Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS November 12, 2015 Volume 48, Number 37 - $1.00
Cardinals Fall
Marcos Roll!
OES Performance
The 2015 football season came to an end on Nov. 7 for the Cardinals. B1
Polo rolls by Warren 40-0 in 1A playoff action B1
The Oregon Park District and OES teamed up for Cinderella performance. A9
Man concerned about safety at proposed range By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews. com
Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker reads the names on the memorial bricks surrounding the newly installed Ogle County Fallen Soldiers Memorial Nov. 4. In the background, sculptor Jeff Adams confers with workers from J.P. Vincent, Galena. Dedication of the memorial on the Ogle County Courthouse lawn was slated for Veterans Day. Photo by Earleen Hinton
New memorial meets approval Official dedication is Wednesday, Nov. 11 By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com Ogle County’s newest tribute to military veterans pleased both the officials who ordered it and the sculptor who designed it. After years of planning and weeks of preparing the site, the Ogle County Fallen Soldiers Memorial was installed Nov. 4 on the north side of the Ogle County Courthouse lawn in Oregon, in plenty of time for its dedication on Veteran’s Day. “It’s everything we hoped for,” said Oregon American Legion Commander
John Tuttle as workers from J.P. Vincent, Galena, put the finishing touches on the granite work. The focal point of the memorial is a bronze statue depicting a young soldier kneeling before the grave of a comrade on a black granite base flanked by two black granite tablets on bearing the names of soldiers who gave their lives in conflicts from World War II to the present. “It looks great. I’m really pleased. I’m glad to have been able to be a part of it,” said sculptor Jeff Adams, who created the statue at his studio inBronze Foundry, Mt. Morris. “It really exceeded my expectations,” said Bruce VanderKolk, chairman of the memorial committee. VFW Commander Lee Ossman
made the approval unanimous. “I think it’s great. It chokes me up,” he said. “I’m a Vietnam vet, and this just really hits me.” Plans called for the memorial to be dedicated Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. with Brigadier General (Retired) Steve Huber, Byron, as the keynote speaker. Ossman said the statue went into place quickly on Wednesday. “Everything just fell together this morning,” he said. Planning for the memorial, which replaces an older one, began five years ago, Ossman said. Donations and cooperative efforts made the plan become reality in just a little more than a year, he said. Turn to A2
An opponent of a handgun caliber range at the Byron Sportsman’s & Conservation Club said safety is his main concern. Craig Dimond, who lives across Townline Road from the club, said he and his neighbors are opposed to the proposed range. “None of us are antiguns. Our opposition is the location,” he said. “My biggest concern is safety — stray bullets, ricochets, mishandled guns. It happens all the time.” The club has requested a special use permit to allow a shooting range for handgun caliber weapons on their property, which is zoned AG-1 (agricultural use). Ogle County Zoning Administrator Mike Reibel said that handgun caliber weapons can include long guns of certain calibers. Dimond said the range would be close to Townline Road where there is a school bus stop for three young children and mail delivery. The range is also close to walking paths on adjacent Byron Forest Preserve land, snowmobile paths, and farming operations, including livestock. “It makes no sense at all,” Dimond said. More than 150 people, many of whom live nearby, signed a petition opposing
the club’s request. The petition was presented to the Ogle County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) at a hearing on the request held on Sept. 24. The ZBA voted 3-2 to recommend that the county board approve the request. The ZBA found that the request met the six required standards for special use permits, if it is properly designed, built, and operated. However, they also added 14 conditions for approval, including having a range supervisor on duty whenever the facility is open. Reibel said the 14th condition stipulates the supervisor must be a National Rifle Association (NRA) certified range safety officer. Sportsman’s club president O.K. Welty said that he hopes that condition can be eliminated in exchange for tighter than originally planned security at the range. Welty proposed making access to the enclosed shooting area electronically controlled and monitored by motion-activated security cameras. He said the 14th condition is unfair to the sportsman’s club. “None of the other ranges in the county is required to do that,” Welty said Monday. “I’s not fair and it’s not practical. We would have to hire someone to be there all the time.” Turn to A3
Volunteers sought to help build house for couple Family’s home destroyed by April tornado By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
work can begin. “The Geists lived through a nightmare,” she said. “We’re trying to build them a dream.” Some doors from the couple’s home in Fairdale were saved to be used in the new home. The Geists used the
majority of their insurance money to buy the property, but came up short for completing the house. Wooldridge said their insurance company isn’t coming through as expected because the couple decided to relocate. That’s where Operation
Volunteers are needed to lend their expertise and elbow grease to build a new home near Oregon for a Fairdale couple who lost everything in the April 9 tornado. A crew of volunteers from Operation Rebuild pitched in Sunday to work on the walls of Rick and Dawn Geist’s new home at 516 S. Gale Rd., west of Oregon. The Geists are living in a double-wide trailer on the nearly 16 acres they purchased there. They moved into the trailer on July 2. Project coordinator Deb Wooldridge, Polo, said more volunteers are needed, especially those with construction expertise to get the house, nestled among mature oak trees, closed in before winter so interior
Rebuild, a 501©(3) not-forprofit organization, stepped in to help. The build began on Oct. 22 and will continue until the project is done. The volunteer organization is hoping to build the Geists not only a house, but also a new barn so they can bring their 34-year-old horse
Diamond and several barn cats home. The animals have been boarded since the tornado. Rick, 56, an over-the-road truck driver, said Sunday that they found out earlier this week that the furniture they salvaged from their house in Fairdale is unusable.
“When we went to our storage unit, all our furniture was covered with mold,” he said. “We had to throw it out.” “We still have a well and septic to deal with, too,” said Dawn, 54. Rick, a U.S. Army veteran, Turn to A8
Above, Operation Rebuild volunteers Brad and Doreen DeZur, Brookfield, left and Regina Smola, Davis Junction, measure doors Nov. 8 that were salvaged from Rick and Dawn Geist’s devastated home in Fairdale. The doors will be reused in the Geist’s new home on Gale Road. At left, a volunteer uses a nail gun Nov. 8 to build the new home Photos by Vinde Wells
In This Week’s Edition...
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5 Library News, A2
Marriage Licenses, A4 Pine Creek News, A3 Police Beat, A2 Property Transfers, B4
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports,B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Deaths, B5 Hans J. Kruger Lena W. Schroeder
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com