Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS April 6, 2017 Volume 50, Number 25 - $1.00
Hawks Grounded
Easter Events
Awareness
The Hawks were grounded by Rock Falls 10-3 in baseball action. B1
The rabbit is getting ready to make the rounds. Find an activity. A3, A6
Several groups are raising awareness for victims of crimes and abuse. B3
Elsasser holds off challenger to win re-election By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Mt. Morris Village President Dan Elsasser withstood a challenge from a former village president at the polls Tuesday to win another four-year term by a 55-vote margin. Elsasser garnered 299 votes to defeat Greg Unger who received 244. The two faced off four
years ago when Elsasser unseated Unger by a mere 20 votes to win the village’s top spot. Elsasser said he was pleased with the win. “I’m looking forward to four more years of village growth, and hopefully industry and jobs will take place during that time,” he said. Unger, who was village president from 2005 to 2013 and served as a village trustee
Vote totals Greg Unger 244 Dan Elsasser 299 for 14 years prior to that, said he was not surprised by the loss. He said he believes several residents continue to believe the new wastewater treatment plant, which was built while he was village president, was a waste of village funds. “It didn’t surprise me
because I knew the stigma of the sewer plant was still out there,” he said. “One of the reasons I ran was to give people a choice [for village president].” Unger said he is disappointed, however, because he was looking forward to working with the village board. “We’ve got some good people on the board,” he said. “I’m disappointed I won’t get to work with them.
I congratulate Dan and wish him the best.” Unger said he plans to work to help Mt. Morris grow and develop, possibly by becoming involved with the Economic Development Group. In a four-way race for three four-year seats on the village board, Jerry Stauffer, Jim Hopkins, and Michael Fay were the victors. Turn to A2
Dan Elsasser
Polo man faces arson charges By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
fortunately, it did not ignite,” Cavanaugh said. Michael Custer, who owns the house, also lives there, he A Polo man is charged said. with attempted residential Parker, who had fled, was arson, a felony that carries arrested at 9:45 a.m. Monday 3 to 7 years in prison, after at a friend’s home in the 100 police say he tried to set the block of West Mason Street. house in which he was living He is in Ogle County Jail on on fire. $250,000 bond. Polo police arrested No motive has been Johnathon P. Parker, 32, determined as to why Parker Monday morning tried to set the fire, with the assistance Cavanaugh said. of the Ogle In a statement County Sheriff’s Parker posted on Department. Facebook, however, A n he appeared to be acquaintance of saying goodbye to Parker’s called family members 911 around 1:30 and friends, while a.m. Sunday accusing others of Johnathon P. to report a betraying him. Parker disturbance at 302 After telling two E. Mason St. friends he would Al Wieneke waits while election judge Jon Murray gets the paperwork ready Tuesday morning in Mt. Morris Precinct The first officer on scene miss them, he wrote “I’ll 4. Also pictured is election judge Ron Colson. Photo by Vinde Wells called for the fire department see u all in the next life or when he smelled an heaven or hell!!! Who knows accelerant and saw a burning where I’ll end up. But I TV inside the house, Police know I will never go back Chief Kurt Cavanaugh said. to prison!! So we will hold “An accelerant had been By Zach Arbogast Turn to A2 poured on the floors, but zarbogast@oglecounty news.com
Tractors, trucks, and everything else
Public works projects approved by village By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Mt. Morris Village Board approved spending almost $26,000 March 28 on two public works projects. The board accepted a bid for $21,548 from Bennett Construction, Inc., Pecatonica, to do the concrete work for the restoration of the Price Campus Fountain at the south end of the downtown campus. Sally Gray, a member of the Mt. Morris Work Group, which is overseeing the restoration, told the board that Bennett was the only firm to submit a bid because of the specialty nature of the project. She told the board that finding a firm willing to undertake the work was difficult. Finance Committee Chairman Phil Labash said $22,000 was budgeted
for the current fiscal year, which ends April 30, for the concrete work. He voiced support for the project and recommended accepting the bid. “It’s really a nice piece of historic preservation for our downtown campus,” he said. Gray said the estimated cost was reduced last year when volunteers including village trustee Jeff Pennington removed the fountain’s concrete sidewalk, basin walls, and part of the fountain floor. The Price Campus Fountain was donated to the Village of Mt. Morris, probably in 1904, by Dr. A.W. Price, a local veterinarian and member of the village board. The board also approved spending up to $4,316 for 15 banners and hardware to be hung on the light poles in the downtown and on Ill. 64. Turn to A3
In This Week’s Edition...
The rain clouds parted long enough for a beautiful spring Saturday as crowds gathered west of Polo for the annual Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale. The ground was muddy, but a little mud wasn’t enough to stop around 5,000 people from browsing tractors, cars, semi-trucks, tires, fourwheelers, bicycles, welders, ditch-diggers, and just about anything anyone could think of from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. “It’s a junker’s paradise,” quipped a passerby. The sale began in the late 1940s by Sheryl Hopkins’ mother and father, Ruth and Ellery Shank. It has changed locations a few times, but remains at the 30-acre Hazelhurst site to this day. “All things considered with the weather, we couldn’t have asked for a better day,” said Hopkins, co-owner and operator of Public Auction Service, Polo, with her husband Lyle. “I love that this sale really helps out farmers; both those in need of some equipment, and those needing to let go of some.”
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
Every year at the Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale, the Polo Lions Club serves up burgers, brats, hot dogs, and pork sandwiches all day to hungry shoppers. Photo by Zach Arbogast
“Letting go” is a key phrase at this sale; intermixed among well-functioning vehicles and machinery were some fringe items, like a classic soda machine and the bed of a Dodge truck. “We’ve got cars with flat tires, steel-rimmed tractors, stuff that never ceases to amaze me - and I’ve been coming since 1969,” joked James Hopkins, brother to Lyle. “I wasn’t going to come today, but like a moth to flame, you can’t help but be drawn here.” Some customers, like
Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B5
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5
Sterling landscaper Matt Habben, share a different view. “You see so much crazy stuff that nothing blows my mind anymore,” remarked Habben. “It’s more of a social event for me; lots of good people to talk to.” Habben walked away with a 2004 Ford F550 Super Duty service truck for his landscaping business for $4,000. The window stated it ran great with 130,000 miles, but needed brake rotors and a crane repair. Buyers didn’t go hungry,
either; at the concession stand attached to the main office, the Polo Lions Club members were grilling hot dogs, burgers, brats, and pork sandwiches, while the Ogle County Beef Producers were selling steak sandwiches on the west end, near the tractors. There was no shortage of sales, either; the line to pay for auction items stayed about 100 feet long during the sale. “It’s great to have this hub to help out farmers, and I get to work with such pleasant people,” said Sheryl Hopkins.
Deaths, B4 Richard R. Bentley, Bradon H. Ely, Leonard C. Hagemann, Kenneth V. Imel
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com