Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS March 10, 2016 Volume 49, Number 2- $1.00
Primary Election
Farm Focus
Spring Ahead
Find out who’s running for what in March 15 primary election and why. A7, A8 & A9
A farm family rebuilds after the April 9 tornado. Special Section
Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday. Turn your clocks one hour ahead.
Resident asks board to delay vote on zoning By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Deb Proctor, Sterling, directs her dog Joey, a cock-a-poo, through the agility course at Granny Rose Animal Shelter’s new K-9 Enrichment Center. Photo by Earleen Hinton
New K-9 enrichment center will offer a wide variety of training Open house is this Saturday from 2-4 p.m. By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Old and young dogs and their “people” can learn some new tricks at a brand new training facility in Dixon. The Granny Rose K-9 Enrichment Center will host an open house this Saturday, March 12 from 2 Mark Knie, president of the board of directors of the Granny Rose Animal Shelter, to 4 p.m. to give the public points to some of the agility equipment in a storage area of the new K-9 Enrichment a good look at what it has Center. The facility will host an open house on March 12. Photo by Earleen Hinton to offer. someone adopts a dog from The new facility is next well as ample space and begin April 1. amenities to host related Knie said the idea for a the shelter we can offer to the Granny Rose Animal events. training facility started out them classes.” Shelter at 613 River Lane, “It’s not just training,” with obedience training but Dogs of all breeds — just off Ill. 2 on the west said Granny Rose President quickly grew into much mixed or otherwise, sizes, side of town. Mark Knie. “It’s about more. and ages will be welcomed The $1 million 13,500 enriching the relationship “The reason most dogs with their owners to come square foot center will offer between the owner and the end up in the shelter is and learn. the full range of classes for obedience issues,” he said. The center will offer dogs and their owners, as dog.” Turn to A9 Classes are slated to “The whole idea is when
More than a dozen residents of Katie’s Way attended Tuesday’s Mt. Morris Village Board meeting to show their opposition to a request to allow row crops to be planted on adjacent land. Stan Ballard, spokesman for the Kable Condominium Association which is located at Katie’s Way, asked the board to delay making a decision until all the facts can be reviewed. “I believe if you have all the information, you will deny the request,” he said. The issue came up Jan. 12 when Dan Luepkes asked the board to allow him to farm the 12-plus acres he owns west of the bowling alley. The land, which wraps around the bowling alley and is adjacent to both Mud Creek and Leaf River Roads, was annexed into the village in 1981 when it was zoned R-2 (residential use) to allow single and multi-family homes to be built there. However, the land has remained vacant. On the advice of its attorney, the board approved a conditional use Feb. 9 to allow row crops to be planted on residential parcels of 10 acres or more for a period of five years. Before taking effect, the conditional use must be considered by the Planning Commission as a text amendment to the village zoning code. The Planning Commission, in turn, will make a recommendation to the village board, which makes the final decision. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the text amendment change on April 4.
“We do not want the ordinance changed,” Ballard said. “When it was started the intent was to build houses. We think the R-2 zoning should stand as it is.” Residents on Katie’s Way don’t want corn growing just outside their doors, he said. “The property line is only 20 feet from the back door,” Ballard said. “Katie’s Way will have corn growing on both sides of it.” Residents are also concerned about their property values. “Our 800 foot street has an EAV (equalized assessed valuation) of about $2 million,” he said. “We don’t want that to change.” Ballard believes allowing farm crops is contrary to what the village has been doing to promote growth. “A lot of money has been spent on infrastructure out there. All the sewer and water mains are in for residential growth,” he said. “This is taking us backwards.” Ballard said owners before Luepkes have made the same request, and the village board has always turned them down. “If they allow this it sets the village up for litigation,” he said. Ballard filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request last Friday for all documents relating to the property from 1981 to the present. He has not yet received them but said he understands it will take some time. Ballard hopes the board will give him at least 30 days to go over all the information before they vote on the matter. The vote could come as early as April 12, but village president Dan Elsasser agreed it could be postponed until April 26 if necessary.
OHS students create PSA about dating violence By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com
Two teams of Oregon High School students were recognized for their efforts to highlight healthy relationships. Illinois State Comptroller Leslie Munger was at the school March 3 to honor 15 students who participated in the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV) “NO MORE Teen Dating Abuse Video Challenge.” “I spent a lot of years making television commercials for the brands I represented,” said Munger. “The communication quality of these videos are outstanding, and I commend you all for the work you did.”
Munger worked for Proctor and Gamble before becoming the state comptroller. “The manager had a quote on his desk — ‘It if is to be, it is up to me,’” she said. “This leads to successful leadership. Leave your unique thumbprint on everything you do to make things better. I taught this message to my children.” The ICADV competition required students to create 60-second PSAs. The winning video was two synced-up scenes from a high school courting scenario. On the left, the young man, played by Paul Reckamp, is rejected by a girl played by Rosie Sarantakos. Put off by her interactions with other guys and her
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objection to his physical advances, he eventually resorts to violence. The sequence on the right is the dream version of the nightmare that plays out to the left. All is well. They laugh together. He puts his arm around her as they stroll. It’s a glaring, riveting difference, despite the scenes’ similarities otherwise. Midway through the PSA, an equally arresting fact appears on the screen: Girls and young women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest rate of intimate violence. Reckamp, Sarantakos, Alex Sitze, Nick McCourt, Gylian Finch, and Kyla Suter teamed up to write, star in and produce the video. Turn to A10
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 College and Service, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
Members of the first place video team have their photo taken with Illinois State Comptroller Leslie Munger. Pictured from left to right are, Alex Sitze, Rosie Sarantakos, Will Coots, Munger, Kyla Suter, Nick McCourt, Gylian Finch Paul Reckamp was not present for the photo. Photo by Chris Johnson
Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, A9 Public Voice, A10 Property Transfers, B5
Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, A12, B1 State’s Attorney, B4 Zoning, B5
Deaths, B6 Esther G. Hagemann, Eugene A. Stukenberg, Joanne G. Styles
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