Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal March 19, 2015 Volume 152, Number 47 - $1.00
State Finals
Pro Wrestling
Civil War Program
The Forreston Cardinals finished in fourth at the State Basketball Tournament. B1, B2
MWA Wrestling will put on a show in Mt. Morris March 28. A6
A discussion on the Civil War will be held in Oregon at the Rock River Center in April. A10
Underground tanks could
pose a problem County purchased Oregon building in June, 2013 By Vinde Wells Editor A piece of property the Ogle County Board purchased less than two years ago could end up costing thousands of dollars more. Architect Guy Gehlhausen told the board Tuesday evening that the property at 501 W. Washington St., Oregon, may still have underground storage tanks and contaminated soil. He recommended that the county hire an environmental engineer to determine what needs to be done to be sure Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and other standards are being met. “You own a piece of property that is potentially non-compliant,” Gehlhausen said. “If it were mine I’d bring it into compliance.” The Long Range Planning Committee had asked Gehlhausen to come up with a plan and the cost to demolish
Fourth Place The Forreston Cardinals competed in the IHSA Class 1A finals in Peoria March 13-14. Above, The Forreston Cardinals received their fourth place trophy Saturday afternoon after losing to Ridgeview in the third place game. At right, Forreston’s Aaron Shelton and Robert DeVries react after losing the March 13 game to Mounds Meridian. Stories from the state tournament appear on A11, B1, B2. Additional photos and videos from the game will be posted at www.oglecountynews. com. Photos by Chris Johnson and Earleen Hinton
the former building restaurant building on the site and to turn it into a parking lot. “It’s never quite as simple as knocking the building down and paving it over,” Gehlhausen said. The county purchased the property at the corner of Washington (Ill. 64) and Fifth Streets for $150,000 in June of 2013 from John Spoor. Jackass BBQ was most recently located there, but several decades ago a gas station was at the spot. The underground tanks, if they still exist on the site, have never been registered, Gehlhausen said, which is required by the Illinois State Fire Marshall’s Office. “The previous owner should have done that before transferring the title,” he said. “Your hands are tied as far as construction or demolition.” Gehlhausen said an inspection needs to be done to determine if the tanks are still there, and samples should be taken to see if the soil is contaminated. Soil borings were done several years ago, he said, but the results were not Turn to A2
Small but enthusiastic crowd at annual toy show By Vinde Wells Editor The sky was blue and the temperature was in the 60s March 14, but the crowd was a little sparse at the 27th Forreston FFA Alumni Farm Toy Show and Craft Fair. “It’s a drought year, kind of like in farming,” joked ticket taker Harvey Bolen, a German Valley farmer. Richard Gann, Leaf River, who was working the front table with Bolen, agreed the attendance was down some but said there were good reasons. “It’s been a fair turnout with the circumstances,” he said. “The Forreston boys are downstate, and the Sublette toy show is today, too. It just happened to fall that way this year.” Gann was right. In fact, everywhere you looked the
Village of Forreston looked a bit deserted. The only action in town seemed to be at the junior and senior high school where the show was being held. Many residents — all loyal basketball fans — had followed the boys team to Carver Arena in Peoria to watch them play in the state finals. Show chairman Rick Garnhart, German Valley, said the turnout was about half of what it usually is. “We had about 500 come through the gate, and normally we get 1,000,” he said. “We had a couple of strikes against us but we’ll be back bigger and better next year.” At the show, vendors and shoppers were enthusiastic. Caitlin Miller and Anthony Castle, both of Forreston, held the wooden treasures
they had already bought at the craft fair as they signed up for silent auction items in the cafeteria. Castle had purchased a decorative shelf for his mother’s birthday. “We found it at Rex Printz’s booth,” Miller explained. “It’s one of a kind.” The craft fair was set up in the junior high gym, and the toy show was situated in the high school gym. Toy show vendor Giles Turner, Augusta, Wis., said he was pleased with his sales. “I’m doing well today,” he said. “I always come here. I enjoy the people.” Turner said he has been doing toy shows for 35 years. “I do about 25 shows a year across four states,” he said. Down the aisle at a table Kaden Lingbeck, 8, Leaf River, and his father Ken look over the array of farm toys Turn to A3 March 14 at the Forreston Farm Toy Show and Craft Fair. Photo by Vinde Wells
Asbestos will need to be removed from old building By Vinde Wells Editor An inspection of the old Polo Hotel at 208 E. Mason St. shows several areas that contain asbestos. Polo alderman Jim Busser told the city council Monday night that representatives from Ironwood Environmental Inc., Belvidere, inspected the deteriorating building March
5 and identified eight areas where asbestos must be abated (removed) before the building is demolished. The inspection, which cost the city $1,500, showed asbestos in flooring at various spots in the building and in pipe and boiler insulation. Ironwood estimated the cost of the abatement at $14,900. Attorney Tom Suits told the council that he would
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recommend getting at least two additional quotes for the abatement work. He said Ironwood cannot do the abatement work because the firm did the inspection, and that could be a conflict of interest. The council authorized Suits to file the paperwork to obtain a demolition permit. Mayor Doug Knapp questioned if further
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
permission is needed from the building’s owner before proceeding. “The owner is denying any interest in the property,” Suits said. “It’s been abandoned. You can go ahead.” A title search done last month revealed that B&L Partnership, comprised of Leo Hathaway and Brad Bartnick, is the owner of record. Suits said the search also
Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5
revealed that the owners have not paid the property taxes for several years, causing it to be sold for the taxes. One of the partners bought it for the taxes but never recorded the deed, he said. Another party later bought it for the taxes, Suits said, but also did not record the deed. The tax deeds have now been obtained by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, the
Social News, A4 Sports, A11, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B7 Weather, A3
delinquent tax agent for Ogle County. The building has broken windows and doors and structural deterioration. An inspection done earlier found it to be in violation of the International Property Maintenance Code and deemed it, under the code, to be dangerous, unsafe, unsanitary, and unfit for human occupancy.
Deaths, B6 Henry H. Brechters, Frederick LaBudde, John L. Reinke, Andrew J. Ruiz, Fay M. Turner, Marie R. Wright
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com