THE PEOPLES VOICE | LAMONT JOHNSON OF FRANKLIN GROVE
Michael Krabbenhoeft/[email protected] Johnson,
42, of Franklin Grove, exercises June 10 in the pool at the
Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA. Johnson suffers from multiple sclerosis
and uses the pool to help with his therapeutic process.
Heimerman is the Night News Editor at Sauk Valley Media. He can
be reached at [email protected] or 800-798-4085, ext.
5523.
christopherHEIMERMAN
He just keeps swimming
Fifteen years later, man keeps outworking MSL amont Johnson is
surrounded by shrieking children, oblivious to his therapeutic
ses-sion at the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA pool.
The 42-year-old Franklin Grove man crosses the width of the
pool, springing off one leg onto the other, each time looking down.
He needs to make sure he is, in fact, standing on a foot. After
all, hes got only about 70 percent of the feeling in his feet.
Often less.
So, he looks down, then springs again, and again, until he
reaches the side. For his next muscle set-isolating exercise, he
springs with both legs at once, back and forth.
His face cant hide the pain, the frustration. He snaps his head
to the side violently, like a colt trying to shake off an incessant
fly. He gnash-es his teeth and persists,
shaking his head once he reaches the side.A few varied sets
later, he gives a thumbs up.
Not to me, or anyone. No one here knows him. Hes encouraging
himself.
SWIMMING continued on A84
BY ANGEL [email protected]
800-798-4085, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra
Social service agencies and con-tractors in the Sauk Valley are
in the deep end as financial resourc-es dry up. Its putting clients
and customers at risk, and treading into dangerous territory,
accord-ing to several area providers.
The initial effects of a state bud-getary stalemate were widely
felt this week after proposed legisla-tion to pass a temporary
1-month budget was killed in the state House on Wednesday.
Michele Miller, executive director of Northwestern Illinois
Center for Independent Living, 412 Locust St. in Sterling, held
back tears as she read a prepared statement Thurs-day to a crowd of
about 20 sup-porters and media members.
Today, eight people are not here working because of the lack of
a budget. Today, we can-not serve, she said of the group,
which provides services critical to those with disabilities,
enabling them to live independently.
Those suffering are not the legis-lators, Miller said, but the
people.
Lawmakers still are getting paid as they recessed for the
Indepen-dence Day holiday; the paychecks were made automatic last
year under former Gov. Pat Quinn.
NICIL shuttered its doors this week for the first time in 30
years, Miller said, a decision that wasnt made lightly, but was the
best route to conserve the money it has left.
Now, were the adversaryLegislators leave agencies scrambling,
frustrated
Philip Marruffo/[email protected] Hazelhurst of
Rock Falls talks Wednesday about assistance she receives from
Northwestern Illinois Center for Independent Living, one of many
local agencies placed in dire straits by legislators inability to
agree to a budget.
STATE BUDGET | LOCAL IMPACT
More on A5What does the impasse mean
for state grants, and the local projects for which theyre
tabbed?
BUDGET continued on A24
EDUCATION
BY JERMAINE [email protected]
800-798-4085, ext. 5525 @JPigee84
DIXON Most students who enroll at Sauk Valley Commu-nity College
stay on campus for 2 years.
But for Dixon resident Alberto Gonzalez, enrolling at Sauk has
become a yearly routine.
Since 1979, Gonzalez has been enrolling at the 2-year college.
Although he has an associate of arts degree in lib-eral arts that
he earned in 2010, he continues to take classes on a regular
basis.
This is for my own personal gain, and its for personal enrich-m
e n t , s a i d Gonzalez, 65. It keeps my mind busy so I dont fall
into a rut.
Insatiable appetite for knowledge 36 years later, Dixon man
still taking courses at Sauk Valley C.C.
Meet ForrestBest friend never
lets MS sufferer down. More on A9
Alberto Gonzalez
Dixon man has earned more than 170 college cred-its, six
certificates
KNOWLEDGE continued on A54
PETUNIA FEST
Check out highlights from Fridays slate at Petunia Festival in
Dixon. Photos, A3
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Whiteside, Carroll, Ogle and Bureau countiesWBELOVED TALE TAKES
FLIGHT AT TIMBER LAKETHEATER REVIEW, A3
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VOLUME 7ISSUE 4440 Pages
Business Community IndexThe spray coming out of the fire hose
was the only clean water to be seen at a mud volleyball tournament
in Tampico. See our photo essay.See Page
C12
Innovative Pennsylvania ice cream shop experiments with home
delivery.See Page C1
Today: 82/61For the forecast,
see Page A10
eekend
Sunny
QU ES TIO ?N
TRIVIA
ILL CC 10540 US DOT 76235
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A2 SV Weekend www.saukvalley.com Saturday, July 4, 2015
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SVWeekend
POLICESterling Police
Susanne N. Kendrick, 41, of Sterling; 10:30 p.m. Thursday at
West Ninth Street and Avenue I; crimi-nal damage to property; given
notice to appear in court.
