Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal June 12, 2014 Volume 152, Number 7 - $1.00
Touch-A-Truck Children of all ages will be able to see trucks of all sizes during this event on June 14. A10
Fair Entries
Memorial Walk Registration is now open for the 12th Annual Lois Nelson Memorial Walk on July 4. A7
Entries are being accepted for the junior and open shows at the Ogle County Fair. B6
Wilken shocked by MVP award By Vinde Wells Editor The look on Leona Wilken’s face was one of total surprise June 6 as she made her way to the stage at German Valley Days after she was announced as the 2014 Most Valuable Person. “I can’t believe it,� she told the cheering audience as she got a hug from emcee Donna Smith. “I don’t remember that I did all that.� Smith said three persons were nominated for German Valley’s MVP this year, making the judges’ decision difficult. Smith described Wilken as “someone who helps wherever needed.� “Perhaps her greatest contribution is her work with the German Valley Food Pantry,� Smith said. “Several years ago when the pantry was threatened with closure, she and a fellow volunteer stepped up and took over its management. The two
of them save the pantry and continue to operate it today.â€? Wilken’s volunteer activities have included Cub Scouts, Girls Scouts, and 10 years of volunteering at FHN Memorial Hospital through the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. “She was for many years active in the German Valley historical Society, assuming an important role in the Oktoberfests and Holiday Teas the group used to sponsor,â€? Smith said. Wilken assists with the local XYZ Senior Citizens Group. “She is a member of the German Valley Lions Club Firefighters from several area departments battle the blaze June 8 that destroyed the home of Steve and Jennifer Booster Committee, each Beltran on North Leaf River Road. In the foreground is Byron Assistant Chief Orin Snodgrass. Photo courtesy of year helping with German the Mt. Morris Fire Department Soup Supper‌contributing her famous egg salad for those popular sandwiches,â€? Smith said. Wilken is also an active By Vinde Wells home of Steve and Jennifer which was reported by a One firefighter was member of Adeline Zion Editor Beltran, 9458 N. Leaf River passing motorist at 1:50 p.m. treated at the scene for heat Evangelical Church Rd., approximately two miles “The house was completely exhaustion but did not require No cause had yet been north of Leaf River. engulfed in flames when we hospitalization. Turn to A3 determined Tuesday for a He said the couple and got there,â€? Lamping said. Lamping said Sunday that fire June 8 that destroyed the their four children were Tankers and firefighters the family’s dog had not yet home and possessions of a not at home when the fire were called to help from the been located. He said it was Leaf River family. started. The family had gone Mt. Morris, Forreston, Polo, not certain whether the dog Leaf River Assistant Fire to a parade in nearby German Oregon, German Valley, perished in the fire or escaped Chief Josh Lamping said Valley. Byron, Stillman Valley, from the burning house. the Office of the State Fire Almost 100 firefighters Pecatonica, Freeport Rural, The Red Cross is assisting Marshal is assisting with from at least 11 area and Lynn Scott Rock Fire the Beltran family. the fire investigation at the departments battled the fire, Departments.
