Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal May 24, 2018 Volume 156, Number 5 - $1.00
Regional Champs
Tourism Guide
Regiment Returns
The Cardinals shut out Earlville 13-0 to win Regional Championship. B1
Scenic Ogle County has a lot to offer this summer and fall. Insert
The Phantom Regiment will again march in the LR Summer Daze parade June 3. A2
Memorial Day services planned Two services are planned in the Forreston area to commemorate Memorial Day. The Crane’s Grove Cemetery Association will conduct its 92nd annual Memorial Day service on Sunday, May 27 at 2 p.m. at the Baileyville Baptist Church, 303 W. Franklin St., Baileyville. Special music is planned, the American Legion Honor Guard and Rifle Squad will perform, and a blessing of troops will be held. Rev. Tim Hotchkiss will give the address. All Americans are urged to remember deceased veterans and thank them for the gift of freedom. The Forreston American Legion Family will hold its annual Memorial Day service on Monday, May 28 at 10 a.m. Members of the Forreston baseball team pose with their regional trophy after beating Earlville 13-0 on May 18 at the Ashton-Franklin Center Regional. at the Forreston Memorial Park. Pictured in the front row, left to right, are: Hunter rogers, Ethan Greenfield, Braedon Fyock, Jaron Groshans, Jacob Swanson, and Jacob Dye. Back row: In case of rain the service Josh Flick, Mitch Heinz, Chase Greenfield, Mavric Rudy, Brandon Schneiderman, Michael Singley, Hayden Singley, and Ryan Schoonhoven. Photo by will be held at the Forreston Earleen Hinton More pictures and a story appear on B1. Junior High School gym.
Regional Champions
Following Dixon incident, schools prioritize safety By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Last week’s shooting at Dixon High School has put the focus on security measures at local school districts. The Oregon School District has reached out to state Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), about finding a source of revenue for a resource officer, Superintendent Thomas Mahoney said. “It would cost us about $50,000 to $70,000 annually to hire a full-time officer,” Mahoney said. “If we were flush with money, we would move on it immediately.” “It’s going to be a point of discussion in the next month’s board meeting, but we are
underfunded by about $4.5 million per year,” he said. Like most Illinois school districts, Oregon has seen a significant decrease in mandated state funding in recent years due to the state’s budget woes. One solution might be to use money from a onepercent county sales tax levy, Mahoney said, which Ogle County does not have at the moment. Voters rejected a referendum in April of 2013 to implement a county-wide sales tax to aid the schools. Polo Police Chief Kurt Cavanaugh told the city council Monday night that School Superintendent Chris Rademacher has been working with the police department for
several years to be prepared in case of an active shooter. “We have good communications with the schools,” he said. “I think we are well-prepared.” He said drills have been held in the buildings. Forrestville Valley Superintendent Sheri Smith could not be reached for comment on security measures in that district. Visitors in all three districts cannot enter the buildings without being “buzzed in.” Security cameras are located at the entrances and the doors are locked until school personnel inside release the lock allowing the visitor to enter. A Dixon High School senior, Matthew Milby Jr., 19,
was charged in Lee County Court Friday with three felonies involving aggravated discharge of a firearm, the first two for firing at school resource officer Mark Dallas and gym teacher Andrew McKay – who threw the gym foyer doors shut and told the seniors to run when the shooting began – and the third for firing a gun in a school building. Investigators have declined to say who, if anyone, was Milby’s target, citing the ongoing investigation. All are Class X felonies, the most serious that can be levied in Illinois. The first two are punishable by a mandatory 10 to 46 years in prison, the third by 6 to 30 years. Each charge also comes
with a mandatory 3 years’ supervised release. Milby had a preliminary status hearing before Judge Jacquelyn D. Ackert at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Milby, who has not attended school for several weeks but still was enrolled and eligible to graduate, took a 9mm semiautomatic rifle to graduation practice May 16 shortly after 8 a.m. He fired at McKay, then took off running when confronted and pursued by Dallas. He fired at Dallas outside the gym; the Dixon police officer returned fire, hitting Milby in the upper shoulder. No one else was injured. Milby was released from KSB Hospital shortly after 10 a.m. May 17 and taken to Lee
County Jail where he remains under a $2 million bond. The Illinois State Police are investigating, as they do with all officer-involved shootings, “and more charges may be filed in the near future,” Dixon police said in a news release Thursday. DHS graduation was held Sunday afternoon with tightened security in place. Fortunately, plans to tighten security already were in place at DHS, where remodeling and repairs already under way will include the addition of a secure vestibule, which will help control who is allowed in, and more surveillance cameras. Gavin Jensen and Kathleen Schultz contributed to this story.
AT&T tower aimed at Forreston By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com
Tractor Jamboree Daniel Cary, of Freeport, helps three-year-old Amethyst Blaser, also of Freeport run the old-fashioned corn sheller Saturday at AJ’s Garden Tractor Jamboree. Photo by Vinde Wells A story and more photos appear on A3.
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6
The Forreston Village Board is working on forging a policy for tower structures being built inside the village limits. During Monday evening’s village board meeting, Village President Mark Metzger addressed AT&T showing interest in building a telecommunication tower on the truck and warehouse lot bordered by North Chestnut Avenue, East Avon Street, and North Oak Avenue, and owned by Keith Anderson. AT&T’s concerns included identifying what the exact address of the parcel was,
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Property Transfers, B3
along with what would be identified as the front and sides of the property for the purpose of complying with setback requirements. When building a new structure, Forreston requires setbacks from the lot line of 10 feet for the sides and 20 feet for the rear. Some of the board had a different concern, however: do they have any say in whether or not a cell tower moves into the downtown? Trustee Jeff Freeze asked whether or not the board was required to approve of the tower coming in, but several members agreed that as long as AT&T complies with building requirements, they can build
Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, A9, A10, B1, B2
the structure. “The thing is, I thought we were supposed to watch out for the better good of the village,” said Freeze.“I understand the legality of what you’re saying, I just don’t like it.” Metzger said he would talk to village engineer Mick Gronewold and village attorney Rob LeSage for input, while in the meantime trustee Ken Vinnedge would begin developing a village policy for building communication tower structures. The village meets again on Monday, June 4 at 7 p.m. at Forreston Village Hall, 102 S Walnut Ave. The meeting is open to the public.
Deaths, B5 Darlene V. Bauer, William L. Boland Sr., Todd A. Burwitz, Johnny B. Crumley, Glenn V. Green, Richard T. Hazelton
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com