FOR_05192016

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Serving the Forreston area since 1865

FORRESTON Journal May 19, 2016 Volume 154, Number 4 - $1.00

Softball Victory

Baby Bison

Yard Sale

The Lady Cardinals defeat Winnebago 4-2 to advance to the regional final. B1

The bison herd is growing and thriving at Nachusa Grasslands. A6

The 14th annual Breast Yard Sale in Town offers all kinds of great stuff May 28-June 19. A4

Man plans to sue the county bd.

Graduates remember their past

By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com

By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecountynews.com The Salutatorian and Valedictorian of the Forreston High School Class of 2016 told classmates to remember everything about their time at Forrestville Valley. “Celebrate the moment and looking forward to our future adventures,”said Salutatorian Anna Krecklow Sunday afternoon. “Remember your past.” She said that when school began in preschool and kindergarten everything The top 10 percent of the class of 2016 were recognized Sunday during graduation. They was new and exciting for the students. are Courtney Wolf, Josiah Snider, Mitchell Bratina, Anna Krecklow, and Naeva Groenewold. That was the first time parents Photo by Chris Johnson “We had a pretty amazing senior dropped their kids off for school. year even though there were no snow Then things changed in first grade days,” Krecklow said. “This is our day. for the class of 2016. This day will be one we never forget. “Remember first grade when those in Let this moment be a celebration. Our Leaf River went to a new school,” she futures are open to everything. We can said. “Remember when we kicked the be anyone we want to be. We can do kick ball high and tried to catch it.” anything we put our minds to. We can Then the students from German go anywhere life takes us. There are Valley, the GV crew as Krecklow infinite possibilities.” called them during her speech came to Forty-eight seniors walked across the Forreston. stage Sunday afternoon to receive their “The GV crew had to join the diplomas. frightening Forreston kids,” Krecklow Some will go to college, others to the said. “Think of the hours on the school workforce, and at least one has plans to bus and friends made because of it.” join the military. She said graduation is the time to Valedictorian Naeva Groenewold celebrate everything about school but took time during her speech to point out also a day to remember the teachers, all the different accomplishments the Forreston School Board President Dennis Osterloo friends, and parents who helped along Class of 2016 completed. From one of shakes the hand of graduate Matthew Beach Sunday. the way. Turn to A3 Photo by Chris Johnson

Large crowd braves cold for jamboree By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com Hot chocolate was the favorite menu choice for the large crowd who turned out May 14 for the seventh annual AJ’s Garden Tractor Jamboree. Andy Hinrichs, who hosts the event with his wife Lisa and their son AJ, said at least 350 people braved the damp, chilly weather to attend the event at the family’s home west of Oregon on Columbian Road just off Pines Road. “By noon we had already sold 150 cups of hot chocolate — and they weren’t small cups, they were 15 ounces,” Hinrichs said with a chuckle. “We sold 100 more in the

afternoon.” A brisk wind all day made the mid-40s seem even colder but garden tractor enthusiasts were undeterred. “We had 300 tractors here — that’s the most ever,” Hinrichs said. “Even though it had rained, the guys still got to plow and disk.” The plowing exhibition — using garden tractors — is one of the most popular events at the jamboree, along with the poker run and the slow tractor race. Gary Lange, Dyersville, Iowa, was one of the brave souls who brought his tractor to show despite the cold. Lange spent the morning talking about his mid-70s Ecomony

Power King. “I’ve been here every year,” he said. “It’s a fun day to come and visit with people.” Andy Spinelli and his family from Woodstock made the trip for the fun as well. “We’ve got over 100 tractors at home,” Spinelli said. “My kids each have their own, and I still have my first one.” He and his son David were checking out a hayrack full of old push mowers and other machinery and parts. David said his favorite part of the event is showing the tractors. Rick Beem, Monticello, Iowa, said he likes the “kid-friendliness” of the jamboree.

His son Logan said he likes seeing all the tractors. Logan took a turn on the handcranked corn sheller on display inside Hinrichs’ barn. Inside the garage, first time attender Chris Miller, Dixon, browsed through a display of farm toys offered for sale. “I came just to see what it’s all about,” he said. Hinrichs said an auction held at noon raised funds for the Blackhawk Crossing 4-H Club. “That well real well,” he said. Items auctioned included gift baskets, a restored cultivator to pull behind a garden tractor, farm toys still in original boxes, and old machinery parts.

Above, Josh Spicer, DeWitt, Iowa, left, talks tractors with Gary Lange, Dyerville, Iowa, May 14 at AJ’s Garden Tractor Jamboree. Lange was showing his Economy Power King at the annual event. At left, AJ Hinrichs, 11, plows a furrow with his own garden tractor. Photos by Vinde Wells

In This Week’s Edition...

Church Bells, A5 College News, A4 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4

Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3

Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Zoning, B5

The attorney for a Forreston man told the Ogle County Board Tuesday evening that his client will appeal a zoning decision made a few minutes earlier. “We will appeal the decision to the circuit court,” said Freeport attorney Dan Fishburn. He said he will file a lawsuit in the near future on behalf of Walter Paul, who owns a farm just across Ill. 72 from the property that has been the subject of the controversial zoning request for the last several weeks. After tabling the issue April 19, the board voted 15-8 with one abstention Tuesday to approve a request from Mike Stukenberg, Forreston, and Steve and Kevin Moring, also of Forreston, for a special use permit to allow a Class 2 Motor Carrier Facility on property zoned for agricultural use. The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) recommended approval of the request March 28. The property, at 11123 W. Ill. 72 just east of Forreston, is owned by Turn to A3

Maybe next year for Black Hawk repairs By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com A state official said late last week that work to repair the world-renowned Black Hawk statue may be completed in 2017. “Once the services of the new conservator are secured, the IDNR expects the restoration work on the Eternal Indian statue to proceed in hopes of completing the project next year,” Tim Schwiezer, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), said in an email sent May 13. According to some reports, sculptor Lorado Taft called his 50-foot concrete statue The Eternal Indian. However, it is better known as Black Hawk after the Sauk medicine man whose people hunted and fished throughout the Rock River Valley before the arrival of settlers from the East Coast. Created by Taft in 1910 as a tribute to all Native Americans, the statue stands on a 125-foot bluff overlooking the Rock River at Lowden State Park near Oregon and draws thousands of visitors each year. It was unveiled and dedicated in 1911. The IDNR did not renew its contract this year with project conservator Dr. Andrzej Dajnowski from Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio, Forest Park. Dajnowski said last week he did not sign the new contract because he did not agree with the methods it stipulated for restoring the statue’s crumbling exterior. He said the new contract also gave him no compensation for the scaffolding which surrounds and protects the statue. Most of the scaffolding, which completely surrounds Black Hawk, belongs to Dajnowski, but he rents some portions of it. Green plastic mesh is wrapped around it to protect the statue from the elements, particularly winter weather, and prevent further damage. Turn to A3

Deaths, B3 Raymond G. Appler, Charles W. Hayes, Dorothy A. Henry, Russell E. Scholl

Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com


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