Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal February 4, 2016 Volume 153, Number 41 - $1.00
Slight Edge
New Venue
The Polo wrestlers were on the road and earned a narrow 38-37 win over Oregon Jan. 28. B1
Dabbling Kids
First Fridays will be at Pinecrest Grove Feb. 5 with live music. A6
The annual Day of Dabbling will be held in Oregon at the Church of God Feb. 27. A7
BOR keeps value at $482.4 million
Spelling Bee tests students
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com
Thirty spellers from Forreston Grade School displayed their knowledge of words Friday morning during the annual spelling bee. Fourth and fifth graders took turns walking up to a microphone and spelling a variety of difficult words. Some of the words spelled correctly in the opening rounds included dojo, balm, forum, zinger, sonar, acre, owlishly, scarlet, lyrics, pedigree, catalog, columnist, hoity-toity, measly, paragon, and vague. A few of the missed words in the early rounds included moxie, whiff, enunciate, jargon, zealous, and bewilder. By round 8 there were three spellers left in the competition — fifth graders Natalie Mealing and Hailey Schultz, and fourth grader Miles Gordon. They spelled obscure words including obscure, iambic and quid-pro-quo correctly to bring the competition to round 10. In this round Schultz was tripped up by pathogen, a word she spelled with an ‘i’ instead of the ‘o.’ This left two spellers in the bee. Gordon missed his first word in round 11 by spelling
Forreston Grade School fifth grader Alex Milnes gives a thumbs up during the annual spelling bee Jan. 29. Photo by Chris Johnson
pinnacle with an ‘i’ instead of an ‘a.’ When Mealing heard her word stagnation, she knew how to spell it but accidentally said ‘c’ to start the word and immediately said she meant ‘s.’ However, the rules of the spelling bee stated a speller can not correct a letter already spoken. In the next round both spellers got their words correct by spelling fundamental and approximate. In round 13 Gordon again missed a word. He spelled contentious as ‘contencious.’ This gave Mealing another chance and she did not want to make a mistake. She took a deep breath after hearing her word legislature and correctly spelled it. This left her with one final word to spell for a chance to win the bee. The word was proprietary and she spelled it Fourth grader Miles Gordon reacts to spelling “serpentine” correctly to win the Forreston Spelling ‘propieretary.’ Turn to A3 Bee Jan. 29. Photo by Chris Johnson
Having shop is dream come true By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Owning her own shop was a dream Donna Kuntzelman nurtured for 27 years. It came true a year and a half ago when she opened Chatty Lady Creations, a flower and unique gift shop, in the River Valley Complex in Leaf River. “Scott and I went to Galena on our honeymoon and I saw a little shop there,” Kuntzelman, 49, said. “I said someday I’m going to have my own shop.” After working several years as a lab technician, Kuntzelman was ready for a change and saw a help wanted ad for County Market. Her boss quickly recognized her natural talent and gave her a job in the flower shop — a perfect fit. Soon she was doing orders at home and decided the time had come to fulfill her dream. Kuntzelman opened her shop featuring flowers and much more in July of 2014. Besides floral arrangements and plants, Kuntzelman offers balloon bouquets, candy bouquets, gift baskets, Ravens Brew coffee, gourmet chocolate boxes, gift wrapping, and her
The Ogle County Board of Review (BOR) disappointed both sides of a tax appeal last week and struck the middle ground when it set the value of Exelon’s Byron Generating Station. After a hearing arguments from attorneys for Exelon and the Byron School District Jan. 28, the BOR set the nuclear plant’s value at $482.4 million — the same as a year ago. Exelon’s attorney Terry Moritz argued that the assessed value of the plant should be $238 million, while Josh Whitt, representing the Byron School District, presented information setting the value at $609 million. “I’m disappointed. I thought our attorneys made the case that the plant’s value is $609 million,” said Byron School Superintendent James Hammack. “However, I respect the work of the Board of Review — that’s a tough decision.” Byron Station
own one-of-kind gifts and customized decorating. One of her specialties is making figures or “dolls,” as she calls them, from paper clay. For example, for a special order at Christmas she created a Walter Peyton figure, complete with a head band and Bears uniform. Kuntzelman said she enjoys the challenge of designing and creating something she’s never tried before. “I never tell anyone no. I love to make anything,” she said. “There’s nothing like seeing someone’s reaction to something you did.” Another customer brought her two old cupboard doors that she transformed into decorative pieces. Kuntzelman said she especially likes the Edwardian era, as evidenced by the cell phone boxes she turns into vintage keepsake boxes that look to date back to the early 1900s. Currently the shop is open three day a week, but since it’s just two blocks from her home, Kuntzelman said she can easily open almost anytime. Donna Kuntzelman puts the finishing touches on one the “If somebody calls, in two the paper clay dolls she has made in her shop. Photo by Turn to A3 Vinde Wells
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4 Forreston Police, A3
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Communications Manager Paul Dempsey said Exelon is willing to pull its weight but wants fair treatment. “Exelon Generation is always committed to paying its fair share of property taxes. Like every taxpayer, Exelon Generation expects fair treatment in the collection of taxes to support the needs of the county,” he said. “We are open to entering an agreement to resolve the property tax issues for Byron Generating Station.” Ogle County Supervisor of Assessment Jim Harrison set the plant’s value at $482.4 million last fall after the BOR chose that amount at a tax appeal hearing in January of 2015. The assessment set in 2015 affects taxes paid in 2016. “Not a whole lot has changed since last year,” Harrison said. He said the plant’s 20-year operating license extension came in November, a month after the assessment was set. BOR Chairman Joe Turn to A3
BB gun was used to rob Polo gas station By Angel Sierra Sauk Valley Media Police say a Polo man used a BB gun to rob a gas station Jan. 28, then soon returned the money because he knew the cashier had already called police. Polo Police arrested Damian J. Wilson, 21, without incident at his home. He is charged with aggravated robbery, punishable by 2 to 5 years in prison. Bond was set at $50,000 Friday. Police Chief Dennis Christen said Friday morning that Wilson robbed the Shell gas station, 202 Divison St. (Ill. 26), using a BB gun replica of a black semiautomatic .45-caliber handgun. The gun did not have the orange markings typically used to identify toy weapons,
and there was no orange tip. “You have to treat them as if they were real,” Christen said. Police in a news release said Wilson paid for a drink with a $20 bill, and when the register opened, told the cashier, whom he knew, to give him all the money inside. He pulled out the gun, police said, and set it on the counter. According to the release, the cashier gave him an undisclosed amount of money, but Wilson returned “a short time later” to give the money back, saying he knew the cashier had called police. Wilson fled north on Division Avenue in a black car. Police responded to the call at 9:43 p.m. Wilson was scheduled to appear in court Feb. 3.
Murder suspect was on probation By Angel Sierra Sauk Valley Media The Freeport man accused of shooting and killing his wife Dec. 5 in Lanark was about halfway through a twoyear drug-related probation term in Stephenson County, stemming from a 2014 drug case in Tennessee. Carroll County State’s Attorney Scott Brinkmeier this week furnished records about Morgan D. Hake’s criminal past in Tennessee’s
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Weather, A3
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com
Coffee County, which is about an hour drive southeast of Nashville. Hake, 49, pleaded guilty Oct. 29, 2014, to a “criminal attempt” to possess a controlled substance (Psilocyn) with intent to sell/ deliver, and to possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) with intent to sell/deliver, both felonies in Tennessee. He was fined $2,000,
Deaths, B5 David E. Reinke, Brian D. Tremble
Turn to A3