BCR-06-13-2013

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Serving Bureau County Since 1847

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Flood $$$ available Federal disaster aid meeting set for area governments By Donna Barker

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County goes on the road Transportation, attorneys and highway engineer discussed By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com.

PRINCETON – Transportation projects, attorneys and the reappointment of the county highway engineer were on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the Bureau County Board.

In one of five resolutions, Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Sondgeroth presented a resolution requesting consent from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to reappoint John Gross as Bureau County’s highway engineer for another sixyear term. Gross’s current six-year contract expires on the last day of July.

By procedure, Bureau County has to go first to IDOT for its approval of Gross’s re-appointment, since the engineer’s salary is split 50/50 between IDOT and the county, Sondgeroth said. After IDOT’s approval is received, the county board will take action on Gross’s reappointment at its July meeting.

See County Page 2

dbarker@bcrnews.com

PRINCETON — Representatives of area governmental bodies will meet next week with representatives of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to learn about the process of getting federal assistance for flood damage costs incurring in the spring. On Tuesday, Bureau County Emergency Services Disaster Agency coordinator Kris Donarski announced the meeting will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Bureau County Metro Center, located at 837 Park Ave. West in Princeton. The June 19th public assistance program briefing will be conducted for local government organizations, including counties, townships, municipalities, school districts and other special districts, as well as certain private non-profit organizations which provide services of a governmental nature, Donarski said. The organizations must have incurred extraordinary costs, at least $1,000 of eligible costs, from the severe storms, straightline winds and flooding that occurred from April 16 through May 5. The briefing is being held for potential applicants in Bureau, Marshall, Ogle, Putnam and Stark counties. The June 19th briefing will be about 60 to 90 minutes in length and provide an overview of the public assistance program and application process. Application forms and assistance with completing the forms will be provided at the briefing, Donarski said. At least one representative from each applicant organization should try to attend Wednesday’s briefing. The representative should be the person who will administer

See Aid Page 4 Year 167 No. 71 Two Sections - 36 Pages

98213 00012 1 7 © Bureau County Republican

BCR photo/Becky Kramer

Blacksmith demonstration in Tiskilwa Vicki “Doc” Schertz of Tiskilwa gives a blacksmith demonstration Monday night next to the Museum on Main. A blacksmith is a metal worker who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal by using tools to hammer, bend and cut.

A dead end street (program)? Spring Valley studies its options By Brock Cooper news@bcrnews.com

SPRING VALLEY — The city of Spring Valley is still unclear exactly if any street program will be happening this year. The city only has $40,000 to spend from the Motor Fuel Tax, and Spring Valley Streets and Alleys Committee Chairman Chuck Hansen wants to roll it into next year.

“My suggestion is we wouldn’t have a street program this year,” Hansen said at Monday’s council meeting. Council members recently met at a streets and alleys meeting to discuss possible projects, but near the end of the meeting, Hansen realized the city had much less money than he thought. Many on the council wanted to use the money to possibly pour concrete in an area near Kirby Park at a cost of $32,000.

The area has had to be dug up several times because of water issues, and the question arose — what if it needs to be dug up again? There will be a Streets and Alleys Committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. June 20 to continue this discussion. There will be a Finance and a Legislative Committee meeting to follow. One thing everyone seemed to agree on is that the city needs to find some alternative way to fund the street program.

See Spring Valley Page 4

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