Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS November 21, 2013 Volume 46, Number 38 - $1.00
Season Previews
Nativities
Higher Taxes
The Oregon bowlers and girls basketball team prepare for the season. B1
A variety of Nativity scenes will be on display in Oregon Nov. 30. B6
A reduction in property value may result in the school board raising their tax levy. B6
County board approves $39.3 million budget By Vinde Wells Editor Only one Ogle County Board member cast a no vote Tuesday against the 2014 budget. The $39. 3 million budget was approved 22-1 with only Skip Kenney, Rochelle, voting against it. John O’Brien, Rochelle, did not attend the meeting. “It’s not a balanced
budget,� Kenney said after the meeting. “You’ve got to live within your means.� He said too much is being taken out of the Long Range Planning Fund to bolster other funds. Revenues in that fund come from the host fees paid by garbage collection firms to dump refuse in the landfills within the county. The fees bring approximately $2.5 million
per year into the county’s coffers. According to the budget, the Long Range Planning Fund, which is earmarked for major capital projects, is projected to start the new fiscal year Dec. 1 with a balance of $13 million, add approximately $2.5 million in revenues throughout the year, and end with a balance of $9.5 million.
By Vinde Wells Editor
By Vinde Wells Editor
Linda Erisman is retiring from the U.S. Postal Service after 23 years as a letter carrier. Photo by Chris Johnson
but it was part-time and guaranteed only 16 hours per week. However, since even the part-time position included insurance and a retirement package, she decided to take it. “At the time, I was a single mother raising three kids,� she said. The decision was a good one because she also substituted on the routes of three letter carriers when they were on vacation or off
work and ended up working 32 to 40 hours per week. She started with the post office on July 2, 1990, her son Luke Sheely’s birthday. At the time, he was serving in the U.S. Marines in Iraq. He now works at the Mt. Morris Post Office, and another son Michael Sheely works at the postal distribution center in Grand Junction, Colo. “It was a great job. I miss Turn to A2
VOP held annual banquet By Jeannette Mingus Correspondent More than 300 people gathered last week to pay tribute to the men and women whose contributions help a local organization remain successful after more than four decades in operation. The Village of Progress (VOP) held its 44th annual banquet celebration Nov. 13 at St. Mary’s Learning Center, Oregon. Professional speaker Tom Wadsworth served as the evening’s emcee. Karen Young was awarded the John Herrmann Personal Achievement Award for her consistent progress and willingness to accept any job assignment. She has been enrolled at the VOP for the past 34 years. Young’s current responsibilities include working in the production area and walking Chana, the VOP dog, daily. Named after Bob Moehle who served 36 consecutive years as a board member,
the Robert Moehle Personal Achievement Award is presented to someone enrolled in the Developmental Training Program who shows persistence in reaching their goals despite obstacles. This year’s recipient was Patrick Bryson, an 11-year member of the village family. Bryson remained positive and committed despite setbacks associated with a ruptured hernia and recurring grand mal seizures. Oregon High School student Johnathan Prose received the Janie Etnyre Volunteer of the Year Award for his selfless commitment to the consumers at the Village of Progress. Don Etnyre, son of Janie and current village foundation board member, made the presentation. “His maturity, enthusiasm and generous nature are unusual for someone his age, and our agency and disabled are fortunate to have him as a friend,� he said. The Fred Smith Competitive Employment
In This Week’s Edition...
During the budget discussion, board member Ron Colson, Mt. Morris, also questioned some of the expenditures from the Long Range Planning Fund. He said he planned to vote for the budget, but voiced concern that the fund is being used to pay for projects outside its intended purpose. He did not specify which expenditures he was questioning.
Board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron, disagreed. He said he believes paying for the repairs and maintenance of county buildings is within the fund’s stated purpose. The fund has been used to pay for the construction of the $15 million judicial center built in 2005 and for the remodeling of the courthouse in 2010, a $7.5 million project.
