2009: The year in review

Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Spring Valley was one of the four Catholic churches where masses were suspended in 2009. St. Benedict’s in Ladd, St. Thomas More in Dalzell and St. Gertrude’s in Seatonville were the three other Catholic churches to have their masses suspended (BCR file photo)

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

As 2009 draws to a close, the Bureau County Republican will highlight what made front page news this year. Following is the second quarter of 2009. The next two installments will appear in the next two editions of the BCR.

March 3: The Princeton Park District awards the Zearing Park expansion project to Advanced Asphalt of Princeton, at a bid of nearly $1.53 million. Among the work included in the contract is all earthwork and grading, new parking lots and walking paths, eight sports fields, and a fishing pond.

March 5: The Princeton City Council reviews a 100-page study on the pros and cons of upgrading the city’s existing water treatment plant, versus building a new one. Because of space and capacity issues, the consultants recommend building a new facility on a different site.

March 7: State Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, introduces a bill which could give DePue and other Illinois towns the power to collect $10,000 in daily fines from those who own or lease contaminated local properties.

March 10: With many flooded streets, yards and basements, it was a long wet weekend in Bureau County. Princeton City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said the city will move forward with a storage pond project to help alleviate problems during heavy rains.

March 12: Schools boards and administrators across the state look at sales tax dollars as a way to renovate and replace their aging buildings. At the IASB Starved Rock Division meeting, Cherry Superintendent Stephen Westrick conducts a panel discussion on the new tax possibility.

March 14: Spring Valley Police Chief Mike Miroux warns citizens to keep their cars and garages locked, following dozens of burglaries during the past week. All but a couple of the burglaries were to unlocked vehicles.

March 17: Jack Keheler, Bev Berogan, Judy Wilcoxen and Lenore Kofoed are inducted into the Walnut Hall of Fame at the 37th annual Walnut Chamber of Commerce banquet meeting.

March 19: The Bureau Valley School Board approves the formation of a committee to research ways the district can get local food for school use. Primarily those options would be to use food raised or grown on Bureau Valley property or in the high school greenhouse or to buy foods grown locally by others.

March 21: Local media attend a press conference with Gov. Pat Quinn at the LaSalle Veterans Home, where Quinn announces the state’s budget will include $9.2 million that would allow the veterans home to operate at its 206-bed capacity. The home had expanded in 2004 but did not have funds for the needed additional staff.

March 24: Restoration work at the Mount Bloom Cemetery on the edge of Tiskilwa should begin this spring, according to Friends of the Mount Bloom spokesperson Cecille Gerber. The first project will be the restoration of the cemetery’s pedestrian stairway on the east bluff of the cemetery.

March 26: The Ohio Bulldog Booster Club sends out a letter to Ohio residents to become informed about issues concerning the future of the high school. The letter included information on accomplishments of Ohio graduates and the potential income from the proposed Big Sky wind farm.

March 28: Students wanting to graduate early from Princeton High School could have some additional requirements placed on them. Principal Barb Schmidt gives recommendations to the board for its consideration.

March 31: The Spring Valley City Council approves an ordinance authorizing the issuance of up to $4,565,000 in revenue bonds for its waterworks and sewer projects. The ordinance was a required step in the city’s effort get federal stimulus dollars if the money becomes available, officials said.

April 2: Area residents attend a meeting of the Bureau County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee to ask questions about a possible new jail or law and justice center for the county. The BCCJCC said the county is still researching the county’s needs, building options and funding options.

April 4: Local political leaders respond to the news of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s indictment on federal corruption charges. Bureau County Board Chairman Dale Anderson said Blagojevich has given the state a black eye and failed to live up to his promises of good government.

April 7: The Princeton Chamber of Commerce confirms the fact its gift certificates issued through Certifichecks are no longer valid because Certifichecks has gone out of business.

April 9: Incumbent Mayors John Gordon of Wyanet, James Narczewski of Spring Valley, Timothy Shipp of Bureau and Tim Folger of Neponset lose their bids for re-election in the consolidated general election. Michael Pinter is the only incumbent mayor to win a contested race in the election.