Dixon PoliceJulie L. Hays Didlinger,
56, of Oregon; 3:46 p.m. Thursday in the 1600 block of South
Galena Avenue; retail theft, less than $300; released and given
notice to appear in court. Kyrell Bruce, 21, of Dixon; 11:24 p.m.
Thurs-day at Hennepin Avenue and West First Street; Ste-phenson
County warrant, open alcohol ordinance violation; taken to Lee
County Jail.
State PoliceClayton B. McThenia,
42, of Rock Falls; 2:11 p.m. Thursday at 14th Avenue and U.S.
Route 30 in Rock Falls; seat belt vio-lation, driving while license
suspended, warrant for failure to appear in court; taken to
Whiteside County Jail. James E. Jones, 62, of Rockford; 10:22 p.m.
Thursday on Interstate 39 in Ogle County; driving while license
suspended; posted $1,500 bond and given notice to appear in court.
Alan D. Henderson, 50, of Minneapolis; 1:57 a.m. Friday on I-39 in
Ogle County; driving while license suspended; posted $1,500 bond
and given notice to appear in court. John J. Stanley, 75, of Rock
Falls; 2 p.m. Wednesday at First Avenue and 21st Street in Rock
Falls; improper lane usage citation.
Keith W. Ross, 48, of Clinton, Iowa; 4 p.m. Wednesday at West
Third Street and Highland Ave-nue in Dixon; illegal use of
cellphone, driving with a suspended license; posted bond and given
notice to appear in court. Juanita A. Alegria, 40, of Rockford;
6:14 p.m. Wednesday on I-39 in Ogle County; speeding, war-rant for
failure to appear in court; posted $200 bond and given notice to
appear in court.
Ogle County Sheriff
Daniel W. Childers, 35, of Steward; Thursday; war-rant for
failure to appear in court; taken to Ogle Coun-ty Jail and given
notice to appear to court. James Salazar, 25, of Rochelle;
Thursday; peti-tion to revoke; taken to Ogle County Jail and given
notice to appear in court. Jacob Belter, 23, of Stillman Valley;
11:13 p.m. Thursday in the 2000 block of East Mill Road; possession
of drug para-phernalia, and possession of marijuana, less than 2.5
grams; taken to Ogle County Jail. Justin Bertaud, 22, of Sycamore;
Thursday; Ogle County warrant for failure to appear in court;
posted $231 bond and given notice to appear in court. Rachel J.
Bradbury, 28, of Rockford; Thursday; Ogle County warrant for
possession of a controlled substance; posted $25,000 bond and given
notice to appear in court. James S. Shumate, 42, of Rockford;
Thursday; Ogle County warrant for failure to appear; posted $3,105
bond and given notice to appear in court. Shannon L. Thompson, 29,
of Rockford; Thursday; Ogle County warrant for failure to appear;
posted $850 bond and given notice to appear in court.
BIRTHDAYSHappy birthday to Sandy
Zetterburg, Eva Connolly, Earl Scholl, Jerry French, Finnegan
Simmons, 2, Becky Roell, Virginia John-son, and Tammy Martin, all
on Saturday.
Happy birthday to Doris Kennay and Kevin Lemus, both on
Sunday.
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LOTTERY NUMBERSPick Three-Midday: 8-4-2 Fireball: 1
Pick Four-Midday: 2-3-6-8 Fireball: 1
Lucky Day Lotto Midday: 15-24-25-31-45
Estimated Lotto jackpot: $14.75 million
Estimated Mega Millions jackpot: $84 million
Estimated Powerball jackpot: $70 million
Editors note: Because of early deadlines Friday night, evening
draws and Mega Millions numbers were not available at press
time.
Our team supports our consumers through a variety of programs
and services, she empha-sized. These services cannot be delivered
through any other source than the hands-on deliv-ery that our team
mem-bers provide.
In the meantime, the emergency plan NICIL will deploy is to
return in September and operate solely on reserve funds if a budget
is not soon approved, Miller said. She said the agency would be
lucky to make it to Octo-ber on the reserve funds.