Fire destroys rural Leaf River home
Restoration desperately needed By Vinde Wells Editor
Leona Wilken, left, was named German Valley’s Most Valuable Person June 6 for her volunteer activities. Courtney Flemming, center, and Donna Smith awarded her with a plaque. Photo by Vinde Wells
Bear spotted Monday? By Vinde Wells Editor Deputies were unable to find any sign of a black bear reported roaming in western Ogle County Monday evening. After a woman called 911 to report seeing a “good-sized� bear shortly after 8 p.m., Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn said he and deputies patrolled the area but could not confirm the sighting. “We checked the area and found nothing,� Harn said. “I’m not 100 percent sure it really was [a bear]. We haven’t had any other sightings.� He said the woman said she first saw the bear on the side of Ill. 64 west of Mt. Vernon Road, and then it ran into a nearby field. In recent months a black bear has been sighted in JoDaviess and Stephenson Counties. More recently one has been photographed in backyards in the Roscoe area. Harn said a bear was videotaped Tuesday still in the Roscoe area. “So it couldn’t have been
that one,� he said. The report of the bear sent campers at Rock River Christian Camp, 16486 Ill. 64, inside for the evening. Camp manager Dan Augustine said evening activities were moved indoors as a precaution after the woman reported seeing the bear about a quarter mile east of the camp. Augustine said about 100 people were at the camp when the sighting was reported. The campers, who range in age from 10 to 16, were more excited than frightened, he said. “My wife and I camp in Minnesota,� Augustine said. “There’s bears all over the place up there.� He said he also patrolled the area after the sighting and saw no sign of the bear. Harn advised residents in the area of the report to take precautions, such as closely supervising pets and small animals when they’re outside, taking down bird feeders, and not leaving any kind of food outside.
In This Week’s Edition...
Repairs for Ogle County’s best-loved statue can’t begin soon enough. Frank Rausa, Sterling, who is heading up the effort to repair the 103-year-old world renowned icon, said Tuesday that testing last fall and this spring shows that the Black Hawk statue is in worse shape than was originally feared. “With all the testing that we did we found the damage is a lot worse than we thought,� he said. “We are hopeful that we will get started [with repair work] this summer.� Orange fence went up early this week around the base of the concrete statue that overlooks the Rock River at Lowden State Park. The fence, Rausa said, is there partly to protect visitors in case pieces of the statue fall off. He said he is in the process of scheduling a press conference soon to outline the extent of the damage and the plan for repairing and restoring the statue. Over the years due to time and weather conditions, the statue has developed cracks, and large pieces of its concrete surface have dislodged. The folded arms of the 50-foot monolith have been especially affected. Large chunks have fallen out of the elbow of the right arm and from underneath the left arm.
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
A team of experts spent nearly a week in October examining the damage to the statue and performing tests. Engineers used high-tech scanners which allowed them to see inside the concrete to assess its condition and to determine the amount and location of steel reinforcing. The locations of the steel were then marked on tape placed on the statue’s hollow interior. Another crew scanned the statue with rotating lasers to create an exact 3-D model of the statue. The testing, which also included ground-penetrating radar work and ultrasonic tomography, was finished Oct. 11. The experts returned in April to take more samples. What they discovered was not good, Rausa said. Directly below the folded arms of the statue, the external finishing coat of concrete — its outer surface — has separated two inches from the inner surface. In fact, it was too fragile to do some of the planned tests, Rausa said. “The damage that has taken place in the past year is extensive,� he said. The cold and snow last winter took an additional toll. The experts saw significant changes in the statue’s condition just from October until April, he said. Created by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1911 as a tribute to all Native Americans and listed
Oregon Police, B5 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5
Social News, A4 Sports, A12, B1 State’s Attorney, B6
A fence has been put up around Blackhawk statue in preparation of restoration work that will hopefully be started this summer. Photo by Chris Johnson
on the National Register of Historic Places, the statue is situated on a 125-foot bluff. It draws thousands of visitors each year. The statue is under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). Rausa is a member of the Friends of the Black Hawk Statue, an organization that has been working to secure funding for the repairs. He said that, ironically, federal grants for restoration projects dried up about the time the statue was approved for the National Register of
Historic Places in 2009. Rausa said earlier this year that the price tag for the study and repairs had risen to $700,000 and could go even higher. More than half the money already raised for the project came from a $350,000 grant the IDNR received from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The rest came from donations, as well as funds raised during the annual Oregon Trail Days festival held at Lowden Park since 2010.
Deaths, B2 Adam Diddens, James J. Kaney, Clark M. Miller, Margaret A. Messenger
0UBLISHED EVERY 4HURSDAY BY /GLE #OUNTY .EWSPAPERS A DIVISION OF 3HAW -EDIA s WWW OGLECOUNTYNEWS COM