Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal April 3, 2014 Volume 151, Number 49 - $1.00
Sexual Predator
Antique Show
Security Changes
Polo Police are still seeking information about a sexual assault of an 11-year-old. A9
Close to 2,000 people visited the annual antique show in Oregon. A8
Visitors to the Forreston Schools see new security measures this week. A9
Veterinarian discusses animal care practices By Chris Johnson Reporter A look into the animal care practices in Europe was presented to the Oregon Rotary and guests during Rural Urban Day. Veterinarian Abe Trone, Lena, was invited to talk about his experience March 26 following an Illinois Farm Bureau foreign market study tour held last summer. “I do a l lot of dairy work in Lena,� Trone said. “What happens in California comes here and what is happening in Europe may be coming here.� Trone along with 11 other farm bureau members traveled through Europe to get a first hand look at the implementation of European Union laws related to animal care. “Our objective was to see as much as we could,� he said. Animal welfare is defined to include how an animal is
“What happens in California comes here and what is happening in Europe may be coming here,� — Abe Trone coping with the conditions in which it lives. The animal needs to be healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe, and not suffering from pain, fear, and distress. They need to have appropriate shelter and humane slaughter. Trone said this definition was open to interpretation in Europe because many of the animal welfare decisions were driven by marketing. The regulation of animal housing is a selling point for consumers, even if there is no scientific proof that it was better for the animal, he said. One chicken farm was a large round building with a retractable roof. “This was built following a consumer survey,� said
Trone. “It has Astroturf and toys for the hens to play with.� The eggs from this facility are sold in a round package with seven eggs at a cost of one dollar per egg, Trone said. “This costs three times as much to products but people are willing to pay the premium,� said Trone. “The European Union consumers have problems with small cages.� Unfortunately there are other aspects of this system that did not seem humane to Trone. “When the spent hens are taken out of service they are ground up live for mink feed,� he said. “This fact was
not discussed on our visit.� On pig farms there are rules about how pigs are fed and what types of stalls they can be housed in. These rules, Trone said, may appear beneficial on the surface, however from what he observed the animals had more injuries than how pigs are raised in the United States. Some of the injuries were not as apparent because pigs are sold at a lighter weight in Europe. He said the piglet mortality rate was high on European farms. Trone said the farmers he met in Europe have adapted to the rules they are required to follow and the changing market conditions. “We visited a dairy farm in England and saw how they changed their notch to what the clients needed,� said Trone. “They are adaptable. The cows in England must Abe Trone talks about a recent trip to Europe during have daily access to a pasture the March 26 Oregon Rotary Meeting. Photo by Chris Turn to A3 Johnson
Talent show is Saturday Tickets will be sold at the door
Jim Schmidt, Polo, talks with Abe Trone and Rotary program chairman Stan Eden.
Forrestville’s Got Talent will showcase local performers on Saturday, April 5 at 7 p.m. at the Forreston Junior High gym. The first act of the show is a competition between Forrestville Valley students for the Judges’ Award and the Audience Award. Act II is a variety show of more student talent. Tickets are $3 for students in grades 1-12, $4 for adults, and are available only at the door. For additional information about Forrestville’s Got Talent contact the school or any of the students participating in the event.
Forreston Junior High students will be among those performing in Forrestville’s Got Talent Saturday, April 5. Pictured left to right in the back row are: Mady Thomas, Lizzie Gronewold, and Faith Ralston, Front: Taylor Vogt and Tannis Schultz. Photo by Kathie Conerton
Crowd drawn to What’s Cookin to try new cuisine By Andy Colbert Reporter What started in Rockford and onto Rochelle has found its way to Oregon. Based off the popular “30 Men Who Cook� concept, the Rock River Center of Oregon created a spin-off called “What’s Cookin�. Playing in front of a packed house of hundreds of eager diners at Oak Lane in Daysville on Saturday, March 26, area cooking teams supplied a myriad of food concoctions, including such exotic offerings as chocolatecovered bacon and deviled eggs topped with bugs. For the less adventuresome, there were also the old standbys, such as a variety of appetizers, meats, salads, breads, soups and desserts. The event served as a fundraiser for the Rock River Center, as patrons paid $20 for entrance.
“This is a lot of fun,� said Ed Fane of Oregon, one of the 376 counted attendees. As the hungry masses began to assemble and were first met by the smell of Dick Zimmerman deepfrying catfish outside, it was apparent that this was no ordinary fundraiser. The combination of the bucolic setting of Oak Lane, the vast array of food and party atmosphere also turned “What’s Cookin� into a social gathering par excellence. “We’re thrilled,� Rock River Director Ann Haas said. “Next year, it will be even bigger. With this crowd, we will need to put a tent up.� For an event that had no interested cooking teams show up at the first planning meeting, “What’s Cookin� came a long way in four months. That was about the time Joyce Bruns proposed the idea to Haas. “I’ve been to the event
In This Week’s Edition...
at Rochelle and had always wanted to do it in Oregon for a fundraiser for the Rock River Center,� Bruns said. Bruns and her friend Diane Palmer went to Haas and after some convincing got the RRC to buy into the concept. It was a risky venture for RRC, as they had never attempted an off-site fundraiser.
“It was an awesome idea, ‘let’s go for it’, I said,� Haas said. “It took a lot of coordinating and we were fortunate to have staff with organizational experience. Slowly, the venture began to pick up steam as more and more people were contacted. “We couldn’t let that first meeting bother us. We kept
right at it,� Bruns said. “It was just a matter of informing the community and they were great at that.� But, it was Bruns and Palmer who were the driving force behind the event. “From the beginning, Joyce and I wanted to incorporate more than Oregon. We wanted this to be for the
whole county,� Palmer said. Even with the overflow crowds, Haas has no plans at this point in moving “What’s Cookin� to a bigger venue. “Oak Lane was gracious to host this. They’ve been wonderful to work with,� Haas said. “We plan to have Turn to A3
The venue for Whats Cookin was filled with people tasting food and socializing. Photo by Chris Johnson
Agriculture, A7 Birth, A2 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6
Fines, B4 Honor Roll, A2 Marriage Licenses, A4 Property Transfers, B3 Sheriff’s Arrests, B4
Social News, A4 Sports, B1 State’s Attorney, B2 Weather, A3
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Deaths, B3 Judith I. Lamia, John R. Long, Ruth E. Straw