Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS November 10, 2016 Volume 50, Number 4 - $1.00
New Coach
Earth Angels
Business Workshop
OHS will have a familiar softball coach in 2017. Jamie Revelle is returning. B1
Donations will be accepted to help families during Christmas. A6
A free small business workshop will be held in Mt. Morris on Nov. 17. B1
Move to merge townships fails By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Voters in two Ogle County Townships had a difference of opinion Tuesday about joining forces. Lafayette Township voters favored a referendum to merge with Taylor Township 55 to 35, while those in Taylor narrowly rejected the measure 270 to 277. For the merger to happen, a majority of voters in both townships had to approve the referendum.
“The people have spoken,” said Lafayette Township Supervisor Cliff Jones. “We’ve talked about it for 12 years, and it was time to let the people decide. They’ve decided.” Officials in the two townships, on the county’s southern border, have been discussing the possibility over the years for financial reasons and efficiency of operations. The county board gave the plan its blessing last July, enabling it to go on Tuesday’s ballot.
Vote Totals Yes No Taylor 270 277 Lafayette 55 35 The two townships touch each other with Hoosier Road as the north-south boundary between them. Taylor lies directly south of Oregon-Nashua Township with the Rock River forming most of its western boundary. Lafayette lies just to the east of Taylor. Lee County borders both on the south. Both are in rural areas
of the county and are sometimes referred to as “half-townships” because they are about half the size of most others. Lafayette is 18 square miles and has a population of 170 people. Taylor is 15.5 square miles and boasts a population of 963, largely due to the Lost Lake Subdivision. Oregon and Nashua Townships, also “halftownships” back then, took action to merge in 1993 and became Oregon-Nashua Township.
Voter turnout surges in county Lucille Black, 101, Oregon, casts her ballot early for her 21st President election at the Ogle County Courthouse. Photo supplied
21st Presidential ballot was cast
Oregon woman has voted since 1936 election By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
An Oregon woman has been voting for U.S. Presidents for the last 80 years. The first time Lucille Black, 101, cast a ballot for President was back in 1936 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was running against Kansas Governor Alf Landon. Roosevelt, a Democrat, was seeking a second term in the White House and defeated Landon by a landslide. Black went to the Ogle County Courthouse last month to early vote in her 21st Presidential election. “I’ve voted in every one of them since I was 18,” she said with a smile. This is her 21st Presidential election, but Black had already been going to the polls before the Roosevelt-
Landon race. Born in 1915, she was old enough to cast her ballot for the first time in 1933 – and did. Since then, she’s never missed an opportunity to make her voice heard. “It’s a privilege to be able to vote. I don’t know why people don’t vote – and then they holler about what happens,” she said, shaking her head. “They need to exercise their privilege.” Black got her passion for being part of the elective process from her father. “He always voted, and he never voted for anyone but a Republican,” she remembered with a chuckle. She, in turn, has always encouraged her own children to go to the polls. Black’s daughter Marjorie Hammes, 74, Oregon, said she, too has voted in every election since she could. Hammes said her brothers and her own children are also dedicated to the process. “I keep after them,” Black
72 percent cast ballots Nov. 8 By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com Voter turnout was phenomenal compared to previous years, breaking records at many of the polling places on Tuesday. Many places, such as the Polo Senior Center, experienced lines well out the door and down the block. “One of my judges has been doing this for 48 years, and says she has never seen it this busy,” Ogle County Clerk Laura Cook said. Altogether, Ogle County had a 72 percent voter turnout; 23,936 ballots cast
out of 32,880 eligible voters - five percent higher than the 2012 election. Brookville had the highest turnout with 89 percent. The lowest turnout was at Mt. Morris Precinct 2 with 46 percent. Other precincts that broke the 80 percent mark include Byron 2, Grand Detour, Lafayette and Taylor. Of the 48 remaining precincts, 32 reported over a 70 percent turnout. Only two places polled under 60 percent. “Obviously the Presidential election produces a bigger turnout, but I’m still a bit baffled at it all,” said Cook. Cook added that there was a large influx of online voter registrations from Oct. 12 to 23, and that 2,600 people utilized early voting.
Election judge Patsy Unger gives Chris Russell her “I voted” sticker Tuesday morning at the Mt. Morris polling place. Voter turnout for the election was high. Photo by Vinde Wells
Parents tried to prevent heroin overdose Editor’s note: This is the third of a 4-part series on the growing use of heroin in Ogle County and how it is affecting governmental agencies, addicts, family members and the political process. By Andy Colbert acolbert@oglecounty news.com
Strange as it sounds, one of the most relaxing times for Turn to A2 the parent of a heroin addict is
when their son or daughter is in jail. “There is a sense of relief knowing they are locked up,” said Bob (not his real name), father of an addict. “Jail is the best place for our kids. For a least a while, we don’t have to worry about them overdosing.” Bob and his wife spent many a day worrying about that. “Any day, you could walk into his bedroom and find him
dead,” Bob said. “Many times, I heard his mom screaming at him, ‘I don’t want to find you dead’.” Unfortunately, that is what happened several months ago. Their son took an injection of heroin and some oxycontin. He was scheduled to report for work at 11 that night. Instead, he overdosed about an hour earlier. He had overdosed before, by his own count, 12 times, including three in which an
ambulance was called for him. “You never know,” Bob said. “You can shoot up every day for years and still be alive and then one day be gone.” Their son died from the mixture of heroin and oxycontin. It wasn’t until the next morning, that his sister found him unresponsive. “In 10 seconds, I went from a dead sleep to bounding down the basement stairs to Turn to A10
Evan Free Church celebrates 60th anniversary By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A Mt. Morris church congregation will celebrate six decades since its founding next Sunday with a guest speaker and an evening concert. The Evangelical Free Church of Mt. Morris, on the corner of Seminary Avenue and Front Street, will welcome the community Nov. 13 to hear Kevin Kompelien, president of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), speak at Sunday School at 8:30 a.m. and again at the 10 a.m. worship service. The Gray Havens, comprised of Dave and Licia Radford, originally from Illinois and now based in Nashville, Tennessee, will perform at 6 p.m. with a reception following the concert.
“We’re grateful The church got it to be a part of the beginnings in the early community 60 1950s with a group years, especially of four families who in this great would eventually unite location near the with First Evangelical historic campus Free Church of in the downtown,” Rockford to form said Senior Pastor the Evangelical Free Bruce McKanna. Church of Mt. Morris. Kompelien, who Starting from weekly grew up in a small prayer meetings in EFCA church in homes, the church rural northern held its first public Minnesota, has Pastor Bruce McKanna Sunday service on served for 30 Sept. 11, 1955 at the Mt. years as a pastor, church planter, Morris Town Hall with 16 people attending. and district board member. The church officially “We’re looking forward to having him share the impact a small incorporated on Sept. 13, 1956 and town church can have,” McKanna began to function on its own. The first, and present, brick said. Next Sunday also marks the church building was purchased church’s annual Missions Festival. from the Mt. Morris Church of
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 Entertainment, A6 Library News, A3
Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
The Evangelical Free Church of Mt. Morris, at the corner of Seminary Avenue and Front Street, will celebrate its 60th anniversary on Sunday, Nov. 13. Photo by Vinde Wells
the Brethren in 1958 at a cost of $25,000. From those four original families, the congregation has grown to
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Zoning Permits, B4
more than 120 households, with an average of 225 weekly in Turn to A3
Deaths, B4 Wilma M. Buse, Edward L. Ludwig, Pauline V. Rowland
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com