Coal City Courant

A new way to pay

Published by admin on Tue, 08/08/2023 - 4:30pm

The Unit 1 School District is changing the way it pays sports officials.

Starting with the fall athletic season there will be no more paper checks handed out at the end of a game now that the district is moving to an electronic payment system.

On a recommendation from Jason Smith, the district’s chief school business official, the Board of Education approved entering into a one year agreement with Arbiter Sports to provide the district with payment services.

New year, new teachers at Unit 1

Published by admin on Tue, 08/08/2023 - 4:27pm

The Unit 1 School District opens its doors on Aug. 16 to start the academic year with some new educators.

New teachers started on Monday with three days of training overseen by Jennifer Kenney, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction. She was assisted by district administrators and a handful of staff members.

Joining the faculty for the 2023-2024 school year are individuals who will work across the district’s five academic buildings.

A new contract for village administrator

Published by admin on Tue, 08/01/2023 - 3:49pm

Matt Fritz will serve another four years as Coal City’s Village Administrator.

Last week, Fritz signed a new contract with the Village Board which includes a one time salary increase of 7%—that’s an average of 1.75% for each contract year.

“Matt has done a great job for us, he’s the type of administrator we want to keep around,” Mayor Dave Spesia said.

In working out the terms of the contract, Spesia requested information regarding comparable compensation for town administrators/managers.

Coal City issuing credit on Prairie Oak Estates water bills

Published by admin on Tue, 08/01/2023 - 3:47pm

Water is flowing through the taps in Prairie Oak Estates, but for more than three weeks residents were under a boil order.

“Boil orders happen as there are things beyond the village’s control like when water mains break,” Village Administrator Matt Fritz said. In this case the boil order was issued in response to necessary well repairs.

Aspiring leaders attend FBLA statewide workshop

Published by admin on Tue, 08/01/2023 - 3:45pm

The Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Chapter at Coal City High School sent eight officers and four members to the FBLA Summer Leadership Workshop in Springfield.
An energetic conference sparked the students with many new ideas, networking with other students from all over the state, and the conference provided several hours to plan the activities Coal City High School’s chapter will do in the coming school year.
Abby Stiles, the chapter secretary, shared her experience.

Grundy Resiliency Project website launched

Published by admin on Tue, 08/01/2023 - 3:43pm

MORRIS - The Grundy Resiliency Project website, resilientgrundy.com, is live and filled with information on the project's goals, progress and future plans.

The resiliency project is being done by the Grundy Economic Development Council and the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce & Industry to help diversify our local economy.

The organizations were given a $600,000 grant for the project from the U.S. Economic Development Administration at the end of last year. These grants help nuclear host communities plan for and build more diverse, resilient economies.

Not everyone gets a paycheck

Published by admin on Tue, 08/01/2023 - 3:41pm

Residents who serve on the village of Coal City’s Park Board don’t get a paycheck, but members of the Planning and Zoning Board do.

The question of who gets paid and how much was a topic of discussion at a recent meeting of the town’s Finance Committee.

“On the appointments they are starting to look at a per meeting pay rate for the appointees on the other boards,” Village Administrator Matt Fritz said.

There are four appointed boards—Planning and Zoning, Park, Fire and Police and Police Pension—that serve the village.

Rezin celebrates Honor and Remember flag legislation

Published by admin on Tue, 08/01/2023 - 3:09pm

SPRINGFIELD—On Monday, July 31, legislation filed by State Senator Sue Rezin to officially recognize the Honor and Remember Flag was signed into law.

Senate Bill 1072 designates the Honor and Remember Flag as the official state symbol of concern for and commitment to honoring and remembering the lives of all members of the United States armed forces who have lost their lives while serving or as a result of service and their families.

Pavement management plan starts with road survey

Published by admin on Tue, 07/25/2023 - 4:24pm

A digital survey vehicle will be traveling the streets of Diamond and Wilmington in the coming week as it collects data for a road assessment and pavement management plan. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning [CMAP] is funding the study and plan development for the two towns.

“We are excited with the opportunity to create a pavement management plan professionally by experts in the field,” Diamond Mayor Terry Kernc said.

The process is slated to begin next week so residents will likely spot the specially equipped van driving up and down city streets.

Team Rollin Coal makes its mark in Five-0 Race

Published by admin on Tue, 07/25/2023 - 4:21pm

What started out as a rough night on the race track, turned to gold for Brandon Larson and Team Rollin Coal.
Larson, a patrol officer with the Coal City Police Department, was behind the wheel of the #900 car in the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run Five-0 Racing event held at the Grundy County Speedway to benefit Special Olympics Illinois.