Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS October 31, 2013 Volume 46, Number 35 - $1.00
Hawks in Playoffs
Fall Back
Ag Outlook
The Hawks football team will travel to Wilmington in first round playoff action. B1
Clocks go back an hour for Standard Time at 2 a.m. Sunday.
The corn yield for area farmers has been surprisingly higher than expected. A12-A13
Health department offering assistance with ACA By Chris Johnson Reporter Navigating the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can be confusing and difficult. Brian Kennedy, a marketplace insurance counselor at the Ogle County Health Department, and Linda Johnson, the director of health education at the Ogle County Health Department, are available to assist area residents with learning about health insurance. The ACA is also nicknamed “Obamacare.� The government mandated all Americans must have ACA medical insurance if they don’t already have medical insurance. The deadline to sign up for ACA is March 31. After this date, residents can be penalized.
Linda Johnson, Ogle County Health Department Director Health Education, left, talks to Samantha Slagle, DeKalb, about the Health Insurance Marketplace website. Photo by Chris Johnson
Soy Pod will be dedicated The newest sculpture in the Community Arts Legacy will be installed Saturday afternoon. “It gives me great pleasure to see that my mother’s artistic talents have been inherited by my daughter,� said artist Pamela Lee, whose artwork “Soy Pod� was chosen as the latest installment of the Community Arts Legacy (CAL) in Oregon. Her sculpture “Soy Pod� is the newest art piece added to the Oregon Public Library’s art collection and the ninth installment in an aggressive
project by CAL to add 10 sculptures in 10 years to the art rich Oregon community. The artwork will be installed on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. at location on the library lot located just west of the post office on Ill. 64 in Oregon. The community is invited to the dedication. “The inspiration for ‘Soy Pod’ came from living in homes that were surrounded by farms,� said Lee. “Corn and soybean fields and farm animals have almost always been part of the neighborhoods I’ve lived in.�
Lee participated in the Field Arts Project and her sculpture was chosen as the 2013 installment of CAL’s project to add 10 sculptures in 10 years to Oregon. “When we started the CAL with the goal of erecting 10 sculptures in the Oregon area we had no idea how that would go. It is through the support of the Oregon community that we are able to place the 9th out of 10 sculptures this year and look forward to completion of the 10th.� said Jeff Adams owner Turn to A2
Not everyone needs to sign up for the insurance. If insurance is offered through an individual’s workplace, they will not be eligible for healthcare through ACA. “If you are on Medicare or Medicaid you do not need to do anything,� he said. “The ACA also expanded who is eligible for these programs.� The ACA requires everyone to be insured for at least nine months each year. “There is a fine of $95 or one percent of your income whichever is greater if you do not have insurance,� Kennedy said. No individual or family can be denied health insurance based on pre-existing conditions. “I am here to give a quick overview of the ACA and Illinois Marketplace,� said
Kennedy during a workshop at the Rock River Center Oct. 25. “There is a website set up to compare plans and sign up.� The website www. healthcare.gov, has been the subject of numerous crashes and has been in the national news over the past weeks. The site, when working, Kennedy said, has all the health care plans listed and can be compared before selecting one. In Illinois the marketplace website is getcoveredillinois. gov. A state website aid.illinois. gov can assist with learning if an individual is eligible for Medicare or Medicaid. Medicare and Medicaid is now available for anyone who meets the financial Turn to A14
$7.5 million approved for heating/cooling upgrades By Vinde Wells Editor By the beginning of the next school year, students in Oregon will attend classes in air-conditioned buildings. The Oregon School Board approved spending up to $7.5 million on Health & Life Safety projects Oct. 21 that will include installing geothermal systems to heat and cool Oregon High School and Oregon Elementary School. The board approved hiring Chevron Energy Solutions, Chicago, to oversee the projects, which will also include improving security at all the district’s buildings and repairing a water main.
Superintendent Tom Mahoney said that the majority of the work — an estimated $7.1 million — will be for the new heating and cooling system. He said a new heating system is necessary because the current systems at the high school and in the Jefferson and Etnyre Wings of the elementary school are badly outdated. The boiler at the high school was installed in 1936, he said, and the one at Jefferson is also several years old. “The equipment is past its useful life and has a high probability of failure,� he said. Etnyre, which already
has air-conditioning, has an electric heating and cooling system that was installed in the 1970s and is inefficient, he said. “We believe that going geothermal is not only more environmentally sound but will also provide the high school and Jefferson Wing with cooling,� Mahoney said. Estimates show that operating the new system, even with cooling included, will cost less than what the district is now spending, he said. The work will begin after school is out this year and will be completed by the time classes start next fall, Mahoney said. Turn to A2
Two new buildings part of county’s 2014 budget Sheriff’s admin. $4M, highway department $1M By Vinde Wells Editor
Canine Costume Contest Camery Peterson and her dog Molly dressed as Raggedy Ann parade past the judges stand as other entries at the Oregon Park District’s Howl’oween canine costume contest watch Monday night. Camery and Molly placed third in the best group category. The event was held at Wiggly Field dog park. Contest results and more photos appear on A10. Photo by Earleen Hinton
In This Week’s Edition...
Births, A4 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B14 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Two new buildings are part of Ogle County’s proposed $39.1 million budget for next year. The Long Range Capital Expense plan includes a new sheriff’s administration building for an estimated $4.1 million and a highway department equipment storage building for $1 million. The county board got a look at the 2014 budget Monday night at a special meeting. The new fiscal year begins Dec. 1. County board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron, told board members and department heads to look over
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B4
the 30-page document and contact him with questions or revisions. He said the board will likely vote on the final version of the budget when it meets on Nov. 19. Sheriff Michael Harn said that the new administration building will replace the two-story brick structure that now houses the sheriff’s department at 103 Jefferson St., Oregon. A leaky roof, old wiring, and an inefficient heating and cooling system are just a few of the problems that plague the century-old building. The new one-story building will be located east of present structure. Plans call for the old building to be demolished once the new one is completed. The area where the current building sits will then be freed up for parking or future expansion. “The plan gives the county
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5
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options in years to come. If they want to expand, they can expand to the west,� Harn said. He said Tuesday that two preliminary drawings for the new building were submitted by Saavedra Gelhausen Architects, Rockford, this summer, and changes are being made to one of the options. The architects are currently working on final plans so that the project can be let for bids, hopefully early next year. Offices for the coroner and his staff were added to the plan, Harn said. The coroner’s office is presently on the third floor of the Ogle County Courthouse. Harn said once the plan is completed by the architects and approved by the county board, bids for the building’s construction will be sought. He said he hopes construction will begin in the Turn to A8
Deaths, B3 Allen A. Barry, Donna B. Cline, Kathryn L. Weaver