Morton School District 709 is asking voters in March to approve a $10.5 million bond proposal to cover the cost of necessary improvements to all six of the district’s schools. (Photo from School District 709)

East Peoria

City approves increase in property tax rate

The City Council has approved the first property tax rate increase in five years. The council adopted a property tax rate tied to the national rate of inflation, which at present is .5 percent based on the latest report posted on Dec. 15. The rate adopted by the city was .8 percent, bringing in about $200,000 more revenue for the city. The action came after a few weeks of debate.Those in opposition to the plan proposed instead an increase to the city’s local sales tax rate. By raising the property tax rate, they said, it keeps the city in a mode of spending more than it takes in. The property tax plan passed on a 4-1 vote.

Residents can report vital address information

East Peoria residents can now leave vital information about family members or items in the home can contact the East Peoria Police Department’s Telecommunications Center at (309) 698-4700 and have those details added to their address. Important information to report includes: having a large amount of oxygen bottles in a home; a hidden key location in case of medical emergency; information on a bedridden resident who might need to be rescued in the event of a fire; and hearing-impaired and vision-impaired residents.

Pekin

Park District looks ahead to summer hiring

The Pekin Park District will be holding a summer employment job fair from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 30 in room 250 at Memorial Arena, 250 Red Bud Drive. All applicants must be at least 16 years old at the time of hiring.

The Recreation Department will be hiring for several positions including: teaching swim lessons, summer day camp counselors, swim team coach, teaching children’s dance, coaches and counselors for Special Recreation, environmental ed teachers, scorekeeping and umpiring adult softball, and attendant/janitorial at Soldwedel Program Center.  

There also will be openings at the golf courses for the grounds crew as well as in the pro shop and at DragonLand Water Park and at Mineral Spring Park concessions

In addition, there will be opportunities for volunteering.

Crash kills Bradley student, Peoria woman

A head-on crash on U.S. Route 24 south of Bartonville on the evening of Dec. 14 killed a Bradley University senior and a Peoria woman.  Zakery Haubrich, 21, of Quincy, and Rhonda Brooks, 55, 3119 N. Ellis St., Peoria, were dead at the scene, according to the Peoria County Coroner. There were no passengers in either car and both victims were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, according to reports. Brooks was driving east on Route 24, headed home from her job at Seico Security in Pekin. Her car drifted across the westbound lanes, up an embankment and then crashed head on into the Chevrolet Impala driven by Haubrich, according to reports. Haubrich was a music business major at Bradley who was heading home for the semester break

Morton

School District 709 putting bond plan before voters

Voters will decide if School District 709 should go ahead with a plan for what are being described as urgent upgrades at all six of the district’s schools. The School Board unanimously agreed to place on the March primary ballot a proposal for issuing $10.5 million in bonds for covering the costs of the building improvements. If voters approve the plan, the district will add in another $1.5 million from it’s working cash reserves to help cover the costs.  The district’s tax rate would increase about 27 cents per $100 equalized assessed valuation if the plan passes. That would result in homeowners paying roughly between $70 to $165 more in taxes to the district over a seven-year span. The district also is hoping to get help from federal school construction money issued through the Illinois State Board of Education. That would could save taxpayers more than $1 million.

State

Specialty Crops conference will be in Springfield

The Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism and Organic Conference will be held Jan. 6-8, 2016, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield. The conference, which features nearly 100 speakers and 60 trade show exhibitors, will again host four concurrent pre-conference workshops, general sessions and breakout sessions aimed at helping Illinois specialty growers cultivate their businesses.

Following Thursday’s breakout sessions, the annual banquet will include a keynote speech titled, “How Social Media Has Revolutionized and How We Drive Traffic to our Farm,” by Chris Eckert, Eckert’s Orchard, Belleville. The 27th annual Apple Cider Contest and 14th annual Hard Cider Contest will again be held in conjunction with the conference, with winners being announced during Thursday evening’s festivities.           

To receive registration materials or to obtain exhibitor information, please contact Diane Handley at 309-557-3662 or dhandley@ilfb.org.  Also, for more information, visit http://www.ilfb.org/ifb-news-and-events/ifb-in-action/2015-december/121415-specialty-growers.aspx#sthash.XmcGzQvL.dpuf.

Central Illinois

PARCC test results show schools need improvement

Scores from the inaugural PARCC test — Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career — were released Dec. 11.  The results showed only 33 percent of Illinois students met or exceeded expectations. Only 9 percent of students in East Peoria High School met or exceeded expectations and only 25 percent of Washington High School students met or exceeded expectations, according to reports. Bloomington District 87 showed 28 percent of students met or exceeded the standards while Morton High Schools showed more than half of students there met or exceeded expectations. The state superintendent has said the results of the test should not be used to label any student or school as failing, but instead schools can use the information to determine where students need help.  This was the first year for the PARCC, replacing the ISAT and P.S.A.E.

Hunters get more than 86,700 deer during firearm season

Deer hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 86,771 deer during the seven-day Firearm Deer Season that closed on Sunday, Dec. 6, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. That figure compares to 76,575 deer harvested during the seven days of firearm season in 2014, according to the IDNR.

Preliminary harvest figures for the second segment of the firearm season on Dec. 3-6 totaled 28,803, compared with 24,745 during the second season in 2014.  The preliminary harvest total for the first segment of firearm season on Nov. 20-22 was 57,968 deer, compared with the 51,830 deer taken by hunters during the first season in 2014.  Deer hunting opportunities remain in Illinois this fall and early winter.

Medical professor awarded grant for Alzheimer’s research

Peoria medical school professor Dr. Ken Fukuch has been awarded a $440,000 grant to expand his research into the possible causes of Alzheimer’s disease. Fukuchi, a professor in the department of cancer biology and pharmacology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, has been studying the disease for 30 years. The grant goes toward a study looking into a dysfunction in the immune system of the brain and how cell function may affect the development of Alzheimer’s.

–Tazewell County Area News Briefs–