Oregon Republican Reporter / oglecountynews.com • Friday, November 20, 2020
OREGON BEAT
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CITY COUNCIL
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New street department position approved BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@shawmedia.com The Oregon City Council unanimously approved adding a labor position to its street department at its Tuesday meeting. The new employee will be the department’s fifth and will be accompanied by cuts to the city’s contractor costs, city officials said. The starting salary is $31,200. “I was not willing to support this unless it meant zero budget impact on the city,” Finance Commissioner Terry
Schuster said. “We’re going to be adding salary, I wanted to recoup other costs that will equal that. I talked with [Street Department Superintendent Terry Plemmons] about contracting costs over past years and talked about this additional person replacing that. In other words, the amount of the salary equals the amount we’ve been paying contractors.” The new employee will be under a probationary position for the first year before becoming an operator. Some of the main offsets will be keeping sidewalk replacement and landscaping in
Mobile Pantry
CLASSIFIED SALES 815-284-2222 OBITUARIES 815-732-6166, ext. 2591 ehinton@oglecountynews.com Deadline for obituaries is 2 p.m. Tuesday for Friday’s edition
Volunteers from the Loaves & Fish Food Pantry in Mt. Morris handed out boxes of food on Monday by the organization’s center in the Mt. Morris Brethren Church. Boxed meals were provided to residents of Ogle County during the 90-minute event that was co-hosted by the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Story on page 10
SEND NEWS news@oglecountynews.com General Manager Earleen Hinton 815-732-6166, ext. 2591 ehinton@oglecountynews.com Editor Jeff Helfrich 815-732-6166, ext. 2590 jhelfrich@oglecountynews.com Advertising Sales Patty Bridgeman 815-625-3600, Ext. 2555 pbridgeman@oglecountynews. com Oregon Republican Reporter, Ogle County News and oglecountynews.com are a division of Shaw Media. Ogle County Newspapers also prints the Mt. Morris Times, Forreston Journal, and Polo’s Tri-County Press. The OREGON REPUBLICAN REPORTER (USPS No. 411-420) is published weekly by B.F. Shaw Printing Co., Shaw Media. Periodical postage paid at Oregon, Illinois, 61061. POSTMASTER Send address changes to OGLE REPUBLICAN REPORTER, P.O. Box 8, Oregon, IL 61061. Phone 815-732-6166, ext. 5306. All rights reserved. Copyright 2020
house, along with general maintenance, Streets and Public Improvements Commissioner Tim Krug said. The new employee will also help with offsetting labor times, Krug said. “They had one snowstorm last year, these guys were in the trucks for 32 hours straight without a break,” Krug said. “Yeah, they should’ve taken time off, but they were trying to get all the snow cleared before it froze. Having a fifth would allow better rotation so it’s just a 12 hour shift so they can go home and get some sleep.”
Earleen Hinton/ Shaw Media
SPECIAL EVENTS Oregon VFW seeks donations for annual Christmas Food Basket Drive Once again the Oregon VFW post 8739 will be assembling and delivering food baskets for Christmas to families and individuals who are in need in the Oregon area. “This has been a tough year for everyone with the COVID-19 which has led to lost jobs and sick families,” said VFW Commander Bob Coulter. “We are asking those who donate to this purpose to please be generous this year.” Coulter said the Post normally provides at least 120 baskets. “We feel the number will be much larger this year,” he said. “We want to send a heartfelt thanks to those who donate. It truly makes people happy.” Families or individuals in need must call the VFW Post (815-732-6851) between 3 and
7 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Each individual or family representative must call for themselves. “Even if you have called in the past, you need to call this year to update your information and make sure you are on the list,” Coulter said. “We will only ask for your address, phone number and the number of people living in your household. Please do not call on Fridays as our phone and people are busy with other work.” An adult must be home on Dec. 19 to receive the basket. Deliveries will start around 8:30 a.m. and should conclude by noon. “We will start taking phone calls on Nov. 16,” Coulter said. “We ask you to please be patient. We know this important.” The VFW Post is also seeking volunteers to help deliver the baskets. Call 815-732-6851 to volunteer.
New hours and procedures for Chana church’s Family Closet The Chana United Methodist Church is announcing a change in winter hours for its Family Closet. The change is the church’s compliance with COVID-19 guidelines and requirements. The Family Closet will be open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon through appointments only. To make an appointment, please call the church at 815-732-7683 and speak with an employee. No voice messages will be honored. Masks are required. Many new clothes have been stocked for fall and winter, including coats, boots and accessories. All clothes are free and everyone is welcome with an appointment.
