Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS October 24, 2013 Volume 46, Number 34 - $1.00
Hawks Win
Recycling Time
Singers Needed
Size did not matter to the Hawks when they downed Mendota 35-20. B1
You can recycle that old TV or computer on Nov. 2 in Dixon. B3
Area singers are invited to perform at an annual Christmas concert in December. A11
New fence approved at
treatment plant property By Chris Johnson Reporter A $17,920 project to install a fence around three sides of the wastewater treatment plant property was approved Tuesday night. Mt. Morris Sewer Department Supervisor Jack Beck said the fence would create a boundary for the property. “My concern is people encroaching on the property and I would like to have a fence on the south, west, and north side,� said Beck. “Basically a perimeter fence.� The village owns approximately 29 acres of land along MacKendrie Avenue. Beck estimated he would need no more than 3,700 feet
Some flowers were still in bloom in Mt. Morris last week before the temperatures turned colder and freezing overnight temperatures came into the area this week. These flowers were spotted by the Mounder Statue in Mounder Park. Photos by Chris Johnson
Tests may shed some light into death of Oregon teen Test results that officials hope will shed light into the death of an Oregon teen in August may soon be available. Winnebago County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Hintz said Tuesday that he was recently informed that toxicology and pathology tests may soon be completed in the death of Jonathan Williams. Williams, 18, died Aug. 11 at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford, after being injured in a fight in the wee hours of Aug. 10 at an underage drinking party at 804 Monroe St., Oregon. Hintz said he expects to receive the results in the near future from the Chicago area lab conducting the tests on tissue samples taken during
The fence would not run along MacKendrie Avenue. The board approved the bid contingent on verifying the company is using prevailing wage. In other wastewater treatment business, trustee Don Sorensen announced an open house for the facility is planned for Saturday, Nov. 2 from 9 to 11 a.m. “We will offer a tour of the new facility,� said Sorensen. Trustee Jon Murray asked if a ribbon cutting would be held on that day. Beck said that the wastewater plant has been operating since July but a ribbon cutting would be a good idea. For additional information about the open house call the village hall at 815-734-6425.
National Take Back Day will be held on Oct. 26
Last Signs of Fall
By Vinde Wells Editor
of woven-wire fence. “Do we have the funds available?� asked trustee Tim Harvey. Beck said the money is reserved for the wastewater treatment property. “We still have two pending credits for the project,� he said. Currently the wastewater plant has a close fence around the property, a fence is being installed around the lagoon, and the maintenance buildings have a fence surrounding them close to the structures. The new fence would be on the property line. “The fence would be 110 feet away from the maintenance shed and by the golf course the fence would be 500 feet from an existing fence,� said Beck.
Williams’ autopsy. Ogle County State’s Attorney Michael Rock said Monday that once he receives the test results, he will make a decision if anyone will be charged in the case. “We’re still waiting for the test results,� Rock said. “Once we get those we will decide if charges will be filed.� In the meantime, he said, Oregon police are continuing to investigate and follow up on leads. Because more testing than usual was done during the autopsy, Hintz said, the results have taken more time. Williams, who would have been a senior at Oregon High School, was an organ donor. Oregon police were called about 3:15 a.m. Aug. 10 by a neighbor who reported a disturbance outside the home on Monroe Street.
In This Week’s Edition...
At that time, police arrested five teens for underage drinking outside the home and another a block away. Several more party-goers scattered when police arrived, DeHaan said. Mt. Morris police and Ogle County deputies assisted at the scene. The fight had occurred outside the house before police arrived in the early morning hours, DeHaan said. The police who responded to the call did not see Williams, and none of the people there at the time mentioned that he had been injured, he said. Williams was found unconscious and unresponsive inside the home at 8:19 a.m., after a second 911 call from a “father figure� of one of the teens who had spent the night at the home after the party, DeHaan said.
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B12 College and Service News, A4 Entertainment, A6
Area residents are offered an opportunity to get rid of unwanted prescription drugs on National Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, the Ogle County Solid Waste Management Department, local police departments, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will sponsor the event, the seventh of its kind in three years. The public is encouraged to bring expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications so that the drugs can be properly disposed of. The service is free and anonymous — no questions will be asked. The no longer needed prescription drugs can be dropped off at the following locations: s /REGON ˆ /GLE #OUNTY Jail parking lot, 107 S. Fifth
St., s -T -ORRIS ˆ VILLAGE hall, 105 E. Lincoln St., s 0OLO ˆ POLICE DEPARTMENT 116 S. Franklin Ave., s &ORRESTON ˆ VILLAGE HALL 102 S. Walnut Ave., s "YRON ˆ POLICE department, 232 W. Second St. Pills should be removed from medicine bottles and placed in plastic bags for drop off. Remove the labels from the medicine bottles and recycle the bottles. According to a press release issued jointly by the Oregon Police Department and Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, medications that remain in home medicine cabinets are very susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. “We have seen a large increase in prescription drug abuse in Ogle County and in Oregon,� said Oregon Police
Chief Darin DeHaan. “Please join us in our effort to limit the potential risks of unwanted prescription drugs by participating in this Take Back event,� said Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn. According to the press release, a national study of drug use among young people shows that prescription drugs are the second most abused category of drugs after marijuana. Young children and pets are at risk from potentially fatal poisoning from accidental drug ingestion. Improper disposal of prescription drugs can contaminate water resources. Recent U.S. geological surveys have found traces of painkillers, estrogen, antidepressants, bloodpressure medicines, and others in water samples taken across the nation, the press release said.
Bench Dedication The Mt. Morris High School Class of 1967 recently purchased a bench for Kable Square and dedicated it the village. Anita Zemke organized the purchase. Class members pictured sitting on the bench are: Stan Burke, Zemke, Teresa Ubben, Terry Messer. Standing in the back is Mt. Morris Village President Dan Elsasser. The inset is a plaque attached to the bench. Photos supplied
Library News, A2 Marriage Licenses, A4 Pine Creek News, A3 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B4
Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Weather, A2
Deaths, B3 Sharon Blake, Harry L. Deets, Milton L. Marceau, Thomas W. Wagner
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