Tri-County clients scrambling
On June 19, the Rock Falls-based Tri-County Opportunities
Council celebrated its 50th anni-versary, and in the 36 years that
Terri Lawrence has worked for the agen-cy, the situation has never
been more dire.
Tri-County serves a 9-county region, includ-ing Bureau, Carroll,
Lee, Ogle, and Whiteside counties, providing cru-cial services such
as com-munity outreach, energy/utilities assistance, and our
regions Head Start preschool program.
Tri-County gets a mix of federal and state money, but it has not
received fed-eral funds since April, said Lawrence, who has been at
the helm as president and CEO for more than a year.
It received $4,743,943 in grant money from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services in the middle of last year, which ran
a coverage period that ended March 31.
That grant was Head Starts only funding source, Lawrence told
Sauk Valley Media in June 2014.
Under the Low Income Home Energy Assis-tance Program (LIHEAP)
umbrella, which pro-vides aid to fixed-income households and
seniors, the Percentage of Income Payment Plan, or PIPP,
accommodates those who need help with elec-tric and gas bills.
There are a lot of elderly people in that program, said
Lawrence, who, as of Wednesday, had budget plans sus-pended and
payment schedules reverted.
Both programs were sus-pended this week, imme-diately affecting
about 2,100 people across the nine counties, including 414 in
Whiteside County and 284 in Lee County.
Those people are scrambling right now, she said.
Tri-County as a whole employs around 250 workers, but because
some programs are propped up by other funding methods, the number
of local workers directly affected by the state impasse is closer
to 40, Lawrence said.
During the busy sea-son, 13 staffers drive the LIHEAP program,
and five the weatherization program; all but one in each program
were let go, Lawrence said.
At other area organiza-tions, employees still are coming to
work, but the situation is unstable.
Sinnissippi CEO: Its tragic
Sinnissippi Centers pro-vides an integral menu of services for
adults and children, such as outpa-tient services, crisis
inter-vention, and residential sites where clients live
full-time.
The organization got word through the grape-vine that it had
received its state contracts, but it should take those dollar
amounts with a grain of salt, CEO Patrick Phelan said.
The government owes it about $1.5 million in back payments, and
cash flow will become a huge issue if the bills arent paid.
Effective Friday, clients and customers who were receiving free
medica-tions were put on a slid-ing scale for payments, even though
some are considered the working poor, and paying still will be out
of their means, he said.
Hospitalization is likely if clients dont get their medications,
and people could die, Phelan said.
Generally speaking, he said, some mental health diseases can cut
lifespans by some 20 to 25 years compared to the rest of the
population, which is when mortality rates are most likely to
increase through suicides.
I dont think the people making decisions under-stand, Phelan
said, add-ing that its the worst political back-and-forth that hes
seen.
Now, were the adver-sary ... begging for funds, he said, and
highlighted that he feels that compa-nies like his are no longer a
partner of the state. It truly is a shift, [and] its tragic.
4-C no longer able to provide aid
Susan Petersen, execu-tive director at Commu-nity Coordinated
Child Care (4-C), is based at a regional office in DeKalb that
serves six counties.
Petersen let providers know that it is no longer able to help
individuals and families on financial assistance as of Wednes-day,
and that paychecks still will be sent in July for services rendered
in June.
There are no guarantees to providers for reimburse-ment, she
said, and poli-cies also are changing for those on financial
assis-tance: applications today will be placed on a waiting list,
unless a specific set of criteria are met.
We are hoping and expecting the govern-ment to do their job, she
said. This is not an enti-tlement program. This is a program that
helps families become self-suf-ficient.
Just another year at the office
At the Whiteside County Health Department, its business as
usual, as the departments administra-tor, Beth Fiorini, pointed out
that its accustomed to the states late payments.
Im hoping that they settle something fairly quickly, [but] well
go as long as we can, she said.
Payroll at the depart-ment is processed through delayed state
payments and some federal funds.
Were always a few months behind, [and] you never get their money
right on time, she quipped. At some point, they have to get their
act together, be grown-ups, and get a budget passed for the people
of this state.
BUDGETCONTINUED FROM A1
t
Those people are scrambling ...
NICIL clients leave messages at the office in Sterling,
demonstrating the nonprofits importance in their livelihood.
Photos by Philip Marruffo/[email protected] with
board members, Michele Miller, executive director of Northwestern
Illinois Center for Indepen-dent Living, tears up as she talks
about the closing of the Sterling office after state legislators
inability to pass a budget before Wednesday the start of fiscal
year 2016.
