Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal February 2, 2017 Volume 154, Number 41 - $1.00
Girls Regional
First Fridays
Chana School
The IHSA Girls Basketball Regionals are set to begin on Monday, Feb. 6. B1
The monthly music show will honor the memory of Ray Rose. A6
A historic school museum is in need of donations to pay for a new roof. A4
Byron Station’s value is $546M
pelling uccess
BOR upheld the assessment set last fall by assessor Jim Harrison
Miles Gordon holds on to win his second spelling bee at FGS By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com Forreston’s spelling bee was competitive to the end, but one boy came out on top. Miles Gordon beat out 14 other fifth graders to become the Forreston spelling bee champion for the second year in a row. Students were eliminated steadily throughout the rounds, until it came down
to Gordon, Kiyan Lynn, and Ava Welch in round ten. Lynn and Welch failed to spell “beckon” and “fortune” respectively, and Gordon swept it with “dimension” and “caterpillar.” Gordon moves on to compete in the Regional Bee in Dixon on Feb. 23. “It feels good to win” said Gordon. “I was confident, because I studied really hard for it.” Turn to A3
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Miles Gordon spells “Caterpillar” to win the Fifth Grade Scripps Forreston Spelling Bee. Photo by Zach Arbogast
A Byron school official voiced approval for a decision last week by the Ogle County Board of Review (BOR) to uphold the assessment set last fall for the Exelon’s Byron Generating Station. “We’re very satisfied with that,” said Byron School Superintendent James Hammack after the hearing on Jan. 26. The BOR voted to value the nuclear power station at $546 million, the amount set last fall by Ogle County Supervisor of Assessments Jim Harrison. That assessment affects the amount of real estate taxes paid in 2017. In its appeal of the assessment, Exelon Generation officials set the value of Byron Station at $295 million, slightly more than half of Harrison’s number. The Byron School District filed as an intervenor in the appeal. “We believe our legal firm does a fair assessment of the nuclear plant,” Hammack said. “We believe the $546 million is accurate.” Byron Station
Communications Manager Paul Dempsey said that Exelon is willing to pay its share of real estate taxes, although operating nuclear power stations has become more difficult. “We want to let people know that we remain committed to paying our fair share of taxes,” he said. “It continues to be a tough environment for nuclear plants as we’ve seen closures. We’ll continue to operate safely and efficiently and provide carbon-free power for northern Illinois and beyond.” Dempsey said that Exelon has made more than $20 million in philanthropic contributions and its employees volunteer their time to local projects. During arguments at the hearing, Exelon’s attorney Roger Lewis from Goldberg Kohn Ltd., Chicago, expressed surprise that Harrison had increased the value of the plant from the $482.4 million set by the BOR a year ago. “Those of us on the Exelon side were very shocked by the $68 million increase in the assessment of Byron Station,” he said. The value of the plant has Turn to A7
Conover work is back on track By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
“I’m so proud of all of our students” said Principle Schneiderman. The students gathered their stars and prizes after the spelling bee. Photo by Zach Arbogast.
Renovations complete at Oregon Library By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The renovations at the Oregon Public Library are already proving popular with patrons. Library Director Andrew Dettman said the changes are already bringing in more people at every level. “People are coming in to read the papers and kids come in to do homework,” he said. “We’re getting more kids at Story Time.” One of the draws is a spacious elevator that stops at all three floors. “One mother had a double stroller, and there was
plenty of room for it in the elevator,” he said. The addition of the elevator means the library is now complaint with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, something the board and staff had dealt with for a long time. The elevator entrance was added to the north side of the building, strategically located near four new parking places, one of which is handicapped, and accessible by new sidewalks that now run completely around the structure. Two new handicapped accessible restrooms are in the totally revamped basement.
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Only a few finishing touches remain to be completed, Dettman said, and after that — hopefully in late February or early March — a grand reopening is in the works. “It took longer than expected but now it’s done,” he said with a smile. As with any renovation, some unexpected projects had to be done. In this case, the electrical throughout the building had to be replaced. “It was completely outdated,” Dettman said. One of the focal points is the fireplace room, that formerly housed computers, media, and books, and now has comfy chairs for
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
relaxing and reading — and a fireplace restored to look like the original, which was removed in the 1920s or 30s. Built in 1908 with money donated by Pittsburg businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dettman and the library board decided to keep as much of the library’s original flavor as possible. Armed with an old photograph, they determined to restore the fireplace as authentically as possible. Private donations made that
Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3
Turn to A3
A relatively simple solution has been found to get the Conover Square repair project back on track. Hands On Oregon (HOO) member Rick Ryland said Monday that repositioning the lift to make the repairs to the south wall of the building will satisfy safety regulations and save the $15,773 for a work agreement with ComEd to have the power turned off and on each day. Work will resume Feb. 6. “ComEd’s Milan Krpan gave the go ahead to proceed next Monday,” Ryland said. Due to a recent anonymous donation of $25,000, HOO had hired Tip Top Roofing, DeKalb, to repair the upper portion of the bowed-out south wall. The crew began the project Jan. 19, but the halted the following day when Ryland learned from ComEd representatives that they were too close to electric lines and must stop work while that was remedied. Workers on the lift were too close to overhead wires, which violated Occupational
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2
Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. By placing the lift parallel to the building instead of perpendicular and hugging the building as they progress along it, the crew will be far enough away from the wires to meet the regulations, Ryland said. “Milan has agreed to our new plan for the lift, and ComEd will now move the wires and insulate them [for the scaffolding]. This new plan will not be in violation of OSHA regulations,” he said. ”Hands On Oregon thanks the Lord for answering our prayers. We thank the mayor [Ken Williams] for standing with us on this project.,” Ryland said. “We thank especially Milan Krpan of ComEd for working this out. And we thank all the ComEd workers for insulating the lines. The wall at Conover will be fixed.” HOO, a not-for-profit, was formed in 2015 with the purpose of enriching the lives of Oregon citizens through local caring and creating excitement through volunteerism. Conover is its first project.
Deaths, B4 Allen L. Gale, Edna H. Groenewold, Sharon V. Huttunen, G. Gordon Landry, Lois H. Miller, Rita Mae Prentice, David E. Proud
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com