Betty’s Column

LOCAL NEWS

Lindsey mak ing a r un for circuit judge

Ogle County Associate Judge Clayton Lindsey is running for circuit judge for the 15th Judicial Circuit, hoping to replace Judge Robert Hanson, who retires Nov. 30 after 16 years on the bench.

The 15th serves Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Carroll and JoDaviess counties.

Lindsey was appointed to the bench in October 2016 and serves primarily in Ogle County, although he also has heard cases in Carroll, Stephenson, Lee, JoDaviess and Kane counties.

Before that, he was a partner with WilliamsMcCarthy LLP, with offices in Oregon and Rockford.

As an associate judge, he has handled civil and criminal cases. He also is one of two judges assigned to Ogle County drug and DUI courts.

Lindsey began his legal career with a Chicago firm that primarily represented municipalities and school districts. He moved to Rockford and joined Hinshaw Culbertson as a litigator, transferring to Williams McCarthy in 1994 where he led the firm’s litigation practice in its Oregon office.

He handled a variety of family law, personal injury, commercial litigation, and employment cases and was the Byron city attorney from 2000 until 2016.

L i n d s e y r e c e i v e d h i s b a c h e l o r ’ s degree from Illinois State University in 1981 and his law degree from The John Marshall Law School in 1984.

He and his wife, Brenda, live in Byron; they have three children, Maggie, of Davis Junction, Cody, of Byron, and Molly, of Nashville, Tennessee, and five grandchildren.

The couple volunteers as youth leaders at Cornerstone Family Church, and have taken several mission trips with high school students to the Bahamas, a North Dakota Indian reservation, Guatemala, Tecate and Minneapolis.

The primary is June 28, and the general election is Nov. 8.

Clayton Lindsey

• ELECTION JUDGES

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equipment will work,” Cook said. Select the time that best fits your schedule and call 815-732-1110.”

Illinois State Statute requires Judges of Election to attend training. Election Judges work from 5 a.m. until after the polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. Judges receive a salary of $100 per election and an extra $20 if they attend a school.

“We hope to see you at one of the schools, not only for the extra $20 for Election Day, but because the training will enable you to serve as an informed and knowledgeable judge,” Cook said.

Dedication of Oly mpic athletes proves to be exceptional

These Olympics are rough not only for the participants but for those who watch from the comfort of their home. They last until midnight or 1 a.m. in the morning and they are killing me.

Two nights I quit and went to bed only to sneak back out to see what was going on. I thought this is silly! Are the Olympic police in my home watching me? There is no one here but the cat and she could care less what I am doing although there are times when she comes back out yawning. She is wondering why I am still up.

Some of these events are amazing and I had no idea what all these young people train to do. When they win, they are winning for the United States and when they lose, they have let the United States down.

I think to myself, if everyone in our country would work as hard to make our country look good, think of what could be accomplished. Sadly, this is not the case.

I enjoy seeing all these athletes from all over the world and the stories of their wins and losses. How they overcome injuries and bounce back to compete again when all odds seem to be against them.

I feel badly when they fall and yet they get back up and try again. There is a lesson in there for all of us. Determination is the name of the game and many have lost that part in their life.

I also enjoy seeing the countries they represent and the architecture of their communities. When I watch the news of any newscast, I find the buildings in other nations most interesting. I am busy paying more attention to the architecture than listening to what is going on.

Then to see the mountains, the terrain, the hillsides as cameras pan the areas of a country is also something I enjoy seeing. While one cannot travel to those places, we can travel by the television.

I also found interesting to hear that all the snow and ice had been man made and when actual snow came, it created problems. They were not used to having snow there and it really came down for a while.

Participants were having difficulty with the loose snow at the edge. If they hit it, it drew them further and for some this ended their run. But for some who were used to skiing in real snow, it did not bother them at all. The snow was to their advantage.

Bobsledding on your belly amazed me as they guide it with their feet, alone and sailing along at high speed. One needs to be part daredevil I do believe. I finally had to ask, how do they guide that contraption since one hardly ever sees the person move. I was told, with their feet and I find that hard to believe since one hardly ever sees any movement.

Kenneth rarely was interested in the Olympics so we did not watch much of it. This year I have gotten interested in it and have enjoyed the stories about the people.

Last night they were going to do a segment on costumes and I thought that I might enjoy hearing some of that but that was one of those late night things and I simply went to bed.

They needed to do the Super Bowl earlier for us old people so I missed the skate dancing. My rest is more important and maybe today they will show some of it. I will wait and see. • Betty Obendorf is a retired teacher and a volunteer for the Polo Historical Society.

You’ve been through a LOT

Are you taking care of your MENTAL WELLNESS?