Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal January 7, 2016 Volume 153, Number 37 - $1.00
Lady Cards Win
Recycle Trees
Seminary Founded
The Lady Cards pull off a 46-33 victory over conference rival Polo Tuesday. B1
Local FFA members will recycle Christmas trees Jan. 9. A7
The Rock River Seminary was founded in 1839 by early settlers in Mt. Morris. B2
Businessman concerned with snow removal delay By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecountynews.com What are the expectations for snow removal in downtown Forreston? This was a question raised by a Forreston business owner Monday night during the Forreston Village
Board Meeting. “I am concerned about the city parking lot and the length of time to remove snow from in front of businesses,” said Gary Koeller, owner of Koeller’s Forreston Hardware. “Can we get the lot salted?” Trustee Gary Buss said the lot
should be salted. “It should be done,” said trustee Marc Stamm. Al Cruthis, the villages Superintendent of Public Works took responsibility for the slow clean up from the Dec. 28 slush, ice, and snow storm. “We were shorthanded that
night,” said Cruthis. “It is my fault for downtown.” Koeller acknowledged that the snow was heavy and hard to clear, however village president Michael Harn said there is no reason that the area should have been snowcovered by Tuesday morning. “It should be clean in the
morning,” said Harn. “For businesses we should clean it at least once before you open.” “I apologize for this,” said Cruthis.” It (the amount of snow and sleet) caught me off guard.” Buss asked if the village has backup drivers to ensure the snow Turn to A3
Computer glitch blamed for the siren activation By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@ogleocounty news.com
Bowling Party The Summerhill Huskies 4H club was in Mt. Morris Sunday afternoon for a bowling and pizza party at Town & Country Lanes. Above left, Chrystal Shuman releases her ball down the lanes. Above right Hannah Schnierla releases her ball down the lanes. The club report is printed on page A7. Photos by Chris Johnson
A computer board failure was to blame for the tornado sirens being activated throughout the county late Saturday night. After many residents went to bed Saturday night the sirens began sounding on a calm winter night. Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said the problem was fixed and the system was tested Tuesday morning during the monthly test of the system. “The sirens accidentally going off was a rarity,” he said. “When we set off the sirens a message is sent out, but we were unable to get a message out Saturday until after the sirens were turned off.” Inside the 911 center the dispatchers are unable to hear the sirens and were unaware they were sounding until 911 calls flooded the system. “When sirens are activated, shelter in place and check local media and social
media for information,” said VanVickle. “Do not call 911 when there is no emergency.” Dispatchers handled 102 calls in the 17 minutes following the siren activation. “This increased call volume created several issues including preventing dispatchers from handling any emergency calls and making calls to get the sirens fixed,” VanVickle said. “Only use 911 for emergencies.” Just after midnight the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page had a post stating “The tornado sirens in Ogle County sounded. There is no severe weather threat and it appears to be an issue with a computer system. Technicians are currently working on the problem.” That message was also sent to the local media including WRHL in Rochelle and the Rockford television stations. What made Saturday night’s glitch harder to fix was having the sirens automatically start up again even after dispatchers Turn to A3
Nuclear plant and printing plant on tax appeal list By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Assessment appeals of the Byron Generating Station and a former Mt. Morris printing plant will be among the 48 scheduled to be heard by the Ogle County Board of Review (BOR) later this month. Ogle County Supervisor of Assessments Jim Harrison said the BOR is set to hear appeals on Jan. 28 that were filed by both Exelon Generation and the Byron School District contesting the assessment he set for the Byron nuclear plant. An appeal of the former Quad Graphics plant in Mt. Morris will be heard on Jan. 26. Harrison said the BOR will hear the 48 appeals in the last two weeks of January. More than half the appeals, 25 of them, are for commercial and industrial properties, Harrison said, while the rest are residential or farm properties. “We have a fair number of commercial and industrial from Rochelle,” he said.
The appeals are for 2015 assessments, which affect taxes payable in 2016. Exelon officials believe the $482.4 million assessment set by Harrison is too high, while school officials argue that it’s too low. Exelon Generation’s appeal sets the plants value at $238.3 million, less than half of Harrison’s number, which is identical to the amount set by the BOR at the appeal hearing last January. The school district’s appeal did not specify a value for the plant. Both entities also appealed the nuclear plant’s assessment for 2012, 2013, and 2014. The BOR upheld both the 2012 assessment of $499 million and the 2013 assessment of $509 million, but reduced Harrison’s 2014 assessment of $509.4 million by $27 million. Both entities then took their appeals for the three years to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB). Harrison said Monday that PTAB is in the process of setting a date to hear the 2012 appeals sometime this
In This Week’s Edition...
spring. Exelon paid more than $32 million in real estate taxes in 2015 to 11 taxing bodies, which include Ogle County, Rockvale Township, Byron School District, Oregon School District, Oregon Park District, Byron Fire District, Rock Valley College, Byron Public Library District, Byron Museum District, Byron Forest Preserve District, and Kishwaukee Community College. The Byron School District received the largest share of that money — $18.2 million. The value of the Byron Generating Station has frequently been disputed throughout the 30-year history of the facility. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced Nov. 19 that the license for Byron station’s two reactors has been renewed for an additional 20 years. The plant’s original 40year operating license was set to expire in 2024 for Unit 1 and 2026 for Unit 2. The license renewal allows the plant to operate until 2044 for Unit 1 and 2046 for
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
Unit 2. Byron Station began generating electricity in 1985 when Unit 1 came online, followed two years later by Unit 2. The sprawling Mt. Morris printing plant, now used only as a warehouse, is assessed at $2.8 million, but the current owners, Mt. Morris Business Park LLC, Downey, California, set the value at $375,000 in the appeal. Mt. Morris Business Park LLC has no connection to the Village of Mt. Morris. The Mt. Morris Village Board agreed Dec. 22 to be listed as intervenors in the appeal, along with the Oregon School District. Besides the village and school district, other affected taxing bodies include Mt. Morris Township, Ogle County, Mt. Morris Fire Protection District, Mt. Morris Public Library District, and Highland Community College District. According to Ogle County records, Mt. Morris Business Park LLC purchased the Exelon’s Byron Station is located on German Church Turn to A3 Road between Oregon and Byron. Photo by Earleen
Marriage Licenses, A4 Library News, A9 Public Voice, A10 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Hinton
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B6 Weather, A3
Deaths, B5 David A. Buse, Anna M. Castle, Shirley J. Clayton, D. Dean Dye, J. Bruce Howell, Mark Schwartz, Royal L. Wells
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com