Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal April 24, 2014 Volume 151, Number 52 - $1.00
Home & Garden
First Place The Polo-Forreston boys track team finished in first at Winnebago last week. B1
Monarch butterflies need some green thumbs to flourish. A8-A9
New Jobs Woods Equipment plans to add more jobs to their factory near Oregon. A3
Appointment is controversial Board discussed ZBA during April 15 meeting By Vinde Wells Editor
Three cement trucks line up April 11 to pour concrete into the forms for the new equipment storage building at the Ogle County Highway Department. Photo by Curtis Cook
Construction begins on building By Chris Johnson Reporter The foundation has been poured for the new equipment building at the Ogle County Highway Department. When completed, the 90foot by 150-foot building will have a concrete foundation and steel frame and will be located at the highway department headquarters at 1989 Ill. 2 South, Oregon. County Engineer Curtis Cook said the highway department’s new $700,000 building will be used to store heavy equipment, some of which currently sits outside. “When you don’t have
shelter for equipment it does not last as long,� he said. “This building will allow us to store everything inside and make the equipment last.� The existing storage building was completed in 1967 and is a tight fit for equipment. Road graders will be moved to the new building when the project is completed. “The old building was built for smaller trucks,� said Cook. “The road graders can barely get in.� Having the new space will make it easier to park the equipment and allow for better access to all the equipment, he said.
Dump trucks will remain in the original building. Cook said plans call for the building to be completed by July 1, and after that parking areas will be redone to ensure that water drains away from the buildings. “The parking lot is a mess with all the cuts in it,� said Cook. “I am looking forward to getting the project completed.� The parking lot reconstruction will cost $278,000 and will be completed by Martin and Company. The money to pay for the building will come from the county’s Long Range
Planning Fund. Revenues in that fund come from the host fees paid by garbage collection firms to dump refuse in the landfills within the county. The fees bring approximately $3 million per year to the county’s coffers. According to the budget, the Long Range Planning Fund, which is earmarked for major capital projects, was projected to start the new fiscal year with a balance of $13 million. Cook said the county board added the project to the budget for this fiscal year and the project was awarded to Cord Construction Company, Rockford, in January.
An appointment to the Ogle County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) proved controversial April 15. County board member Bruce McKinney, Rochelle, objected to a motion to appoint former county board member Dennis Williams, Byron, to the ZBA. Instead he said he favored the reappointment of current ZBA member Randall Anderson, Chana, who had also applied for the seat. McKinney said Anderson has been a dedicated ZBA member and should be reappointed. He said he believes Anderson was not recommended for another term because he did not vote in opposition to wind farms. Recommendations for appointments to the ZBA are made by the State’s Attorney’s Committee. Board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron, said Anderson’s voting record on wind farms was not mentioned during the
committee’s discussion of the appointment. Instead he said, the issue was their stands on the county’s Comprehensive Plan. “There was a distinct difference between the two candidates,� he said. Neither candidate attended the county board meeting. Board member Lyle Hopkins said he favors Anderson because he is a farmer, and Williams is not. Board member Ashley Simms, Rochelle, disagreed that a farmer is a better choice for the ZBA. Board member Pat Saunders, Polo, said farmers have more at stake in the zoning rules set by the county. Persons who live in a city or village, she said, are governed by the zoning ordinances within that municipality, rather than the county’s. “Yes, but we all pay taxes,� replied Simms. County board member Lee Meyers, Byron, said Williams lives in a rural subdivision. McKinney’s motion to replace Williams with Anderson as the appointee was defeated 9-13, and a subsequent motion to appoint Williams was approved 139.
Trucker killed in fiery accident Sauk Valley Media The investigation continues into a fiery crash on Interstate 39 in Ogle County on April 18 that involved three semitrailers and took the life of a driver from Texas, Illinois State Police said. According to a news release and to ISP Sgt. Eric Van Dyke, a northbound semi driven by William M. Spearman, 41, Chicago, was going slower than the minimum speed limit of 45 mph and was rear-ended around 8 p.m. by a semi driven by Ralph W. Maness, 60, Sanger, Texas, just south of Rochelle. Maness’ truck burst into flames, and he died at the scene.
The third semi, driven by Craig L. Zimbauer, 36, Elk Mound, Wis., and also northbound, swerved into a ditch to avoid the accident, but stopped so close that his semi also caught fire. Neither Spearman nor Zimbauer were injured. Spearman was cited for violating the minimum speed limit, which is a $120 ticket. Northbound traffic was diverted from I-39 to Ill. 251 until 9 a.m. April 19 while the on-scene investigation was conducted. Further investigation into the accident is ongoing, Van Dyke said. He didn’t know how fast the first two trucks were going, or what they were hauling.
Shed in rural Polo destroyed by fire Annual Egg Hunt Sunshine and warmer temperatures April 19 made perfect weather for the Forreston Lions Club’s annual Easter Egg Hunt. Above left, Hudson Bowers and his mother Tiffany, Forreston, pose for a picture with the Easter Bunny. Above right, Reagan Scheffner, Freeport, and below right, Leighton Byers, Forreston, find eggs and candy in the grass at Memorial Park. Photos by Vinde Wells
In This Week’s Edition...
Byron Police, B5 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B2 Sheriff’s Arrests, B4
Social News, A4 Sports, B1 State’s Attorney, B5 Weather, A2
A shed at a rural Polo residence was destroyed Monday in an early morning fire. When Polo firefighters arrived just before 5:30 a.m., the shed at 16214 W. Milledgeville Rd. was fully engulfed and nothing inside was salvageable, Fire Chief
Tony Karrow reported. Firefighters remained on the scene for four hours. Karrow said no one was injured in the blaze, the cause for which is so far undetermined. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshall is assisting with the investigation.
Deaths, B3 Joan I. Brinker, Florence A. Hieronimus, Curtis C. Krueger, Dorothy L. Lubbs, Viola M. Sheriff
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