drive on Monday, June 29

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SPECIAL EVENT Church to host blood drive on June 29

The Leaf River United Methodist Church is hosting a Community Blood Drive on Monday, June 29. Staff from the Rock River Valley Blood Center will draw blood between 1- 6 p.m.

Donations of blood are needed. There is no substitute for blood, and local patients rely on generous donors to supply the need.

If you are at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in general good health, you should be eligible to donate

ANNUAL SALE

The annual Forreston Lions Club Ham Sale will return in July.

New this year, the Lions will be selling smaller 8-12 lb. hams, however due to the pandemic, they will not be hosting the traditional three days of “walk-in” sales.

“This year, you must preorder your ham with any Forreston Lions Club member, and your ham will be available for drive-through pick-up every Thursday in July between 5pm-6pm. The downtown Forreston pick-up location will be in the parking-lot on the south side of the Forreston Library,” said Dan Stralow, club member.

The Thursday pick-up dates are July blood.

One in three people will need blood and you never know when you or someone you love might be the one.

Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, organizers must limit the number of people who are arriving throughout the blood drive. Donors are 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, between 5-6 p.m.

“Please place your order by Tuesday to assure your ham will be available for pick-up on Thursday,” Stralow said. “You can place your order with any Forreston Lions Club Member, or specifically call Lion Alice: 815-938-3552, Lion Ilene: 815-938-3556, Lion Liz: 815-541-3522 or Lion Michelle: 815-821-3270.

This year’s smaller hams are a Smithfield John Morrell Black Forest Ham, which is a boneless, fully-cooked round ham. The hams average 8-12 lbs. and the price will range $30-$45.

“These hams would be great for a summer-time picnic, or thick-sliced on the asked to call to schedule an appointment.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact Laura at 815- 738-2508 or 815-276-5773 (call or text), or email leafriverumc@gmail.com.

Potential donors can also contact the Rock River Valley Blood Center directly at 815-965-8751, toll free at 877-RRVBC-99 or on the web at www.rrvbc.org.

A list of other locations where drives are being held can he seen at www.

Lions Club annual ham sales returns

rrvbc.org/drives-calendar. grill,” Stralow said.

The annual ham sale is a primary fundraiser for the Forreston Lions Club which allows the Club to serve the local community.

Some of the local projects supported by the Forreston Lions Club include: Forreston Youth Baseball/Softball Program, Forreston High School Scholarships, local support for sight and hearing needs, and a variety of community enhancement projects.

“The Forreston Lions appreciate your ongoing support, especially through this year of unprecedented challenges,” Stralow said.

Commencement & COVID-19

COVID-19 & BUSINESS Local restaurant was told to stop indoor dining

Health department handling complaints on other businesses

BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@oglecountynews.com

The Ogle County Health Department fields “several complaints” a day about businesses violating the current state phase three guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Public Administrator Kyle Auman said last week.

One of those complaints was Forreston’s Farmers Family Restaurant, which took to Facebook on June 17 to say it will no longer be serving inside after speaking with the OCHD. Indoor dining wasn’t currently allowed by the state, but that’s slated to change this week.

The restaurant will continue to do outdoor dining and carry our orders during normal hours and plans to do dine-in again when the state allows it in phase four on June 26.

A restaurant response to a comment on the Facebook post said it could have been shut down completely if it didn’t comply.

Four Shannon residents made the trip from their hometown to Forreston on June 20 to eat at the restaurant, located on Illinois 72.

Paul and Pat Rivers and Don and Shirley Schrader said they were willing to move back outside because the restaurant is a “good place to eat”.

“The waitresses, the service, the food is all great and their prices are good to,” said Shirley.

Auman declined to speak about specific businesses and their interactions with the OCHD, but said it’s currently trying to address many indoor dining complaints, the consequences of which could impact food BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@oglecountynews.com

The Ogle County Health Department reported one new COVID-19 case on Tuesday, totaling 245. Recoveries of documented cases stand at 221, with six new ones being reported Tuesday.

The OCHD reported its fourth

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media

The Farmer’s Family Restaurant is located along Illinois 72 in downtown Forreston.

licenses.

“They’re risking the public’s health,” Auman said. “They also need to be concerned about possible issues with liability insurance. They may not cover them if they violate the guidelines.”

Auman said the threat of revoking a license is a last step in talks with businesses that receive complaints. The OCHD tries to follow up on complaints and quickly as possible.

The OCHD sends its food representative to talk with the businesses about safe alternatives to indoor dining. None of the complaints so far have ended in law enforcement being sent to businesses.

County residents going out for outdoor drinking and dining since phase three began has been monitored closely by the OCHD.

“I can’t speak specifically to those things but it’s definitely a concern,” Auman said. “You’re eating and drinking and it’s impossible to wear a mask.”

Overall, Auman believes the county has done “fairly well” with the COVID-19 pandemic. It stands at four deaths currently. Ogle is on the death in the county June 1. It reported its third on May 27. Ages and locations of the individuals are not being released to protect their privacy.

The Illinois Department of Public Health site said Tuesday that there are 147 cases in the 61068 zip code that includes Rochelle, Creston and “lower end” of cases in the region and has a high testing rate, Auman said. Four new cases a day come in on average.

Auman said there is no way to estimate the number of cases that aren’t documented or tested for, but that the Center for Disease Control has advised that there are four for

every documented case.

“There’s definitely still risk,” Auman said. “It’s still out there and it’s something we’re working on. We’re getting more people for contact tracing.”

Auman said it’s still too early to tell what the results of the phase three opening will be. He believes that people are still being cautious, which will help the county progress.

“It’s called public health for a reason,” Auman said. “The public is responsible for itself. It’s too early to tell on impacts of reopening or a resurgence. There’s a good chance of that and we’re preparing for it.”

Auman believes the state’s reopening plan was “well thought out.” His only complaint is receiving guidance and feedback faster on guidelines. Illinois has done well as a state compared to others, he said.

Getting a sense of normalcy back and the economy back in working condition are factors that Auman understands. People having to stay in their homes has negative secondary impacts, he said. But the OCHD has its concerns about reopening and will be staying vigilant.

COVID-19 CASE UPDATE Ogle County at 245 cases

“Time will tell,” Auman said.

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