Ogle County Newspapers / oglecountynews.com • Friday, September 4, 2020
OGLE COUNTY NEWS
18
OGLE COUNTY
Noise complaints prompt more arrests at bar Sledgehammer’s manager arrested twice over weekend BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@oglecountynews.com The manager of Sledgehammer’s north of Oregon was arrested for disorderly conduct twice over the past weekend stemming from noise complaints from area residents, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said. Melissa Wall was arrested on Aug. 29 and Aug. 30 and released on an I-Bond for a later court date. The Ogle County Board is currently working on a county noise ordinance that could be approved at its Sept. 15. meeting. The board is considering the ordinance after VanVickle said the sheriff’s department has received numerous complaints “every weekend” this summer from residents living near the bar at 1450 N. Illinois 2. Sledgehammer’s owner Jason Stombaugh has also been arrested twice for disorderly conduct
Sledgehammers, north of Oregon, has had live bands this summer. in recent weeks due to noise complaints. “They said Jason wasn’t on the property,” VanVickle said. “That’s why Melissa was arrested instead. If he gets another charge, he’ll lose his gaming license.” Stombaugh and Wall say they have reached out to the Sheriff’s Office multiple times to meet to resolve the situation, but officials have not been receptive. Stombaugh said he’s spent the summer moving
bands and speakers to alleviate the complaints. Wall said she was told they would receive a warning first before an arrest on each day it occurs, but she was arrested without one Sunday. “They’ve taken a civil matter and turned it into a criminal matter,” Wall said. “It gets out there that we were arrested and it seems like we’re criminals. But we’re just having a band.” VanVickle said the noise was loud-
er this weekend than it has been in the past and the arrest route is being used because of the time it’s taken to get the ordinance passed. A disorderly conduct arrest requires the person who made the complaint to press charges and appear in court. Arrests will continue to be made if the complaints continue and people are willing to press charges, VanVickle said. “We’ve had individuals who haven’t been able to enjoy their properties since the middle of May,” VanVickle said. “It continued all summer and they have to stay in their house to minimize it. It shouldn’t be tolerated by anybody. It’s not just the neighborhood, but the area. We get complaints from people at the state park.” Stombaugh said Sledgehammer’s plans to continue to do business and have bands on weekends. He thinks it’s difficult to follow rules when there isn’t one for a noise ordinance currently on the books. “We hope for the best,” Stombaugh said. “But it feels like they’re trying to run us out of town. We’ve heard different things from different sergeants about the licenses and warnings.”
COVID-19 & BUSINESS
Bars, restaurants adapting to new mask rules Patrons must wear masks when they are interacting with staff BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@oglecountynews.com Cork & Tap Owner Jason O’Neil wants his customers to feel at home at his bar during COVID-19, but he doesn’t want them to forget about it. “We make a point to put up signage at the door and every table reminding people to have it on,” O’Neil said. “We try to make them feel at ease when they’re seated so they can relax and take them off. But we’re still in a pandemic.” The state implemented new guidelines last week requiring patrons in bars and restaurants to wear masks when interacting with staff to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The change took effect on Aug. 26.
Governor JB Pritzker said in a press release that the change was made due to a recent uptick in state cases. “Based on conversations and input from industry and business leaders, the State of Illinois is implementing updated guidelines which will allow restaurants and bars across the state to stay open while helping protect the health and safety of patrons and staff,” Pritzker said. Hazel’s Manager Candace Rivera said that her customers have been respectful and understanding since reopening and that the new guidelines “haven’t changed much.” Rivera said she got guidance immediately from the state and guidance on how exactly to implement the changes. There have been issues of people not wearing masks, but they’ve been resolved by patrons putting one on or leaving, Rivera said. And those patrons are kept away from others while the issue is resolved. “Business is OK,” Rivera said.
“We’re still at 50 percent of where we were. It’s steadily getting better. I think it’s a mixture of everything. Personal finances, not wanting to go inside and hectic schedules that we all seem to have now.” O’Neil said it has been “a little difficult” to have a change in guidelines, but that staff and patrons feel more comfortable as a result of it. Due to it just coming into effect, Cork & Tap hasn’t had any issues with patrons yet. But it has seen “slower than usual” business due to the pandemic as a whole. O’Neil and his wife and co-owner, Carrie, attribute that to people not feeling comfortable going out. “We noticed we didn’t have a big uptick when we reopened,” O’Neil said. “Then people get more comfortable and it picked up. With the new restrictions it dropped down again.” O’Neil has noticed the new restrictions more as a patron than he has as an owner. He and Carrie were out at a county establishment last
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media
A grand opening was held at Cork & Tap on Feb. 1, 2018. This photo was taken before masks were mandated to try and stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. weekend. “We saw how people are not paying attention to any of this,” O’Neil said. “It was quite shocking as a bar owner. There’s businesses that don’t follow the rules for that. We try to do our best. There’s no ramifications and patrons have no issues with it. I think it’s unfair.”
