News Briefs 1/3/2024
In the news: warm walks, Denali Heights streets, Food 4 Fuel, upcoming stories, multipurpose pavilion, new pastor
Hononegah principal Chad Dougherty tells us that the high school's fieldhouse off Union Street in Rockton is still open from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. for community members who want to take a walk safe from the winter weather. He says, "numbers have dwindled back to the regulars who have always used the facility to walk." In the April 2017 election, voters authorized up to $17.8 million in bonds to build the fieldhouse to replace the dome that collapsed during an ice storm in late 2015.
At the first Village of Roscoe board meeting of the year, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, trustees are expected to approve a joint agreement with the City of South Beloit for Fehr-Graham & Associates to provide municipal engineering services. The Village's portion would be $83,700 for 2024. Fehr-Graham has provided engineering services to Roscoe for years.
Roscoe trustees will also discuss whether to declare developer Jeff Petry in default of an August 2021 settlement agreement for Plat 2 of his Denali Heights subdivision and to authorize a draw against his letter of credit to pay for public improvements. The agreement required Petry Home Builders to construct thicker, wider 26 foot roads with curb, gutter and sidewalks, instead of following a 1993 rural standard which allowed 22 foot roads.
Cassandra Langr is not only the first female pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Rockton. She's probably also the church's first black Floridian pastor who studied cell biology and neuroscience before attending an Assemblies of God seminary. Read the story. And an older story about her.
Food 4 Fuel, which is based at 4866 Bluestem Rd in Roscoe, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Our award-winning reporter Alycia Dioneda is working on the story. She also has her eye on cooking classes at Shorty's Kitchen in South Beloit, which are starting every Saturday beginning January 13.
Roscoe Township is preparing to build a multipurpose pavilion between the Cross homestead and the Community Center at Founders Park, 4562 Hononegah Road in Roscoe, IL.
Bindi Patel, from Rockton, IL, has been named a resident assistant (RA) at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for the 2023-24 academic year. Patel is an economics major. RAs are part-time student staff members who live in the residence halls with students, serve as a resource and positive role model, and help build a sense of community by hosting floor events.
