News

Macomb, IL – Macomb aldermen Monday will be asked to support the idea of a bike path from the northeast edge of town to the East Jackson Street shopping area. The project is being proposed by the McDonough County Trails and Greenways Committee. Member Dave King says the quarter-mile asphalt trail would offer a safe and direct route that would keep walkers and bikers from having to go along East Jackson Street with its heavy traffic. King says 80 percent of the $112,000 project could come from Illinois Department of Transportation Enhancement Funding.

Macomb, IL – Recording land transactions at the county level will become more expensive in Illinois. The state is adding a $10 surcharge. In McDonough County, that will be on top of the current $32 basic charge. County Clerk Florine Miller says $9 of the surcharge will be forwarded to the state to help pay for a program to develop housing for rural low-income families. She says $1 can be kept by her office to help cover the cost of tracking and forwarding the surcharge money. Miller says her office normally records about 6,000 such land transaction documents each year.

West Burlington, IA – The Southeastern Community College Board of Trustees will accept applications for president until September. Interviews will be held in October. The board hopes to have a new president in place by the end of the year. SCC Board Chairman Jeff Heland says the search will not be limited to educators or administrators because trustees do not want to rule out candidates from other sectors such as business or government. The new president will replace Jim Richardson, who recently left SCC to take a job in the Pacific northwest.

Macomb. IL – The Macomb Department of Public Works is asking aldermen for permission to upgrade security at the city's yard waste disposal site. The site grinds yard waste into mulch, which is then made available to residents. But Director of Public Works Terry Wrestler says some people are dumping other items such as refrigerators and mattress box springs. Wrestler suggests the city put a fence around the property. He would also like to have the site manned to make sure it's used only by Macomb residents.

Macomb, IL – The Macomb Department of Public Works is asking aldermen for permission to upgrade security around the city's yard waste disposal site. The site grinds yard waste into mulch, which is then made available to residents. But Director of Public Works Terry Wrestler says some people are dumping other items such as refrigerators and mattress box springs. Wrestler would like to put a fence around the property. He would also like to have the site manned to make sure it's used only by Macomb residents.

Galesburg, IL – Knox College will use a $219,000 grant from the Luce Foundation to offer scholarships and other inducements to encourage more women to study the sciences. Dean Larry Breitbord says two scholarships will be awarded in the next two springs. He says the college will also schedule special speakers and create mentoring programs to encourage women students to take physics and computer sciences. He says those are among the college's strongest programs.

Macomb, IL 61455 – McDonough County is asking its insurance carrier to provide an attorney to defend it against a civil rights lawsuit. Two workers say the county infringed on their free speech and took job actions against them when they insisted on something being done when pornography was allegedly discovered on the county engineer's computer. One worker was fired and one was demoted. Citing the specialized nature of the charges, the State's Attorney suggested the county's insurance carrier might provide an attorney. So far the county has not received a reply to that request.

Macomb, IL – McDonough County is still waiting to find out if its insurance carrier will provide an attorney to defend it against a federal lawsuit. The suit filed by former county workers Jeremy Pestle and Bryan Graves charges the county, the board chairman and the highway committee chairman with violating due process and with infringing on free speech rights. State's attorney James Hoyle says he suggested the county use an outside attorney.

Keokuk, IA – Lee County residents will soon have a chance to weigh in on potential changes to some of the rural voting precincts. The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing during its July 19 meeting. Two public forums will be held July 21. One will begin at 6 p.m. at the Pilot Grove Savings Bank Community room. The other will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Great River Regional Waste Authority in Fort Madison. The three mergers being considered could save the county about $40,000 when it purchases new voting machines.

Keokuk, IA – The Lee County Board of Supervisors has reached a decision over a recent controversy surrounding vacation time. An employee, who received excess vacation time inadvertantly, will reimburse the county for 129 hours of vacation time. It can be done by giving up vacation time, making cash payments, or a combination of the two. Board chairman Rick Larkin says the deal was agreeable to all concerned. The employee received the extra vacation time because the accrual rate was not changed when the worker moved from part-time to full-time status.