GAZ_08012014

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Your source for community news and sports 7 days a week.

Your guide to this year’s vendors SENIOR SHOWCASE, INSIDE

HARD WORK PAYS OFF FOR STERLING TEEN YOUTH TENNIS, B1

dailyGAZETTE Friday, August 1, 2014

SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854

DIXON | CRUNDWELL AFTERMATH

Agency: Loan to chief repaid Amount not disclosed; U.S. Marshals still working on two other loans restitution Crundwell was ordered to pay the city after she pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $54 million from Dixon over 2 decades. On Feb. 14, 2013, Crundwell was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months for wire fraud. She’s serving her sentence in a low-security prison in Waseca, Minnesota. Details of the Shipman loan – the

BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529

DIXON – A loan from former Dixon Comptroller Rita Crundwell to Fire Chief Tim Shipman and his wife, Diane, has been repaid with interested, the U.S. Marshals Service said Thursday. The money will be applied to the

amount, interest and date of repayment – weren’t released. Lynzey Donahue, a spokeswoman with the Marshals Service, said the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 prevent the agency from releasing those details. Shipman declined to discuss the amount or terms of the loan, but said the repayment was finalized

in the past month after discussions with the federal government were reopened. He said he was glad to have the issue finalized, and that it was something he hasn’t been avoiding, but needed direction from the government. LOAN CONTINUED ON A4

Tim Shipman Dixon Fire chief

SAUK VALLEY C.C.

OGLE COUNTY FAIR | TRACTOR PULLS

Committee set to find new leader

Worth the weight Sights, sounds, camaraderie highlight gala

Chair: Process starting early, in order to find best-suited candidates

BY CHRIS JOHNSON Shaw Media cxjohnson@shawmedia.com

BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5525

OREGON – Black smoke, bouncing front tires, and loud engines filled the grandstand Thursday afternoon at the Ogle County Fair. These were coming from a variety of tractors being driven in the annual tractor pulls. Bill Clothier of Polo brought his Farmall 1466 Turbo to the line and went down the track in the 12,500-pound division. When the flag was waved to end his run, Clothier finished with a pull of 313 feet, 2 feet short of a full pull. “I just missed the pull-off,” Clothier said. “I was close today, but I am in the hunt. Other tractors have 200 hp more than this one.”

DIXON – The search for the new president of Sauk Valley Community College is underway. The upcoming school year will be George Mihel’s 10th in that role, and he plans to retire next July. The Sauk Board of Trustees appointed a committee to search for the next president. The committee, made up of community members, trustees and staff members, will draw up a list of qualifications and screen applicants. LEADER CONTINUED ON A4

WEIGHT CONTINUED ON A9

It’s fair to judge Members of 4-H clubs and their animals showed the judges what they’ve got Thursday morning. See photos on A2.

TOP5 Your Weekend

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Festival time in Franklin Grove

FRANKLIN GROVE – The 35th annual Summer Harvest Festival continues today through Sunday at Chaplin Creek Village, 1715 Whitney Road. A festival parade will kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday, and food and events are planned each day, along with various demonstrations at Chaplin Creek Village from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

$1.00

TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 160 ISSUE 167

George Mihel SVCC president plans to retire next July, after school year

Chris Johnson/cxjohnson@shawmedia.com

Bill Clothier of Polo secures weights to his International tractor Thursday after competing in the 12,500-pound class tractor pull at the Ogle County Fair. He also competed in the 14,500-pound class, as well as the Leaf River Summer Daze pull earlier this year.

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Take in the Ogle County Fair

OREGON – The Ogle County Fair continues today through Sunday at the fairgrounds, 1440 Limekiln Road. Gates will open at 7 a.m. today and 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The carnival will be from 3 to 10 p.m. today, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Check the grandstand for Big Hat Rodeo tonight and the demolition derby on Saturday. Go to oglecountyfair.com for more details.

INDEX

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Relive history in Grand Detour

BUSINESS ......... A11 CHURCH.............. A8 COMICS ...............B5

CROSSWORD....B11 DEAR ABBY ......... A7 LIFESTYLE ........... A7

Ice cream for a good cause

5 Head out on the Reagan Trail (Days)

STERLING – Sterling-Rock Falls Historical Society will host an ice cream social fundraiser from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Lincoln-Manahan House, 607 E. Third St. The menu will include a variety of homemade pies for $3 a slice, Culver’s frozen custard for $2, and iced tea, lemonade or water for $1. For $5 you can have custard, pie and a beverage. Tours of the house will be available. Proceeds will benefit the Lincoln Learning Center next door, 611 E. Third St.

DIXON – The annual Reagan Trail Days begin this weekend with a Sunday by the River event along the Riverfront. Gates will open at 4 p.m., with music by Dirt Simple at 4:30 p.m., Olivia Dvorak and her band at 6:45 p.m., and Danika Holmes at 9 p.m. Food from local vendors and drinks from The Crystal Cork will be available. Tickets cost $5, or free with a Lyle Lovett concert ticket for the Monday night show. Get tickets at The Crystal Cork or Dixon Main Street, or at thecrystalcork.com.

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GRAND DETOUR – The John Deere Historic Site will host the biennial Hammer-In from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It’s a celebration of the event’s 50th anniversary, with blacksmiths, basket weavers, broom makers, gunsmiths, wheelwrights and woodwrights demonstrating their skills and selling their wares. A charitable auction will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free for children 11 and younger, and $5 for everyone else.

Scott Stoller Board of Trustees vice chair says, for now, search firm won’t be used

LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6

Today’s weather High 82. Low 58. More on A3.

Need work? Check out your classifieds, B6.

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