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ROCKETS HOST TWO CONFERENCE FOES WRESTLING, B2
LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT, A7-9
dailyGAZETTE
Thursday, December 19, 2013
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
OPEN GOVERNMENT | SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENTS
Agency routes people to higher fees Cheaper way available to get records than following letter’s lead to website The mailer doesn’t contain a copy of the accident report. Rather, it gives you instructions on how to access those records from a website. Once on the site, you’ll find out it costs $13 to get the report. The letter states, “To obtain the full accident report, you
BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
MORRISON – If you get into a traffic accident in the jurisdiction of the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department – whether you are at fault or not – you will get a letter from the agency.
must register for an account at the website listed on the [accompanying] card.” What the letter doesn’t say is that people have the right to obtain those reports for a much lower cost. If someone goes into the Sheriff’s Department in Mor-
rison to obtain the report, that person is charged a flat fee of $5, no matter how many pages. Under the Freedom of Information Act, requests for public records can be emailed. A state law allows law enforcement agencies to
TAMPICO PROGRAM GIVES BLANKETS, RELIEF TO WASHINGTON
charge up to $5 for reports, and $20 if they involve accident reconstruction officers. So why is the Sheriff’s Department routing people to a website with a higher charge? FEES CONTINUED ON A4
DIXON SCHOOLS
Board votes to close Lincoln Lengthy debate leads to 4-2 vote, school’s demise BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
ABOVE: Tampico Elementary School fifth-grader Brody Naftzger pulls a box of blankets into the back of a school bus Wednesday morning, as students and staff prepare to deliver them to students in need in Washington. The Tampico school raised $1,400 to buy the materials and make blankets for families affected by the EF4 tornado that devastated the central Illinois city Nov. 17. RIGHT: Several staff members assisted the students in delivering 200 blankets to Central Elementary School in Washington. See more pictures and read more about how the fifth-grade student council project took flight on A3.
DIXON SCHOOLS
Leaders review final offers with board After almost 18 months of talks, proposals from union, district go public BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
DIXON – Several hours before the Dixon School Board met in the auditorium at Dixon High School, the final offers from the district and the Dixon Educational Support Personnel Association went public
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after nearly 18 months of private negotiations. Those offers, and the long negotiation, were addressed during the meeting. DESPA President Mindy Donoho addressed the crowd and the school board during the public comment portion of the meeting.
TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 160 ISSUE 10
INDEX
Moments later, Superintendent Michael Juenger reviewed points of the school district’s final offer and the tentative agreement that had been reached, but wasn’t ratified by DESPA members, in August. REVIEW CONTINUED ON A2
BUSINESS ......... A12 COMICS ...............B6 CROSSWORD....B11
DEAR ABBY ....... A10 LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4
Michael Juenger
Mindy Donoho
OPINION .............. A6 PLAN!T ................. A7 SPORTS ...............B1
DIXON – Lincoln Elementary School will close, by virtue of a 4-2 vote at the Dixon School Board meeting Wednesday night at the high school. With the meeting pushing past the 3-hour mark, the decision was still very much in doubt. But, ultimately, John Jacobs and Terry Shroyer cast the two votes against the closure. Board member Kevin Sward was absent from the meeting. Board member Tom LeMoine wasn’t confident a ballot referendum would pass, and favored closing the school, but said it was a tough decision. The vote came nearly 2 months after Superintendent Michael Juneger first presented it to the board as a way of addressing the school district’s $1.5 million deficit in the education fund for the 2013-14 school year, which leaves a fund balance of $1.4 million. The education fund is the largest in the school district and pays for teacher salaries, educational program and other expenses. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, the second- and third-grade students who would have attended Lincoln will move to Jefferson Elementary School, while fourthand fifth-grade students at Jefferson would be housed at Reagan Middle School. Pre-kindergarten and early childhood programs at Reagan would transfer to Washington Elementary School, which still would house kindergarten and first grades under the plan. The school district has faced reduced funding the last few years, specifically from the state. LINCOLN CONTINUED ON A2
Today’s weather High 36. Low 25. More on A3.
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