Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal November 2, 2017 Volume 155, Number 28 - $1.00
Postseason Football
Fall Back
Thanksgiving
Forreston earned an easy win in the first round of the IHSA Class 1A playoffs. B1
Turn your clocks back one hour to Standard Time at 2 a.m. Sunday.
Donations are needed to ensure every area family has a turkey dinner this year. A3
County officials propose scaled back budget
Haunted Classroom
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Ogle County officials are proposing a budget for next year with somewhat scaled back appropriations. Finance & Insurance Committee Chairman Greg Sparrow, of Rochelle, presented the 2018 budget to the rest of the board at a special meeting Monday evening with $39,068,994 in proposed appropriations, $47,862 less than estimated a year ago for the current year. According to the budget document, the county plans to levy $12.6 million in property taxes for the new fiscal year, which begins Dec. 1. The appropriation for the
Halloween Fun It was a scary night at Adeline School for a Halloween-themed haunted classroom Oct. 28. Above, youngsters and adults turned out in costume for the event. Halloween treats and fellowship were part of the evening’s fun. At right, Linda Meyer and her grandson Brock Lilja pose for a photo. Below, little Alex Lilja was a Cabbage Patch Kid. Photos by Linda Meyer
cash-strapped General Fund is $14.2 million, and Sparrow said currently that fund could be as much as $740,000 in the hole. During a phone conversation Tuesday, he said that the recently enacted hiring freeze could solve some of that deficit, along with borrowing from the Solid Waste Fund. Employees are also being asked not to take wage increases for next year. The county is currently in contact negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police and the union that represents Probation Department employees. The board is expected to vote on the budget and appropriation at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Polo man sentenced for attempted arson By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
time that an acquaintance of Parker’s called 911 around 1:30 a.m. to report a disturbance at that address. A Polo man pleaded was The first police officer on sentenced recently to the scene called for seven years in state the fire department prison for attempted when he smelled an residential arson. accelerant through Johnathon Parker, an open door and 33, pleaded guilty in saw a burning TV Ogle County Court inside the house. Oct. 20. Cavanaugh said an Under the terms Johnathon P. accelerant had been Parker of a plea agreement, poured on the floors, Judge Robert but did not ignite. Hanson dismissed a charge of Parker had fled the scene aggravated battery. by the police arrived but was He also sentenced Parker arrested the next morning at a to two years mandatory friend’s home in Polo. supervised release after he Parker has a lengthy completes his prison term. criminal history and has The charges stem from served several sentences an incident on April 2 when in state prison since 2001 Parker tried to set a fire in a on charges including mob home where he was living at action, aggravated battery, 302 E. Mason St., Polo. possession of weapons by a Polo Police Chief Kurt felon, residential burglary, Cavanaugh said at the and forgery.
Disc golf comes to Dillehay Park in Mt. Morris By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Dillehay Park in Mt. Morris is now home to what a proponent says is America’s fastest growing sport. Mt. Morris native Denny Garkey, who now lives in Freeport, designed the new nine-hole, or basket, disc golf course completed a few weeks ago on the east side of the park. Garkey, a disc golfer himself, can’t say enough good things about it. “It’s the fastest growing sport in America for the last 10 years,” he said. “It’s very easy to learn - basically
if you can throw a frisbee you can play. Anyone from eight to 80 can do it. It’s inexpensive and fun. There’s really no downside.” Basically, the course consists of wire baskets, and players throw a frisbee-like disc, hoping to land it in the basket. The game is played using rules similar to golf. Players complete a hole by throwing a disc from a tee area toward a basket, throwing again from the landing position of the disc until it goes into the basket. To win, a player must complete the course with the lowest number of total throws.
In This Week’s Edition...
Garkey explained that although 4,000 types of discs are available, players usually use three different ones for varying distances, corresponding to the different kinds of golf clubs. The 1967 Mt. Morris High School graduate also designed disc golf courses at Highland Community College and Krape Park in Freeport. He said he approached an MMHS classmate Jan Hough, a former village trustee and Parks Committee chairman, at a class reunion about building a course in Mt. Morris. Dennis Cheatwood, of Mt. Morris, fires a disc toward a basket on the newly installed
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6
Turn to A3 disc golf course at Dillehay Park in Mt. Morris. He has played disc golf for 10 years and helped build the new course. Photo by Vinde Wells
Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B4
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2, B3 State’s Attorney, B4
Deaths, B5 Myrtle I. Buttel, Joyce M. Horn, Mary Louise Smith, Amos H. Taylor Jr.
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com