April 11: The trial date in the Austin Wells’ lawsuit against Bureau County, two correctional officers and Bureau County Sheriff John Thompson has been set for January 2010 in federal court. The civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit stems from the June 2007 death of 17-year-old Austin Wells while he was an inmate in the county jail.

April 14: The Princeton Chamber of Commerce continues to look for ways to recoup losses from the now-defunct Certifichecks Inc. business that administered the city’s gift certificate program until January.

April 16: The St. Bede Academy breaks ground for a 4,000 square-foot dormitory to house 16 female students for the 2009-10 school year. The Academy had housed male dormitory students in its earlier years.

April 18: A rural postal carrier, Brenda Linder of rural Wyanet, dies from injuries received in a collision between her vehicle and a farm tractor two miles east of Buda. Linder was on her mail route at the time of the accident. The investigation continues into the accident.

April 21: Bureau County should experience additional wind farm activity in coming months as the Bureau County Board approves a road agreement and site restoration plan for Crescent Ridge 2, south of Wyanet. The board also approved conditional use permits for Crescent Ridge 2 to put up five more turbines.

April 23: The Princeton City Council takes action to annex a portion of the Claude Bailey Subdivision into the city limits. Phase 1 of the annexation includes 11 lots. Phase 2 and 3, for a combined 13 other lots, are expected to follow.

April 25: The Spring Valley Elementary School Board declares its intent to issue $5.1 million in bonds for the construction of an addition to the JFK building. Enrollment has increased by more than 100 students since 2006 and another 100 students are expected during the next three years.

April 28: The Princeton Chamber of Commerce asks anyone holding gift certificates, issued by Certifichecks, to turn in those certificates to the Chamber office by May 1, saying the Chamber is trying to determine how many of the invalid certificates are still out there.

April 30: Stephanie Cartwright of LaMoille is named winner of the 2009 Thin to Win fitness program. Cartwright, who competed four years ago in the first Thin to Win program, said she’s thankful for second chances.

May 2: Local steelworkers take two buses to Chicago for a rally at the Federal Building Plaza. The group represented more than 100 local workers laid off earlier this year when the Arcelor/Mittal plant in Hennepin closed.

May 5: Former Spring Valley Police Chief Mike Miroux files two lawsuits against Spring Valley Mayor Cliff Banks, stemming from Bank’s decision to appoint Deputy Chief Kevin Sangston as police chief on a temporary, monthly basis.

May 7: The Princeton City Council reviews a proposed 9 percent electric rate increase for each of the next three years. No action is taken on the proposal. The city electric department’s last rate increase was three years, at 3 percent increase. Before that increase, the city hadn’t increased rates since about 1990.

May 9: Former Spring Valley Police Chief Mike Miroux announces he will drop his lawsuit against Mayor Cliff Banks. One of Banks’ first actions in office was to say he would get rid of Miroux and appoint Kevin Sangston as police chief.

May 12: The Spring Valley City Council approves a major renovation of the brick-lined Mini Park in the downtown area. The park will be on one level to promote safety and convenience.

May 14: Diana Rawlings, administrator for the Bureau/Putnam County Health Department, tells the Bureau County Board of the growing concerns about the H1N1 flu. Rawlings has recommended schools not take field trips to the Chicago area, which has numerous cases of the flu.

May 16: Megan Henrickson wins first place in the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial statewide essay competition. A sixth-grader at Logan Junior High School in Princeton, Megan said Lincoln has always been her favorite president.

May 19: About 165 Bureau, LaSalle, and Putnam county teachers, administrators, school board members and area business leaders attend a town hall meeting in Mendota on the needed transition of education into a world class level.

May 21: Area residents participate in the Illinois Valley Freedom Quest Rally in Peru to show support for funding for people with developmental disabilities.

The Princeton City Council annexes another nine properties of the Claude Bailey Subdivision into the city limits. Annexation of Phase 3, with four lots, is expected to follow next month.

