2010: The year in review
Editor’s note: Where did 2010 go? In today’s edition of the BCR and the following two editions, the BCR will take a look back at 2010 and the events that occurred along the way.
April 1: The Bureau County United Way reaches 81 percent of its 2009-10 campaign goal of $127,000. Director Michelle Lymberopoulos said the local United Way will contribute 13 percent to the shortfall, from reserves, so agencies may receive maximum funding possible.
April 3: Laid-off steelworkers from the ArcelorMittal plant in Hennepin learn they will be eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits and for other assistance including retraining and job placement.
April 6: Sixty-seven percent of Bureau County residents have returned their 2010 Census forms, compared to the statewide average of 60 percent and the national average of 56 percent. Spring Valley Economic Development Director Debb Ladgenski said the more people who return their census forms, the more federal dollars could become available.
April 8: The Bureau County Health and Wellness Clinic is taking its mobile clinic to residents in western Bureau County. Associate Director Jean Babcock says the mobile clinic is already going twice a month to Spring Valley and DePue.
April 10: The city of Princeton will receive more than one-half million dollars to develop the infrastructure in its new commercial park. City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh confirms the city will receive the grant money through the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration.
April 13: An estimated 200 people attend a Remembrance Gathering along the sidewalks of Princeton High School in remembrance of area young people who have committed suicide in recent years. The community-wide event was organized and led by PHS junior Dani Frank.
April 15: Several North Main Street business owners in Princeton ask the Princeton Plan Commission for help attracting visitors and potential business owners. Laura Massey of Beetz Me and Mary Van Keulen of Sophisticuts ask the commission to make sure Princeton keeps its unique and quaint atmosphere.
April 17: Four elected county officials will get raises in each of the next four years, but those raises will be smaller than in previous years. The Bureau County Board votes 14-10 to give smaller raises (to the county clerk, circuit clerk, treasurer and sheriff) due to the county’s tough economic condition.
April 20: The Bureau Valley School Board takes an ax to a variety of areas, eventually cutting about $300,000 from its budget. Finance Committee members Keith Bolin and Kent Siltman say the committee is proposing additional cuts totaling $362,000 in response to the $618,000 the district already knows it won’t receive from the state next year.
April 22: Elaine Russell, executive director for the Princeton Park District, reports to the park board there has been vandalism at the district’s skate park for the past three weekends. If the vandalism continues, the skate park will probably need to be closed for a week or two, the board says.
April 24: An estimated 120 people attend a town hall meeting in Princeton to address the issue of underage drinking. The Community Partners Against Substance Abuse hosted the meeting as a follow-up to an early town hall meeting attended by no one.
April 27: Clean-up work is completed at the site of a future project for the Tiskilwa Public Library, though the look of that project is still unclear. Tiskilwa Library Board President Rich Foss says the board hopes to make a decision this summer on a future library project.
April 29: Jail consultant Dennis Kimme concludes the total costs to build a new jail or law and justice center could range from around $10 million to $15 million. In response, Rick Wilkin, co-chairman of the Bureau County Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission, says taxes will no doubt have to be raised to cover the expense.
May 1: The Princeton High School Board is going ahead with three summer projects to improve the school’s sports facilities. The board accepts the low bid of $83,600 to resurface the school track. The district will also build new tennis courts and a softball field this summer.
May 4: A group of interested citizens is hoping to form the Spring Valley Historic Association and establish a site to house memorabilia and artifacts relating the city’s history. People must know the past to understand the future, quoted organizer Kathy Cullinan.
May 6: Bureau County has been allocated $5.8 million in federal Recovery Zone bonds for qualifying projects. Community leaders are encouraged to attend the next meeting of the county’s Fees and Salaries Committee to learn more about the bonds.
May 8: Though the Bureau County area may have experienced record breaking high temperatures in April, that’s no prediction of what the area can expect for the summer, according to WQAD News 8 meteorologist Anthony Peoples. Statewide average temperature for Illinois in April was 58.4 degrees, which is 6.2 degrees above normal and the warmest April on record. The previous record of 58.2 degrees was set in 1955.
May 11: Spring Valley aldermen discuss the safety of the waste product dumped on fields on the city’s north side. Hall Township Supervisor Monte Moreno said he has received many questions from area residents about the waste dumped on fields. Mayor Cliff Banks said this is the second year the product has been hauled into the area and worked into area fields.
May 13: The Princeton Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals discuss proposed guidelines for street vendors along Main Street. The issue came before the groups after a popcorn wagon owned by a Bureau County resident was on the North Main Street city sidewalk for several months last year.
