Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
November 7, 2013 Volume 163, Number 47 - $1.00
Lady Hawks Win!
Playoff Action
Recycle Program
The Lady Hawks advance to the finals of the South Beloit Sectional. B1
The Hawks come from behind to upset Wilmington. B1
A new recycling program for residential electronics begins on Nov. 15. A11
Mystery flag is gone from dam By Vinde Wells Editor
received no tips on who put it there or how. He said that with all the mostly positive attention it has received, he is surprised no one has come forward. At the time it appeared, both DeHaan and Oregon Fire Chief Don Heller stressed the danger of getting too near the dam for any reason. “I wouldn’t encourage it,� DeHaan said then. “Doing anything around the dam is dangerous.� The Oregon dam has been the site of three unrelated accidental drownings in 2012, 2007, and 2006.
The American flag that waved in the breeze on the Rock River dam in Oregon for the last two months has disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared. Oregon Police Chief Darin DeHaan said Tuesday that he noticed the flag was gone approximately a week ago, but has no idea how or where it went. “I’m not sure if it got knocked loose or if someone made their way out there,� he said. The flag mysteriously appeared in late August, on All of those victims were Above, a U.S. Army firing squad fires a 21-gun salute Aug. 12 over Phil Hart’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery, a pole securely fixed near the residents of Chicago who Arlington, Va. Below is a photo of Hart from 1967-68. Photo courtesy of Myrna Hart center of the dam. were either fishing or wading DeHaan said he still has below the dam.
Oregon veteran is laid to rest at Arlington By Vinde Wells Editor
An Oregon veteran, decorated for his bravery while serving in Vietnam, was laid to rest last summer at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. Philip F. Hart, who earned a Silver Star, was buried with full military honors Aug. 12 at a ceremony attended by his family and friends. Hart, 66, died unexpectedly from heart complications on Jan. 7 this year. His service record qualified him for burial at Arlington. “Standing at his gravesite (#3971 in section 55), as you look across the Potomac River towards Washington D.C., the Washington Monument is directly in your view,� said his wife Myrna, who attended the ceremony with their two
Bean fields were the inspiration for newest statue
sons Adam and Ryan. Myrna said the family had visited Arlington many times over the years and it seemed like the appropriate place for her husband to be buried. “It’s been a special place for our family,� she said. “No other place felt right.� Army chaplain Captain Matt Madison presided over the graveside service. He spoke of Hart’s gallantry in action during the Vietnam War, his 32-year teaching career, his family, and his travel adventures. A gun salute, flag folding ceremony, and military bugler playing “Taps� were distinctive parts of the military ceremony. Friends, neighbors, and former colleagues attended from the local area were also in attendance. Two dozen Turn to A2
By Vinde Wells Editor Walking through soybean fields as a youngster gave artist Pamela Lee the idea for “Soy Pod,� the ninth addition to the Community Art Legacy’s series of 10 sculptures. “I got my inspiration for ‘Soy Pod’ from living in the community and having my father take me into farm fields,� she said Nov. 2 at the unveiling and dedication of her sculpture on the Oregon Public Library’s lot west of the Oregon Post Office. She grew up on the rural edges of Chicago suburbs and said now she often observes the soybeans growing in the field outside the windows of her home in Grayslake.
The bronze sculpture is a large open soybean pod with farm animals emerging from the beans inside. The Community Arts Legacy (CAL) was founded nearly a decade ago with the goal of erecting 10 new sculptures in the Oregon area in 10 years. Artists were then invited to enter sculptures in an annual contest at the Art Festival sponsored each June by The Fields Project. The overall theme of the festival and contest is the blending of art and agriculture, both part of Ogle County’s heritage. “Soy Pod� was selected as the winner of the contest for 2013. Jeff Adams, owner of Turn to A2
Maxson’s closes its doors after lunch on Oct. 31 Owner hopes restaurant, boat will reopen soon By Vinde Wells Editor The last customer is gone and the lights are shut off at one of Oregon’s landmark restaurants, but the situation may not be permanent. After serving lunch Oct. 31, Maxson’s Riverside Restaurant closed its doors. The restaurant, which includes the Pride of Oregon Riverboat, had been in business for more than 60 years under four owners. However, owner Rich Wiesner said he’s holding out hope that the well-known eatery, with its unparalleled view of the Rock River and Black Hawk Statue, may reopen.
Once the word got out in the local newspaper about the closing, Wiesner said he had a potential buyer. “He’s been to see me three times in the last month,� Wiesner said. In the year the restaurant had been on the market, he said no one had shown interest. “The real estate people didn’t find anybody, and the newspapers did,� Wiesner said with a wry chuckle. The last customer left just after 2 p.m. Oct. 31. Business was brisk in the last few days before the closing, he said. “The outpouring from the community has been unreal since word got out,� Wiesner said. When he announced the closing in early October, Wiesner, 66, said he was ready to retire. As the restaurant’s fourth owner, Wiesner has owned
In This Week’s Edition...
and operated it since midSeptember of 1992 when he purchased it from the heirs of Rose Jones. He has owned it for the second longest period of time, after original owner John Maxson and his family who opened the restaurant in 1952 and operated it until they sold it to John and Peter Tsioles in 1978. Jones purchased the restaurant from the Tsioles brothers in 1985. She added the riverboat, originally called the Rose of the Rock four years later. The paddle wheeler was built in Palatka, Fla. It was launched on the St. John’s River and sailed into the Gulf of Mexico, to Mobile, Ala., on its month-long trip to Oregon. Its route took it up the Mobile River to the TenneseeTombigbee Waterway, then Maxson’s Riverside Restaurant and Pride of Oregon paddlwheel boat closed Oct. 31. Turn to A2 Photo by Earleen Hinton
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B12 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B5 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B4
Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, A14, B1-B3 State’s Attorney, B5
Death, B4 Tressa L. Willstead-Sheely
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