Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS March 27, 2014 Volume 47, Number 4 - $1.00
Season Previews
Visions
What’s Cookin’
Oregon High School softball and baseball teams are looking forward to successful seasons. B1
Area businesses and government agencies continue to grow. C1-C20
Twenty-four teams are ready to show off their skills in the kitchen at a new fundraiser. A8
Mt. Morris Estates owner requests annexation By Chris Johnson Reporter The owner of the Mt. Morris Estates asked Tuesday to be annexed into the village if their sewer rates are not reduced. Ken Hauck runs the mobile home park just east of the village limits. “You have a higher rate outside the village limits and this makes sense,� he said. “We would like to talk about being annexed into
the village. We would be agreeable to this.� Currently 107 units in the complex are hooked up to village wastewater. Onsite wells provide fresh water to these units. Hauck said the old rate for sewer hookup is approximately $80 per unit per month and under the proposed rates the cost would increase to $140 per month. He said a surcharge of 25 percent over what village residents would be a fair
price for using the wastewater service. “I am finding out what we can do. There is always an option,� said Hauck. He said the high sewer rates could make the Mt. Morris Estates obsolete due to pricing residents out of the community. “How many are on septics?� asked trustee Don Sorensen. Currently 60 units are using septic systems and there are 25 empty lots.
“We need to get together and talk,� said Sorensen. One point of discussion will be the costs to upgrade the lift station on that side of the village. “It needs to be upgraded,� he said. Village engineer Corey Buck said a 2010 estimate to fix the lift station and main was $700,000. Hauck said the 300 people in his community are part of Mt. Morris even though they are not village residents.
Morris Historical Museum. Fountain plans will be shared with the community as they progress. A hole was bored for a water line in 2013 from the Community Gymnasium to the Campus Band Shell. Water will now be available as needed for the July 4th and other campus food service events. Another hole will be bored later to supply water and electricity from the band shell area to the fountain. In addition, the Class of 1967 donated a 19th century style park bench for the campus. It was placed in a shaded area near the fountain. The fountain was filled with green plants, marigolds and other flowers by local gardeners this past summer. The Nymph is the fourth statue for the proposed Mt. Morris ‘Tour of Bronze’. Adams sculpted and cast the “Spirit of Compassion� at Pinecrest Grove. Seagraves sculpted the “Mounder�, cast by Adams in 2009. It stands in Mounder Park next to the village hall. The third statue is the mountain lion in front of
have two or three months of information. We will discuss that. There are options but the board needs to discuss it. We will be getting back to you.� In other business the board approved a $600,000 proposal to Sullivan’s Foods. This offer is to pay Sullivan’s $50,000 per year for 12 years. “This is a proposal only,� said trustee Mary Francis. “It needs to be approved by Sullivan’s and details need to be worked out.�
Rockford man arrested after March 22 fight
Sculpture cast for historic fountain Members of the Mt. Morris Work Group, Tourism Committee, and friends watched the casting of sculptor David Seagrave’s “Nymph� statue on March 21 at the inBronze Foundry. The statue was cast by Jeff Adams, sculptor and owner of the inBronze Studio and Foundry, Mt. Morris. The statue will adorn the top of the century old Price Fountain on the southeast corner of the Mt. Morris Campus. The fountain was donated to the “Mt. Morris Village Park� by Dr. A.W. Price, a local veterinarian. The statue component of the fountain has been missing for years. Several old pictures indicate it was either a nymph or cupid-like figure. Jeff Adams and the Work Group will further assess the fountain base. The old cement structure is cracked and fragmented. One option is to take a mold of the base and cast it in bronze. The weather and time worn original base can then be safely stored in the Mt.
“They are part of Mt. Morris,� said trustee Jon Murray. “It is too bad there is not a bike path to town.� The village and Hauck have been negotiating a new contract for wastewater service after the village installed a meter to measure the flow. This meter allowed village officials to have numbers to use while negotiating. “We understand what you are going through,� said trustee Tim Harvey. “We now
By Vinde Wells Editor
Workers at the inBronze Foundry pour molten bronze into a mold to cast David Seagrave’s “Nymph� statue. Photo by Vinde Wells
Adams’ studio and foundry. Adams will create several Nymph statues, which will be available for purchase when completed. Proceeds of the sales will go to the Campus Fountain Fund that will be used to rebuild the fountain. In addition, money can
be donated for the Campus Fountain Fund at the village hall, or mail a check to the Village Clerk at the Mt. Morris Village Hall, 105 W. Lincoln St., Mt. Morris IL 61054. Memorials to the fountain are also welcome. For more information call Sally Gray at 815-734-4997.
A Rockford man has been arrested in connection with a shooting in rural Ogle County over the weekend. Deputy Chief Dave Hopkins of the Rockford Police Department said Brandon McMahon, 20, has been charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm. Hopkins said McMahon, a parolee, is currently in the Winnebago County Jail on a hold for the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). McMahon was taken into custody in Rockford by Rockford police after the shooting, which occurred in the wee hours of March 22 at a residence on North Hoisington Road, northwest of Byron. Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn did not answer his phone or return numerous phone calls seeking information about the incident. According to a Rockford TV station, Harn said the
Brandon McMahon
shooting occurred around 12:30 a.m. after two people got into a fight during a party. The victim, whose name was not released, was shot in the shoulder and was in serious condition, the TV report said. According to IDOC records, McMahon was paroled in July of 2013. He was sentenced to three years in the IDOC in 2010 after being convicted on several charges, including armed robbery (no firearm) and possession of a firearm by a gang member. All the offenses occurred in Winnebago County.
Four injured in head-on crash with school bus By Vinde Wells Editor Two school children and two drivers were transported to area hospitals March 21 after a Forrestville Valley school bus collided headon with a pick-up truck northeast of Leaf River. Bus driver Marsha Birkholz, 64, Forreston, was stopped in the southbound lane to let a rider off at 11461 N. Pecatonica Rd. when the northbound pickup truck struck the front of the bus. According to a Rockford TV station, the truck was driven by Timothy Hilton, 28, Pecatonica, who was in serious condition. Two students, an 11-yearold and a 14-year-old, suffered minor injuries in the crash and were taken to the hospital.
Ogle County Sheriff’s Police at the scene said six children were on the bus when the crash occurred just after 3 p.m. School had dismissed early that day for spring break. The other four students on the bus were released to their parents. The Leaf River, Mt. Morris, Byron, Pecatonica, and Winnebago Fire Departments assisted at the scene. Sheriff Michael Harn did not return numerous phone calls seeking further information about the crash. A spokesperson at the sheriff’s department said Tuesday that no one was available to provide information or a crash report. A Forrestville Valley school bus and a pick-up truck collided Friday afternoon in the 11,000 block of Pecatonica According to the TV Road, northeast of Leaf River. The driver of the truck and the driver of the school bus along with two children who station, the crash remains were riding in the bus were transported by ambulance to area hospitals. Photo by Vinde Wells under investigation.
In This Week’s Edition...
Agriculture, A7 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6
Library News, A2 Mt. Morris Police, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B6
Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 Weather, A2
Deaths, B3 Carl E. Cline, Alice C. Hamilton, Clarice H. Himert, Paula K. Mason, Howard E. Mantsch, Thomas A. Myers, Helen M. Ports
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