May 15: The Bureau County Board discusses whether private individuals should pay lower fees than commercial wind farms to build a wind turbine. The Zoning Committee recommends a flat rate of $200 for a building permit for a wind turbine for a private individual, compared to the commercial developer permit of $25 per foot. The fee for a typical 130-foot wind turbine would be $3,250. After a lengthy discussion and two failed motions, the board tabled the decision.
May 18: Though black bears are not indigenous to Illinois, two black bears apparently did not get the memo and were seen wandering Saturday in Bureau County. Sheriff John Thompson said the bears appeared to be a mother and her cub. The sheriff is not releasing the exact location of the sighting so people won’t try to find or trap the bears.
May 20: U.S. District Court Judge Joe McDade dismisses the latest lawsuit brought by the village of DePue against the owners of the former New Jersey Zinc smelting plant. DePue’s claim is barred by the five-year statute of limitations applicable to nuisance and trespass actions, the judge wrote in his ruling.
May 22: The University of Illinois Extension announces consolidation plans. Bureau County will now partner with LaSalle, Marshal and Putnam counties. A local presence is planned for each county, according to the Extension announcement.
Authorities investigate two farmhouse fires as possible arson cases. Both fires were started on the back porches of the houses, which were located about five miles apart in northwestern Bureau County.
May 25: The Bureau/Putnam County Transportation Partnership Group receives the required surveys needed to continue developing a public transportation system for the two-county area. Bureau County needed a minimum of 1,050 surveys, spokesperson Laurie Anderson said.
May 27: The Ohio High School Board votes to go ahead with the installation of a security system at the school building. The Ohio Grade School Board approved the security system at its meeting last week. The $17,877 cost for the system will be shared equally by the high school and grade school districts.
May 29: The Princeton Elementary School District needs $1.4 million from the state of Illinois by June 30, which is the end of the fiscal year. Superintendent Tim Smith says it’s very hard to make plans for the new fiscal year without knowing what past-due state funds the district will receive.
June 1: Princeton High School will partner with the Community Partners Against Substance Abuse (CPASA) to develop an Operation Snowball program at PHS. The program is community-based alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention program focused on developing student leadership.
June 3: The Manlius Village Board hears from a resident on her concerns with the village’s sewer project. A broken tile has left mud and 18 inches of water in her basement. The village says the contractors are responsible for any damage.
June 5: The Leepertown School Board discusses consolidation as an option when it looks ahead to school finances. Superintendent Amber Harper will ask Regional Superintendent of Education Bruce Dennison to attend an upcoming meeting to discuss the district’s options.
June 8: More than 900 people register to walk in the Living Works suicide prevention walk in Princeton. The event was to raise money to send two local people to a five-day suicide prevention training later this year in Colorado.
June 10: The Bureau County Board votes 14 to 11 to place a new jail referendum on the November general election ballot. Those in the minority wanted to wait for the referendum until the April 2011 consolidated election. The referendum question will read: Shall Bureau County be authorized to issue general obligation bonds in the amount of $15 million for the purpose of building a new county jail?”
June 12: The Wyanet Village Board votes unanimously to close the village recycling center as a means to save money. The village board also agrees to donate their monthly trustee salaries to the Wyanet Community Club to help with Wyanet Festival expenses.
June 15: More than 73 percent of persons completing public transportation surveys in Bureau County indicate they would use public transportation if it were available, according to Laurie Anderson, spokesperson for the Bureau/Putnam County Transportation Partnership Group (TPG).
June 17: Builders dodge rain storms in their quest to make headway on construction projects in the Princeton Technology Park. Both McKeown International Inc. and SCE USA Inc, had hoped to open by mid-July, but the date has been pushed back at least a month. City work on a new water treatment plant is also delayed at the tech park.
June 19: A nearly $6 million Wyanet bridge replacement project will begin in the next few weeks. County Engineer John Gross said Civil Constructors Inc. was awarded the Wyanet contract by the Illinois Department of Transportation during a June 11 bid opening in Springfield.
June 22: In spite of ongoing rain challenges, progress continues at the Zearing Park expansion site, according to engineer Kevin Heitz. A letter has been submitted to Advance Asphalt about erosion concerns caused by recent rains. Advanced Asphalt is anxious to get back to the site and get more work done as soon as possible, Heitz said.
June 24: The Princeton City Council approves a $2.8 million loan to install a cannibal system at the city’s wastewater treatment plant to handle unwanted sludge. The loan will be borrowed through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
June 26: Clean-up continues around Bureau County after several thunderstorms rage through the area, toppling a rural Princeton cell phone tower, relocating Hall High School bleachers, flooding roads and uprooting trees.
June 29: Members of the Bureau/Putnam County Transportation Partnership Group learn rural public transportation has increased by 54 percent in the last several years. The local TPG is working to develop a public transportation system for the two-county area.