homes in its path. The tornado was classified as an EF-4 by the National Weather Service. That tornado was part of a storm system that spawned 11 tornadoes in central and southern Illinois, leaving six dead and hundreds injured. Tornadoes from the system also touched down in Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan. Rochelle Police Chief Eric Higby said power outages and damage were reported throughout the community, as the storm brought down trees and electrical wires. Rochelle police were called out to assist the Illinois State Police and Ogle County Sheriff’s Police with the crashes involving toppled semis, he said. ComEd spokesman Dave Gross said approximately 600 customers in southern
Ogle County were without electricity from the storm. Most had been restored by early Monday afternoon, he said. “The damage was worse the farther south you went,� Gross said. In Lee County, utility poles were broken off by the high winds, leaving some customers without power until Monday evening. A press release issued by ComEd on Monday said that more than 200,000 customers were without electricity in northern Illinois due to “downed power lines, broken poles, and toppled transmission towers.� More than 570 ComEd and contractor crews were working Monday to restore power, the release said. The contractor crews came from Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
Minimal local damage due to weekend storm
Letter carrier retires Answering an employment ad launched a Mt. Morris letter carrier on a career she has loved for the last 23 years. More than two decades ago, Linda Erisman, who lives near Franklin Grove, read an ad in the newspaper inviting readers to take a test for clerk or letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. She will be honored Tuesday, Aug. 26 for her 23 years of service at a retirement party from 9 a.m. to noon at the Mt. Morris Post Office. The public is invited to attend. Erisman, 63, was working full-time at Olsen’s Elevator, Polo, a job she also enjoyed, when she saw the ad for postal workers and decided to take the test. She took the test in both Oregon and Sterling and was called for an interview at the Mt. Morris Post Office. She was offered a job
The largest budgeted expenditures in the Long Range Planning Fund are $4.1 million for a new sheriff’s administration building, $1 million for a highway department storage building, $435,000 for repairs and maintenance of existing buildings, and $250,000 to establish a new fund for purchasing county-owned vehicles.
Award was presented to Kelli Nicholas for her dependability, positive attitude, and quality of work in the kitchen at Family First, Oregon. Kathi Heller presented Matt Spurbeck with the Carley Heller Special Olympian of the Year Award, so named after her daughter, a Special Olympics volunteer, who was killed in a car accident in 2002. Spurbeck competes in all three of VOP’s sporting events: basketball, track and field, and bowling. The VOP Foundation Scholarship Committee awards scholarships to Ogle County high school seniors and full-time college students who either have a disability or are majoring in an area related to the disabled. This year the committee chose three recipients. Sarah Corcoran, an Oregon High School graduate and special education major at Western
Agriculture, A7 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B14 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B3
Turn to A10
A violent late season storm that wreaked destruction in central Illinois early Sunday afternoon brushed past Ogle County leaving relatively little damage. Sheriff Michael Harn said Monday that the fast-moving storm was strongest on the south and east edges of the county where it brought down trees and tipped over at least four semis on Interstates 39 and 88. Harn said an emergency drill at Exelon’s Byron Generating Station scheduled for Nov. 20 has been cancelled because Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) personnel have been dispatched to Washington, Ill., where a tornado packing winds of more than 190 miles per hour destroyed at least 400
Concealed carry laws are learned during gun class By Chris Johnson Reporter
Safety and an understanding of the law were stressed during a recent concealed carry class. Certified instructors from the Twin Towers Gun Club were offering Nov. 16 class in Oregon to train a dozen people with the rules and regulations. A second portion of the class, practical skills, includes range shooting and additional safety demonstrations. “A gun is a tool of self defense,� said instructor Scott Schultz. “No one needs to know you have the gun.� He said having a concealed carry permit does not give the weapon’s owner the right to go up to people and wave their gun around. Students in the class learned that Illinois defines a concealed firearm as a loaded or unloaded handgun on or about a person. A firearm is concealed if it is completely or mostly concealed. “If you can see the gun it is not concealed,� Schultz said. “If it is accidentally visible that is allowed.� Times a concealed gun could be revealed is when bending over or raising arms
Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Mt. Morris Police, B4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B4
above your head, he said. Training is required to earn the privilege to carry a concealed carry permit. “In Illinois you need to be 21 years old, and complete the training,� said Schultz. “The license is only valid for five years.� Training consists of an 16 hours which includes classroom time and pistol class at a gun range, both
with certified instructors. To qualify for a license a shooter needs to be 70 percent accurate on a target over 30 rounds. Ten are at 5 yards, 10 at 7 yards, and 10 at 10 yards on a standard B-27 target. “In addition to being accurate, you need to follow all of the instructors instructions during the range Turn to A2
Part of the concealed carry gun classes is learning about gun safety including techniques on how to hold a gun. Here instructor Scott Schultz demonstrates one way to hold a firearm during a class. Photo by Chris Johnson
Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, A13, B1,B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Weather, A3
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Deaths, B3 James H. Mattison, Lois B. Rayhorn, Jacob A. Taour