
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