Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS June 26, 2014 Volume 47, Number 17 - $1.00
Recycling Issue
Family Farms
Let Freedom Ring
Illegal dumping could spell the end of a popular recycling program. B2
Farms are still in the same family after more than a century. Inside
A full schedule of events are in store for visitors at a Mt. Morris festival. A10-A12
Bear wanders through Mt. Morris, heads west Young male takes nap in tree outside of town By Vinde Wells Editor Mt. Morris’ wild visitor is apparently still on the move. Although the last confirmed sighting was southwest of Mt. Morris last week, Robert Frazier, Acting Regional Commander for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday that the black bear has reportedly been seen in Carroll County as recently as Monday. However, he said that sighting is unconfirmed. The 200-pound male bear spent several hours in and near Mt. Morris on June 18, spending several hours in an oak tree a mile or so out of town, and then lumbering off through a cornfield to the west in the early evening. According to Mt. Morris Police Chief Jason White, the bear sightings started early in the morning. “Some time around 6:30 in the morning we got calls about a bear seen in the subdivision east of Dillehay Park,� he said. Before that, the bear had
been spotted in Chana on June 15. “I feel the bear just took the railroad tracks across the river and to Mt. Morris,� he said. “That would have kept him away from people.� Somewhere around 6:30 a.m., a Mt. Morris resident, who didn’t want to be identified, saw the bear at the railroad tracks on Ill. 64 at the east edge of town. The bear ran west and was near the medical clinic when he last saw it. From there the bear apparently made his way west across backyards. He was caught on a surveillance camera at Trinity Lutheran Church running through yards on the other side of Brayton Road. Church secretary Barb Diehl checked the tape that morning when she got to work. “He ran from behind LaBashes toward Garrisons [a half block west],� she said. After that several people leaving an exercise session at Dillehay Park saw the bear as he crossed Ogle Avenue. By then, word had spread around the community about the bear’s arrival and a crowd was gathering to catch a glimpse or snap a photo.
A black bear looks down on the crowd that had formed after he climbed a tree southwest of Mt. Morris last week. Photo by Earleen Hinton
White said he and another Deputy Brian Ketter chased South McKendrie Avenue. said. “We wanted to get him Mt. Morris officer, Fire Chief the bear out of town after it “We just kind of herded away from people.� Rob Hough, and Ogle County was seen in the 400 block of him south out of town,� White Turn to A7
County board approves concealed carry policy By Chris Johnson Reporter Bringing county policy in line with Illinois law caused a stir during the Ogle County Board meeting last week. The discussion over concealed carry required two votes to approve. “Can we go to private session and hash this over?� said Lee Meyers, Byron, June 17. “This can not be discussed in closed session,� said board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron. “We are bringing our personnel policy in line with Illinois legislation.� “It makes them (county employees) sitting ducks,� said Pat Saunders, Polo. “It bothers me that we adopt something written by Democrats in Chicago. Can we make changes to this?�
Board member Skip Kenney, Rochelle, had the same concerns. “I think we are better than that,� he said. “We can develop one for Ogle County.� “This is state law,� said Bill Welty, Chana. “I am not sure you can change this.� A roll call vote on the motion to approve the policy was requested by Zach Oltmanns, Stillman Valley. One of the concerns raised was the wording about bringing a firearm on county property. Board member Pat Nordman, Oregon, told the board the law is clear on what is allowed and Welty expanded on details of the law. “There is concealed carry and appropriate carry,� Nordman said.
