Coal City Courant

Coal City, county agree to long-term animal control

Published by admin on Tue, 04/17/2018 - 6:19pm

     The village of Coal City and Grundy County have entered into a long-term contract for animal control services.
    Village trustees have given approval to an extension of the service agreement the parties entered into three years ago. The terms have not changed, however the village will pay a bit more for services.
    Additionally, the county presented the village with an  open ended contract and since the deal is scheduled to go on until one of the parties pulls out, the village has asked that a slight amendment be made.

School safety on the agenda

Published by admin on Tue, 04/17/2018 - 6:17pm

     At a time when school violence dominates the news, educators are looking for the most effective way to ensure all children feel safe when they walk into the classroom and take a seat at their desk.
    Unit 1 Superintendent Dr. Kent Bugg and the Unit 1 Board of Education believe every student deserves a safe place to learn and grow. So with that in mind, they are considering a school safety action plan that respects the wishes of administration, faculty and staff, as well as parents and the community.

FBLA provides Berta skills for a lifetime

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 5:03pm

Last weekend, Coal City High School’s chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) met at a state leadership conference in Springfield with over 1,500 FBLA members from across Illinois.
Helping organize the annual conference was senior Nick Berta who has serves on FBLA’s State Executive Council in the role of Central Northern Area vice president.
When the conference was over, I  sat down with Nick to talk about his experience in FBLA.

Coal City FBLA named outstanding chapter

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 5:01pm

     Coal City High School's chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) received the Robert T. Stickler Outstanding Chapter Award during the 69th annual State Leadership Meeting.
    Members, advisors and guests from chapters across the state participated in the 2018 conference held April 6 and 7 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. The two-day conference, with “Elevate Your Future” as the theme, provided members an opportunity to expand their business skills and compete in over 60 events.

Excellence in art

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 4:59pm

    Coal City High School’s art department took part in the Interstate Eight Conference Art Competition and three students were recognized for excellence in art.
    The annual event held last week at Herscher High School featured artwork submitted by students from each of the conference schools.
    Seventeen Coal City students submitted pieces for the contest. Two students—Emily Powers and Jessica Winslow—were entered in the portfolio competition. Winslow was named an All-Conference portfolio finalist, winning an Award of Excellence.

Unit 1 Board re-evaluating service contracts

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 4:55pm

     In its strategic plan, the Unit 1 Board of Education intends to review  professional services and the district’s administration is doing just that.
    To ensure the district’s needs are being met and it’s receiving the best services at the best price, the board has authorized administration to seek bids for architectural services, as well as waste removal.

Small towns, big money

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 3:46pm

     When video gaming went live in 2012, counties and municipalities had two choices—opt in or opt out.
    Carbon Hill and Diamond went all in. Coal City opted out, at least for a while.
    It was spring 2012 when a representative of the Illinois Gaming Board paid a visit to the village of Coal City to announce its plan to begin licensing video gaming locations.
    Neal Nelson, who was the mayor at the time, had concerns about allowing gaming to commence in the village and asked trustees to take some time to research the topic.

Presenting a plan for South Broadway

Published by admin on Tue, 04/10/2018 - 3:30pm

     Parking concepts being contemplated for the reconstruction of South Broadway have been the talk of the town, but there is much more to the plan than parking. Last weekend town officials provided an opportunity for the community to come in and take a look at streetscape proposals.
    The informal information session was held at the mayor’s request, because he wanted to give residents an opportunity to view the proposals, make suggestions and provide feedback, and they did just that.

South Broadway project more than just parking

Published by admin on Tue, 04/03/2018 - 7:00pm

      The doors to Coal City’s Village Hall will be open Saturday and town leaders are encouraging citizens to step inside to get a first hand look at what’s proposed for the reconstruction of South Broadway.
    An informal information session will take place Saturday, April 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Village officials and engineers in charge of designing the project will be on hand to explain it, answer questions and accept feedback on the proposal.

Girls lead the charge with Constellation grant

Published by admin on Tue, 04/03/2018 - 6:57pm

Joliet Junior College was recently awarded one of the Constellation E2 Energy to Educate Grants. Constellation is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, the nation's leading competitive energy provider.
JJC's project “Girls Leading the Charge” will provide 250 middle-school female students in its district with a unique opportunity to learn about energy, specifically solar powered cars by becoming a design engineer.