FOR_12262013

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Serving the Forreston area since 1865

FORRESTON Journal December 26, 2013 Volume 151, Number 35 - $1.00

Tournament Results

Raise Questioned

The Polo and Forreston Holiday Tournaments were held over the past week. A12, B1

Ogle County Board members question a raise for the Ogle County Highway Engineer. A3

Wind Farm developer ends Baileyville project By Vinde Wells Editor

Christmas Play Second graders in Janese Michael’s class at German Valley Grade School presented a Christmas play for their fellow students, teachers, families, and friends Dec. 19. Photos supplied

The termination of a longstanding plan for building a wind farm in northwest Ogle County has officially ended wind development in Ogle County - at least for now. Ogle County Zoning Administrator Mike Reibel confirmed Dec. 20 that he recently received a letter from an official of Apex Clean Energy informing him that they have discontinued development of the Baileyville Wind Farm. “It’s over. It’s done,� Reibel said. “We have withdrawn from the PJM Interconnection queue and removed our meteorological towers, and

“It’s over. It’s done,� — Mike Reibel Ogle County Zoning Administrator are in the process of formally terminating our land leases,� read the letter from Karlis Povisilis, Apex Director of Project Development. PJM Interconnection, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., is an organization for marketing wholesale electricity. Although no wind towers were ever constructed, the Baileyville Wind Farm was the longest existing wind energy project in the county. Reibel said he knows of no other wind developers who

are currently active in the county. The Baileyville Wind Farm has been plagued by lawsuits in both state and federal courts ever since the Ogle County Board granted its request for a special use permit eight years ago. The board granted thenowner Navitas-Gamesa the special use permit needed to build the Baileyville Wind Farm on Dec. 20, 2005 after much heated debate. Turn to A2

Two local businesses run out of salt due to storms By Chris Johnson Reporter An ice storm last Thursday and the threat of another ice and snowstorm over the weekend led to a high demand for salt in Ogle County. Basler’s Ace Hardware in Oregon had customers lined up waiting for shipments of salt to arrive. “We had 40 to 50 customers waiting in line for the salt,� said owner Jeff Basler. “We had unprecedented salt sales and we sold our average annual salt sales in one week.� An ice storm came through the area Dec. 19 and covered the ground with a layer of ice. On top of that, another storm predicted for late

Saturday into early Sunday had are residents searching for salt so driveways and sidewalks could be cleared. “The challenged we faced was getting enough salt to the store for our customers,� said Basler. “We were able to get a couple hundred bags in each day. We were completely sold out Saturday afternoon.� Basler said the customers were patient and understood the high demand. “We went outside our normal sources to ensure we got some salt in to try and meet the demand,� said Basler. “Our incentive was to make sure our customers were able to buy locally.� The scene was much the same at Forreston Hardware.

“I ran out of salt Friday night,� said owner Monty Cotter Monday morning. “I went through five pallets. I’m out of everything.� That translates into nearly 400 bags of various sizes of salt and ice melter. “Friday was very busy. Person after person after person came in, and all of them wanted salt,� he said. “It was crazy.� Even without salt, business was still brisk for Cotter on Monday. “With the storm, today I’m selling shovels and snowblowers,� he said. The weekend storm left 5-8 inches of snow in Ogle County, with higher totals in the northwest part where Forreston is situated.

Few weather-related problems due to storms By Vinde Wells Editor Despite three storms bringing freezing rain, sleet, and snow in four days last week, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department had few weather-related problems to deal with. “We had no power outages and no bad wrecks. I think it was the fewest problems related to a storm since I’ve been sheriff,� Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn said Monday morning. Freezing rain and drizzle Dec. 19 left a slippery glaze on roadways throughout the county. That was followed by more of the same in the evening of Dec. 20, topped off by 5 to 8 inches of snow Saturday night into Sunday morning. The most snow fell in the northwest corner of the county, Harn said. The icy roadways put several cars in the ditch in

the earlier storms, he said, but that was the worst of the problems. Very few incidents occurred over the weekend. “I think everybody took the weather predictions seriously. They planned ahead and got where they were going before the storms started,� he said. With more freezing rain predicted in the late afternoon Dec. 20, all county offices closed at noon. Harn said because the storm was predicted to begin about the time county employees would be headed home from work, the offices were shut down early. “Due to the weather predicted we wanted everyone to get home safely and in a timely manner,� he said. “The storm began later than expected.� The decision to close the offices was made jointly by Harn, county board chairman Kim Gouker, county engineer Curtis Cook, and presiding judge Robert Hanson.

In This Week’s Edition...

Harn said although the drifting snow would continue up and the north-south because with the winds and roads were plowed, salted, to cause icy spots on Monday. roads are drifting,� he said. cold the roads will still be and clear after the storms, “The winds are picking “Drivers need to use caution treacherous.�

An Illinois Department of Transportation snowplow clears a portion of Ill. 64 (Washington Street) in Oregon Sunday morning after an overnight snowstorm. Photo by Chris Johnson

Agriculture, A7 Birth, A4 Byron Police, B5 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12

Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A10

Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, A12, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4

Deaths, B3 Janet E. Guist, Jason A. Miller, Terry Olson, Brian J. Strite

0UBLISHED EVERY 4HURSDAY BY /GLE #OUNTY .EWSPAPERS A DIVISION OF 3HAW -EDIA s WWW OGLECOUNTYNEWS COM


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