Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal August 21, 2014 Volume 152, Number 17 - $1.00
Football Preview
Fair Results
Stix Baseball
The fall football season begins Friday evening with scrimmage games at 7 p.m. B1
Read how the projects fared at the 2014 Ogle County 4-H Fair. A10
A traveling baseball club based in Freeport took home top honors this summer. B1
Price of Forensic Audit could double to $15,000 By Vinde Wells Editor A forensic examination of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Tow Fund may cost double the original estimate. The Ogle County Board on Tuesday authorized paying Sikich LLP, Naperville, up to $7,500 more to dig further into the financial records. The board agreed in May to pay Sikich $7,500 plus outof-pocket expenses for the initial investigation into the Tow Fund expenditures and revenues. County board chairman Kim Gouker said then that if fraud was uncovered during the examination, the costs could increase to as much as $300 per hour for the investigators’ services. In May, the board approved engaging the forensic services of Sikich to examine Tow Fund expenditures and revenues from the time it was implemented in 2011 to the present. The firm also does the county’s regular annual audits. Tuesday’s motion to pay Sikich the additional sum met with some opposition. The measure passed 19-3 with board members Lee Meyers, Students get off the bus at Forreston Grade School Tuesday morning for the first full day of classes. Photo by Vinde Wells
Community Picnic Saturday Faith Lutheran Church will host its annual Forreston Area Community Picnic on Saturday, Aug. 23 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in front of the church on Second Avenue between Birch and Elm
Streets. The public is invited to come for food, crafts, games, karaoke, and a multi-church garage sale to support local ministries. The event is free.
Donations will be accepted to the food pantry at the New Life Community Center in downtown Forreston. For more information call 815-938-3203.
“I think they need to have their feet put to the fire and made to do it for the original $7,500,� — Lee Meyers, Byron Byron, Lyle Hopkins, Polo, and Dorothy Bowers, Byron, voting no. Board members Bill Welty, Chana, and Bruce McKinney, Rochelle, did not attend the meeting. Meyers said he believes Sikich is changing the cost midway through the process. “I think they need to have their feet put to the fire and made to do it for the original $7,500,� he said. Pat Saunders, Polo, said she remembered that Sikich officials said at the start that additional fees might be incurred. Hopkins said he is opposed to spending more. “If they haven’t found anything that jumped out at them by now, why should we give them more money?� he said. “Could it be they have found something?� asked Bobbie Colbert, Rochelle. “That could be,� replied Gouker. Gouker said that so far the investigators have looked
through the records they knew to be in existence and spent three days “on site� doing that. “Examinations like this are like peeling off an onion,� Gouker said. “There are different layers. They said the records were quite disorganized.� He said the investigators want to look at more records and do more interviews. They may find what they need without using all of the additional $7,500, he said. On the other hand, Gouker said, this may not be the last time they ask for more funds to complete the examination. Martin Typer, Stillman Valley, said he believes it is important that the examination is completed, even with the additional cost. “We owe it to the people we represent to find out what happened,� he said. Gouker said he was misquoted in a newspaper article that said he has not Turn to A3
Work continues on Ill. 72 Construction work on Ill. 72 west of Byron is underway. Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) officials said improvements will be done on an eight-mile section of the road from Ill. 2 near Byron to Mt. Morris Road west of Leaf River.
Rock Road Companies is the contractor for the $1.6 million project. According to an IDOT press release, the contractor will mill off portions of the existing asphalt surface, make pavement repairs, and resurface the roadway. Drivers should be prepared
to stop for flaggers who will be directing traffic past the work operations. Drivers are advised to slow down and use extreme caution while traveling through all work zones. For IDOT District 2 updates on Twitter, go to http:// twitter.com/IDOTDistrict2.
Groundbreaking ceremony held for sheriff’s building By Vinde Wells Editor
h4HIS IS A FACILITY that’s desperately Everyone was in NEEDED )T WILL HAVE ALL agreement Tuesday at the THE LATEST SECURITY v ˆ groundbreaking ceremony Architect Guy for the new Ogle County Gehlhausen Sheriff’s Administration Building — the facility is much needed. “It’s a long-needed facility,� Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker. County board member Don Griffin agreed. “It’s not only going to serve the present but also long into the future for the county.� “This is a facility that’s desperately needed,� said architect Guy Gehlhausen. “It will have all the latest security.� Ogle County 911 Coordinator Sandy Beitel said the new building will be a more convenient, safer environment for county employees. The new building, which has been under construction since early this spring, will
replace the century-old sheriff’s office donated to the county more than 25 years ago by the E.D. Etnyre Company. The building has a leaky roof, needs electrical and technological upgrades, and is not handicapped accessible. The Oregon Mayor Tom Stone said he remembered working in the old building years ago when he first went to work for Etnyre’s. “This will be a nice facility,� he said. “It will be a great thing for the City of Oregon.� The final speaker was Nathan Heinrich, the vice president of Rockford Structures, the contractor for the project, who said he was Turn to A3
In This Week’s Edition...
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Ogle County Sheriff’s Administration building. Pictured here shoveling dirt are architect Guy Gehlhausen, Nathan Heinrich, Rockford Structures, architect Dan Saavedra, Mike Olson, Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects, Sandy Beitel, E-911 Coordinator, Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker, Oregon Mayor Tom Stone, Greg Suthers, Rockford Structures, county board member Don Griffin, and Coroner Lou Finch. Photo by Chris Johnson
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B2 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Service News, A4
Social News, A4 Sports, A12, B1 State’s Attorney, B6 Weather, A3
Deaths, B3 David L. Dickson, James E. Gross, Wayne L. Lantz, James M. Maxwell, William M. McNett, Samuel E. Thomas, Kenneth M. Wolf
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