COUNTY

Winterfest celebration at Russell Woods

The University of Illinois 2019 Winterfest Program will be held 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Jan. 19 at Russell Woods Forest Preserve, 11750IL-72, Genoa. Snacks and lunch will be served from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tickets will be available for purchase from the Genoa Prairie Gems 4-H Club, and proceeds will support the club. The winter scenery of Russell Woods can be enjoyed from horse-drawn wagon rides, which will be available from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith

DeKALB

Smith to lay out 2019 plans for city

DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith will give his State of the City address, during a Committee of the Whole meeting Jan. 14, which is set to begin at 5 p.m. It will precede the regular City Council meeting in City Hall, 200 S. Fourth St.

His speech is expected to include comments about the city’s relationship with Northern Illinois University, regional collaboration, more personal outreach to businesses, retail partners and industrial community, a more regional role for the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport and improved relationships between the city and its state and national legislative leaders.

Smith was elected in spring 2017, and this will be his second state of DeKalb address, marking the end of his first full calendar year in office.

Farm show to offer dicamba training

Dicamba training will be a new feature of the annual IDEAg Northern Illinois Farm Show, scheduled for Jan. 9 and Jan. 10. in the NIU Convocation Center, 1525 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb.

The show hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 9 and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 10. Admission is free. The dicamba workshop will take place at 1 p.m. Jan. 10.

The training will help area farmers get ready for the 2019 growing season, following the USEPA’s decision to allow the continued use of dicamba, a broad-spectrum herbicide,

on soybeans for 2019 and 2020. The Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association is coordinating the workshop with Bayer. Attendees are asked to register online at NorthernIllinoisFarmShow.com.

The farm show will also feature exhibits from major agri-business companies across the Midwest, including Altorfer, Inc., who will feature its all-new Cat Side by Side. In addition to the dicamba training, the University of Illinois Extension will provide workshops with topics including weather and watersheds. Attendees will also find tips for controlling the financial side of their business from financial management company, Stewart-Peterson. WTVO’s Candice King will give farmers an idea of what to expect with her weather outlook, and Bryan Doherty, senior market Advisor of Stewart-Peterson, will give a talk entitled, “Take Control of the Financial Side of Your Business.” 

The schedule of educational programs and a full list of exhibitors can be found at NorthernIllinoisFarmShow.com. 

GENOA, KIRKLAND

Two communities seek state loans for water projects

Northern DeKalb County communities Genoa and Kirkland have applied for Illinois Environmental Protection Agency loans for water projects.

The loans would amount to $934,698 through the agency’s water pollution control loan program and $1,637,875 through the state’s public water supply loan program, respectively.

Genoa would use its loan to update its water main system on South Genoa Street, update the water tower and water well at 131 Prairie St. Most of the work is maintenance. Parts of the well are past their useful life and need to be updated to help increase pump output. The work is expected to begin in April and end in March 2020.

Kirkland is looking to receive a water pollution control loan to create a better water retention area by Bull Run Creek in the Kirkwood subdivision. Homes were built on the marshland when they really shouldn’t have been, and village officials were told by the state’s Department of Natural Resources and IEPA in the early 1990s to stop building in the high-risk floodplain area, which is between the creek and Malta Road in Kirkland.

The proposed project will be subject to a public hearing at 7 p.m. Jan. 17, during which more information on the circumstances of which the houses continued to be built in the area will be further discussed. The project is expected to improve water quality, provide wildlife habitat and help protect homes from flooding.

Currently, water users are charged $17.65 every other month for the first 4,000 gallons of water used, plus $4.40 per 1,000 additional gallons. The village intends to add a flat fee of $14.54 as a line item for each water bill for stormwater capital improvements. The new charge would be implemented starting May 1. Construction is expected to begin in March and end in June.

–DeKalb County News Briefs–