Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS April 24, 2014 Volume 47, Number 8 - $1.00
Home & Garden
Second Place The Lady Hawks track team finished second at the Landers-Loomis Relays. B1
New Jobs
Monarch butterflies need some green thumbs to flourish. A8-A9
Woods Equipment plans to add more jobs to their factory near Oregon. A2
Village board will set high usage sewage rate By Chris Johnson Reporter The Mt. Morris Village Board will create a new high usage sewage rate after discussions were held about Mt. Morris Estates. The owner of the trailer park, Ken Hauck, had asked the board in March if the property could be annexed in if a lower sewer rate could not be negotiated. Trustee Don Sorensen asked the board Tuesday night to approve a 130 percent high usage sewage rate. This rate is 130 percent of what a village resident would pay for sewer service. “We do not need to annex the property, but create a high usage rate,� Sorensen said. The rate would apply to users outside the city limits, using 40,000 cubic feet per billing cycle. The wording of the ordinance would be for any property outside the village
Easter Hunt Above, Madison and Kaelin Shaffer, six-year-old twins, examine the prizes they won at the Mt. Morris Easter Egg Hunt April 19. At right, Three-yearold Peyton Hough decided her Easter basket makes a good hat at Dillehay Park. Photos by Chris Johnson
Construction begins on highway dept. building The foundation has been poured on the new equipment building at the Ogle County Highway Department. When completed, the 90foot by 150-foot building will have a concrete foundation and steel frame and will be located at the highway department headquarters at 1989 Ill. 2 South, Oregon. County Engineer Curtis Cook said the highway department’s new building will be used to store heavy equipment, some of which currently sits outside. “When you don’t have shelter for equipment it does not last as long,� he said. “This building will allow us to store everything inside and
could still consider annexing Mt. Morris Estates to lower their rates to the standard village fee. A flow meter was installed by the village last year to measure the sewer usage from Mt. Morris Estates. A decades-old agreement between the village and the trailer park had expired, and the two sides were in negotiations on a new rate. In other business the board voted to allow parking on the west side of North Wesley Avenue, between Hitt Street and Sunset Lane. The street was a no parking area to allow traffic to and from the former printing plant on Sunset. With the plant closed no need exists to prohibit parking. Village attorney Eric Morrow told the board they could change the ordinance in the future to a no parking zone if another business opens the facility.
Pit bulls attack jogger By Vinde Wells Editor
By Chris Johnson Reporter
limits, not just Mt. Morris Estates. Originally, the rates for Mt. Morris Estates would have risen to 200 percent which would have been approximately $140 per month for the each of the 107 units (trailers) in the complex that are hooked up to village wastewater. Onsite wells provide fresh water to these units. Hauck had asked for a 125 percent surcharge. “They wanted 125 percent,� said Sorensen. “It is a little bit more.� The board unanimously voted to change the village ordinance. Trustee David Hoffman was absent. The old rate at Mt. Morris Estates was $80 per month per unit. The new rate would be under $100 per month. Mt. Morris Estates is home to 300 people. Sixty units are using septic systems. In the future the board
make the equipment last.� The existing storage building was completed in 1967 and is a tight fit for equipment. The road graders will be moved to the new building when the project is completed. “The old building was built for smaller trucks,� said Cook. “The road graders can barely get in.� Having the new space will make it easier to park the equipment and allow for better access to all the equipment, he said. The dump trucks will remain in the original building. Cook said plans call for the building to be completed by July 1, and after that parking areas will be redone to ensure
that water drains away from the buildings. “The parking lot is a mess with all the cuts in it,� said Cook. “I am looking forward to getting the project completed.� The money to pay for the building will come from the Long Range Planning Fund. Revenues in that fund come from the host fees paid by garbage collection firms to dump refuse in the landfills within the county. The fees bring approximately $3 million per year in the county’s coffers. According to the budget, the Long Range Planning Fund, which is earmarked for major capital projects, was projected to start the new fiscal year with a balance of $13 million.
A rural Ashton woman was severely injured early Monday morning after two pit bulls attacked her while she was jogging near her home. Aneda Ebert, 63, 3413 Dugdale Rd., was jogging past a neighbor’s residence on Dugdale Road in southern Ogle County when two pit bulls ran out of the yard and attacked her. “She was severely injured while she was jogging,�
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“It’s a good thing her husband was right there or it might have been a fatality,� Champley said. The dogs were impounded by Animal Control, he said, and the owner agreed that they should be euthanized. That has already been done. Champley said no previous problems have been reported to Animal Control with the two dogs involved in the incident. Ogle County Sheriff’s Police are continuing to investigate.
County board disagrees over ZBA appointment Former board member replaces ZBA member By Vinde Wells Editor
An appointment to the Ogle County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) proved controversial April 15. County board member Bruce McKinney, Rochelle, objected to a motion to appoint former county board member Dennis Williams, Byron, to the ZBA. Instead he said he favored the reappointment of current ZBA member Randall Anderson, Chana, who had also applied for the seat. McKinney said Anderson has been a dedicated ZBA Three cement trucks line up April 11 to pour concrete into the forms for the new equipment member and should be reappointed. storage building at the Ogle County Highway Department. Photo by Curtis Cook
Byron Police, B5 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Dr. Tom Champley, Ogle County Animal Control Administrator, said. “She had severe injuries to her neck, shoulder, and leg.� Ebert was taken by ambulance to KSB Hospital, Dixon, where she has undergone surgery and more is scheduled. Ebert’s husband Larry was riding a bike and was some distance behind her when the attack occurred. He saw the dogs attacking as he approached their home and came to his wife’s assistance.
Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Mt. Morris Police, A3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B2
He said he believes Anderson was not recommended for another term because he did not vote in opposition to wind farms. Recommendations for appointments to the ZBA are made by the State’s Attorney’s Committee. Board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron, said Anderson’s voting record on wind farms was not mentioned during the committee’s discussion of the appointment. Instead he said, the issue was their stands on the county’s Comprehensive Plan. “There was a distinct difference between the two candidates,� he said. Neither candidate attended the county board meeting. Board member Lyle Hopkins said he favors Anderson because he is a
Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1 State’s Attorney, B5 Weather, A3
farmer, and Williams is not. Board member Ashley Simms, Rochelle, disagreed that a farmer is a better choice for the ZBA. Board member Pat Saunders, Polo, said farmers have more at stake in the zoning rules set by the county. Persons who live in a city or village, she said, are governed by the zoning ordinances within that municipality, rather than the county’s. “Yes, but we all pay taxes,� replied Simms. County board member Lee Meyers, Byron, said Williams lives in a rural subdivision. McKinney’s motion to replace Williams with Anderson as the appointee was defeated 9-13, and a subsequent motion to appoint Williams was approved 139.
Deaths, B3 Joan I. Brinker, Florence A. Hieronimus, Curtis C. Krueger, Dorothy L. Lubbs, Viola M. Sheriff
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