Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal April 23, 2015 Volume 152, Number 52 - $1.00
First Place
Looting Charge
Plant Sale
Polo-Forreston went up against tough schools during the Byron Relays April 16. B1
A Stillman Valley man is charged with taking tornado donations. A2
The Forreston FFA plant sale will begin on May 1 at the school greenhouse. A3
Grubsteakers owner is called a hero Tuesday Restaurant will be rebuilt By Chris Johnson Reporter
The owner of an Ogle County landmark now has a day named after her. Ava Mirtoska, owner of Grubsteakers, learned Tuesday night that May 7 will be Ava Mirtoska Day in Ogle County. During Tuesday’s county board meeting, board chairman Kim Gouker read a proclamation declaring Mirtoska a hero for her actions in getting customers and employees safely into a storm cellar April 9 during the EF4 tornado that destroyed the restaurant. “We lost a landmark this month in Grubsteakers,” said Gouker. “It has been there as far back as I can remember. Ava runs Grubsteakers and Grubsteakers is Ava.” Ava Mirtoska, owner of Grubsteakers, looks at the proclamation with Ogle County Gouker said he talked to Board Chairman Kim Gouker Tuesday night. Photo by Chris Johnson
several people who were at the restaurant when the tornado struck around 7 p.m. “They said without Ava we would have had some fatalities,” he said. “She made sure they got into the cellar.” Looking back on that day, Mirtoska said she would do everything the same. “I am glad everybody is safe,” Mirtoska said. “It is good they call me hero, but I feel like I would do it anytime it happens. I hope it never happens again.” She said the restaurant is run for the customers and they were her first thought when the storm hit. “For a minute, I was not believing this was happening,” said Mirtoska. “I am seeing the craziness out there. Everyone was saying tornado warning. I was going like, it’s just a storm.” But something clicked with Mirtoska when she was looking out the window
watching the storm roll in. “I was looking out through the window and seeing something coming really fast and really dark,” she said. “It was still too far to see if it was a tornado, but I am seeing something dark. That second I said, ‘uh-oh, this is serious.’ “ At that moment Mirtoska told her employees and customers to get into the storm cellar to take shelter. “It was very fast and quick. I was trying to get everyone down,” she said. “I was trying to do this as fast as possible.” Following the storm the community rallied around Mirtoska and her employers. Volunteers were on the property the next morning to help clean up. “It makes me feel good,” Mirtoska said. “I am happy to be here and I am happy to be around good people and everyone who helps.” The hardest part is just beginning for Mirtoska and
Two baby great horned owls rescued after storm By Vinde Wells Editor The EF4 tornado that tore through Ogle County two weeks ago displaced and injured not only people, but also animals, both domestic and wild. Two baby great horned
owls were rescued from Skare Park west of Rochelle five days after the storm by a crew cutting up downed trees and cleaning up debris. Mark Herman, Superintendent of Education at the Byron Forest Preserve, said a maintenance crew from the forest preserve went
to the park to help Rochelle Park District workers with clean-up on April 14. “Skare Park took a direct hit from the tornado April 9,” he said. “Our crew was cutting up an oak tree that had fallen and the baby owls were in a hole in the tree.” The parents could not be
located and were apparently lost in the storm, he said. The babies, too young to fly or find food for themselves, were very weak and lethargic. Herman captured the young owls and called Northern Illinois Raptor Rehab and Education,
glove was found Students volunteering to clean up debris last week from the recent EF4 tornado found a valued family keepsake blown into a field. Zach Metzger, one of several students from the Chana Education Center, spotted an old baseball mitt in the middle of the field April 15. The glove, it turned out, belonged to Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle and was thought to be lost forever when the April 9 tornado destroyed his home west of Rochelle. “It was my grandpa’s high school glove, “ VanVickle said. “My grandma gave it to me when he died. We kept it on a shelf in our entry way. I remember as a little kid playing ball with him, and that’s the glove he used. I was glad to get it back.” VanVickle, his wife Marla, and their two children were all away from home when the tornado smashed their home and more than 30 others in the
early evening. The family’s dog later climbed out of the rubble. The field where the glove was found is along Ill. 64 about six miles northeast of VanVickle’s home. Metzger and other students, Courtney Byerhof, Riley Lee, Shane Wilson, Wyatt Doubler, Jesse Beck, Devin Phillips, and Noah Young, gave their time to help local farmers clean up debris from their fields. The mitt isn’t the only item missing that’s been found in the days since the storm. VanVickle said his passport was found in Monroe Center, his son’s sports jersey — still on the hanger — turned up in McHenry County, and several more items showed up farther north. “It seems like most of the stuff ended up in Genoa City, Wis., Twin Lakes, Wis., and Harvard,” he said. The sign for Grubsteakers, a restaurant at the intersection of Ill. 64 and 251, also was found in Harvard.
In This Week’s Edition...
“She’s doing beak-to-beak feeding,” he said. “This owl can’t be released because she has a broken wing, but she has fostered several orphaned owls.” He hopes that once the two young owls are old enough Turn to A3
Concern raised over drain pipe
Grandfather’s By Vinde Wells Editor
Loves Park, who sent a representative to pick them up. A little food and water perked the youngsters up, he said. A female great horned owl at Raptor Rehab has taken them under her wing, so to speak, and is even feeding them.
By Chris Johnson Reporter
Zach Metzger and Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle show a baseball mitt that belonged to VanVickle’s grandfather. Metzger, who was helping clean up debris from an EF4 tornado that swept through Ogle County April 9, found the mitt in a field about six miles northeast of VanVickle’s home, which was demolished in the storm. Photo supplied
Twelve people took refuge in a storm cellar at Grubsteakers and suffered only minor injuries while the tornado destroyed the restaurant and several houses to the east of it. Receipts from the restaurant were found in rural Woodstock. What was left of VanVickle’s home and
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
many of his neighbors’ houses was removed within days with the help of friends, family, volunteers, and clean-up crews. A week after the storm, construction was underway. “We started building our new house on Thursday [April 16],” VanVickle said Monday. “Everyone has been amazing.”
Forreston Police, A2 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B4
Concerns over a damaged storm sewer drain led one Forreston resident to ask the village board if the line could be fixed or rerouted. Wylie Lynch, who lives on Garden Street, told the board Monday night that the tube running under his property is broken. “I am afraid if the tube gets blocked,” said Lynch. “It goes under my garage.” He said his neighbor’s yard has a small hole where you can see the exposed pipe. “I think this is causing the sinking of my concrete,” Lynch said. Lynch said during some storms his property has been flooded. He approached the board to see what could be done
about the drain pipe. “We will talk to the village engineer,” said village president Michael Harn. “Al (Cruthis) can get ahold of Mic (Gronewold) to see what we can come up with before the next meeting.” Harn said the engineer has been in town each day to monitor construction at the wastewater treatment plant. In other business the board: • Learned about the annual bike rodeo. Police Chief Mike Boomgarden said he is talking with school principal Travis Heinz about a date. The event might be held during school hours in the final two weeks of the school year. • Learned that using the rented village parking lot for a beer garden during a Turn to A3
Hydrants will be flushed The Village of Forreston will flush fire hydrants Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29. Residents may experience discolored water, however it is safe for drinking.
Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Weather, A3 Zoning, B5
Discolored water could stain laundry, so it is recommended to wait until flushing is completed. For more information call the Village office at 915938-2400.
Deaths, B6 Aida Blough, Patricia L. Leopold, Stanley C. Ludwig, Wayne L. Moring, Patricia Unger
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com