Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal February 23, 2017 Volume 154, Number 44 - $1.00
Penny Carnival
Season’s End Polo and Forreston both lost during games at the Eastland Regional this week. B1
Recycling Day The monthly electronics recycling day will be held in Oregon on Friday. A7
Ogle County 4-H Clubs are hard at work preparing for the carnival. A6
County building needs new roof Board approved $160,530 bid Tuesday night By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Cost estimates for putting a new roof on a countyowned building in Rochelle came in less than anticipated, but the work needs to be done sooner than expected. The Ogle County Board approved a bid Tuesday evening for $160,530 from McDermaid Roofing & Insulating Co., Rockford, to replace the roof on the building purchased from Rochelle Community Hospital Foundation late in 2015. Scott A. Goehring, a representative of the Garland Company, Inc., based in Cleveland, Ohio, said the project was originally estimated at $200,000 to $240,000. He told the board that he found damage that could cause leaks when he inspected the roof on the former Rochelle Clinic building at 510 Lincoln Highway. Goehring recommended replacing the roof before remodeling the inside and installing new furnishings and equipment. The Garland Company supplies roofing materials and provides design and engineering services. The county board purchased the building, which was originally a
Jail Meetings
The Ogle County Board is hosting public meetings about the proposed jail project. The meeting is a chance for the public to learn about the project and express their opinions about the project. A meeting in Forreston will be held on Thursday, March 2. at 7 p.m. at the Forreston Public Library, 204 1st Ave. bank, for $190,000 with the plan of locating the emergency operations center (EOC) there, along with local offices for the Ogle County Health and Probation Departments and the Ogle County Emergency Management Agency Director. McDermaid’s was the lowest of three bids submitted. Freeport Industrial Roofing bid the project at $220,255, and Sterling Commercial Roofing, Inc. bid it at $240,246. Board member Lee Meyers, Byron, questioned the need for the roof now. “I thought last year when we bought this, the roof was good for five years,” he said. Board member Don Griffin, Oregon, said that “it doesn’t make sense” to renovate the inside if the roof leaks.
Board gets sewer project moving By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com The Dollar General and sewer extension projects gained steam at the Forreston Village Board meeting Monday evening. The board made an amendment to the annexation agreement to extend the closing and cancellation time windows by two weeks, and awarded the sewer extension bid to Fischer Excavating. Osage Equities, the developer for Dollar General, had requested a two-week extension on the closing date and cancellation deadline of Feb. 15 on the annexation agreement due to the Illinois Department of Transportation not yet submitting their approval. The board originally wanted to extend only the closing date, and not the cancellation period, but opted to grant extensions for both, to a new deadline of Feb. 28. “There are a lot of people
involved in this, the Village, Dave and Shirley Vietmeier, Dollar General, and Osage Equities. Dollar General is out if we don’t grant both, so we needed to proceed in the best way we saw fit,” said village president Mark Metzger. Eight bids were submitted for the sewer extension project, but the board accepted Fischer Excavating’s base bid of $123,810.05 for the main sewer extension project, holding off on accepting the alternate bid of $46,352.13 for a later meeting due to Dollar General being able to cancel by Feb. 28. The sewer project will run a village sewer main from the Chestnut Street lift station to what’s going to be Dr. Keith Ruter’s Smokin’ Gun Worx gun range, as well as an additional extension to the Dollar General at the corner of Ill. 26 and Baileyville Road. Turn to A3
In This Week’s Edition...
Warm February What happens on an exceptionally beautiful February day, and a President’s Day off of school to boot? A pick-up basketball game at the Forreston public courts. Photo by Zach Arbogast.
Barn transformed into wedding venue By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Their daughter’s wedding inspired a Leaf River couple to turn their century-old dairy barn into an event venue. Brad and Carla Miller, both retired teachers, have transformed their huge barn and grounds into The Barn on the Hill, the perfect place for weddings, rehearsals, showers, class reunions, and anniversary and birthday parties. They have even hosted a high school prom. The Millers moved to their home at 7 E. Ill. 72, between Leaf River and Byron, 25 years ago when their three
daughters were youngsters. The barn was used for storage until three years ago when their daughter Hannah decided she wanted to be married there. “The barn was heaped with stuff, and Hannah said she wanted her wedding in the barn,” Carla said with a smile. Brad got to work with a skid loader and cleared out the barn. Hannah’s wedding went so well that they decided to offer the barn and scenic surrounding 7.5 acres to other brides. “It just took off from The Barn on the Hill features a large concrete patio there,” Carla said. “This is around two sides. The concrete piers will support a Turn to A3 second story deck that will be built this spring. Photo by Vinde Wells
Oregon athlete makes wrestling debut By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com After more than a year of training, Oregon-grown Bailey Bright’s dreams moved forward as he made his Funky Munky Wrestling singles debut Feb. 10. Instead of shooting for the stars right off the bat, Bright was more grounded - literally; after being sent to his room when he was eight years old, he turned the TV to World Wrestling Entertainment and caught the end of a John Cena match.
Bailey Bright is escorted by his father Lonny Bright and mother Lisa Walker during the Oregon Hawks Football 2015 senior night. At right, Bright stands in the ring after competing in his first match. Photos supplied.
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6
Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
He was hooked from that point, and started looking deeper into the business. He discovered the Sterling-based Funky Munky Wrestling near the tail-end of 2015, and quickly got involved with the company, helping setup and teardown with sets. It wasn’t long before Funky Munky owner Pat Gerlach, who is known as local wrestling star Bobby Houston, asked Bright if he’d be interested in training. “About four months after getting on with them [Funky Munky], Bobby asked me if I wanted to b r i n g s o m e workout g e a r and start training,” Bright said. “My first session was in January of last year, and we hit it hard from the get-go.”
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Turn to A3
Deaths, B4 Lucille T. Eichhorst, Karl G. Klipping, Joan Pattermann, Clarence L. Sneek, Merle P. Wiltfang
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com