Sugar Grove will use surplus trailer as mobile center

The Sugar Grove police department has acquired a 28-foot trailer that is equipped with a kitchen, bathroom and shower for $1,500. It will be used as a mobile command center.

The department was able to buy at the bargain-basement price because the trailer was a surplus left over from the restoration work done by the federal government after Hurricane Katrina hit Mississippi and Louisiana in 2005. The original price was $18,000 and the trailer, which doesn't have a motor, was available at lower cost to other government agencies.

According to Sugar Grove police, the trailer was in storage and never used.

"We plan to use it as a mobile command post," said Police Chief Brad Sauer. "Everyone will be able to get together and get out of the weather to plan, or look at maps during flooding, for example. It has a stove, a microwave, electricity, and it can be heated with propane. It's better than using a pickup truck."

The trailer will be equipped with radios, maps, work stations and other equipment needed for field operations during emergency conditions. It will also be used as a command center during the annual Sugar Grove Corn Boil and other village events.

It was purchased from the Illinois Department of Central Management Services through the Federal Assistance Program.

Candidates needed: Candidates are needed to run for trustee spots for the Sugar Grove Public Library, 54 Snow St. The election is April 7.

Up for election are two 6-year terms and two vacancies, one for two years and one for four years.

Library trustees are not compensated. The seven-member board is responsible for staffing the library, setting policy and developing and approving the budget.

It is an exciting time for the Sugar Grove library because a new facility is being constructed on Municipal Drive and is scheduled to open in fall 2009.

Those interested can call library director Beverly Holmes Hughes at (630) 466-4686, ext. 102. A candidates guide is available online at elections.state.il.us.

Historical society to meet: Ruth Frantz and Sue Jacobson will discuss the history of the Lincoln Highway, the first hard-surfaced road across the nation, at a meeting of the Sugar Grove Historical Society at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20 at the Bliss House, 259 Main St. Parts of Keslinger Road were the original Lincoln Highway.

The Bliss House is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays.