Friday, August 30, 2013
Belvidere's Bread of Life Vitamins shop closing after 19 years - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
By Jennifer Wheeler
Darlene and David Allen have owned The Bread of Life Vitamin Shop in Belvidere for 19 years
The pair took a loan on the car and, by a stroke of luck, received a $20,000 investment from a family in their congregation.
The store certainly didn’t look perfect at first, but customers quickly picked up on the owners’ willingness to not only sell hard-to-get products but to educate them on the medicine. They listened to customers’ concerns patiently.
“In my day, doctors were much more than pill pushers. They sat down with the patient. They talked with the patient,” Darlene said. “That helped so much to put a person at ease and to show they care.”
The couple expects to move to Fort Collins, Colo., in early October to get some much-needed rest and relaxation. Darlene has been running the store solo since January when David suffered a heart attack.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Belvidere Township trustees vote to destroy meeting recordings - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
By Jennifer Wheeler
BELVIDERE — Citing “inconvenience and expense,” Belvidere Township officials passed a resolution earlier this month saying it’s OK to erase recordings of their meetings soon afterward.
The Township Board voted unanimously Aug. 13 to authorize destruction of tapes of its twice-monthly public meetings after trustees approve a report summarizing actions taken. Tapes of the annual township meeting will be maintained until the next annual township meeting.
Supervisor Patrick Murphy and Clerk Judy Schabacker declined to comment on the policy despite numerous requests from the Rockford Register Star.
Although the board policy violates no laws, the township ordinance runs contrary to the ideal of transparency in government and the practice of other local governments.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Illinois Tollway agrees to spare Johnson Road bridge over I-90 | Belvidere Daily Republican
Written by Bob Balgemann
After many weeks of discussions, Spring Township Supervisor Ryan Kufalk said, Monday, the township board was working on a long-term maintenance agreement for the bridge. That’s being done to keep the Tollway from tearing out the bridge and not replacing it, as was originally proposed.
“This seems to be a fair deal for them and for us,” he said. “It will cost them some money and us some money.”
Once the Genoa Road bridge is replaced, work will begin to take out the Johnson Road structure.
Kufalk said Genoa Road should be “up and running’ in December. That means taking out the Johnson Road bridge in the spring and replacing it by next summer. Work could begin sooner, he said, if there’s a mild winter.
He said he hoped the new bridge would be built of the same quality as the one to be taken out, which required minimal maintenance since being built about 50 years ago.
The Tollway’s general engineering consultant prepared the following cost estimates that the township would have to assume in the future:
- Year 20 – minor deck repairs. $20,000.
- Year 40 – moderate deck repairs, $50,000.
- Year 50 – moderate deck repairs, $50,000.
- Year 60 – reconstruction of the deck, $850,000
Click on the following for more details: Illinois Tollway agrees to spare Johnson Road bridge over I-90 | Belvidere Daily Republican
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Boone County museum to use addition as visitors draw - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
By Jennifer Wheeler
A $1.3 million renovation will connect its research center to the museum, 311 Whitney Blvd. The connecting room will add 6,000 square feet to the space, which will be used for educational programs and showcase rotating displays.
Construction should be completed in 30 to 60 days and, fingers crossed, an open house will be staged around Hometown Christmas festivities in December…
The district took out a 10-year loan for $950,000. That will be paid back through fundraisers and tax revenue, which generates about $200,000 annually from 0.02 percent of equalized assessed values.
Audit reveals ex-supervisor embezzled $750,000 from Moro Township : News
Thanks Cal Skinner (http://mchenrycountyblog.com/) for this interesting township story from the St. Louis Port-Dispatch.
Former Moro Township Supervisor Donald Flack embezzled more than $750,000 from the agency from 2003 until he resigned in May, a new audit claims.
The audit, conducted by the Alton accounting firm of Kenneth E. Loy & Co., determined that Flack embezzled $113,310 last year alone.
It blamed “lack of controls” for the loss.
The township is audited every four years…..
The township has an annual budget of about $400,000, collected from real estate taxes. Last year, it spent $255,000 to maintain roads.
The audit noted that last year’s general fund expenditures of $116,811 exceeded the annual operating budget by $45,591, with $40,106 “due to an Embezzlement loss.”
The audit recommended that the township begin requiring two signatures for each check, that someone other than the supervisor receive and reconcile bank statements and that oversight of duties be established.
Click on the following for more details: Audit reveals ex-supervisor embezzled $750,000 from Moro Township : News
Wolf Automotive in Belvidere closing at end of August - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
By Alex Gary
Wolf Automotive, a Belvidere mainstay since 1924, will close at the end of August.
The business was started by C.J. "Doc" Wolf and continued by Bill Wolf and now run by John Wolf. For 86 of those years the business was a General Motors dealership selling Chevrolet.
In 2009 though, in the depths of the Great Recession both General Motors and Chrysler were forced to reorganize in bankruptcy court. ….
In Belvidere, Chrysler took Dodge from Belvidere Motors and gave it to Jack Wolf Auto Mall, which is owned by John Wolf's uncle.
In Wolf Automotive's case, General Motors pulled the Chevrolet franchise and didn't reassign it, leaving Bachrodt the only Chevrolet dealer in Boone and Winnebago counties.
The effects were devastating. Belvidere Motors and Strandquist have long since closed and now Wolf Automotive will be added to the list.
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