Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS February 18, 2016 Volume 48, Number 51 - $1.00
Hawks Win Two
Self Defense
Snow Storm
The Hawk basketball team posts big wins over Rockford Lutheran and Byron. B1
Well Armed Woman chapter learns self-defense on Valentine’s Day A9
Ogle County residents were greeted by 3-4” of snow on Valentine’s Day. A8
County engineer steps down after 24 years By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com An Ogle County official stepped down this week after more than two decades on the job. County engineer Curtis Cook announced his resignation, effective April 30, to the county board at its Tuesday evening meeting. Cook, 54, told the board that he has accepted a position as partner with engineering firm Chastain & Associates LLC and will do
consulting. The company has an office in Rockford. Cook has been in his present post for 24 years, starting as county engineer on Jan. 1, 1992. “While leaving Ogle County gives me a heavy heart, joining Chastain & Associates is an exciting opportunity,” Cook said. He said he and his wife Laura, who is chief deputy county clerk, plan to remain Oregon residents. Cook recounted how Laura agreed to move with their two
young children to Ogle County and Oregon, sight unseen, when he accepted the post. “We’ve never been sorry we came here,” he said. Cook recommended that the county board hire assistant county engineer Jeremy Ciesiel as his replacement. Ciesel has been in his current post for five years. Board chairman Kim Gouker called Cook a “mainstay” in the county and said he will be missed. The board is expected to accept
his resignation at its March 16 meeting. In another matter, the board appointed Jim Harrison to another four-year term as Ogle County Supervisor of Assessments. Harrison, 59, has served in that post for 28 years. He was first appointed in February of 1988. In other business, Gouker told the board that the lease for Rochelle Clinic has been extended for 60 days, allowing it to remain in the county’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) until
the end of May. He said clinic officials requested the extension because the facility’s new location is not yet completed in the addition being built onto Rochelle Community Hospital. The county purchased the building at 510 Lincoln Highway, Rochelle, in October from the hospital to use as its EOC. Previously, the county rented the basement of the building from the hospital.
Political climate, leadership are Kinzinger topics Congressman was speaker at Chamber lunch By Andy Colbert acolbert@oglecounty news.com Adam Kinzinger for President? That was the first question posed to the U.S. Congressman from the 16th district at an Oregon Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Tuesday. Addressing nearly 50 local community leaders at the Rock River Senior Center, Kinzinger spoke a wide range of subjects – from an exploitative political climate, America’s role as a world leader, his distaste for the actions of Donald Trump, a productive 2015 for Congress, and what true leadership entails. Captivating the audience with a passionate message and chiseled good looks of a 37-year-old, the decorated U.S. Air Force pilot and
6-year U.S. representative had the diverse crowd of Chamber members attentive to his every word. “That’s why I asked him if I planned to run for President. He’s is such a positive change from everyone else,” said Mark True, who was one of several people who queried Kinzinger afterwards. “My daughter is a liberal Democrat who would likely agree with most everything he said, which goes to show how unifying his message is,” Oregon City Council member Terry Schuster said. “It was about compromise, common understanding and the purpose of what the United States stands for.” Chamber President Debbie Dickson, who spent the past year trying to arrange a visit with Kinzinger’s office, was delighted with the ‘Lunchn-Learn’ event and the congressman’s message. “We need his type of compassion and honesty in government,” Dickson said. “With social media, there is so much false information and it does us
Charges filed in double fatality By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Donna Dietrich, 88, of Mt. Morris, chats with Congressman Adam Kinzinger during the Oregon Chamber of Commerce’s Lunch ‘n Learn on Tuesday at the Rock River Center. Photo by Earleen Hinton
a disservice. As a chamber, we find it’s important to provide as much factual and educational information as we can. Being able to hear
directly from the source is the main reason we brought him here.” Kinzinger’s visit to Oregon came after spending
the last three days in South Carolina, campaigning for Jeb Bush. “After being on the Turn to A2
The 17-year-old driver of one the vehicles involved in a fatal crash southeast of Stillman Valley last fall has been charged with four felonies. Following a months-long investigation of the Sept. 4 crash, Alison Seiler, a senior at Stillman Valley High School, has been charged with two counts of aggravated reckless driving and two counts of reckless homicide. Two people, Andy Conderman, 64, Amboy, and Emily Fleming, 17, Stillman Valley, died in the crash that occurred at the intersection of Ill. 251 and Big Mound Road in the late afternoon. A statement released by Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle Tuesday afternoon said the sheriff’s department, in cooperation with the Illinois State Police, has completed the investigation. “The Ogle County Sheriff and Ogle County State’s Turn to A2
Old dying larch tree cut from Ogle County Courthouse lawn By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A larch tree that has graced the Ogle County Courthouse lawn for more than a century came down this week. Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle, who oversees county properties, said a tree expert from the Oregon Park District determined that the tall conifer to the northeast of the courthouse was dying, likely due to dry weather conditions in recent years. “Over the last year and a half it has had substantial die back,” he said. “The tree expert said it was drought damage, and the tree would continue to die, probably about a third of it per year.” VanVickle said having the A tree cutter removed the branches Tuesday morning from a century-old larch tree on tree cut in the winter, while the ground is frozen, means the Ogle County Courthouse lawn. Photo by Vinde Wells
In This Week’s Edition...
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 College News. A4 Entertainment, A6
Fines, B4 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B3
less damage would be done to the lawn. Tree trimmers cut the branches and the top from the tree on Tuesday morning and were slated to return on Wednesday to remove the remaining trunk. The tree was one of
two larches planted on the courthouse lawn before the courthouse was built in 1891. Early photographs of the building show the two trees. VanVickle said the remaining larch tree appears to be thriving.
What is a larch tree? Larches are conifers that grow from 65 to 147 feet tall. They are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south. Although a conifer, the larch is a deciduous tree and loses its leaves in the autumn. The leaves are needle-like, one to two inches long, and slender. The needles turn yellow and fall in the late autumn, leaving the trees leafless through the winter. Larch cones are small, green or purple in color, ripening to brown.
Deaths, B4 Harlan Blake, Jean Blakeslee, Kathryn A. Giblin, Carol E. Hammer, Lynda G. Johnson, David W. O’Brien
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com