Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS January 26, 2017 Volume 50, Number 15 - $1.00
Hawks vs. Cardinals
Recycling
No Agreement
Oregon and Forreston tipped off Tuesday night in non-conference action. B1
The schedule for electronics recycling in Ogle County is set. A6
The Byron School Board is negotiating with the teachers union over a new contract. A7
BOR denies printing plant’s tax appeal By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Ogle County Board of Review deliberated only about 5 minutes Tuesday morning before denying a tax appeal filed by the owners of a shuttered Mt. Morris printing plant. Board Chairman Joe Yockey, Stillman Valley, recommended keeping the assessment of the former Quad Graphics plant the same as last year, the $895,912 set by Mt. Morris Township Assessor Paul Peterson. The appeal sought an assessment of $122,761. Board member Mitchell Montgomery, Rochelle, agreed with Yockey, and
Paula Diehl, Mt. Morris, recused herself because she is the village clerk for Mt. Morris, one of the taxing bodies that receives revenue from the plant. Daniel Tucker, from Ryan Law LLC, Chicago, represented the plant’s owner, Mt. Morris Business Park LLC, Downey, California, which has no connection to the village of Mt. Morris. He said the value should be much lower because the plant has been taken off the real estate market. “I think the $400,000 appraisal is what we should go with to put a value on this thing,” Tucker said. Yockey disagreed. “I, personally, think the appraisal is too low at
$400,000,” he said. The appraisal is based on the fair market value of the printing facility, and assessments are a third of the fair market value. Peterson set the fair market value at $2.68 million. Being taken off the real estate market should have no bearing on the current assessment, Peterson said, because it still was on the market when the value was set. “As of the date of value a year ago, it was on the market,” he said. Oregon School Superintendent Tom Mahoney agreed with Peterson. “If it’s not on the market The tax assessment for the former Quad Graphics property at 404 S. Wesley Ave. was for this tax year, then we on the Ogle County Board of Review’s docket – again. The appeal for the shuttered Turn to A7 plant in Mt. Morris was heard Tuesday. Photo by Vinde Wells
Police train in house before its demolished County will be adding parking lot on the site By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle stands with his wife, Marla, and daughter, Ali, in view of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The VanVickles attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony Friday. Photo supplied
Sheriff attends inauguration By Rachel Rodgers Sauk Valley Media Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle and his family greeted the chilly January morning surrounded by thousands waiting to see the nation’s 45th chief executive come into power Friday. “It was neat to see the
“It was neat to see the peaceful transition from one president to another,” — Brian VanVickle peaceful transition from one president to another and see that part of history that still works more than 200 years later,”
VanVickle said shortly after President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony. Turn to A2
The VanVickles’ view of the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States of America.
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 Entertainment, A6 Mt. Morris Library, A2
An Oregon landmark is coming down as the second phase gets underway of a plan to expand parking near the Ogle County Judicial Center. County board member Don Griffin, Oregon, told the board Jan. 17 that employees of the county highway department are helping with the demolition of the Spoor house at 102 S. Fifth St., Oregon, which was a part of the Spoor Hotel a century ago. Most recently the house has been the law offices of attorney Robert Lowe. A power point showed the board the deteriorating
condition of the inside of the house and the progress being made to tear it down. Griffin said he planned to contact representatives of the Ogle County Historical Society to see if they are interested in having components of the house, such as the newel post and stairway bannister. In the meantime, the house is being used for police training before it comes down. Sheriff Brian VanVickle said a dozen officers from police departments all over the county took part in SWAT training on Monday. The county board purchased the house in December of 2013 from Scott and Barb Spoor for $99,500, not long after the purchase of the adjoining property to the north where Jackass BBQ was formerly located. The board approved a
multi-phase plan to turn both spaces into a parking lot, next to the judicial center and across the street from the courthouse. The first phase of the project was razing the Jackass BBQ building, which once was a gas station, removing the underground gasoline tanks, and then paving the area for parking. That was completed in the fall of 2015. Griffin said Lowe, who rented the house from the county, has moved out, meaning the project can progress to Phase 2, which is tearing down the house to create space for more parking. The final phase will be completing the entire parking lot with a total of 39 spaces. The cost of the first phase was approximately $200,000. The final two phases have an estimated cost of $162,000.
Police from several area agencies advance on the front door of the old Spoor house alongside the Ogle County Judicial Center during a training on Monday. The home has been purchased by Ogle County and will soon be razed. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A7 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Deaths, B4 Margaret L. Blake, Emerson Garman Jr., Martha Sue Gilbert, Andrew J. Smith, Sandra J. Spinks, Richard E. Wing
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