Proposed sales tax increase and Cherry School question to appear on Bureau County ballots

You won’t be picking a new president or even an alderman during the March primary election but a few ballot questions are reason enough to vote.

Voters in Spring Valley will decide if street repairs are worth a half-a-percent sales tax increase.  The referendum was placed on the ballot by the city council.

If you live in the Cherry Grade School District you’ll be asked if the school should close and send the students to Dimmick School District instead.  Cherry School officials want to merge the district with Dimmick but have met resistance from the Bureau County Regional Office of Education.

Voters in the Tiskilwa Rural Fire District will vote on a proposed tax increase and people in Arlington will vote on a village property tax increase. 

The primary election is March 18.

Marseilles Police hosting flood preparedness meeting

When you live in a river town you expect some flooding but the record-setting river levels in Marseilles last spring took many people by surprise.  Emergency officials want to be better prepared this spring.

The Marseilles Police Department is encouraging everyone in town to attend a flood awareness and storm preparedness meeting March 11 at Marseilles Elementary School.

The meeting will be used to talk about the potential for future flooding and the response plans. The meeting starts at 6pm in the school’s multipurpose room.

New Parking Lots And Sound System Planned For L-P

Warmer weather is ahead and the L-P School Board is getting ready to do some outside improvements.

The board is going out for bid to renovate parking lots at the east gym, Howard Fellows Stadium, the auto shop building and 7^th street student lot.  The estimated cost is $75,000.

The board is also looking for bids to landscape the new athletics complex.  Board member Tony Sparks says they’re rebidding the landscaping job because the first round of bids was too much for the boards liking.  The lowest bid came back at $78,000.

Work will also happen this spring and summer on a new boiler and renovated restrooms in the main building, a new sound system in Matthiessen Auditorium and a new water main in the east gym.

Brief Delay Planned For I-80 Resurfacing

If you’re looking for positives with today’s stormy weather, there won’t be any construction crews or equipment out today on Interstate 80 between Ottawa and Peru.

Joe Speka with the Illinois Department of Transportation says the resurfacing project that has snarled traffic especially westbound this week won’t happen today because of the rain.  However both directions of I-80 traffic will still be down to one lane and you’re supposed to abide by the work zone speed limit even without workers around.

As for a timeline, Speak says they have about two weeks worth of construction left between Utica and the Bureau/La Salle County line.  They are done with work on the ramps at the I-80 and I-39 intersection. Eventually they’ll start resurfacing I-80 between Ottawa and Marseilles.

Advanced Asphalt of Princeton was given the four million dollar job to do away with all the potholes.

Ottawa Elementary Superintendent Pushing For Budget Cuts

Even though schools have budgets in the millions, many are cutting costs anywhere they can.

Ottawa Elementary School Superintendent Cleve Threadgill suggested to his school board this week that they cut summer school, eliminate two health care positions, not pay an attorney to be at school board meetings and no longer pay people to keep score at games.

These cuts would amount to over 60 thousand dollars in savings.  The Ottawa Elementary School Board will vote on the proposed cuts next month.