Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal October 19, 2017 Volume 155, Number 26 - $1.00
Answer Book: The new 136-page “The Answer Book” is full of
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information and contact listings about many of the things you will use or encounter at some point in your life. The book covers Ogle, Lee, and Whiteside counties with Your Cities and Counties, Your Life, Your Activities, Your Health & Wellness, and Your Business & Agriculture. Magazine Inside Today’s Edition
An Oregon Staff Sergeant is training in Kuwait for a halfmarathon. A7
Village board learns more about solar farm By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com The Forreston Village Board heard a presentation Monday from a company looking to bring a solar farm to land south of village limits. The board held its meeting in the community room of the Forreston Public Library, instead of the village hall, to accommodate a PowerPoint presentation from Scott Novack, representing Cypress Creek Renewables,
a California-based company with solar projects in 13 states around the country. CCR has made an offer on a lease agreement to use 200 acres of farmland belonging to Rod Wubbena and his family to build a 20-megawatt solar energy farm, pending licensing approval from the Ogle County Board. The company is seeking a positive recommendation from the village board. The farm would utilize photovoltaic solar panels to convert sunlight into energy,
which would then be fed back into the power grid. During the 20-minute presentation, Novack outlined details about the company, the type of farm they want to build, how the solar panels operate, how it can benefit the community and the county, and included examples of what the nearest projects look like and what a preliminary build map would look like. Novack said the farm, overall, would be very friendly with regard to maintaining the land quality,
saving on pollution caused by other energy sources, operating quietly, and providing an increase in tax revenue to several affected taxing districts, including the school district and fire district. The village will not receive property taxes from the solar farm because it is outside the village limits. Questions the board had following the presentation included: • Will the farm create more jobs? Around 44 job positions
will be open during the construction process, which would be slated for late 2018 to early 2019. Once the farm is completed, no personnel is required on-site, aside from lawn maintenance crews and licensed electricians on occasion. • Will the farm affect property values? Novack said CCR commissions local appraisals that have shown no negative impact on property values near solar projects. • Is there any talk of annexing the solar farm area
into the village? Novack said that is for the village and land owning parties, and he cannot answer that. • Will CCR stay invested in the project once it is completed? Novack said CCR’s plan is always to stay on as owners of their projects, but there have been times they have sold projects to new owners. The meeting was attended by around 20 local citizens, several of which have been outspoken against the Turn to A3
Investigators still working to solve double homicide By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Ogle County Sheriff’s detectives are still working to determine who set the fire that killed a young Byron mother and her three-yearold son on Oct. 19, 2016. Margaret “Maggie” Meyer, 31, was found dead on a couch on the first floor of her burning home at 2020 N. Silverthorn Drive on that crisp fall morning, and her son Amos was pronounced dead a short time later at Rockford Memorial Hospital. “It’s still an active investigation,” Sheriff Brian VanVickle said Monday. “We review it on a regular basis and evidence is still being processed.” VanVickle and lead detective Lt. Brian Ketter released very few details about the case even a year later because of the ongoing investigation. VanVickle said he is confident the case will be solved. “I think we definitely will come to a resolution for the family,” he said. The fire was reported around 6:40 a.m. by Meyer’s
ex-husband, Duane C. Meyer, 35, of Stillman Valley, who told officials he was there to pick up his son. The couple had been divorced about a month earlier. When firefighters arrived, smoke alarms were sounding, the house was filled with heavy smoke, and Duane 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 at the Winnebago County Coroner’s office showed he died of smoke inhalation. VanVickle and Ketter declined to reveal the cause of Maggie’s death, although they said a pathologist has determined that. They also would not say how the fire started. “We can’t elaborate,” VanVickle said. A representative from the State Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire was an arson while he was at the scene. Although no persons of Turn to A3
Maggie and Amos Meyer
In This Week’s Edition...
Members of the Patriot Guard Riders all stood with a flag in hand to honor Lance Corporal Alec E. Catherwood, who died at age 19 on Oct. 10, 2014 serving with the Marines in Afghanistan. A ceremony was held Monday afternoon designating the portion of Ill. 72 from the south side of the bridge in Byron to the DeKalb County line as “Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood Memorial Road.” Photo by Zach Arbogast
Highway section dedicated in remembrance of Byron marine By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com A fallen marine from Byron can now lead and guide people for years onward, thanks to a highway dedication in his name. A section of Ill. 72 from the south side of the bridge in Byron, to the Ogle/DeKalb County line, was dedicated Monday afternoon as the “Lance Corporal Alec E. Catherwood Memorial Road.” The dedication took place in a small parking lot north of River Road, just west of the intersection of Ill. 72 and North German Church Road. Catherwood died Oct. 14, 2010, in combat while serving the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. The 19-year-old was part of the marines 3/5 Darkhorse Unit. He earned several service awards, including the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Korean Defense Service Medal. He graduated from Byron High School in 2009. State Sen. Tim Bivins (R-Dixon) served as a master of ceremonies for the presentation. He, along with State
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B8 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3
Gretchen and Kirk Catherwood stand under the sign dedicated to their son. Photo by Zach Arbogast.
Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), State Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Freeport), and Byron Mayor Tom Palmgren, praised Catherwood. Pastor Randy Snyder, who is the Byron Fire Department’s Chaplain and pastor
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2
of Cornerstone Family Church in Byron, gave the benediction. “As lawmakers, as citizens of Illinois, and as fellow Americans, we pay tribute to brave young soldiers like Alec Catherwood who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in the service to their country,” Bivins said. “We cannot take away your pain, nor can we even truly understand it, but we can honor your son and make sure everyone knows his name.” A replica of the sign being posted at the memorial road was given to Alec’s parents Kirk and Gretchen Catherwood. They currently live in Springville, Tennessee, but lived in Byron until 2012. The Patriot Guard Riders were also in attendance, surrounding the ceremony with American flags, and escorted the Catherwoods to the official hanging of the road sign. The Catherwoods expressed deep gratitude to all who attended the ceremony, and who spoke kind words for their son. “My son can die twice; the day he actually died, and the moment people stop saying his name,” said Kirk. “I can’t express how much this means to me, that he’ll now be recognized, by name, for generations.”
Deaths, B4 Louise Hartle, H. Fern Sellers, Donna M. White
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com