Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS December 8, 2016 Volume 50, Number 8 - $1.00
Wrestling Preview
Staying Warm
Holiday Hole
The Oregon Hawks will be coached by Kip Crandall this season. B1
A Byron seventh grader helped to collect 5,000 coats for HOPE. B3
A one-of-a-kind Black Friday prank was dug on property near Oregon A7
Christmas on the Village Square
County board going digital Laptops will replace paper for all Ogle County Board Meetings By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com The Ogle County Board is saying goodbye to paper waste and postage and going digital for the new year. In an effort to cut back on unnecessary expenses, reduce labor, and increase convenience and efficiency for board meeting information, the county board has invested in a set of 24 personal laptop computers - one for each of its members. According to board chairman Kim Gouker, the discussion to make the adjustment has been ongoing for around a year, starting with former County Clerk Rebecca Huntley in 2015 and continued by current Clerk Laura Cook. “I did state when I campaigned for County Clerk and Recorder that I would like to have the county board have their own access page for paperless packets,” said Cook. “I am happy to say this will have been accomplished within the first nine months of my time in office with the cooperation of the Ogle County Board.” Currently, one person at the clerk’s office spends two full days gathering any documentation from the 20 committees, which gets compiled with information regarding business items, copied, sorted, and mailed
Above, Gerald, Hannah, and Ethan Sheely make colorful pictures along with their letters to Santa during the pancake breakfast at the Mt. Morris Senior Center Dec. 3 at Christmas on the Village Square. Santa’s elf, Sue Spink, was on hand to help. At right, Emily Wolber , 9, sends a letter off to Santa through the Mt. Morris Post Office. Below, Sue Hicks, Charlene Cain, and Glenda Norman operate the Pinecrest Community Craft Fair. All proceeds from the vendor booth and table costs, raffle baskets, and bake sale go toward Pinecrest Manor’s Good Samaritan Fund. Photos by Zach Arbogast
personally as inches-thick packets to 24 board members. Around three full packages of computer paper get expended to produce the packets, and postage costs around $3 per packet according to Gouker. Three members have moved to requesting the packets in the form of a CDROM, which have had their own issues. “One time - and we still have no idea why - when the CD’s got mailed, they wound up in Wisconsin,” said Gouker, laughing. “They made their way back, but the board members didn’t even have them in time for the meeting.” Gouker added that it’s difficult when a present issue requires information from a document discussed several meetings prior, and results in an item being tabled for a month simply to go back and find information. All of this points to the digital move; by putting the agenda and all packet items online, the county will save paper waste, the cost of paper and postage, time and labor, and will have an easy way to bring up past information for agenda items that require it. The packets also cannot become lost or delayed in transit online. Gouker beta-tested the concept of going fully digital himself by bringing only Turn to A3
Gouker re-elected board chairman by 17-7 vote By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com A challenge from a fellow Ogle County Board member from Byron fell short Monday evening of unseating Kim Gouker as board chairman. Gouker, Byron, was re-elected to a third two-year term as chairman by a vote of 17-7. A previous motion to elect Dorothy R. Bowers, also a Byron resident, was defeated 8-16. After the vote, Gouker thanked the board for its confidence in his leadership and pledged to continue making progress. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress over the last couple of years,” he said. “I want to help this board continue to move forward over the next couple of years.” Gouker, who has served on the county board for 18 years, said he hopes to build more unity on the board and make the committees more dynamic. He said the biggest projects facing the board are building a new jail and remodeling the recently purchased clinic building in Rochelle.
Board member John Finfrock, Mt. Morris, was elected to his third two-year term as vice chairman. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress over the last couple of years. I want to Before the votes for chairman and help this board continue to move forward over the next couple of years.,” — vice chairman, Judge Robert Hanson Kim Gouker administered the oath of office to the 16 board members elected Nov. 8, including Ricky Fritz, Monroe Center, and Zach Oltmanns, Davis Junction, in District 1; Wayne Reising, Oregon, and Thomas Smith, Kings, in District 2; Greg Sparrow and Garrett Williams, both of Rochelle in District 3; John Kenney, Rochelle, and Kimberly Whalen, Hillcrest, in District 4; Martin Typer, Stillman Valley, and Donald Griffin, Oregon, in District 5; Bowers and Gouker in District 6; Ron Colson, Mt. Morris, and Finfrock in District 7; and Patricia Saunders, Polo, and Marcia Heuer, Oregon, in District 8. Fritz, Reising, Sparrow, Kenney, Typer, Bowers, Colson, and Saunders were elected to two-year terms, while the others have fouryear terms. All 16 are Republicans and ran unopposed in November. The terms of the remaining eight Ogle County Board members John Kenney, Rochelle, Greg Sparrow, Rochelle, Wayne Reising, Oregon, county board members were not up Pat Saunders, Polo, and Kim Gouker, Byron, take the oath of office Monday evening from Judge Robert for re-election this fall. Hanson. Photo by Vinde Wells
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5 Library News, A3
Marriage Licenses, A4 Mt. Morris Police. A3 Library News, A3 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A7
Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Deaths, B4
Freda E. DuBois, Janice M. Gilbert, Charron M. Rausa, Sherman D. Schubbe, Thomas L. Simpson, Lorraine E. Straw, James R. Williams
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com