Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal December 28, 2017 Volume 155, Number 36 - $1.00
Future Leatherneck
New Laws
Sam Barkalow signs up to play football at Western Illinois University. B1
More than 200 new state laws go into effect on Jan. 1. A7
IDOT weeks away from street closure decision By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The transfer of a block of an Oregon street from the city to the county will not become final for at least several weeks. Both the Ogle County Board and the Oregon City Council approved an intergovernmental agency agreement on Dec. 21 that transfers jurisdiction over the 100 block of South Sixth Street in Oregon from the city to the county, which means the county board can move forward with its plans to close the block and connect a proposed new jail to the existing judicial center across the street. However, the transfer won’t be official until the Illinois Department of Transportation gives it the nod. Ogle County Engineer Jeremy Ciesel said it will be several weeks — after they receive the paperwork — until IDOT officials make their decision. “They told me it would be at least three weeks, and they said it could be longer,” Ciesel said Tuesday. Optimistically, that puts the decision into February.
Preliminary plans call for the breaking ground for the new 180-bed jail, with an estimated price tag of $28 million, in the fall of 2018. Ciesel said according to state statutes, IDOT must approve all jurisdictional transfers of streets. With the intergovernmental agency agreement now approved by both parties, the next step, he said, is for the city council to pass an ordinance and the county board to adopt a resolution approving the transfer. Those approvals, along with other documents, must then be sent to IDOT. The city council could vote as early as Tuesday, Jan. 9, and the county board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Jan. 16. As part of the intergovernmental agreement, the county will pay for street improvements near the courthouse, judicial center, and new jail, including repaving Jefferson Street from Fourth to Sixth Street, Fifth Street from Washington to Jefferson, and Sixth Street south to Madison, and replacing curbs, gutters, and sidewalks in those blocks. County board chairman Kim Gouker, of Byron, said
This artist rendering shows a view from Jefferson Street looking north of the proposed Ogle County Jail in downtown Oregon. Photo supplied. Photo Supplied.
the county will also pay to reroute sewer and water mains affected by the street closure. The total cost for those projects is estimated at $600,000. The county also agreed to keep the driveway open for public access from Sixth Street into the shopping center at 511 Washington St. Gouker said the city and county engineers and attorneys worked together on forging the agreement.
The county purchased the east half of South Sixth Street, where the new jail will be located, more than a decade ago from the owners of five homes on the property and then razed the houses. Gouker, Sheriff Brian VanVickle, and other county officials presented the plan for the new jail to Ogle County residents earlier this year at seven meetings held in various communities. They also mailed flyers
outlining the plan to county residents. They met fierce opposition from some Oregon residents, many of whom were against closing the block and others who wanted the jail located somewhere else. VanVickle said Tuesday that he is pleased the city and county reached an agreement. “The current jail is getting expensive to operate,” he said. “I’m glad to be able to move forward with a facility that will
better serve our needs.” The county board approved a contract Nov. 21 with Chicago architects Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. for the architectural and engineering design of a 70,000 square-foot jail facility with a connecting link from the new facility to the existing county judicial center. VanVickle said one planning meeting has already been held with the architects and another is scheduled for next week.
New center greets visitors to Nachusa Grasslands By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Visitors can better explore and understand the range of habitats at The Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grasslands, thanks to a brand new Visitors Center. A short walk up a gentle hill takes visitors to the new pavilion, at 2075 S. Lowden Rd., which features exhibits that tell the story of the Grasslands and its recently acquired bison herd. “People will be able to come and get a great sense of the prairie and maybe get a look at the bison and other wildlife,” said Restoration Ecologist Cody Considine. Started almost three decades ago, with less than 300 acres of partially over-grazed pastures, the Nachusa Grasslands has grown to more than 3,000 acres of native prairie plants and wildlife. Located on Lowden Road on the Ogle-Lee County line, the grasslands has been restored as a native prairie largely through the efforts of volunteers who remove non-native plants and gather and sow the seeds of desirable wildflowers, bushes, and grasses. Owned by The Nature Conservancy, the grasslands is the home of more than 700 native prairie plant species as well as many important birds, insects, and reptiles.
Above, The new visitor center at the Nachusa Grasslands is open to the public. Some additional work will take place on the site. Below, Interpretative panels tell visitors about The Nachusa Grasslands at its new visitor center. Photos by Earleen Hinton
The Nature Conservancy has gradually recreated a vision of 1800 when Illinois was a mosaic of prairie, savanna and wetlands. Bison were added as the completing component in 2014, and the herd has expanded with new calves born each year since then. “It’s been incredibly successful, and we’ve been astonished at the local support,” Considine said. The Visitors Center is especially suited to school groups who will now be able to take self-guided tours of the Grasslands, he said. The pavilion features interpretive panels on all Turn to B3
In This Week’s Edition...
Birth, A4 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B8 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B5 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B5 School Menus, A2
Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4
Deaths, B5 Earl Jr. Noffsinger Debbie L. Taft
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com