Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal February 27, 2014 Volume 151, Number 44 - $1.00
State Wrestling
Penny Carnival
911 Recognized
Ethan Cain represented the Polo-Forreston wrestling team at the state tournament. B1
The annual Ogle County 4-H Penny Carnival is March 8. B5
The Ogle County 911 was recognized by NCMEC recently. A10
School buses slides into ditch on icy roadway By Vinde Wells Editor School started a little later than expected Feb. 20 for students on four buses in western Ogle County. Icy gravel roads put a Forrestville Valley bus in a snow-filled ditch, while further south three Polo buses found themselves going nowhere due to the lack of traction. The Forrestville Valley bus was carrying 45 elementary, junior high, and high school students when it slipped off
the ice-coated gravel surface around 7:30 a.m. in the 6000 block of West Lightsville Road approximately six miles northeast of Forreston. Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn, who was first to arrive on the scene, said the students were shaken up but unharmed. Interim Superintendent Jane Eichman said the students were transferred to another bus that transported them on to school. Harn said Leaf River Township Road Commissioner Anthony
Peterson spread a truckload of gravel at the scene, and Maryland Township Road Commissioner Stu Meyers used a road grader to pull the bus back onto the roadway. Meanwhile, Polo buses were having their own problems getting around after an icy mix of precipitation coated roads in the early morning hours. Police Chief Dennis Christen said that while none of the buses slipped off the roadways, the roads were so slick that travel became impossible, especially as the
drivers attempted to negotiate hills and intersections. One bus became immobilized on Valentine Road between Canada and Oregon Trail Roads approximately five miles northeast of Polo. A few miles away, another lost traction trying to make a turn at Summerhill and Canada Roads, and the third couldn’t climb a hill on West Branch Road north of Ill. 64. Christen said the township Maryland Township Road Commissioner Stu Meyers road commissioners assisted prepares to hook a chain from the road grader to a Forrestville Valley school bus that slid into the ditch Feb. by spreading gravel.
20 on ice-covered Lightsville Road northeast of Adeline. Photo courtesy of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department
Forreston spells success during Regional Bee By Kathleen Schultz Sauk Valley Media
Anna Snider of Forreston Jr. High reacts to winning the Lee/Ogle Regional Spelling Bee Thursday morning. Snider will be competing at the national bee in Washington D.C. Photo by Alex Paschal
Weather adds days to school year By Vinde Wells Editor Forrestville Valley students and teachers will go to school a few extra days thanks to this winter’s cold, snow, and ice. “Inclement weather has wreaked havoc on us,� Interim Superintendent Jane Eichman told the school board last week. So far, the district has cancelled school on seven days due to the weather, Eichman told the board Feb. 19. “It’s my 41st year in education, and I don’t remember ever using seven days before,� she said. The board approved Eichman’s recommendation
to make up the five “snow� days built into the school calendar, apply for two Act of God days, and add two make-up days for teachers. As a result, the last day of student attendance will be June 2, and the final day for teachers will be June 4. Act of God days must be approved by the regional superintendent and the state superintendent. Students will not have to make up those two days, once they are approved, and the district will not lose state aid for them, Eichman said. The teachers, however, must work the two days to fulfill the terms of their contract.
Following a two-hour closed session, the board took action on several personnel matters, including approving one percent raise for all noncertified staff members. Prior to the closed session, district maintenance coordinator Merrell Pommerening asked the board to consider basing raises on merit rather than giving all employees the same increase. He thanked the board for the one percent annual increase the non-certified staff has received since 2007, but said he believes instead the raises should be based on evaluations that employees receive from their supervisors.
“Right now everyone gets the same increase. I just don’t think that’s correct,� Pommerening said. In other personnel matters, the board: s APPROVED INITIATING A contract with the Illinois Association of School Boards for a superintendent search, s APPROVED THE RESIGNATION of Heather Schiesher as junior high assistant track coach, s APPROVED THE RETIREMENT of long-time band director Chip Braker at the end of the current school year, s REJECTED HIRING +IRK Janicke as high school head softball coach, and s REJECTED HIRING JEFF 'ROBE as high school coaching aide.
Ogle County eighthgraders were like two brainiac bookends up on the stage, politely battling it out for the title of queen bee. Brunette and bespectacled Lena Baumann, Polo, bold and confident was on one side of the stage. Tall, blond Anna Snider, Forreston, reserved and intense, was on the other. It was Round 22, and 24 other spellers from grades three through eight had been eliminated. It was down to the two slim 14-year-olds. Heifer, Lena spelled. Wainscot, Anna lobbed back. Guillotine. Troika. Taupe. Glasnost. Beleaguer. Perennial. Banzai. Eiderdown. Neither gave an inch. The audience waited in the
darkened auditorium, silent and still. Then the inevitable. Hippopotamus. H-i-p-p-ot-a-m-u-s. Immediately, Lena knew her mistake. Anna’s turn. She spelled forsythia, to finish round 28, then camphor, to take Round 29. With that, and a sweet, subdued smile, Anna Snider, the Forreston Junior High School spelling champ, became the winner of the 2014 Lee-Ogle Regional Spelling Bee, held Feb. 20 in the Dixon High School auditorium. She won an all-expensespaid trip for two to National Harbor, Md., just south of Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the end of May. She will take her Turn to A3
Annual FFA Toy Show is March 8 The Forreston FFA Alumni will be holding their 26th Annual Toy Show &Craft Fair on Saturday, March 8, 2014. This event will be held in the Forreston Jr. /Sr. High School building from 9 AM to 3 PM. The Toy Show will be held in the Forreston High School gym and the Craft Fair will be held in the Forreston Junior High School gym and cafeteria. A wide variety of items will be available from
vendors at this event. The Toy Show and Craft Fair were created to help people spend a day with friends and families as well as provide funds to support the Forreston High School Agriculture and FFA programs. This is the 26th year of the Forreston FFA Alumni Toy Show. The Toy Show will feature toy tractors, farm equipment, memorabilia, and collectibles. The event features over 100 tables of
In This Week’s Edition...
vendors that come from all over the Midwest. The Forreston FFA Alumni will also have Oliver 1950 toy tractors for sale. In addition to the show, there will be a non-sanctioned kiddie tractor pull beginning at 1:00 PM. The Craft Fair will have a large number of vendors offering crafts,food, candles, and other items. On the day of the event the Forreston FFA Alumni will
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4 Marriage Licenses, A4
be raffling off $200 and $100 gift certificates at Eickman’s Processing in Seward. Lunch will be available from the FFA Alumni as well. If you need more specific information regarding the show, log on to www.forrestonffaalumni. org,email FFA Advisor Robert Nelson at rnelson@ fvdistrict221.org,call Rick Garnhart for the Toy Show at 815-238-3044, or Cathy Forreston Junior High student Anna Snider holds her Kohlbauer for the Craft Fair first place trophy. at 815-275-6710.
Oregon Police, B5 Public Voice, A7-A9 Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Weather, A2
Deaths, B4 Joyce M. Birk, Robert J. Brooks, Dorothy Moore, Janice L. Point, David E. Unger
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