Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS February 2, 2017 Volume 50, Number 16 - $1.00
Bowlers Fifth
First Fridays
Chana School
The Lady Hawk’s finished in fifth at the tough Dixon Invitational Jan. 28. B1
The monthly music show will honor the memory of Ray Rose. A6
A historic school museum is in need of donations to pay for a new roof. A4
Payment delay for sewer claim
uper peller
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Sixth grader successfully spells ‘scrumptiously,’ ‘burglarious’ By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com The Oregon Elementary School Spelling Bee turned into a tense duel between two stellar spellers. Brandon Rowe was crowned champion of the 24th Scripps OES Etnyre Spelling Bee, but not before going 15 rounds with Abigail Rogers. A mix of fifth and sixth graders, 18 students in total, competed Jan. 25. Most were eliminated
in round seven and fifth grader Owen Flanagan lasted until round nine, finishing in third place. After that, Rowe and Rogers went back and forth, until Rogers failed to spell “icarus” in round 15. Rowe got two in a row with “scrumptiously” and “burglarious,” taking home the win and a spot in the Regional Spelling Bee in Dixon on Feb. 23. What’s the secret to Rowe’s victory? “I just study a lot” he said. “I was really excited to win; Turn to A3
Sixth graders Brandon Rowe and Abigail Rogers finished first and second respectively at the OES Etnyre Spelling Bee. It was a shootout between the two for several rounds, but Rowe successfully spelled 16 words to Rogers’ 14. Photo by Zach Arbogast.
The Mt. Morris Village Board approved an agreement last week with one of two residents to pay a portion of the cost to clean up recent sewer back-ups. The other agreement was put on hold after changes were made to the claim. On the recommendation of village trustee Jeff Pennington, who is the chairman of the Water & Sewer Committee, the board approved an agreement Jan. 24 to pay $1,585 to Dennis Grandt, 308 S. Wesley Ave. However, Pennington recommended more study before approving an agreement to pay Rick and Barb Blackburn, 401 W. Lincoln St. He said the Blackburn’s claim had been revised, but did not elaborate. At the Jan. 10 meeting, the board okayed having village attorney Rob LeSage draw up agreements with both Grandt and the Blackburns. The Blackburns’ claim was $2,041. The board was in favor
of paying the settlement amounts from village coffers because its insurance carrier, Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association, denied the claims. Village president Dan Elsasser said he had filed two appeals of the denials for both claims to no avail, exhausting the appeal process. At the Jan. 10 meeting Pennington recommended paying all of what remained of the Blackburns’ bill after their homeowners insurance paid its share because he said the a chunk of concrete from an old hook-up in the main dislodged and caused the back-up. Barb Blackburn voiced dissatisfaction with that arrangement because she said it would not cover items that were ruined in the basement. Pennington suggested paying half of Grandt’s, because, while it was caused by a foreign object being flushed down the toilet somewhere along the main, village employees were slow to respond which made the back-up more extensive. Turn to A2
Byron Station’s value is $546M BOR upheld the assessment set last fall by assessor Jim Harrison Congratulations to all of the 24th Scripps OES Etnyre Spelling Bee participants. Pictured are: Lariaha Hayes. Owen Flanagan, Ethan Schafer, Emmett Peterson, Lexy Davis, Alyssa Leary, Eleonora Alfano, Abigail Rogers, Kalvin Gallagher, Kenna Wubbena, Lizzie Elsasser, Kilee Carlson, Brandon Rowe, Gregory Gabucci, and Rivers Schafer. Photo by Zach Arbogast.
Jumping for donations at OES By Earleen Hinton ehinton@oglecounty news.com Physical education students from the Oregon Elementary School were having fun jumping rope last week while raising money for the American Heart Association to help battle heart disease. “Our students collected donations for the last three weeks. We use this event as a community service for our students,” said Lori Gipper, a PE teacher and one of the event’s organizers. “Last year we were the top school in Ogle County and the fifth in our territory when we raised more than $14,000. Our goal this year was $15,000, but we should be a little over $16.000 this year.” OES students walked across Jefferson Street to the Oregon High School last Thursday Oregon Elementary student Ella Dannhorn demonstrates and Friday to jump together a double jump during the school’s annual Jump Rope in the high school gym with for Heart fundraiser on Jan. 27. Photo by Earleen Hinton encouragement from Gipper
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6 Library News, A2
and fellow PE teachers David Boyer and Tim Gipper, who were also co-coordinators. “The community has been tremendous again,” said Tim, who is also Lori’s husband. Banners from previous years events and a pledge board with names of those who have made donations this year were on display on one side of the gym. The school has participated in the event for more than 30 years. “The program is run through the physical education classes so all the students have the opportunity to participate. The philosophy of the physical education department is that this is a community service that all our students can participate in,” said event coordinators in a letter to the Oregon School Board. The American Heart Association receives all the donations given by the students and uses them for research, education, and advocacy.
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A Byron school official voiced approval for a decision last week by the Ogle County Board of Review (BOR) to uphold the assessment set last fall for the Exelon’s Byron Generating Station. “We’re very satisfied with that,” said Byron School Superintendent James Hammack after the hearing on Jan. 26. The BOR voted to value the nuclear power station at $546 million, the amount set last fall by Ogle County Supervisor of Assessments Jim Harrison. That assessment affects the amount of real estate taxes paid in 2017. In its appeal of the assessment, Exelon Generation officials set the value of Byron Station at $295 million, slightly more than half of Harrison’s number. The Byron School District filed as an intervenor in the appeal. “We believe our legal firm does a fair assessment of the nuclear plant,” Hammack said. “We believe the $546 million is accurate.” Byron Station
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2
Communications Manager Paul Dempsey said that Exelon is willing to pay its share of real estate taxes, although operating nuclear power stations has become more difficult. “We want to let people know that we remain committed to paying our fair share of taxes,” he said. “It continues to be a tough environment for nuclear plants as we’ve seen closures. We’ll continue to operate safely and efficiently and provide carbon-free power for northern Illinois and beyond.” Dempsey said that Exelon has made more than $20 million in philanthropic contributions and its employees volunteer their time to local projects. During arguments at the hearing, Exelon’s attorney Roger Lewis from Goldberg Kohn Ltd., Chicago, expressed surprise that Harrison had increased the value of the plant from the $482.4 million set by the BOR a year ago. “Those of us on the Exelon side were very shocked by the $68 million increase in the assessment of Byron Station,” he said. The value of the plant has Turn to A7
Deaths, B4 Allen L. Gale, Edna H. Groenewold, Sharon V. Huttunen, G. Gordon Landry, Lois H. Miller, Rita Mae Prentice, David E. Proud
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com