Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS October 29, 2015 Volume 48, Number 35 - $1.00
Lady Hawks Win
Fall Back
Soccer Loses in OT
The Lady Hawks will play in the regional championship game Oct. 29. B1
Turn your clocks back one hour to Standard Time at 2 a.m. Sunday.
The Hawk soccer team lost to Keith Country Day in the sectional final. B1
Sullivan explains request for Class A liquor license Grocery store owner wants to offer video gaming By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com Grocery store owner Scott Sullivan said Tuesday that he requested a Class A liquor license so that his new Mt. Morris store can offer video gaming. He told the village board that the state requires operators of video gaming devices to have a liquor
license that allows alcohol to be consumed on the premises. Further, he said including restaurant and bar areas in grocery stores is an industry trend. The village board asked Sullivan to attend the meeting to answer questions that came up at the Oct. 13 meeting about why he had requested the Class A license. Board members were concerned after they learned that the license would apply to the entire store and allow customers to consume alcohol anywhere in the store. Sullivan said Tuesday that he is not sure anyone will walk around
the store with alcohol, but new shopping carts will be equipped with cup holders. He said he is mainly interested in serving beer and wine in the gaming area and holding beer and wine tastings in the store. Sullivan said he implemented the plan in his Stockton store about four months age and so far has sold little alcohol. “In Stockton since we started gaming we have sold three beers,” he said. “I bought one of them and the same guy bought the other two.” Most of the gamers at that store
are men waiting for their wives to finish shopping, he said. His plan is to have a “three-tier” bar area, he said, beginning with a coffee bar in the morning that also offers smoothies. “Then if you want a glass of wine in the evening while you’re gaming we want to make it available,” he said. However, Sullivan assured the board that he wants the store to offer only what the community wants. “I’m certainly not trying to shove anything down your throat that you don’t want,” he said. “Let’s try it
for a year, and if you think I’m selling too much beer or I’ve got a bunch of drunks in there, we’ll shut it off.” Village treasurer Bruce True asked if current village liquor codes will prohibit minors from going into the store unless they’re with a parent. “So a 16-year-old can’t go in and pick up a gallon of milk?” he asked. Attorney Rob Lesage confirmed that the current code prohibits minors from going into a business that serves alcohol without a parent or other responsible adult. Turn to A2
Request for gun range addressed By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Fall Fest Shoppers Mark Rosko, Byron, and his children Edward and Josephine look over the Christmas items for sale Oct. 21 at Fall Fest at Disciples United Methodist Church. Photo by Vinde Wells
Two men aired opposing views last week about a request for a gun range at the Byron Sportsman’s & Conservation Club. O.K. Welty, Byron, who is the club’s president, told the county board Oct. 20 that safety will be the primary focus of the proposed gun range at the club at 1509 East Townline Rd. However, Craig Dimond, a neighbor of the club, wasn’t so sure. He said the design of the proposed gun range would not ensure that all bullets will remain inside and could pose a danger to homes and hikers in the area. “They want to expand to have hand guns and pistol grip rifles, which have a range of one to two miles,” he said. Dimond said homes are located within 1,000 feet of the proposed range. The sportsman’s club has requested a special use permit that would allow a
shooting range for hand gun caliber weapons on their property, which is zoned AG-1 (agricultural use). Zoning Administrator Mike Reibel said Tuesday that hand gun caliber weapons can include long guns of certain calibers. The club is surrounded by homes, farmland, and forest preserve land. At a lengthy hearing Sept. 24, the Ogle County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) voted 3-2 to recommend that the county board approve the request. The ZBA vote came after members heard testimony on both sides of the issue. The county board is expected to vote on the request at its Nov. 17 meeting. The club currently has a trap shooting range that has restricted hours. Patricia Hogan, another neighbor, voiced concern at the hearing that the proposed range would be unsupervised and have unlimited hours. Besides safety, she cited Turn to A2
Man charged with stealing $1,000 from Grubsteakers An Indiana man has been arrested for taking cash from an Ogle County restaurant after it was heavily damaged during an April 9 tornado. Michael G. McDonald, 67 of Whiting, Indiana, was arrested Monday by the Rochelle Police Department on an Ogle County warrant
for theft, more than $500, a Class 3 felony. McDonald works in Rochelle. The arrest stems from a sheriff’s department investigation into theft of money from the former Grubsteakers Restaurant, 14698 E. Ill. 64.
The investigation revealed that during the April 9 tornado that struck Grubsteakers, McDonald was a patron inside the business and stole approximately $1,000 from the cash register. McDonald posted 10 percent of his $50,000 bond
and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 6. The well-known restaurant at the intersection of Ill. 251 and 64 was destroyed in the EF4 tornado that swept through Ogle County April 9 leaving a path of destruction. Grubsteakers owner Ava
Mirtoska ushered customers and employees to the safety of a storm cellar as the storm approached. Sheriff Brian VanVickle said he is not sure where McDonald rode out the storm, but he did not go into the storm cellar with the others.
Michael G. McDonald
Polo woman enters not guilty plea in embezzlement case Sauk Valley Media A Polo woman pleaded not guilty last week to federal charges that she embezzled more than $59,000 from First State Bank. Kayla Bergstrom, 46, entered a not guilty plea Oct. 22 during her arraignment before the Judge Iain D. Johnston in federal court in Rockford. Federal authorities say Bergstrom embezzled the funds over four years, funneling the money through her account and her husband’s auto repair business. Bergstrom was indicted Oct. 20
in federal court in Rockford. She is free on her own recognizance and a status hearing has been set for Dec. 3. Bergstrom, a first vice president of the bank, handled all of its correspondent accounts, including one with U.S. Bank, the U.S. Attorney’s Northern District office said in a news release on Oct. 21. She had “the highest security level assigned” for the bank’s software program, with access to customer bank and general ledger accounts, and the ability to add new accounts, the release said. According to the indictment:
In This Week’s Edition...
Business Brief, B6 Byron Police, B6 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 Entertainment, A6
Kayla Bergstrom
From Feb. 23, 2010 to Feb. 3, 2014, Bergstrom embezzled money
Fines, B6 Marriage Licenses, A4 Outlook on Ag, A10 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B5
by creating cash advance tickets for the U.S. Bank correspondent account. She would credit the amounts of cash advance tickets to her personal account and the business account Bergy’s Automotive, which is owned by her husband, Mark Bergstrom. She concealed her embezzlement by changing bank account statements, “manually cutting and pasting false account balances on the statements,” the indictment said. She has since repaid First State Bank, the release said. The bank
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5 Weather, A2
has branches in Polo, Shannon, and Lake Carroll. Bergstrom, who is free on her own recognizance, faces up to 30 years in federal prison and up to $1 million in fines. She was arraigned Oct. 22 in federal court in Rockford. Bergstrom was hired as manager of the Polo pool in June, but the job is seasonal and she does not currently work for the city, City Clerk Susie Corbitt said. Vinde Wells contributed to this story.
Deaths, B4 Glen M. Borneman, Lois Hagemann, Dr. Donald Hammerman
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com