Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal March 26, 2015 Volume 152, Number 48 - $1.00
Spring Preview The Polo-Forreston track team is ready to hit the track running this season. B1
Progress
Candidate Profiles
Businesses and government agencies work to succeed in today’s economic climate. C1
Learn about candidates for LR Village President, Polo School Board and City Council. A7
Existence of storage tanks was fully disclosed By Vinde Wells Editor Both the seller and the buyer agree that information about the existence of underground storage tanks was fully disclosed when the Ogle County Board purchased a piece of property almost two years ago. John Spoor, Oregon, said
last week that he made it clear to county officials that gas tanks were still in the ground at 501 W. Washington St. before he sold them the property in June of 2013. “It was fully disclosed at the time of the sale,” Spoor said. County board chairman Kim Gouker affirmed that. “They disclosed
everything,” Gouker said. “John was very upfront. He told us the tanks were there.” The question of disclosure came up at the March 17 county board meeting when architect Guy Gehlhausen told the board that the property may not be complaint state regulations. He said the property, which was once a gas
station, may still have underground storage tanks and contaminated soil. The underground tanks have never been registered, Gehlhausen said, which is required by the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM). 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 OSFM standards are being met. County board member Lee Meyer, Byron, then questioned if county officials had been made aware of that prior to the sale. Gouker said they were. Gehlhausen attended the county board meeting last week to present the board
with estimates of what it would cost to demolish the building and pave the property for parking. If no tank issues exist, he said project will cost an estimated $186,153. If the building contains asbestos, removing it would cost another $10,000 to $15,000, he said. Turn to B2
Awareness raised through Adeline woman’s creativity By Vinde Wells Editor
Linda Meyer has already made an array of Christmas gifts for her family. Crocheting the items is part of her therapy for Parkinson’s disease. Photo by Vinde Wells
Area departments respond to two weekend house fires Family safely escaped house By Vinde Wells Editor Oregon firefighters were called to two house fires in as many days over the weekend. Firefighters from nine area departments turned out to help battle a fire at the home of Harold and Miranda Best at 506 W. Madison St., on the northeast corner of Madison and Sixth Streets in Oregon on Saturday morning. Oregon Fire Chaplain
Oregon firefighters gain access to a house fire from the rear of side of the building Saturday morning at Sixth and Madison Street. Photo by Chris Johnson
Michael Hoffman said the couple and their dog were safely out of the house when firefighters arrived around 8:30 a.m. Oregon Fire Chief Don Heller said Monday afternoon that the cause of the fire is undetermined, according to a representative from the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office who assisted with the investigation. Assistant Fire Chief Al Greene said the preliminary investigation indicated the fire started in an addition at the rear of the century-andhalf-old two-story frame house. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find the fire already well advanced. “When we got there the fire was burning in the attics of both the house and the addition, and it was under the first floor of the addition,” Greene said. “The second floor collapsed within the first 20 minutes.” Firefighters on two aerial ladders battled the flames in the attic and upstairs throughout the morning. Greene said that one advantage was that many volunteer firefighters responded to the call. “A lot of firemen were available because it was a Saturday morning,” he said. “It would have been
In This Week’s Edition...
different on a work day.” Most area departments are staffed by volunteers who hold other full-time jobs. Oregon was assisted at the scene by the Mt. Morris, Polo, Byron, Stillman Valley, Dixon City, Rochelle, Franklin Grove, and Monroe Township Fire Departments. Dixon Rural firefighters stood by at the Mt. Morris Fire Station. The second fire severely damaged the one-story home of Christopher Plum at 715 Franklin St. on Sunday morning. Heller said a candle ignited the blaze. Plum was treated at the scene for cuts on his feet by the ATS Ambulance staff. He was not transported to the hospital. Plum’s next door neighbor Verva Thomas said she saw a puff of smoke outside around 10:20 a.m. “When I looked outside I saw his front door was on fire,” she said. Thomas immediately called 911, as did other neighbors. Heller said the fire started in the living room of the home, which is owned by John Andrew. Firefighters from Mt. Morris, Byron, and Stillman Valley Fire Departments assisted at the scene.
