Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal February 11, 2016 Volume 153, Number 42 - $1.00
Wrestlers Advance
Toy Shows
Primary Election
Three Polo-Forreston wrestlers advanced to the Feb. 12-13 Princeton Sectional. B1
Mark the calendars for two local farm toy shows in March. A2
Early voting and voter registration is underway at the Ogle County Courthouse. A9
State budget battle forces NICIL to close Service helped disabled residents By Jermaine Pigee jpigee@saukvalley.com
and lack of funding. NICIL has 250 clients, Miller said. Roughly 30 to 40 will be directly affected by the closing of the Oregon office “This is not a decision that the board of directors has come to lightly,” NICIL Board President Mary Mahan-Deatherage said in the release. “We have been monitoring this situation for more than a year. Michele and her staff have worked diligently and economically to keep services at their maximum level.” This isn’t the first time NICIL has had to make hard choices. In July, four staff members were cut from the Oregon and Sterling offices. The one remaining staff member left in Oregon will work out of the Sterling office. “It makes it really difficult to communicate with customers,” Miller said. Miller also said because of the budget impasse, her staff members are not able to travel as much, meaning it may be a month before they can visit someone. “When we had the regular office, we were there so we could see them,” Miller said. NICIL opened in 1985 and has continued without interruption to serve people with disabilities and their families in Northwestern Illinois counties of Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, and Whiteside. For more information, call NICIL at 815-625-7860 or visit www.nicil.org.
The budget battle in Springfield has claimed another casualty, and the fallout will impact dozens of disabled residents in the Oregon area. The Northwestern Illinois Center for Independent Living will shut down its The Forrestville Valley PTO hosted and sponsored Discovery Center Night Feb. 4. The theme was chemistry. Oregon branch office at the Above, Brennan Byers, Colson Lamm, A.J. Grabins, and Samantha Appel warm their coins to melt ice. Below, Rock River Center, 810 S. Luke and Lily Zipse and Zane Crackenberger make green slime with Borax and other household products. 10th St., effective March 1. Photos by Cori Ingram “It is with great sadness that we find it necessary to close this office due to the Illinois budget impasse,” NICIL Executive Director Michele Miller said in a press release Thursday. “It is one more loss for people with disabilities due to political jockeying,” NICIL provides services for the disabled and caregiver training. “We will still be able to deliver services in the five counties that we serve, we just won’t have that location,” Miller said. “It was convenient for customers to come to that office because we could meet in private. Now, they will have to come to Sterling to meet with us, or arrange to meet in the community they live in.” NICIL’s central office in Sterling is at 412 Locust St. Like many social service agencies in Illinois, NICIL A long-time Forreston Wool Council’s Excellence selling, and promoting U.S. hired shearers to buy wool. has been swimming hard businessman was honored Award. wool,” said an article in the A typical day involved against the tide of uncertainty recently for excellence in his Also receiving the award Sheep Industry News. delivering a truckload of trade. was Charlie Chase, owner The awards were presented wool to Caron Spinning, Grant Groenewold, owner of Burlington Industries Jan. 28 at the annual Rochelle, and then picking of Groenewold Fur & Wool Wool Company, Clarksville, convention in Scottsdale, up another load for the (GFW), was recognized Virginia. Arizona. following day. for his achievements in “Charlie Chase and Grant Groenewold, 84, is a The company began the industry Jan. 28 as the Groenewold devoted much lifelong resident of German exporting wool in the late recipient of the American of their lives to buying, Valley and Forreston and 1960s to Germany, to a firm graduated from Forreston near his grandfather’s home High School. in Emden. He and his wife Beverly Besides Germany, are the parents of four Groenewold exported wool children and have eight to the Netherlands, Poland, grandchildren. England, Bulgaria, Turkey, Groenewold began his Egypt, India, China, Japan, career when he went to work and Argentina. for his father, a German GFW began exporting immigrant, at Groenewold fur in 1960 and is now the Fur & Wool Company. largest wild fur buyer in the He joined the U.S. Army U.S. in 1951 and served in the The company continues to Korean War for 15 months. service customers around the After his discharge in world. 1953, he went to work for Currently 15 people M.C. Kraft, a hide and wool work full-time for GFW, business in Springfield. and 21 more are seasonal He returned to Forreston in employees. In addition, the 1958 and bought the family company has more than 100 business from his father. wool buyers in the Midwest The small business then and eastern U.S. consisted of one building Today, GFW has customand two trucks, secured on outfitted trucks, trailers and credit. machinery designed for the At first, Groenewold was industry. Sarah Hattoon, Pecatonica, looks over a piece of both the fur buyer and the The company is currently glassware offered Feb. 6 at the February Finds wool buyer. owned and operated by the antiques and collectible market at the Mt. Morris He bought wool directly Groenewolds’ three sons, Grant and Beverly Groenewold Moose Family Center. Photo by Vinde Wells from the producers and also Greg, Grant, and Gary.
Hands-On Chemistry
Groenewold honored by industry
February Finds
In This Week’s Edition...
Byron Police, B4 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
Oregon Police, B5 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Zoning Permits, B4
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com
Deaths, B4-B5 Gladys M. Appel Flora Jean Samuel Judith K. Snook