Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal October 8, 2015 Volume 153, Number 24 - $1.00
Golfer Advances
Assessments
Fall Clean Up
A lone Forreston golfer advanced out of a tough Galena Regional Tuesday. B1
New values have been given to all properties in county. Section C
Residents urged to find alternatives to burning leaves and yard waste. A7
Home destroyed by fire Sept. 30 Cause has not been determined By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The cause was not yet determined late last week of a fire that destroyed a home southeast of German Valley. German Valley Fire Chief Eric Bruning said Saturday that fire officials are still investigating what caused the fire that destroyed the home of Robert Guthrie at 9440 W. Brush Rd. on Sept. 30. He said the blaze apparently started in materials in the front room, but would not specify what
the materials were. The fire was called in by a passerby who saw the flames around 3 p.m., Bruning said. No one was at home at the time. A whole section of the story and a half house and its attached garage were on fire when firefighters arrived. “It was pretty well engulfed,” Bruning said. Fire departments assisting at the scene included Mt. Morris, Forreston, Leaf River, Byron, Shannon, Pecatonica, Winn-Bur-Sew, Rock City, Davis, Dakota, and Freeport Rural. The German Valley and Freeport Rural ambulances, and Ogle County Sheriff’s Department also assisted at German Valley firefighters put water on the last embers of a fire that destroyed the home of Robert Guthrie, 9440 W. Brush Rd., on Sept. 30. Photo by Vinde Wells the scene.
Mechanical issues for squad car By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com A squad car plagued with mechanical issues may be replaced by the Forreston Village Board. The board discussed the squad car, which was in for repairs during Monday’s board meeting. “The squad car is not working well at the present time,” said village president German Valley firefighters put water on the last embers Michael Harn. of a fire that destroyed the home of Robert Guthrie, 9440 He said police chief Mike W. Brush Rd., on Sept. 30. Photo by Vinde Wells Boomgarden is exploring
the costs of replacing the squad and prices will be available by the next board meeting. “We can have a committee meeting to discuss this,” said Harn. Over the past several months the car has been at a dealership receiving service numerous times. With the history of problems with this squad, Harn said the trade in value of the car would be lower. No action was taken and the board plans to discuss the squad car during a future
board meeting. The village has a back up squad car that is being used. In other business the board approved a $115,000 payment for the wastewater treatment plant project. The village approved a $2.8 million loan for improvements to the plant in 2014. The loan is being used to upgrade and expand its existing wastewater treatment plant. The project will allow the village to maintain compliance with discharge limits and
provide the capacity to treat all existing and future flows that reach the plant. This enables the village to comply with more stringent discharge limits, which will result in cleaner area waterways. The upgrades will include a new box screening and grit removal building, new equipment, repairs to existing tanks, and a new clarifier to increase the plant’s capacity. The plan to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant was approved last July.
45th Autumn on Parade rings in another success By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com From the Food Court and Farmers Market to the Harvest Time Parade, festival organizers deemed this weekend’s Autumn on Parade a rousing success. “I think it was a success. It went very well,” said AOP President Marseyne Snow. “Even though it was cloudy part of the time, people seemed to enjoy themselves.” Snow said Sunday’s parade had 124 units, many of which were based on the festival theme of Flashback to the 1970s. “We had 130 signed up, but we did have a few noshows,” Snow said. The downtown streets were packed elbow-to-elbow with people watching the parade and cheering enthusiastically for their favorite entries. The 5k run Sunday morning drew 531 participants - 100 more than last year. Back downtown, vendors appeared to leave the festival happy. Food Court Chairman Ray Farrey said most booths there sold out before the festival was over. “Cliff Jones made 500
dozen cider donuts Saturday, and had to turn people away when he ran out around 4 in the afternoon,” Farrey said. Jones provides donuts for the Oregon Masonic Lodge’s food booth. The Ogle County Beef Producers sold 800 sandwiches on Saturday, and were out of food by 2 p.m. on Sunday, Farrey said. He listed off several more vendors who found themselves in the same situation. Farrey said he believes the cool weather, in the upper 50s, played a big part. “It was an ideal weekend for the Food Court,” he said. “It was cooler so people were eating rather than just getting soft drinks. The crowd was bigger, too, this year.” Farmers Market Chairman Dave Boehle said the 189 booths at this year’s festival may be the most ever. “They all seemed to be really pleased with their sales,” he said. “We heard nothing but positives.” One vendor took a chance and drove 340 miles to display her wares. Liz Hanson, Mercer, Wisconsin, brought a variety of homemade metal spinners, Turn to A3
In This Week’s Edition...
Agriculture, A7 Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B6
Above, the Forreston High School Redbird Regiment plays for the crowd at the Harvest Time Parade Sunday at Oregon’s Autumn on Parade festival. At left, vendor Lori Blask, Baileyville Barn Quilts warms up with a hot drink Saturday morning in the farmer’s market. Photos by Vinde Wells and Chris Johnson
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A8 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B5 Zoning Permits, B6
Deaths, B5 Lucille R. DeWall, Norma J. Deuth, Lois A. Malott, Diane M. Thompson
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com