Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS December 17, 2015 Volume 48, Number 42 - $1.00
Bowlers Win
Soccer Coming
Cousin Rescued
The Hawk bowling teams roll to two wins at the LaSalle-Peru tournament. B1
The Oregon School Board agrees to have a girls soccer program. B1
Forreston 11-year-old rescues his cousin using skills he learned in a safety class. A9
Expert says jail is overcrowded By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Ogle County Board got an update Tuesday evening on what a jail needs assessment has determined. Jeff Goodale, Director of Justice at HOK, a Chicago architectural and planning firm, told the board that the jail is frequently over capacity because the number of arrests is trending upward. “Overall [the need for] beds are going up,” he said. Currently the county needs space for at least 143 prisoners, he said, and the capacity is just 108. The average daily population at the jail ranges Above, band director Miles Beske conducts the fifth grade band Dec. 10 during the annual fifth and sixth grade from the low 90s to 123. Goodale said the outdated band and choir Christmas Concert. The performance was held at the high school band room and was filled to design of the jail, built in the capacity. Below left, fifth grader Grace Tomlinson plays her French horn, and below right, sixth grader Brady late 1960s, makes it difficult Schwartz sings. Photos by Chris Johnson for corrections officers to manage the inmates, especially when they are overcrowded. Currently the jail staff is
Christmas Concert
“spread thin,” he said. In October, the county board approved spending a maximum of $10,000 for Goodale to do the jail needs assessment. Goodale said Tuesday that he hopes to finish the study in February, and by then will have narrowed down possible sites and the cost. His study will takes current as well as future needs into account. “We’re looking 50 years out,” he said. With an eye to 2065, Goodale said he is starting at a 250-bed facility. He said the county needs to provide more space for female prisoners and prisoners with mental health needs. Goodale said he will also study the feasibility of allowing space to house juveniles in the county jail, instead of transporting them to a facility such as the Mary Davis Home in Galesburg. Turn to B2
Sixth grader gives back with coat drive By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews. com
Village may soon get state funding By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com Village Trustee Phil Labash had good news at the Dec. 8 Mt. Morris Village Board meeting.
“I understand that the state is getting ready to release Motor Fuel Tax funds and video game funds,” he said. “I don’t know when or how much.” The state’s budget standoff has left municipalities, as well as other entities,
without the state funding granted to them by law. In a compromise with the state legislature, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill Dec. 7 that released billions of dollars for local governments.
A Byron sixth grader has organized a coat drive and fundraiser to repay a domestic violence shelter that helped her. Victoria Kuzlik hopes to collect at least 500 coats and other winter gear, as well as $4,500 for HOPE of Ogle County, a domestic violence shelter with office in Oregon and Rochelle. “My dad and I were victims of domestic violence,” said 11-year-old Victoria. “One place [HOPE] helped us out
Victoria Kuzlik
a lot, and I just wanted to give back.” She said they also received help from the YWCA in Turn to A2
Force behind Star Wars fans engagement, wedding Couple’s reception held at private Star Wars Museum By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com When science fiction movies are discussed, two franchises come to mind — Star Trek and Star Wars. For a couple with Stillman Valley roots, a passion for Star Wars was the force behind their initial meeting and eventual marriage. Tom and Cathy (Tomczak) Schaefer met during the annual Chicago Comicon (a convention for comic book, TV, and movie buffs) in 2007 after mutual friends had invited them to a dinner. It was not until a few months later that Tom learned that Cathy was interested in getting to know him. They went out on a date and have been inseparable ever since. Once they were talking about marriage, Tom decided on a unique proposal that brought their “fandoms” to center stage. Tom worked with his friend Mike Bollow to have actor John Barrowman assist with the proposal during Fantasticon in Milwaukee.
In This Week’s Edition...
Barrowman played Captain Jack Harkness in the “Doctor Who” series and the spinoff series “Torchwood.” The couple are also fans of the “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood” series. During a panel Barrowman was holding Oct. 25, 2014, he invited Cathy on stage and talked to her for a while before asking Tom to join them on stage. Tom, who was wearing a Mayor of Star Wars Town suit, got down on one knee and proposed. Cathy, who was wearing a Star Wars dress, accepted. A year later the couple was married Oct. 9, 2015 in Petaluma, California during a small ceremony. The couple walked down the aisle after getting married to the ceremonial theme from the end of a “New Hope.” “We joked about walking down the aisle to the Imperial March,” said Tom. A reception was held at Rancho Obi Wan, which is a privately owned Star Wars Museum in Petaluma, California. It is run by Steve Sansweet who has the world’s largest Star Wars collection. Sansweet was the officiant at the ceremony. Turn to A4
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B6 Marriage Licenses, A4
Tom and Cathy Schaefer pose, with a Darth Vader gesture, in front of Darth Vader masks and other Star Wars memorabilia at Rancho Obi Wan in Petaluma, California. Photo provided.
Library News, A2 Oregon Police, B6 Pine Creek News, A3 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B3
Sheriff’s Arrests, B6 Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Weather, A3
Deaths, B5 Clara M. Brown, Arnold H. Collman, Frances L. Murray, Rogene E. Taylor
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com