Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal November 14, 2013 Volume 151, Number 29 - $1.00
Seasons Ended
Winter is Here
Feeding Birds
The Oregon volleyball and football teams lost their postseason matchups. B1
The IEMA and NWS encourages everyone to be ready for winter . B1
A winter bird feeding program will be held Nov. 20 at the extension office. A7
Woman killed in crash was at wedding Nov. 9 An New Mexico woman in town for a relative’s wedding died in a single vehicle crash near Polo Nov. 9. Melanie R. Wagner, 21, Albuquerque, N.M., was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on Union Road near the intersection with Canada Road approximately two miles north of Polo. A press release issued Tuesday afternoon by Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn said Wagner was a front seat passenger in a vehicle driven by her cousin Jason W. Wagner, 23, Polo. She was ejected from the vehicle. According to the press release, the vehicle was southbound in the 600 block of Union Road when the vehicle went out of control, left the roadway, and collided At the Forreston Junior-Senior High Veteran’s Day assembly Monday, Forreston American Legion members Paul with an electric pole shortly Eschbach, left, and Jim Ascher demonstrate the 13 folds used in the ceremonial folding of an American flag after 10 p.m. while Private Second Class Jacob Poffenberger, a senior at FHS, gives the explanation attached to the symbolism Harn said alcohol may have
been a factor in the crash. Jason was transported by Dixon City ambulance to KSB Hospital, Dixon, and later transferred to a Rockford hospital and then to a Peoria hospital for treatment of serious injuries. A rear seat passenger, Jay R. Wagner, 18, Albuquerque, N.M., Melanie’s brother, was transported by ambulance to KSB Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The three had been attending a wedding reception for Jason’s father, Greg Wagner, Polo, before the crash occurred. The Ogle County Coroner, Polo Fire Department and ambulance, Polo Police Department, and Dixon City ambulance assisted at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.
of each fold. Photo by Kathie Conerton
Coronoer’s July rules Oregon teen’s death as a homicide By Vinde Wells Editor A Winnebago County Coroner’s Jury ruled Nov. 8 that the death of an Oregon teen last summer was a homicide. Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock said Tuesday that he expects to file criminal charges in the death of Jonathan Williams, 18, within the next three weeks Williams died Aug. 11 at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford, after being injured in a fight in the wee hours of Aug. 10 at an underage drinking party at 804 Monroe St., Oregon. He would have been a senior
at Oregon High School this year. Rock declined to say who will be charged or what the charges will be. “Being ruled a homicide doesn’t necessarily mean there’s going to be murder charges,� he said. “The Winnebago County Coroner’s report is something we’ll take into account when deciding what charges are appropriate.� He said he wants to go over the report from the inquest carefully before filing the charges. The homicide ruling did not come as a surprise, Rock said. “I’m not sure how they reached their conclusion, but
h3OMEONE PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE WHICH CAUSED HIM TO FALL TO THE GROUND WHICH CAUSED A HEAD INJURY WHICH CAUSED HIS DEATH v ˆ Sue Fiduccia Winnebago County Coroner it’s what I anticipated,� he said. Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia said during an interview Nov. 8 that each coroner’s office has different rules for inquests. In Winnebago County, she said, they’re held in every unnatural death case. Inquests consist of a panel of six jurors who consider five verdicts: accidental, suicide,
homicide, undetermined, and unnatural causes. Panel members hear information about the victim’s death, and they decide the “manner of death.� The cause of Williams’ death had already been ruled to be “blunt trauma of the head due to a fall as a result of a physical altercation.� The official manner of Williams’ death, the jury
Newman talks about his service
decided Friday, is “homicide (involuntary manslaughter).� “In this particular case, they felt that even though there was a confrontation with a lot of people, where there were a lot of people fighting, someone punched him in the face, which caused him to fall to the ground, which caused a head injury, which caused his death,� Fiduccia said. Oregon police were called about 3:15 a.m. on Aug. 10 by a neighbor who reported a disturbance outside the home on Monroe Street. At that time, police arrested five teens for underage drinking outside the home and another a block away. Several more party-goers scattered when police arrived, Oregon Police Chief Darin
DeHaan said. Mt. Morris police and Ogle County deputies assisted at the scene. The fight had occurred outside the house before police arrived in the early morning hours, DeHaan said. The police who responded to the call did not see Williams, and none of the people there at the time mentioned that he had been injured, he said. Williams was found unconscious and unresponsive inside the home at 8:19 a.m., after a second 911 call from a “father figure� of one of the teens who had spent the night at the home after the party, DeHaan said. Sauk Valley Media CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY
By Chris Johnson Reporter Students at David Rahn Junior High were honored to have Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Newman at their school last week. Newman, a member of the Illinois National Guard since he enlisted in 1985, was the guest speaker during a Veteran’s Day program Nov. 6. “I originally joined to go to college, and I had my parents sign my enlistment forms when I was only 17,� he said. “A year later I went to basic training.� This idea of joining quickly changed when Newman began working with his fellow soldiers. “You form bonds when you are in the military and Ogle County engineer Curtis Cook, right, talks to a group these bonds are greater than
Open House
LTC Jerry Newman salutes the flag during a Veteran’s Day program at DLR Junior High Nov. 6. Photo by Chris Johnson
In This Week’s Edition...
Business Briefs, B5 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B3
Marriage Licenses, A4 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4
about the highway department during an open house
Turn to A10 Nov. 7. Photo by Chris Johnson
Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Weather, A2 Zoning, B5
Deaths, B3 Margaret I. Van Buskirk, Melanie R. Wagner
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