News Briefs 1/16/2024: it's still very cold

Snow is not falling right now, but with a predicted high of 2 degrees F on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 it's still cold enough to cancel school and events. With patchy blowing snow, wind chill during the day may reach -32. Wednesday's high is expected near 15, but it may still feel like -21.

Hononegah, Shirland, Rockton, Prairie Hill, and Kinnikinnick School Districts announced Monday night that Tuesday will be a remote learning day. South Beloit schools will have a snow day. Some preschools will be closed, including Cross and Crown Preschool,  Old Stone Preschool, and Village Nursery School. But Kids Spot in Roscoe is open with a "school's out camp."

Tuesday's 50 North event scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled "due to the inclement weather this coming week... We will keep you posted about our upcoming events for February! Stay safe, everyone!"

At Tuesday's village meetings, the Village of Roscoe is expected to discuss and approve a tentative annual budget for fiscal year 2024. The Village of Rockton is planning to sell its property at 53 W. Rockton Road, across the street from the former Goldie Floberg Center at 58 West Rockton Road, which the center donated to the Village of Rockton in June 2023.

Applications are open for scholarships. The local volunteer organization elev815 expects to award many $500 scholarships to graduating seniors from Harlem, Hononegah, or South Beloit High School who want to continue their education a trade school, vocational school, community college, or university. The application deadline is February 28, 2024.  Rockton Township announces a $2,000 TOI Scholarship sponsored by Townships of Illinois, available to any graduating high school senior who wants to attend an Illinois college or university. The mail-in deadline is March 1.

A reader points out that the Hononegah girls basketball team is now at 47 straight conference wins ("could have been 48 if East hadn't been snowed in!")  He notes that the 47th victory was a "very physical" makeup game against Guilford on Thursday, Jan.  11, 2024 , an overtime win by three points. The Associated Press has ranked them in the top 10 in this week's Illinois AP 4A Poll.

Adam Humphries, a business major from Rockton, IL, has been elected president of Delta Chi Fraternity at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He graduated from Hononegah High School in 2021.

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