Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal February 9, 2017 Volume 154, Number 42 - $1.00
Close Game
What’s Cookin’
Art Show
Forreston competed against Polo in another close basketball game. B1
Make plans now to attend an annual fundraising cooking event. A4
Several local artists will have works on display in Byron on Saturday, Feb. 11. A6
Lucky day for Leaf River resident By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com It was truly a lucky day in Leaf River for Linda Schreiber; she picked the right numbers for the $1 million Illinois Lucky Day Lotto, and has officially came forward as the winner. Schreiber did her daily
routine Jan. 23 of heading down to the local Citgo, 403 E. Third St., Leaf River, to pick up a $1 ticket for the Lucky Day Lotto. Her system, this time, was her daughter’s birthday: April 10, 1973. She finished it off with 36, which she claims she is still unsure why she chose that. Schreiber walked away
with her 4-10-7-3-36 ticket, unaware that she was holding a million dollars. Schreiber hadn’t watched the drawing, and at work the next day she received a message from the Citgo station owner Mangid Singh telling her to check her ticket. “He texted me the numbers, and I still couldn’t
believe it,” said Schreiber. “I checked everything many times, I checked the Illinois website - I even had Raina come from the front desk and check it out, too!” “I was so excited, and it wasn’t even my ticket!” said Raina Dyck, who works at the Bertolet Memorial Turn to A2
Linda Schreiber holds up her winning ticket, which cost her $1 and earned her $1 million. Photo by Zach Arbogast
Sixth grader wins spelling bee
Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker, right, listens to a question as he stands with Oregon City Commissioner Jim Barnes during a Feb. 2 meeting about the proposed Ogle County Jail. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Oregon residents don’t want new jail located on Sixth St. By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com The need wasn’t the sticking point, but the location was Feb. 2 when more than 60 people attended a meeting at the Oregon VFW to discuss a new Ogle County jail. Several Oregon residents voiced their opposition to building the facility on county-owned property on South Sixth Street. Oregon City Commissioner Jim Barnes, who moderated the meeting, summed up what seemed to be the opinion of several who spoke. “I know the jail is needed badly. When I was county board chairman it [the current jail] was nickel and diming us to death,” Barnes said. “It’s just that we think that’s not the right location.” Barnes served on the county board
“You’ve heard the old saying ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease.’ Let’s make this wheel squeak.” – Jim Barnes Oregon City Commissioner from 2006 to 2012, and was its chairman for the final two years of that time. He urged residents to sign a petition opposing to the location and to contact county board members, several of whom attended the meeting. “You’ve heard the old saying ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease,’” Barnes said. “Let’s make this wheel squeak.” The Ogle County Board voted in
November to approve a concept design for the new jail located in the 100 block of South Sixth Street across from the judicial center. The plan calls for the new jail to connect to the judicial center by a sally port for transporting prisoners to both buildings and back and forth to court appearances. The sally port would go across South Sixth Street, making it necessary to close the street. The county board has filed a formal request asking the city council to close the street, but no decision has been made, pending the outcome of traffic and engineering studies. Several neighbors said they do not favor having the jail in their backyards. Gerald Virgil, who lives at 606 Turn to A3
Byron house fire deaths are homicides By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com More than one person is suspected in an arson Oct. 19 that took the lives of a Byron woman and her threeyear-old son. The deaths of Margaret Meyer, 31, and her son Amos have been ruled homicides, and the fire is an arson, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said in a news release on Feb. 3. During a phone interview
Feb. 3 VanVickle declined to say if two or more people are considered suspects. “More than one person is all I can say at this point,” he said. The fire at 2020 N. Silverthorn Ave. was reported around 6:40 a.m. by Meyer’s ex-husband, Duane C. Meyer, 34, Stillman Valley, who told officials he was there to pick up his son. When firefighters arrived, smoke alarms were sounding, the house was filled with heavy smoke, and
In This Week’s Edition...
Meyer and a Byron police officer were on the lawn performing CPR on Amos, who had been in an upstairs bedroom. Amos and his father were taken to Rockford Memorial Hospital, where the little boy was pronounced dead. An autopsy showed he died of smoke inhalation. Firefighters found Margaret dead on the couch on the first floor. Ogle County Coroner Lou Finch said Feb. 3 that the cause of her death is
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
undetermined. VanVickle said his department, along with the Illinois State Police, and Byron Police are continuing to investigate the fire. “We’re definitely making progress,” he said. “A lot of evidence is still being processed at the state crime lab.” Anyone with information is asked to call the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office at 815-732-2136 or Ogle Lee Crime Stoppers at 888-2284488.
Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Forreston Junior High students Natalie Mealing and Taylor Miller battled to earn the first and second place honors respectively Jan. 27 at the annual spelling bee. Students, parents, and staff watched as the qualifiers from the language arts classes of Darlene Griseta, Kelly Leddy, and Kathie Conerton competed for the title of top speller. Thirty-three students from sixth, seventh and eighth grades took part in the competition. After eleven total rounds and two rounds of headto-head competition, Natalie spelled the words pilgrimages and habanero
to earn the championship medal. Taylor earned the runnerup spot after correctly spelling conflagration but misspelling legitimately. Sixth grader Natalie is the daughter of Leon Mealing and Stephanie Fadden, Forreston. Taylor, an eighth grader, is the daughter of Tony and Toni Miller, German Valley. Natalie will compete in the Lee-Ogle-Whiteside County Regional Spelling Bee held at Dixon High School on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. Taylor, as runner-up in the school bee, will be an alternate for the Regional Bee.
Natalie Mealing and Taylor Miller were the two top spellers at the Jan. 27 Forreston Junior High School spelling bee. Photo supplied
February Finds draws a crowd By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
A combination of mild weather and an array of treasures brought a record crowd last Saturday to the sixth annual February Finds. Organizer Edie White said more than 600 people — the biggest crowd ever — turned out to buy antiques and collectibles at the Mt. Morris Moose Family Center on Feb. 5. “I think everybody likes to get out because of the time of year it is,” she said. “People like to come out to shop and just get out of the house.” Those who attended
Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B3 State’s Attorney, B4 Zoning, B4
seemed pleased with the variety of merchandise offered by the more than 20 vendors, who went home happy as well, White said. “Everybody did really well,” she said. Ron and Jan Clemens, Oregon, came to browse. “We enjoy looking at antiques,” Ron said. “It’s a good time to see people and visit with them.” Diane Rasmussen, Polo, said it was her first time at the event and she was pleased with what she was finding. “I like it,” she said with a smile. “I’ve bought two things already.” Turn to A3
Deaths, B4 G. Maynard Hammer, Martin R. Whetsel, William Whitmore
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com