Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS August 20, 2015 Volume 48, Number 25 - $1.00
Sports Previews
Tree Dedication
Sewer Repairs
The 2015 fall sports season is underway. Read about football, golf, and the soccer teams. B1
A tree was planted in memory of Alan Steele at White Pines. A6
The Mt. Morris Village Board waived the bid process to repair a broken sewer main. A2
Ogle County Board rejects tobacco licensing By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com Three people voiced their disappointment Tuesday after the Ogle County Board rejected a measure that would have required licenses for businesses that sell tobacco products. The board turned down the motion to approve the licensing by a vote of 13 to 9. Two board members Nic Bolin, Holcomb, and John Finfrock, Mt. Morris, did not attend the meeting.
I’m disappointed,” said Joanie Padilla, county director of Health Education and Emergency Preparedness. She had earlier told the board that she believed the licensing would help discourage businesses from selling tobacco products to anyone 18 or younger. Zachary Prosser and Grant Zickur, both juniors at Rochelle Township High School, also voiced their disappointment. Both had addressed the board, urging members to vote for the measure.
“I’m very disappointed,” Prosser said. “I’ve seen a lot of Rochelle Township High School students involved in tobacco products.” Zickur agreed. “I found it disappointing not so much for charging [the businesses], but as a another avenue to prevent young people from smoking,” he said. The proposal stipulated that any Ogle County business that sells or wants to sell tobacco products must apply annually to the Ogle County Health Department and, if approved, pay a $100 license fee.
Padilla said the licensing would give the health department the authority to go into businesses and conduct compliance checks, making sure tobacco products are not being sold to underage youths. Currently, she said, the state of Illinois has no such licensing for businesses selling tobacco products. Oregon, Byron, and Rochelle have obtained grants to do compliance checks for cigarettes, she said, and the police there carry them out.
She said the health department would not do compliance checks for cigarettes in those three towns, but would do them there for other tobacco products, as well as in the rest of the county. “Kids aren’t buying cigarettes,” Padilla said. “They’re buying Swisher Sweets that have flavors like cherry lemonade and cotton candy. They’re smoking e-cigarettes. These are marketed to kids.” Nineteen businesses in Ogle Turn to A3
Hangar dance held at airport By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com
Back to School First grader RJ Helfrick raises the first grade flag as he leads his class into the Blackhawk Center during the back to school assembly Aug. 13. Photo by Chris Johnson
County cleans up Oregon property By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com Contaminated soil from the site of a former gas station has been removed allowing construction to move forward on a county parking lot. An environmental engineer was in Oregon Tuesday morning at 501 W. Washington St. doing final soil samples on the property. “We are having the soil tested and have loaded the final contaminated soil,” said Ogle County Engineer Curtis Cook. “These final samples are from the walls of the excavation from when we removed the tanks.” These last samples will be sent to the lab to confirm all the contamination was removed. “The plan is to finish the samples and have a clean site,” said Cook. “The tank cleanup will then be complete.” While the samples are being checked O’Brien Civil
Works, Polo, was able to move forward with the storm sewer work on the site. Cook said so far the previous samples contained petroleum products from the underground tanks. Workers will install the storm sewer by the end of the week. When the storm sewer is completed the property will be graded to prepare the site for a parking lot. “We are fortunate to have numerous qualified contractors locally,” said Cook. “They do a good job for the county.” Plans call for a curb and gutter around the perimeter of the parking lot. “We are also going to put up street lights to illuminate the parking lot,” Cook said. “It will be nice when completed and this first phase will add 19 parking spots.” The Ogle County Board approved a multiple phase project to demolish the former Turn to A2
In This Week’s Edition...
Songs of the 90s radiated throughout the night sky at the Ogle County airport Saturday night. However, there were no Bryan Adams or Britney Spears songs being played, because the songs performed this night were from the 1890s through the 1930s. The East Bank Commanders, a regional dance band, performed a variety of classic dance tunes for the 200 people attended the event. They perform a variety of band music including swing, jazz, and other dance tunes that were popular in the first 30 years of the 1900s. “We had a good turnout Saturday,” said Larry Miller, Rock River Flyers Vice President. “This was the second dance we have done.” Miller was performing
Steve and Vancenza Preas, Genoa, took to the dance floor Saturday night while enjoying the music performed by the East Bank Commanders. Photo by Chris Johnson
with the band during the dance. “We play for fun,” he said. “We do not expect to be paid for this, and we enjoy seeing everyone dancing and enjoying the music.” The theme of the dance was a 1940s hangar dance and
the East Bank Commanders performed a variety of music to get everyone in attendance immersed in the spirit of the era. Several visitors to the dance attended in period dress. “We encouraged people to
attend in period dress and we had quite a few,” said Miller. “The idea of the dance was to promote flying in the area and to share money raised with the flying club and local veterans groups.” Turn to A3
Couple recognized for restoring prairie By Sarah Zuniga Correspondent When a mother loses a son, it’s only natural that she would want to preserve his memory. That’s exactly what Carol Soderholm did – in a big way. The Mt. Morris woman, along with her husband, Paul, helped return 130 acres of farmland next to White Pines State Park to native prairie grasses and flowers. In the process, they found a way to keep her son’s memory alive forever. The Soderholms, selfproclaimed conservationists who have been married 19 years, named their endeavor the Edward F. Vassallo Land and Water Reserve, after Carol’s son, who died of leukemia in February 2014 – “because he loved it out here, and because he worked hard to help Paul,” she said. In September 2014, the couple’s efforts were recognized by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources when their property was designated a state land and water reserve. With that recognition, the acreage can’t be developed,
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4
but it can be passed down or willed to others, which is what the Soderholms plan to do. “It will all be gifted to an organization that will keep it as beautiful as it is,” Carol said. “It means that the land will be protected forever.” It’s the second-highest designation given by the Nature Preserves Commission of the IDNR. Land and water that support “significant natural
heritage or archaeological resources” can be awarded the recognition, according to the department’s website. According to the proposal presented to the commission on the day the designation was granted, turning the land into a reserve will benefit White Pines by providing “important buffer to help protect highquality natural features” and “prevent any future land uses that might negatively
impact the natural resources and outdoor recreational amenities provided for the public” in the park. The couple’s journey began when they transplanted themselves from Chicago to Mount Morris in 1999, bought 51 acres, and built a home. “We were looking for land in the country, you know, to come on the weekends, Turn to A2
Paul Soderholm stands by the sign that now graces the Edward F. Vassallo Land & Water Reserve. Photo by Sarah Zuniga
Oregon Police, A7 Pine Creek News, A3 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Zoning Permits, B4
Deaths, B5 Esther J. Appler, William S. Besse, Lois V. Curry, Wanda G. Meiners, Kenneth R. Schneiderman
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com