Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal June 2, 2016 Volume 154, Number 6 - $1.00
Lady Cards Fall Stillman Valley’s Lady Cardinals fall 9-8 to Rockridge in supersectional action. B3
State Track
Tough Run
The Polo-Forreston track team finishes the season. B1
The fifth annual KB Tough Run will be held at the White Pines Ranch June 25. A6
Summer Daze heats up Friday By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The area festival season officially begins this weekend with Leaf River Summer Daze. The festival begins Friday, June 3 at noon with the annual antique tractor and engine show at the River Valley Complex, where most events will be staged. The tractor rodeo will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. while the Grass Attack Band plays until 8:30 p.m. when the Leaf River Citizen of the Year is named. A variety of organizations will serve food from 6 to 8 p.m. Fireworks begin at dusk. Two new features at this year’s festival are knockerball games and a beard-growing contest, both set for Saturday, June 4. Knockerball teams will play several games from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the fields at the River Valley Complex, formerly Leaf River School. Each participant will wear a large plastic bubble while playing soccer on the field. Five players will play at one time for each team with five players resting. The game will last an hour with four periods. Each team will have two games whether they win or lose. Prize money for the
Memorial Day Above, the Forreston High School Band plays the “Star-Spangled Banner” Monday at the Memorial Day service. At right, the Forreston American Legion Color Guard presents the colors at the start of the service. Photos by Vinde Wells
winning teams is $100. If there is enough interest an additional hour session will be held where a person can put on a Knockerball and just have fun on the court for $3 for a 15 minute session. The beard-growing contest, sponsored by the Leaf River Lions Club and Short Cut Barber Shop, will be judged at 4 p.m. in the downtown area. Prizes will be awarded for the longest, grayest, neatest, and reddest beards. The antique tractor and engine show continues from 9 a.m. to dusk on Saturday. The Lions Club Car Show will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the downtown area. Corn bags, kids events, and a variety of concessions are planned for the day, along with a craft show, FFA Alumni tractor pulls, diesel and street pulls, and the Badger State Tractor Pulls. The Leaf River Historical Museum will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a bask sale and quilt raffle. Sunday’s highlights are the Grand Parade at 2 p.m., the antique tractor and engine show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., more food options, and raffle drawings at 4 p.m. at the Bertolet Park. For more information go to www.leafriversummerdaze. org. Other June festivals include German Valley Days on June 10-12 and Polo’s Town & Country Days on June 16-19.
Lafayette and Taylor Townships consider merger By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Come November, Ogle County could have one less township. Officials from Lafayette and Taylor Townships, in the south central portion of the county, have requested permission to put a referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot to merge the two. The county board will consider the request at its July 19 meeting following a
public hearing on the matter earlier in the evening. If approved by the county board and then passed by the voters in both townships, the county will have 23 rather than 24 townships. Lafayette Township Supervisor Clifford Jones said the reason for a merger is mainly financial. “We’re not broke but we’re not getting anywhere. We have no tax base — it’s all farmland,” he said Tuesday. “We decided to
“We’re not broke but we’re not getting anywhere. We have no tax base — it’s all farmland,” — Clifford Jones Lafayette Township Supervisor take it to the people and let them decide.” Taylor Township Supervisor JoAnn Reynolds could not be reached for comment. The two townships touch each other with Hoosier Road as the north-south boundary between them.
Taylor lies directly south of Oregon-Nashua Township with the Rock River forming most of its western boundary. Lafayette lies just to the east of Taylor. Lee County borders both on the south. Both are in rural areas of the county and are
sometimes referred to as “half-townships” because they are about half the size of most others. Lafayette is 18 square miles and has a population of 170 people. Taylor is 15.5 square miles and boasts a population of 963, largely due to the Lost Lake Subdivision. They already share an assessor with neighboring Pine Rock Township. It’s not the first time a merger between the two has
been considered. Jones said the idea was discussed 12 years ago when he was the township road commissioner, but the board then opted not to go ahead with it. “I decided it’s time now to let the people decide if they want it or they don’t,” he said. Oregon and Nashua Townships, also “halftownships” back then, took action to merge in 1993.
Teen driver sentenced to probation in fatal crash By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Stillman Valley teenager charged in a crash that killed two people last September pleaded guilty last week to two counts of reckless homicide. Ogle County State’s Attorney Eric Morrow said Alison Seiler, now 18, was sentenced May 26 to probation with numerous conditions until her 21st birthday in October of 2018. The investigation showed that Seiler, then 17, was
speeding last Sept. 4 when she failed to stop for a stop sign at the intersection of Big Mound Road and Ill. 251 near Davis Junction. Andy Conderman, 64, Amboy, and Emily Fleming, 17, Stillman Valley, died in the ensuing crash. Seiler was charged as a juvenile in February with two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated reckless driving. Two counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Morrow said the conditions of the probation
In This Week’s Edition...
“I think it’s a fair resolution to the case. She has already apologized to the families. We consulted with them prior to reaching the agreement. — Eric Morrow Ogle County State’s Attorney sentence include counseling; 200 hours of community service work,at least 40 of which must be related to education against reckless or impaired driving; not operating a motor vehicle; attending college or seeking and maintaining employment,
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 College News, A6 Entertainment, A6
and apologies to the victims’ families. “I think it’s a fair resolution to the case,” Morrow said. “She has already apologized to the families. We consulted with them prior to reaching the agreement.” Fleming was the back seat
Fines, B5 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
passenger in Seiler’s car, which was westbound on Big Mound Road. The car struck Conderman’s southbound pick-up. Traffic on Ill. 251 is not required to stop at the intersection. The vehicles came to rest in a soybean field at the southwest corner of the intersection, where Conderman’s truck burst into flames. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Fleming was pronounced dead at the Rockford hospital where she was airlifted. A front seat passenger is
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B3
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Seiler’s car, Carly Koenig, 17, Stillman Valley, was airlifted to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford, for serious injuries. Seiler was transported by ambulance to a Rockford hospital. All three girls were seniors at Stillman Valley High School. They were varsity cheerleaders and were headed to Stillman Valley’s football game versus Richmond Burton when the crash took place. The game was cancelled when school officials learned of the crash.
Deaths, B5 Graham A. Lints, Gloria R. Miller