Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS April 2, 2015 Volume 48, Number 5 - $1.00
Extra Innings
Talent at Work
Earth Day
The Oregon Lady Hawks lost in extra innings Tuesday night to Byron. B1
An Adeline woman is raising awareness about Parkinson’s. A11
A recycling event will mark the 45th anniversary of Earth Day April 18. B3
Teaching positions eliminated at OHS By Vinde Wells Editor The elimination of five teaching positions at Oregon High School next year will not mean more lay-offs or fewer course offering for students. Superintendent Tom Mahoney said some members of the present teaching staff will be reassigned for the 2015-16 school year. Mahoney said Monday that the elimination of the teaching positions is not likely to result in a reduction in the course offerings available to high school students. “At this time we do not
Sixteen-year-old Connor Hopkins and 14-year-old Jake Bailey practice grappling techniques Saturday afternoon at a training camp before the MWA Wrestling meet at the Mt. Morris Coliseum. Photo by Chris Johnson
Local wresting fans step into ring By Chris Johnson Reporter Pro wrestling fans had the opportunity of a lifetime last Saturday when they stepped into the ring with realtime professional wrestlers. MWA Pro Wrestling wrestlers Brian Blade and Con Artiest, both stage names, held a training camp in Mt. Morris before a wrestling show, which was also a fundraiser for Wounded Warriors and the Let Freedom Ring. Festival. Before they could set foot
in the ring, participating fans were given instructions on how wrestling works along with exercises for pre-event activity. First, they had to carry in parts of the ring to help Con Artiest set up the ring. Brian Blade then made the willing would-be wrestlers do squats, sprints, pushups, and sit-ups all as a warm up. He then talked about the reality of the pro wrestling business. “You have the WWE or not much,” he said. “Get your education and go to
college. Have something to fall back on. Your odds are that you may not make it to the WWE. I had a chance at a developmental deal and turned it down. Financially it did not make sense.” He said many independent circuits pay wrestlers only on a per match basis which only results in a couple of hundred dollars for the night. “You start off at this level. Mantaur started here,” said Brian Blade. “Jeff Hardy started at shows like this. This is the grass roots.” Mantaur is a former WWE
believe it will affect any classes,” he said. The five teaching positions include the OHS librarian as well as English, mathematics, science, and physical education teachers, Mahoney said. Currently, the high school has four English teachers, four science teachers, five math teachers, and three PE teachers. Next year will see one less in each of those departments. The posts were eliminated due to the twin woes of declining enrollment and decreasing revenue, the same reasons why the school board honorably dismissed three Turn to A2
Five run for village board on April 7 By Vinde Wells Editor
Voters in Mt. Morris will have five candidates for village board to choose from when they go to the polls next week to cast ballots in the consolidated election. Two newcomers and three incumbents are competing April 7 for three seats on the village board. Newcomers Jeff Pennington and Shane Pope are challenging incumbents Philip Labash, Jan Hough, and Mary Francis for fouryear terms. Labash was appointed to Turn to B2 an unexpired term last year, and also serves on the Mt.
wrestler. He said the small independent shows are where wrestlers learn the craft and develop a following. “If you can not get these people to like you, you can’t get 16,000 people to like you,” said Brian Blade. “It is not about the moves. If the fans do not care, then it doesn’t matter. It is what you do to make them out there care about you. The main thing is the people. They matter.”
Morris Public Library Board. Hough is completing her first term on the board; she was elected in 2011. Francis is completing her second term on the board, and also served on the Mt. Morris School Board from 1985 to 1993, when the district merged with Oregon. In another race, two candidates, Bruce McKanna and Denise Welsh, are running unopposed for two six-year terms on the Mt. Morris Public Library Board. A three-way race for mayor awaits Oregon voters when they go to the polls. Current mayor Thomas Turn to A2
“Buying” crowd turns out for 65th antique show By Vinde Wells Editor After a drive from his home in St. Charles, Dennis Lee was having a great time Saturday afternoon at the 65th annual Antique Show put on by the Oregon Woman’s Club. “It’s a great show,” he said. “My mother started taking me to antique shows when I was 12. I like looking at old stuff.” It was Lee’s first time at the two-day event, held in the Blackhawk Center, Oregon. A crisp clear day on Saturday brought lots of people to the show, but Sunday’s cold, wet weather may have discouraged a few from attending. Although the final numbers were not yet tallied, show manager Ron Bry said Monday that attendance for the two days was at least average. However, he acknowledged that the number attending fell short of last year’s record crowd of 1,970. “Saturday was gangbusters,” he said. “We had 1,275, but attendance was down Sunday. With the
sleet in the morning, some people may have decided not to venture out.” Customers seemed to enjoy the show, and the vendors left happy, Bry said. “Everything went really well. People were staying longer to look around. It was a buying crowd. I think everybody was quite happy,” he said. A new vendor who came all the way from Ft. Worth, Texas, assured Bry that he will be back. Vendors Bob and Marsha Hudson, Lapel, Ind., said Saturday that business had been brisk. “It’s a nice crowd and people seem to be buying,” Bob said. “We’ve had a good day,” said Marsha. Across the auditorium, Renae Rebechini, from the Lost Lake area near Dixon, was wrapping up a purchase at the booth of veteran vendors Mark and Kristine Hutson, Harvard. Rebechini said she attends the show every year. “I love it, and this is one of my favorite booths,” she said.
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“I’m a gardener, and they have the best garden stuff.” Mark smiled at her enthusiasm. “It’s nice to see return customers,” he said. “It’s been fantastic.” Carol Becker, St. Louis, Mo., was a first-timer at the show. She timed a visit with her sister Marge Wilhelm, Oregon, so that they could take in the antique show. “It’s wonderful,” she said as she gently opened a small metal box on display at a booth. “She came to visit me just so she could come to this,” Wilhelm said with a grin. An antique bracelet at Jeanine Thomas’ booth, drew the attention of Linda Wszolek, Peotone. “I’ve come here for five or six years,” Wszolek said as she tried on the bracelet. “I love it; there’s lots of different dealers.” The variety of items dealers offer is one of the draws, said Bry, who has managed the show for 10 years. “We keep it eclectic with a variety of genres and price ranges,” he said. Next year’s show will be
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B6
Show manager Ron Bry, right, visits with vendors Bob and Marsha Hudson, Lapel,Ind. March 28 at the Oregon Woman’s Club’s 65th annual Antique Show. Photo by Vinde Wells
a week later than usual, Bry said, because Easter falls on the last Sunday in March. Consequently, the show will move from the last weekend in March to the first weekend in April. “Next year’s dates will be April 2 and 3,” Bry said. The Chana United
Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B6 Weather, A2
Methodist Church provided the food for the event. The Oregon Woman’s Club, a member of the General Federation of Woman’s Clubs and a nonprofit organization, sponsors the show as its major fundraising event and uses the proceeds to help fund various
community projects and charities. The club sponsors two scholarships for graduating seniors, donates funds and food to the local food pantry, helps the VFW with holiday food baskets, and sends a student to leadership camp each summer.
Deaths, B5 Richard S. Clark, Curtis W. Miller, Nancy Peltz, Larry E. Schier, Mary E. Suneson, Shirley J. Turner
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