Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS June 12, 2014 Volume 47, Number 15 - $1.00
Touch-A-Truck Children of all ages will be able to see trucks of all sizes during the annual Touch-A-Truck. A9
At the Band Shell
Memorial Walk Registration is now open for the 12th Annual Lois Nelson Memorial Walk on July 4. A7
Destination Unknown will perform June 13 and the Kable Concert Band is featured June 18.
Board proceeds with TIF district By Vinde Wells Editor Approximately two dozen people turned out Tuesday night to attend a public meeting about a proposed second tax increment financing (TIF) district being considered by the Mt. Morris Village Board. Greg Crowe from MSA Professional Services, Champaign, told the crowd that the public meeting was required because 74 houses lie within the proposed TIF district. He said the 15 block area meets TIF requirements as a blighted and conservation area. The proposed new TIF district would include an area along Ill. 64 from Sullivan’s Foods to Seminary Avenue, then south three blocks to Center Street, then east two blocks to McKendrie Avenue and north two blocks to Main Street. The proposed TIF also includes the area between Ill. 64 and the railroad tracks to McKendrie Avenue and then
north to include Witmer’s elevators. It adjoins the village’s first TIF district, which was established approximately 10 years ago, and so far has brought in little income or development. “The village is looking to spur redevelopment in those areas,� Crowe said. Mt. Morris resident Bruce Obendorf, who is a member of the Oregon School Board and said he was representing Kable News, asked how the TIF would affect tax bills. Crowe said the amount of the taxes paid will not change. He said the base equalized assessed value (EAV) for properties will be set this year if the TIF district is approved. That amount is “frozen� for the duration of the TIF, usually 23 years. Taxing bodies then draw taxes from that frozen EAV, not from any increase in the EAV over the time period of the TIF. Taxpayers in the TIF, Turn to A3
Mt. Morris Fire Chief Rob Hough and Lt. Mark Lewis survey the scene Tuesday morning after a car driven by Zada Hitchcock, 84, Mt. Morris, struck the front of Sullivan’s Foods. Photo by Vinde Wells
Crash injures pedestrian at Sullivan’s
A pedestrian suffered minor injuries Tuesday morning when she was struck by debris after a car plowed into the front of Sullivan’s Foods on Ill. 64 in Mt. Morris. Mt. Morris Police Chief examining the damage to the Jason White said Sheila Jones, statue and performing tests. Engineers used high-tech scanners which allowed them to see inside the concrete to assess its condition and to By Vinde Wells determine the amount and Editor location of steel reinforcing. The locations of the steel Deputies were unable to were then marked on tape find any sign of a black bear placed on the statue’s hollow reported roaming in western interior. Ogle County Monday Another crew scanned the evening. statue with rotating lasers to After a woman called 911 create an exact 3-D model of to report seeing a “goodthe statue. sized� bear shortly after 8 The testing, which also included ground-penetrating radar work and ultrasonic tomography, was finished By Vinde Wells Oct. 11. Editor The experts returned in April to take more samples. No cause had yet been What they discovered was determined Tuesday for a not good, Rausa said. Directly below the folded fire June 8 that destroyed the arms of the statue, the home and possessions of a external finishing coat of Leaf River family. Leaf River Assistant Fire concrete — its outer surface Chief Josh Lamping said — has separated two inches the Office of the State Fire from the inner surface. Marshal is assisting with In fact, it was too fragile to do some of the planned tests, the fire investigation at the home of Steve and Jennifer Rausa said. “The damage that has Beltran, 9458 N. Leaf River taken place in the past year is Rd., approximately two miles north of Leaf River. extensive,� he said. He said the couple and The cold and snow last their four children were winter took an additional toll. not at home when the fire The experts saw significant changes in the statue’s started. The family had gone condition just from October to a parade in nearby German Valley. until April, he said. Almost 100 firefighters Created by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1911 as a tribute to all from at least 11 area Native Americans and listed departments battled the fire, on the National Register of which was reported by a Historic Places, the statue is passing motorist at 1:50 p.m. “The house was completely situated on a 125-foot bluff. engulfed in flames when we Turn to A2
Damage needs to be fixed on statue By Vinde Wells Editor Repairs for Ogle County’s best-loved statue can’t begin soon enough. Frank Rausa, Sterling, who is heading up the effort to repair the 103-year-old world renowned icon, said Tuesday that testing last fall and this spring shows that the Black Hawk statue is in worse shape than was originally feared. “With all the testing that we did we found the damage is a lot worse than we thought,� he said. “We are hopeful that we will get started [with repair work] this summer.� Orange fence went up early this week around the base of the concrete statue that overlooks the Rock River at Lowden State Park. The fence, Rausa said, is there partly to protect visitors in case pieces of the statue fall off. He said he is in the process of scheduling a press conference soon to outline the extent of the damage and the plan for repairing and restoring the statue. Over the years due to time and weather conditions, the statue has developed cracks, and large pieces of its concrete surface have dislodged. The folded arms of the 50-foot monolith have been especially affected. Large chunks have fallen out of the elbow of the right arm and from underneath the left arm. A team of experts spent nearly a week in October
63, Mt. Morris, was reading items on the bulletin board in the grocery store’s foyer just outside entrance shortly after 9 a.m. when a car driven by Zada Hitchcock, 84, Mt. Morris, struck the foyer wall. Debris from the damaged
wall struck Jones in the leg and she was transported by Mt. Morris ambulance to KSB Hospital, Dixon. White said Hitchcock told him she thought she passed out just as she was driving into a handicapped parking spot in
front of the store. He said the car traveled through the foyer wall and into the front doors where it came to rest. Hitchcock was not injured. The accident remains under investigation.
Police: no sign of black bear near camp p.m., Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn said he and deputies patrolled the area but could not confirm the sighting. “We checked the area and found nothing,� Harn said. “I’m not 100 percent sure it really was [a bear]. We haven’t had any other sightings.�
He said the woman said she first saw the bear on the side of Ill. 64 west of Mt. Vernon Road, and then it ran into a nearby field. In recent months a black bear has been sighted in JoDaviess and Stephenson Counties. More recently one has been photographed in backyards in the Rockton
area. Harn said a bear was videotaped Tuesday still in the Rockton area. “So it couldn’t have been that one,� he said. The report of the bear sent campers at Rock River Christian Camp, 16486 Ill. Turn to A3
Fire destroys rural Leaf River home
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6 Library News, A3
Firefighters from several area departments battle the blaze June 8 that destroyed the home of Steve and Jennifer Beltran on North Leaf River Road. In the foreground is Byron Assistant Chief Orin Snodgrass. Photo courtesy of the Mt. Morris Fire Department
got there,� Lamping said. Tankers and firefighters were called to help from the Mt. Morris, Forreston, Polo, Oregon, German Valley, Byron, Stillman Valley, Pecatonica, Freeport Rural,
Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5
Social News, A4 Sports, A12, B1 State’s Attorney, B6 Weather, A3
and Lynn Scott Rock Fire Departments. One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat exhaustion but did not require hospitalization. Lamping said Sunday that
the family’s dog had not yet been located. He said it was not certain whether the dog perished in the fire or escaped from the burning house. The Red Cross is assisting the Beltran family.
Deaths, B2 Adam Diddens, James J. Kaney, Clark M. Miller, Margaret A. Messenger
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