Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal December 22, 2016 Volume 154, Number 35 - $1.00
It’s a Wrap
Dear Santa
4-H Awards
The Forreston boys and Polo girls holiday tournaments have wrapped up. B1
Read letters that students wrote to Santa. Inside
Local 4-Hers are recognized for their accomplishments in 2016. A7
Former sheriff Michael Harn pleads guilty Avoids jail on felony theft of county funds: sentenced to 48 months probation and $10,600 restitution By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Former Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn will not serve time in jail for the theft of county funds while he was in office. Harn, 55, pleaded guilty in Ogle County Court Monday afternoon to two counts of theft, both Class 2 felonies, reversing the not guilty pleas he entered during a Nov. 10 court appearance. In accordance with a plea agreement, Judge Val Gunnarsson sentenced him to 48 months probation and ordered him to immediately pay $10,600 in restitution to the Ogle County Treasurer. Special Prosecutor Dave Neal, of the Illinois Office of State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, told Gunnarsson that he and Harn’s attorney John Nocita, West Chicago, had reached a plea agreement. Gunnarsson, a Carroll County Judge appointed to preside over the case, went over the charges and the plea
“You were a public servant of this county, and I’m sure you recognize that you grossly violated that trust,” — Judge Val Gunnarsson agreement and asked Harn if he understood. Harn replied, “Yes, Sir.” When Gunnarsson asked how he pled, Harn quietly answered guilty to each count. “You were a public servant of this county, and I’m sure you recognize that you grossly violated that trust,” Gunnarsson told Harn before passing sentence. Gunnarsson also ordered Harn to perform 384 hours of public service work and to pay $2,312 in court costs immediately. The judge questioned why Harn had not yet reported to Michael Harn (right) sits at the defendant’s table with his attorney, John Nocita of West Chester Monday afternoon Turn to A3 in Ogle County Court. As part of a plea deal, Harn received 4 years probation.
Village board renews health insurance plan By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com The Forreston Village Board renewed their electrical contract and employee health insurance plans and passed a travel expense ordinance Monday evening.
The board renewed their municipal electrical aggregation contract with Rock River Energy Services for three years. The contract will cover electricity for municipal buildings. RRES serves as a consultant for seeking out the best rates from electrical suppliers.
After discussing the Health Insurance renewal for weeks, the board opted to renew the current Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO used by employees. The cost to stay at the PPO raised the premium by $800 per month. Other options to mitigate the increase included raising
the deductible from $500 to $1000, or switching to a more restricted “Blue Choice Preferred” network. The board decided not to increase their workers’ deductibles or restrict their options. An ordinance to establish a maximum travel expense reimbursement was also
passed. This ordinance is required of all municipalities, and sets a limit on the amount of travel expenses a municipality will reimburse to an employee. Forreston’s is set at 6 cents per mile and $150 per day. If that amount is exceeded, reimbursement would need to be approved by the board
via roll call. In other news, a planning commission meeting is coming up on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. Preliminary plats will be reviewed for the property annexed from Dave Vietmeier on the west side of Baileyville Road at Ill. 72, on the north side of the village.
Oregon resident asks board to consider jail location By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com An Oregon resident asked the Ogle County Board Tuesday to carefully consider where they locate the new county jail. Bryan Zobeck, who lives
at 100 S. Seventh St., told the board that Oregon Together, a community organization working toward development, has identified the downtown and the riverfront as development and tourism areas. “The placement of the jail could interfere with that,” he
said. The county board approved a design concept Nov. 15 that locates the proposed jail in the 100 block of South Sixth Street across the street from the judicial center. The plan calls for a building that would house from 180 to 200 prisoners and cost an
estimated $25 million. The design would mean South Sixth Street will be closed to traffic with a sally port across what is now the
street connecting the new detention center to the judicial center. The drawing shows the front of the brick jail facing
north, lining up with the north side of the judicial center. The building would be designed not to look like a jail.
Candidates file for the consolidated election Forreston Village President Mark Metzger will seek election April 4 to the office he was appointed to last July. He is running unopposed for Forreston’s top position. A former village trustee, Metzger was appointed to replace former village president Michael Harn, who resigned last summer after he moved from the area. Courtney Warren is seeking election as village clerk, a post she was appointed to last fall, replacing long-time clerk Carol Gagliardi who retired.
Four residents are running unopposed for village trustee. Ken Vinnedge is seeking a two-year term, the remainder of the term Metzger vacated when he was appointed village president. Running for three fouryear terms are incumbents Jeff Freeze and Ken Toms and newcomer Vickye Norris. Trustee Marc Stamm did not seek re-election to the board. For Forrestville Valley School Board, four candidates are seeking four four-year terms.
In This Week’s Edition...
Incumbent Robert DeVries is running along with newcomers Jeff Becker, William (Chip) Braker, and Joel Ludwig. Current board members Denny Osterloo, Jeff Greenfield, and Jon Ludwig did not seek re-election. The filing period for the spring election was Dec. 1219. Other races on the April 4 ballot are community college districts, library districts, fire protection districts, townships, park districts, and forest preserve districts.
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5 Library News, A3
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B5
Brrrrrrr Cold Day Temperatures in the area fell to double digits below zero Sunday. Above, a screen capture of the National Weather Service website showed a -10 degree temperature in Freeport at 10 p.m. At left, temperatures were at -7 at 8:15 a.m. Sunday.
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Deaths, B4 Dorothy M. Broege, Michael W. Hokanson, Michael A. Stocker, Lois E. Voss, Isabelle A. Wisner
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com