County Board approves bond refinancing
<span>In a short meeting last Friday, the Randolph County Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance to refinance some bonds it took out to renovate the Randolph County Health Department several years ago.</span>
<span>The county will issue $383,000 in refunding debt certificates, which will be financed at 1.6 percent interest for the first five years and 2.5 percent for the remaining four years through December 1, 2024. </span>
<span>Buena Vista National Bank was the winning bidder for the certificates and the lower interest rate - compared to the 4.3 percent the county was paying - will allow the county to save almost $50,000 in interest during the remaining term of the certificates.</span>
<span>"I was quite pleased to see the bids come back," said Commissioner Dave Holder, who is also the county's budget director.</span>
<span>In other action, the board approved the ordinance for a map amendment that was discussed and approved during the board's previous meeting.</span>
<span>The amendment was to rezone 37 acres of land, owned by Bernard Deutschmann, at 1245 East Mound St. in Sparta from agriculture to rural residential.</span>
<span>In addition, the commissioners approved a delinquent tax resolution for Tim and Willie Hoebeck for lots 3 through 6 in Block 33 of the Village of Rockwood, an area commonly known as State Route 3.</span>
Roundup
<span>General assistance for the period was $1,294.</span>
<span>The Randolph County Care Center was reported to have 65 residents.</span>
<span>Randolph County Health Department Administrator Thomas Smith informed the board that he had been scheduled for a statewide teleconference on the Zika virus, but it was rescheduled due to technology problems.</span>
<span>"We are unlikely to have a mosquito-borne outbreak in Illinois because it is not a very hardy mosquito," Smith said. "It is a very tropical mosquito."</span>
<span>Smith also commented on the recent discovery of a Zika case that had been transmitted in the U.S. via sexual intercourse.</span>
<span>"It's a virus, it's in the blood, so you do get transmission from blood-borne pathogens," he said.</span>