May 23: Area steelworkers learn arbitration hearings went against the United Steelworkers Association Local 7367 and in favor of ArcelorMittal Steel USA, owner of the Hennepin plant which closed in late March. The company did have the right to close the plant.

May 26: Richard Lauritzen, 72, of Princeton wins the 2009 Bureau County Senior Spelling Bee, correctly spelling the words “rhetorical” and “potpourri” to beat first runner-up Marge Stone, 92, of Princeton.

May 28: The Bureau County Health and Wellness Clinic learns it will receive $125,000 as its share of a $2.7 million settlement in a pharmaceutical lawsuit. The local clinic is one of 24 nonprofit clinics to share in the settlement.

May 30: Bishop Daniel Jenky announces masses will be suspended at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church in Ladd, St. Thomas More in Dalzell, Sts. Peter and Paul in Spring Valley, and St. Gertrude’s in Seatonville. The suspension is due to financial deficits and declining attendance. The churches will remain available for weddings, funerals and other functions.

June 2: Nearly 10 years of dreaming and planning comes to a pivotal point as the Princeton Park District Board hosts a groundbreaking ceremony at the Zearing Park expansion site. The 40-acre site will include eight soccer/athletic fields, a fishing pond and pier, and a new concession stand/restroom facility.

June 4: Area firefighters battle separate blazes during a 12-hour period north of Seatonville. Both fires are under investigation by the state fire marshall’s office and are viewed as suspicious in nature.

June 6: The Friends of the Hennepin Canal announces it is developing a “Renaissance Hennepin Canal” project to see the canal restored to its original working condition. About 40 people attend a recent meeting to develop plans.

June 9: LaMoille Mayor Mike Pinter learns LaMoille is one of four Illinois communities to receive federal stimulus dollars. LaMoille will receive $211,000 in a loan/grant combination to upgrade its public water system.

June 11: The Bureau County Board places the future of the Zearing railroad crossing in the hands of rural Berlin Township residents who want to keep the crossing open. The board has asked the township to take over control of the crossing.

June 13: The community of Sheffield holds its final Homecoming Celebration after a 99-year tradition. The Sheffield Homecoming Association decided to end the tradition after four people showed up for a town meeting concerning the annual festival.

June 16: Local service agencies express concern over the proposed state budget which could cut human service funding by 50 percent. Leslie Gonigam, of Gateway Services in Princeton, said the state is letting down its citizens.

June 18: As Ohio High School district and residents continue to debate the future of the high school, Amboy Unit School Superintendent Quintin Shepherd asks if the district would be interested in participating in a reorganization feasibility study.

June 20: Erika Robbins, executive director of the Princeton Chamber of Commerce and Main Street, confirms Princeton will no longer be designated as an Illinois Main Street Community, effective mid-July. A growing frustration with the state program has caused the local Chamber to discontinue involvement with the program.

June 23: The Bureau Valley School Board votes again to waive textbook fees and to leave district lab fees and lunch prices the same as last year.

Spring Valley residents learn they will see an immediate double digit increase on their sewer bills. At more than a 20-percent increase, the average residential bill would be increased from $48 to $58.50.

June 25: A collision between an ultralight plane and a high tension power line resulted in a power blackout for Ohio and Walnut for more than seven hours. The pilot and passenger received only minor injuries.

Church Women United, owners of The Closet resale shop in Princeton, lose a two-day court battle to retain The Closet’s side gate and fencing. Princeton GM LLC had filed the court injunction to gain access to the rear of the neighboring former Walmart building.

June 27: After four months of hearing public concerns from parents and students, the Princeton High School Board hires Laurie Bonner to teach band and English. The parents/student group had asked the board to make the band instructor position a full-time position and to rehire former part-time band instructor Jennifer Abernathy in that full-time position.

June 30: Leepertown Superintendent Amber Harper expresses concern over the state budget, saying the district runs its summer school program based on state funding. If those funds are cut, that will be a real hardship on the district, she said.

Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.