Pretzel City Brewfest will take place Saturday September 24th on the corner of Chicago and Douglas (across the street from the Freeport Public Library) and next to the post office.
VIP Admission will open at noon with General Admission opening at 1 pm. The event will last until 5:30 p.m.
For details and tickets go to http://www.freeportdowntown.com/pretzel-city-brewfest/
At the Freeport, Illinois, City Council Meeting on September 19, 2016, the Council approved the City Engineer’s use of City equipment for construction purposes for the Forrestville Valley School District. Of course, the City Engineer said the School District would reimburse the City for the equipment use. The precedent has been set for City employees to use City equipment in off duty hours as long as they pay rent for the equipment! Alderpersons Chesney and Miller voted against renting out City equipment and employees, but the rest of the alderpersons had no problem with this new policy. I guess this means that our taxes will be lowered in Freeport as a result of all this new rental income. Perhaps, Freeport can teach the State of Illinois a lesson. The state can rent out equipment, employees, and buildings to reduce the deficit. With all of that new income, the State will actually be able to lower taxes.
The Freeport City Council meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month at 6:00 pm at the temporary City Hall at 524 W. Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor. You can watch it live on Comcast Channel 17.
The complete agenda will not be reviewed here since you can read it on line at http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20160919.pdf
Two items I do find of interest are deer hunting at The Freeport Club (old Freeport Country Club on Park Blvd) and an intergovernmental agreement with the Forrestville Valley School District.
Ordinance #2016-50 will permit deer hunting at The Freeport Club with bows from October 1, 2016 to January 15, 2017. What a joke! There are herds of deer all over Freeport. How many did they kill last year? Unless they killed hundreds, it does not make a dent in the deer problem. While the Mayor and Council fail to address the problem, the deer population continues to multiply within the City.
As to the intergovernmental agreement with the Forrestville Valley School District. I wish the City Engineer would concentrate on the streets and issues in Freeport. Mr. Gallagher, another City employee who does not live in Freeport, is more worried about the Forreston School District where he serves on the School board than he is about the conditions in Freeport. My advice to Mr. Gallagher – concentrate your attention on Freeport. We pay your salary. This agreement is a joke which should not be approved. I hope the Council has read the ten-page resolution submitted by Mr. Gallagher! And don’t waste City money having the Interim Corporation Council review it!
One other item of interest to Freeport residents is that the only bid for leaf disposal was from Dickman Farm Service for $40,000. Mayor Gitz has an excellent column in the Sunday, September 18, edition of the Journal Standard where he explains the City’s leaf pick up procedure. Every resident should read it at http://www.journalstandard.com/opinion/20160917/freeport-mayors-view-dos-and-donts-of-leaf-pickup
Ten years ago in the City of Freeport, it was a rare occurrence to see deer in the daytime. Now you will see herds of deer in parts of Freeport 24 hours a day. They are eating their way through our plants, shrubs, and small trees. The City has spent and continues to spend tens of thousands of dollars yearly on downtown beautification while the rest of the City to put it bluntly goes to Hell. I guess there is no money for a program to reduce the deer population. If only the deer would relocate to the downtown. Then and only then would we get some action. In the meantime, just buy lots of mulch for your flower beds since you will have no living plants. Give Alderperson Klemm a call. Perhaps. he can get you a beautification grant to buy mulch! Then again, don’t waste your time calling him. He will do nothing as usual except pontificate about his do-nothing 10 years as an alderperson.
Happy 90th Birthday to Jack Sward of Freeport, Illinois, a great friend and great patriot!
Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Certain alderpersons on the present Freeport City Council have consistently supported more spending and higher taxes. This group is led by Tom Klemm, Sally Brashaw, and Mike Koester who have not seen a tax increase or higher spending that they did not feel was necessary. I for one agree with Alderman Chesney – WE ARE TAXED ENOUGH. For those who feel they are undertaxed, they are free to copy the above form and make an additional contribution to the City of Freeport. I hope everyone sends Klemm, Brashaw, and Koester a copy of the form. As the expression goes, put your money where your mouth is!
The above quote is from General Eisenhower, and is one of many at the World War II Memorial in Washington which honors the 16 million who served in our armed forces during World War II.
This posting is an update to the previous posting. It is hard to believe, but it is being reported that the plane that made an emergency on June 1 is the same plane that made an emergency landing today (June 2). It is even being reported that it was the same mechanical issue both days! For God’s sake, what kind of airline is this? A plane makes an emergency landing one day, and the next day it is back in service and not repaired. See Tampa Bay Times article at http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/allegiant-air-flight-returns-for-emergency-landing-after-circling-gulf/2279958
Also, see news report on Fox 13, Tampa at
http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/151770367-story
Local Newspapers and TV stations in Northwest Illinois continue to ignore safety issues at Allegiant Air. This morning an Allegiant flight to Stewart-Newburg Airport in New York from Clearwater, Florida made an emergency landing at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. Fox Channel 13 reported this morning (June 2) that the plane had hydraulic issues, and spent an hour circling in the Gulf dumping fuel. Fortunately, the plane made a safe landing. See the television report of Channel 13, Tampa, Florida at http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/151770367-story
What makes this matter even worse is that this is the second emergency at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport by an Allegiant plane in two days. Channel 8 in Tampa, Florida reported that on Wednesday (June 1) Allegiant flight 871 made an emergency landing after declaring an emergency due to a mechanical issue.
See postings on Good Day Illinois on May 9 and January 25, 2016 on safety issues at Allegiant Air. What will it take for local media to report these issues?
Good Day Illinois - Happenings in Northwest Illinois 