1 Front Volume 140 No. 4
Friday, March 22, 2013
The Tonica News
Single Copy Cost 50¢
Road woes in Tonica subdivision Sewer rates on the rise By Barb Kromphardt bkromphardt@tonicanews.com
TONICA — Drivers traveling through the Bailey Creek Estates Subdivision in Tonica could be mistaken for thinking the subdivision has gravel roads.
Instead of a smooth, hard surface, the roads are covered with pea gravel, which has formed small mounds in the gutters and been scattered into yards. Six residents of the subdivision attended the March 18 meeting of the
Tonica Village Board to express their dissatisfaction with the roads. They complained the gravel was everywhere, and children couldn’t ride their bikes on the surface. “It’s an absolute mess,” one resident said. “It would have been better if not done at all,”
said another resident. Village President Roger Thompson said the deteriorating condition of the road meant the village had to do something. Because of a shortage of available funds, the village decided to tar and chip the road rather than having it blacktopped. Trustee Dennis Ford
said he had argued against the plan in the beginning, but Village Engineer Jack Kusek said it had been done in other parts of town. “It doesn’t work as well as it’s supposed to,” Ford said. Residents wanted village workers to clean up the gravel, but Thomp-
son said there are only two village employees, and the current priority is to get the well back online. In addition, Thompson said a lot of the gravel in the yards will sink into the sod once the ground warms up.
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Leonore goes to 9-1-1 By Elin Arnold news@tonicanews.com
LEONORE — Residents of Leonore are now receiving all their emergency services through the LaSalle County Enhanced 9-1-1 system, joining the villages of Tonica and Lostant who are already a part of the new technology. The change took effect in Leonore March 20, so residents can take down their 10-digit emergency number reminders and just dial 9-1-1 if they need police, fire or ambulance assistance. “If anyone still dials the 10-digit number, it will be forwarded to 9-1-1, so we have all bases covered,” said Kevin Knecht, Leonore Fire Department secretary. “We have our own phone company in Leonore, and they have installed the new switch that makes the system work and made the change more affordable.” The system has been a long time coming to rural America. According to the LaSalle County Emergency Telephone System’s Board website (www.lasallecounty. org/etb), it was originally in 1957 that the National Association of Fire Chiefs recommended the use of a single number for reporting fires. As a result, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) met with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) to find a means of establishing a universal emergency number. In 1968, AT&T announced it would establish the digits 9-1-1 as the emergency code throughout the United States. Congress backed AT&T’s proposal and passed legislation allowing use of only the numbers 9-1-1 when creating a single emergency calling service, thereby making 9-1-1 a standard emergency number nationwide. In February 1968, the first 9-1-1 call was make in the United States. in Haleyville, Ala.
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Tonica News photo/Barb Kromphardt
How low can she go! Students at Tonica Grade School did the limbo, hopped in sack races and passed hula hoops — all while wearing brightly-colored leis — as part of the school’s Luau Day, held March 15. The day was a reward day and part of the school’s disciplinary program Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS.)
McNabb Grain Co. celebrates 100 years Protecting the harvest for 100 years By Barb Kromphardt bkromphardt@tonicanews.com
MCNABB — It was 100 years ago, on March 22, 1913, when nine local men were elected to serve as directors of the board of the new McNabb Grain Co.
The men were part of a group of farmers who worked together to have an elevator in McNabb where farmers could store their grain and borrow money against that grain for their farming and living expenses. On March 22, the
elevator will celebrate 100 years of serving the McNabb farming community. There have been a lot of changes in those hundred years. “In 1913, they moved 273,000 bushels of grain and had no patronage refunds,” said Gregg Carr, one of seven men
who now make up the board of directors. “Last year, we moved 4.7 million bushels, and we gave patronage back to the customers of $543,000.” Carr said the business has had to grow to meet customers’ needs due to increasing corn yields and more planted acres. Carr gave much of
Inside
Vol. 140 No. 4 One Section - 8 Pages
Preschool for all See Page 2 © The Tonica News
the credit to the good managers the elevator has had throughout the years, including current manager Bart Ericson. Ericson said the elevator has had to learn to be more efficient. “Back in the day, there were always long lines, and now people don’t have time to sit and
First Person See Page 5
wait,” he said. “Therefore we’ve had to adapt as the farmers adapted, becoming more efficient and faster at what they do.” Carr said farmers used to come to the elevator with 200 bushels of corn in a wagon.
See 100 years Page 4