Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS June 23, 2016 Volume 49, Number 17- $1.00
Queen Candidates
Family Farms
At the Band Shell
Four high school seniors are vying to be the 2016 Let Freedom Ring Queen. A6
Farming is a legacy for three Ogle County families. Inside
Johnny and the Boomers take the stage June 24; the Kable Band’s Patriotic Concert is June 29. A2
LFR festival kicks off June 29 with coronation
Houses Demolished A backhoe cleans up the rubble June 17 from one of the four houses demolished last week at the corner of McKendrie Avenue and Ill. 64. The former IGA grocery store in the background is also coming down to make way for a new Casey’s General Store. Photo by Vinde Wells
Statue, budget hot topics in Oregon By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) promised answers Tuesday to Oregon residents who voiced their frustration over state budget issues, especially the halting of the Black Hawk statue restoration. Demmer told the 30 people at the Oregon Chamber of Commerce Lunch ’n’ Learn at the Rock River Center that he has already met with officials from the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) about the $350,000 grant promised for repairs to the 105-yearold statue at Lowden State Park. “I’ll turn the pressure up on them. I’ll definitely be a strong advocate for Black Hawk,” he said. Created by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1910, the statue stands on a 125-foot bluff overlooking the Rock River and draws thousands
of visitors each year. It was unveiled and dedicated in 1911. The effects of time and weather have caused parts of the statue to crumble and fall off. Demmer said he keeps a photo of the statue on the wall of his Springfield office. He said the money that would ordinarily go for grants is being spent on roads. “We need to know the future of that statue before it
Tom Demmer was the speaker on Tuesday. Turn to A9 Photo by Earleen Hinton
Residents asks board to reverse zoning By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A resident of Katie’s Way asked the Mt. Morris Village Board last week to reverse a recent zoning decision. Stan Ballard, spokesman
for the Kable Condominium Association which is located at Katie’s Way, requested June 14 that the board change last month’s decision for a conditional use to allow row crops to be planted inside the village limits on parcels of 10 acres or more and zoned
R-1 and R-2. The decision came after Dan Luepkes asked the board Jan. 12 to allow him to farm the 12-plus acres he owns west of the bowling alley. The land, which wraps around the bowling alley
“An Old-Fashioned 4th of July” will begin Wednesday, June 29 in Mt. Morris with the crowning of the 2016 Let Freedom Ring Queen at 7 p.m. at the Reckmeyer Band Shell in downtown Mt. Morris. Four high school seniors, Anastasia Gordon, Lani Morris, Sarah Palmer, and Sydne Robinson, are seeking the honor of reigning over the annual Let Freedom Ring Festival. Other Wednesday evening activities include the brat and hot dog supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Mt. Morris Senior Center, the Little Miss and Mister Firecracker Contest at 6 p.m. at the band shell, and the Community Women’s Club Ice Cream Social at 7 p.m. at the band shell. The evening will be topped off with a Patriotic Concert by the Kable Concert Band at 8 p.m. at the band shell. Mt. Morris has been celebrating the 4th of July with several days of scheduled events since the early 1800s when a community picnic was held along with ball games and other community events on the college campus and around town. In 2013 the 50th official
County board moves ahead with jail study
By Vinde Wells and is adjacent to both Mud vwells@oglecounty Creek and Leaf River Roads, news.com was annexed into the village in 1981, when it was zoned The Ogle County Board R-2 (residential use) to allow voted Tuesday to proceed to single and multi-family the next phase in the planning homes to be built there. for a new county jail. Turn to A2 “What this does is move us to the phase to determine the site location,” said board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron. “This was emotional on No location was discussed many, many levels,” Steven, at the meeting, but two sites 63, said. “This was my first that have been discussed large commission, for one are the block on First Street thing. That makes it very where the public safety special, but this being my complex is located and the hometown makes it so much county’s property on North more special.” Sixth Street across from the Several local fixtures, judicial center. Both are in including another prodigal Oregon. son, John Lindhorst, The board has not yet spoke during the hourlong voted to build a new jail, but dedication ceremony. is exploring the possibility. Lindhorst, a former Jeff Goodale, Director of Oregon public schools Justice at HOK, a Chicago teacher who owns Ukulele architectural and planning Station in town, spent 19 firm, recommended a jail years in Hawaii and San large enough for 180 to Diego before retiring in 2014 200 beds for adults and 32 and moving back home. beds for juveniles, which “There was so much would cost an estimated $27 beauty out there, but I came million. back here because of the HOK was hired last fall to beauty of the people,” he do a jail needs assessment. said. Goodale gave a Turn to A3 presentation with graphs and
John Phelps sculpture dedicated June 18 By Christopher Heimerman cheimerman@sauk valley.com Inspiration is rarely in short supply for artists, and the same goes for Oregon
native Steven Carpenter. All he needed was enough time. He grew up in the artsy river city and had always hoped to create one of the 10 sculptures in the Community Art Legacy’s series of pieces, but his stonescaping
Sculptor Steven Carpenter unveils his creation for the final sculpture in Oregon’s 10 sculptures in 10 years project during a dedication Saturday afternoon. Photo by Alex T. Paschal. Sauk Valley Media
In This Week’s Edition...
business in York, Maine, kept him too busy during the summers. When his brother, Craig, a member of the Community Art Legacy board, told him the sculptor of the final piece in the series would be granted two years for total production, Steven jumped on the opportunity and pitched his concept to the board. Saturday afternoon, his multi-dimensional bronze depiction of Oregon founder John Phelps was unveiled on the west side of the Oregon Coliseum property, the former home of the community pool. The piece depicts Phelps along the Rock River in 1833, after a long journey that brought him to his new home in Oregon.
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, A9 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
“Let Freedom Ring” celebration was held. Big, small, vintage trucks will be featured at the Antique Truck Show on Saturday, July 2 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in downtown Mt. Morris on Main Street. Anyone who would like to display your older truck or car, contact Rittenhouse at 815-985-4925 or show up at the truck show. Other Saturday events include a Craft Fair from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the North Campus, the John Bednarczyk Kiddie Parade at 2 p.m., and Kiddie Water Fights at 3 p.m. The Misty Water Creek Band will play from 8 to 10 p.m. at the band shell, and the Mounder Alumni Party begins at 8 p.m. at the Mt. Morris Moose Lodge. The Antique Truck Show and Craft Fair continue on Sunday, July 3, and the Jonas Levi Fultz Memorial Car Show & Cruise will begin at 3 p.m. The Let Freedom Ring celebration has been highlighted each year with the ringing of the “Official Illinois State Freedom Bell” at 1 p.m. CDT following the noon Patriotic Program at the Turn to A2
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com
charts showing the increase in jail population over the last few years and projected an increase in the county’s population. His charts showed that the average daily population of the jail has grown from 13 in 1972 to 139 last year, a 1000 percent increase. The county’s population has increased 23 percent in the same time period, according to his charts. He said the jail could be built on two acres or less. The 180-200 bed capacity for adults would include 88-96 beds for medium security men, 24 for woman, 40 for minimum security prisoners, 24 for maximum security, and 12 for prisoners with acute mental health or medical issues. A jail that size, he said, would meet the county’s needs until at least 2040, when he estimated the county’s population will be at least 60,000. The 2010 census showed the county’s population at more than 53,000. Goodale estimated that the jail would cost approximately $5.8 million
Deaths, B4 Doris D. Bergman Joyce M. Cox Hazel P. Fouke
Turn to A8