Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS March 19, 2015 Volume 48, Number 3 - $1.00
State Finals
Pro Wrestling
Great Season
The Forreston Cardinals finished in fourth at the State Basketball Tournament. B1, B2
MWA Wrestling will put on a show in Mt. Morris March 28. A6
The OHS Academic Bowl team ends up third in the conference and in top 16 in the state. A10
School board RIFs three teachers for 2015-16 By Vinde Wells Editor Decreasing revenues and declining enrollment led the Oregon School Board to honorably dismiss three teachers Monday night. Through reduction in force (RIF), the board dismissed Laurie Hundertmark, grade school keyboarding instructor; Lisa Heal, sixth grade teacher; and Megan Adams, high school English teacher. “These staff reductions are a direct result of declining
enrollment, declining funding from our local tax base, and from decreased general state aid,” said Superintendent Tom Mahoney. No other staff reductions are anticipated this year, he said. Due to the declining enrollment at the high school, Mahoney said the district will eliminate five positions there for the 2015-16 school year. He declined to say what positions would go because the staff has not yet been notified. The information will be released in a couple
of weeks, he said. Two positions currently held by teachers who are retiring at the end of this school year will be filled through reassignment of the present teaching staff, Mahoney said. Those retiring are elementary school physical education teacher Diane Lillie, junior high science teacher Lilly Welp, and junior high PE teacher Jeff Jahn. Mahoney provided the board with charts showing the decline in high school
enrollment and the financial picture. The number of high school students has steadily decreased from 577 in 200809 to 452 this year. Next year’s projected OHS enrollment is 434. The district’s overall enrollment has also declined. Mahoney told the board that the district’s equalized assessed value (EAV) has decreased from $208 million in 2011-12 to $186 million for the current school year. Projections show an EAV of just $180 million for 2015-
16. That means the district’s property tax revenue has also declined from $6.3 million in 2011-12 to $5.6 million this year, and a projected $5.5 million next year. During the same time frame, General State Aid revenue has gone from $2.9 million to $2.2 million, with no projection yet available for next year. Mahoney said last week that Ill. Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposal to allocate $300 million in new money for education in next year’s state
budget may not be as good as it sounds. “What he left out is that he zeroed out several line items [for education],” he said. He predicted a lot of “political wrangling” will take place before the budget is set, leaving schools and other government bodies with unanswered questions about revenues as they try to plan for the future. Mahoney was one of several area school officials who went to Springfield last week to voice their concerns to state legislators.
County property may still have underground tanks By Vinde Wells Editor A piece of property the Ogle County Board purchased less than two years ago could end up costing thousands of dollars more. Architect Guy Gehlhausen told the board Tuesday evening that the property at 501 W. Washington St., Oregon, may still have underground storage tanks and contaminated soil. He recommended that the county hire an environmental engineer to determine what needs to be done to be sure Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and other standards are being met. “You own a piece of property that is potentially non-compliant,” Gehlhausen said. “If it were mine I’d bring it into compliance.” The Long Range Planning Committee had asked Gehlhausen to come up with a plan and the cost to demolish the former building restaurant building on the site and to turn it into a parking lot. “It’s never quite as simple as knocking the building down and paving it over,” Gehlhausen said. The county purchased the property at the corner of Washington (Ill. 64) and Fifth Streets for $150,000 in June of 2013 from John Spoor. Jackass BBQ was most recently located there, but several decades ago a gas station was at the spot. The underground tanks, if they still exist on the site, have never been registered, Gehlhausen said, which is required by the Illinois State Fire Marshall’s Office. “The previous owner should have done that before transferring the title,” he said. “Your hands are tied as far as construction or demolition.”
English Tea Above, Sally Gray, Mt. Morris, pours tea for Betty Obendorf, Polo, March 15 at the Mt. Morris Public Library’s Very English Tea at Disciples United Methodist Church. At right, Mary Jane Warkins pours herself a cup. Obendorf, the guest speaker for the event, talked about the history of greeting cards. Photos by Vinde Wells
Gehlhausen said an inspection needs to be done to determine if the tanks are still there, and samples should be taken to see if the soil is contaminated. Soil borings were done several years ago, he said, but the results were not conclusive because the property owner at the time would not allow the samples to be taken on the site. Consequently, the borings were done near the property line on an adjacent parcel. Some petroleum residue was found in one of those borings, but it was not a large amount, Gehlhausen said. The five vent pipes on the outside of the building indicate that as many as five tanks could be there, he said. Funding may be available to help with the cost but only if certain guidelines and timelines are met, he said. “We bought that property in good faith,” said board member Lee Meyer, Byron. He questioned if Spoor had disclosed details about the tanks prior to the purchase. He asked state’s attorney Eric Morrow to look into the details of the sale. Gehlhausen presented the board with estimates of what it would cost to demolish the building and pave the property for parking. If no tank issues exist, he said project will cost an estimated $186,153. If the building contains asbestos, removing it would cost another $10,000 to $15,000, he said. Tank removal would add $5,000 per tank, and removal and replacement of contaminated soil would cost an additional $250 per cubic yard.
Small but enthusiastic crowd attends toy show By Vinde Wells Editor The sky was blue and the temperature was in the 60s March 14, but the crowd was a little sparse at the 27th Forreston FFA Alumni Farm Toy Show and Craft Fair. “It’s a drought year, kind of like in farming,” joked ticket taker Harvey Bolen, a German Valley farmer.
Richard Gann, Leaf River, who was working the front table with Bolen, agreed the attendance was down some but said there were good reasons. “It’s been a fair turnout with the circumstances,” he said. “The Forreston boys are downstate, and the Sublette toy show is today, too. It just happened to fall that way this year.” Gann was right. In fact,
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
everywhere you looked the Village of Forreston looked a bit deserted. The only action in town seemed to be at the junior and senior high school where the show was being held. Many residents — all loyal basketball fans — had followed the boys team to Carver Arena in Peoria to watch them play in the state finals. Show chairman Rick Garnhart,
Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5
German Valley, said the turnout was about half of what it usually is. “We had about 500 come through the gate, and normally we get 1,000,” he said. “We had a couple of strikes against us but we’ll be back bigger and better next year.” At the show, vendors and shoppers were enthusiastic. Caitlin Miller and Anthony Castle, both of Forreston, held the wooden treasures they had already
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B7 Weather, A3
bought at the craft fair as they signed up for silent auction items in the cafeteria. Castle had purchased a decorative shelf for his mother’s birthday. “We found it at Rex Printz’s booth,” Miller explained. “It’s one of a kind.” The craft fair was set up in the junior high gym, and the toy show Turn to A3
Deaths, B6 Henry H. Brechters, Frederick LaBudde, John L. Reinke, Andrew J. Ruiz, Fay M. Turner, Marie R. Wright
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com