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
An Adeline woman is using her creative abilities to raise public awareness about the debilitating disease she suffers from. Linda Meyer, 67, has designed T-shirts in a rainbow of colors to get the word out about Parkinson’s disease. The design she made for the front says, “Fight Club” in large letters with a logo and smaller letters that read “Parkinson’s Disease - For a Cure.” All the money she makes from selling the shirts — around $600 — will go to Parkinson’s research. “It affects every aspect of your life,” she said. “I don’t think there will be a cure in my lifetime, but maybe there will.” Meyer will also have a table with information about Parkinson’s disease next month at the Forreston Public Library and the Bertolet Memorial Library, Leaf River. The timing is perfect because April is National Parkinson’s Awareness Month. Meyer, the mother of three and grandmother of six, was diagnosed in November of 2012 with Parkinson’s, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system. She had several classic symptoms — hand tremors, back problems, and a shuffling gait — but blamed them on getting older. “I thought old age was sneaking up on me,” she said. Her orthopedist thought differently — he immediately suspected Parkinson’s, and further tests confirmed it. Her medications are working well to keep the symptoms in check, Meyer said, but they also have a downside. “With Parkinson’s, one of the medicines you take gives you compulsions,” Meyer said. “Some people gamble. Mine is that I’ve got to make something.” She decided to make the most of that and began painting barn quilts, crocheting Christmas gifts for her family and friends, and most recently designing T-shirts. The artfully-fashioned crocheted items include a colorful array of slippers, scarves, hats, boot cuffs, and
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B5 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
more. She also crochets small gray ribbons, the symbol of Parkinson’s, and attaches information about the disease to them. The ribbons can be worn as pins. Her projects help her keep the disease under control. Meyer explained that planning the projects is therapy for her brain, while the work is therapy for her hands. “If you don’t use it, you lose it,” she said with a grin. The barn quilts — a quilt block painted on plywood — were her first project. Since then she’s made more than 90 of them. Some of have gone to family and friends, some have been sold, and others decorate the garage and shed outside the house where she and her husband Pete live. Three small ones hang in the entry way inside. Meyer first designs the block on graph paper and then draws it out on the plywood. She tapes off the sections to keep the lines between the colors crisp. Meyer said she started painting the quilts just because she liked them. “I was too cheap to buy one,” she joked. Pete found a piece of plywood in his shop for the first one. “He squared it up, and I painted it,” she said. It hangs outside on the shed. Her most recent one featured an International Harvestor theme and was made in honor of her brother Dave Short, Polo.
It was raffled at this year’s Polo Farm Toy Show, an event Short, who favors IH tractors and equipment, managed for many years. The T-shirt project started out with Meyer’s idea to make herself one, evolved into shirts for her family, and then grew from there. Family, friends, and neighbors gathered March 14, all wearing their shirts, for photos. “I really appreciate all my friends and family that bought my shirts, for my girls who helped make them, and those who had the time to come for the pictures. They are all awesome,” she said. Meyer, who retired in 2011 after driving the Rock River Center van for 13 years, stressed the importance of exercise for those with Parkinson’s. “It’s important to keep exercising,” she said. “I had always walked every day but I had trouble walking after taking the medication.” Music proved to be the answer. Meyer said listening to music while she walks has helped her get back her gait and rhythm. Meyer also connects with others who have Parkinson’s. She attends a support group once a month and keeps up with another support group online. The online group includes people of all ages from countries around the world. The youngest is only 25. Turn to A3 to learn more about Parkinson’s disease.
Linda Meyer and her grandson Cody Snyder wear the T-shirts she made to raise funds for Parkinson’s research. Photo supplied
Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B1 State’s Attorney, B4
Deaths, B4 Charles H. Formby, Elisabeth S. Mann, Doris Michael, Reah A. Travis, Patricia A. Unger, Ethel M. Woodin
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com