Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS October 17, 2013 Volume 46, Number 33 - $1.00
State Bound
Pumpkin 5K
Wellness Fair
Senior golfer Ben Gardner shot an 83 to advance to the IHSA Golf Finals. B1
Participants in a 5K run will receive a pumpkin Oct. 26. A6
A Wellness and Resource Fair will be held Friday, Oct. 25 at the Rock River Center. A7
Receipts now required for meal reimbursement By Vinde Wells Editor Receipts will now be required for Ogle County employees to be reimbursed for meals they eat while traveling on county business. The county board approved changes in its policy Tuesday that increase the amount allowed for meals, but tighten the requirements for reimbursement. Board member Marty Typer, Stillman Valley, chairman of the Finance, Insurance, and Personnel Committee, said the change was being made to ensure that
employees are repaid for the actual cost of meals when they travel on county business. The amounts were increased by $1 each meal to a maximum of $8 for breakfast, $10 for lunch, and $16 for dinner. Ogle County Clerk Rebecca Huntley said that currently employees are reimbursed for meals even if they did not eat them and receive the full amount allowed even if the meal costs less. Under the new requirements, reimbursement will cover only what was actually spent on the meal, up to the maximum amount.
Before approving the changes, the board amended the measure to include all county employees. The original resolution said it would apply to “all county employees not governed by union agreements.� The amendment struck the words “not governed by union agreements.� More than half of the county employees belong to labor unions, while the others do not. Employees in the sheriff’s department, probation department, circuit clerk’s office, and health department are union members.
In another matter, the board denied a zoning variance for a house located along the Rock River near Grand Detour. At the recommendation of the Assessment, Planning & Zoning Committee, the board turned down a request from Wade Winekauf, 5193 W. Murray Drive, to allow the lowest floor of his house to be located 3.6 feet below the level required by the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance. Board member Lyle Hopkins, Polo, said he favored approving the variance. “I feel this [denial] is going to put
a terrible hardship on the owner,� he said. While acknowledging that Winekauf failed to get the required permits for construction he did on the house, Hopkins said that even with flooding at an all-time high this spring, very little water came into the home. However, board member Bill Welty, Chana, who chairs the Assessment, Planning & Zoning Committee, disagreed. He said Winekauf was aware when he bought the house in 2009 Turn to A3
Soybeans, corn yield more than expected
Test results may take a month By Vinde Wells Editor
By Vinde Wells Editor Ogle County farmers have been pleasantly surprised by crop yields after an abnormally dry July and August. “The yields are much better than we expected considering the dry weather,� said David Poole, who farms northwest of Polo. “The bean yields are good; the corn yields are good.� Ralph Coffman, who farms ground northeast of Forreston, agreed. “It’s doing better than I thought it would,� he said. However, not all crops have fared so well. “The word I would use to describe the yield is variable,� said Ron Kern, director of the Ogle County Farm Bureau, who lives near Leaf River.
Rick Nelson harvests soybeans Oct. 11 in a field at the intersection of Mt. Morris and West Grove Roads. Yields in most places have been surprisingly good despite the lack of rain in the mid to late summer. Photo by Vinde Wells
“One of my neighbors told me he got 38 bushels of beans [to the acre] in one field, and 60 bushels in another field. The rain in late July and early
August hit some places but not others.� The harvest is progressing well, Kern said. Most of the beans have been combined
and the corn harvest is underway. “The majority of the beans are out,� he said. “We might have 15 percent of the corn
picked. It still had decent moisture a week ago. I think some of the guys are waiting for Mother Nature to dry it Turn to A2
It will likely be a month before the results of testing on Ogle County’s best-known landmark are available. Structural engineer Aldo De La Haza said Oct. 11 that it will take some time to make three dimensional drawings of the Black Hawk Statue and to analyze the data collected during four days of testing. The iconic statue, which is under the authority of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), sits on a high bluff at Lowden State Park northeast of Oregon. De La Haza, who works for the Dynasty Group, Chicago, and other experts spent most of last week examining the 102-year-old concrete statue and doing non-destructive testing to determine what needs to be done to repair and Turn to A3
Local veterans visit Washington despite shutdown By Chris Johnson Reporter A pair of Korean War veterans smiled and laughed while talking about a recent trip to Washington D.C. The memories from a Oct. 3 Honor Flight were still sinking in Oct. 9 for Neil Holland, 82, and Gene Medlar, 82, both from Oregon. “The tip organizers announced that ‘you guys will never forget this,’� said Medlar. Never forgetting began with a mail call. “Unbeknownst to us, they contacted our families and letters were written to us,� he said. “As we waited at the airport we had the mail call.� Medlar had letters from his two children and his grandchildren. “It was amazing,� he said. “There were a lot of teary-eyed veterans.� The tears continued when they returned to the Quad Cities at 11:30 p.m. “We walked around the corner and were greeted by 500 people when we got off the flight,� said Holland. “It was amazing,� Medlar said. “There were even little kids greeting us.� “If you did not have tears in your eyes there is something wrong with you,� Holland said. At the airport Medlar said good-bye to his guardian on the trip. “We were both crying,� he said. “I told her this is where we separate and she said ‘don’t
In This Week’s Edition...
make me cry.’� The volunteer guardians assist the veterans with stairs, help walking, or pushing a wheelchair. They ensure any request or need the veterans have is taken care of. While in Washington the veterans were constantly thanked for their service. “When I arrived home I was thinking about everyone who was thanking me for my service,� Holland said. “Even the active military members were thanking me.� The late flight meant a visit to the Vietnam Memorial Wall had to be scrubbed. And the federal government shutdown prevented the veterans from going to the Udvar-Hazy Center Air & Space Museum. But this Honor Flight was the first from the area to tour the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon “We saw a lot of veterans and active military when we visited the Pentagon,� said Medlar. A hijacked airplane crashed into the pentagon Sept. 11, 2001. A lighted memorial honors those killed in the Pentagon and those who died on the flight. “I had a son-in-law who worked in the Pentagon in the same area the flight crashed,� Medlar said as he recalled the visit to the memorial. “He was in Texas on that day.� Holland said the workers at the Pentagon came up to thank the veterans for their service. Memories of friends and family were
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B12 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
constantly going through their minds as they visited Washington. Due to the morning’s delay, only about 15 minutes could be spent at the Korean War Memorial, if the veterans were going to have time to see the 4 p.m. “changing of the guard� at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
“I was in Arlington years ago and you could see it all,� said Medlar. “Now it seems like several miles.� The unfortunate part of this observation is it means a lot of soldiers have passed away. Holland was impressed with how organized the whole cemetery was. Turn to B3
Gene Medlar and Neil Holland pose for a photo after talking about their Honor Flight. Photo by Chris Johnson
Library News, A2 Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B4
Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4
Deaths, B3 Susan L. Andreas, Mayron J. Cockrel, Tressa L. Willstead-Sheely, David A. Yates
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