“Concealed carry allows loaded handguns in a car in any parking lot,� said Welty. “I can not exit the vehicle with a loaded weapon on county property.� The concealed carry law allows a registered gun owner with a proper license to drive through parks, county, and school property. The gun can also be kept in the vehicle as long as it remains locked. “The new law does not take away any gun rights,� said state’s attorney Mike Rock. “You still have safe harbor rules.� Gouker said if the state changes the concealed carry law the board could revisit and relax the policy. “I think the whole law is dumb,� said Lyle Hopkins, Polo. “Marking these buildings is the stupidest thing.�
He said criminals can target these buildings because they know the employees and customers do not have a gun. The law calls for a sign with a gun in a red circle with a line through it to show guns are not allowed. “I think we have county officials in a threatening position,� said Ron Colson, Mt. Morris. Kenney suggested delaying the vote for 30 days. “I think the personnel committee can sit down and develop a policy better suited for our county,� he said. “My understanding is this is what we have,� said Gouker. Rock said some employees could be authorized to carry a weapon. In some counties the coroner has a gun. “You have to decide as
a board,� he said. “This follows state statute. I don’t like the way it is written. We can’t give employees more of a right than the state statue.� A motion by Meyers and seconded by Dick Petrizzo, Davis Junction, to table the vote on concealed carry was defeated 9-13. Jerry Brooks, Oregon, Colson, John Finfrock, Mt. Morris, Kenney, Kim Kirkolis, Davis Junction, Meyers, Petrizo, Saunders, and Greg Sparrow, Rochelle, voted to table the matter. No votes were cast by Dorothy Bowers, Byron, Bobbie Colbert, Rochelle, Don Griffin, Oregon, Rich Gronewold, Forreston, Marcia Heuer, Oregon, Hopkins, Dan Janes, Stillman Valley, Nordman, John O’Brien, Rochelle, Oltmanns, Ashley Simms, Rochelle,
Welty, and Gouker. Marty Typer, Stillman Valley, and Bruce McKinney, Rochelle, were absent from the meeting. The motion to adopt the policy was immediately voted on after the previous motion failed. The concealed carry policy was approved 15-7. Colson, Kenney, Kirkolis, Meyers, Oltmanns, Petrizo, and Saunders cast the no votes. Meyers asked if there was a time limit the board had to wait to revisit the discussion. “At this point it is in the personnel policy,� said Gouker. “We could entertain that in the future.� “If someone has a change it needs to go through the committee process,� said Welty.
More money is needed to repair Black Hawk statue By Vinde Wells Editor The $724,000 already raised for the repair and restoration of the Black Hawk statue probably won’t be enough. “We have sufficient funds to do 80 percent of the work,� said Frank Rausa, Sterling, who is heading up the effort to repair the 103-year-old world renowned icon that overlooks the Rock River at Lowden State Park near Oregon. He said he will not have a better estimate of the total cost until repair work actually
begins on the statue later this summer. “Until we start removing the exterior surface we won’t know the full extent of the damage,� he said. Rausa is a member of the Friends of the Black Hawk Statue, an organization that has been working to secure funding for the repairs. He held a press conference Tuesday morning at Maxson’s Riverside Restaurant to outline the repair and restoration plan. Engineer Amy Lamb Woods said testing and evaluations done recently show that three areas of the
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Black Hawk statue are in dire need of repairs. “Three areas of the statue show significant deterioration,� she said. Woods is an engineer with Thorton Tomasetti, Chicago, an architectural firm that provides engineering design, investigation, and analysis services to clients worldwide. The folded arms of the statue, especially the elbows and underneath the arms; the middle of the robe; and the vertical fold in the robe from armpit to toe are the critical areas, Woods said. The areas are spalled, meaning chunks of concrete
Agriculture, A7 Birth, A4 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6
have already fallen out, and delineated, meaning areas of concrete are loose and ready to fall. Woods was a member of the team of experts who measured, cored, and poked the statue last fall and again this spring to find out how bad the toll taken by the ravages of time and weather actually is. “The damage is way more than we expected,� she said. In fact, the statue has deteriorated significantly since close-up photos were taken in 2008. Last winter’s Amy Lamb Woods, an engineer with Thornton Tomasetti, cold and snow further explains damage to the Black Hawk Statue during a Turn to A2 press conference on Tuesday. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Fines, B6 Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B6
Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B1 State’s Attorney, B5 Weather, A2
Deaths, B3 Hughling A. Blumeyer, Jessie B. Hinkle, Wayne W. Koeller
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