Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS August 10, 2017 Volume 50, Number 43 - $1.00
Teachers Contract The Byron School Board and BEA have settled their differences. A2
Right Notes
At the Band Shell
Petunia City Brass competition hit the right notes at OHS.B3
The popular band Illinois Rail returns to the Mt. Morris Jamboree Aug. 11. A8
Cool weather may be a first for county fair Estimated crowd of 17,000 turns out for events By Vinde Wells and Zach Arbogast news@oglecounty news.com The 164th Ogle County Fair may have set a record for the coolest temperatures ever. At an event usually noted for the very steamy 90s, this year early mornings and late nights in the low 50s called for long sleeves and maybe even a jacket. Daytime temperatures reached just to the upper 70s with low humidity. Fair board president Harlan Holm said he couldn’t remember a fair that was overall as cool. “Thursday night when that cool front came through, it was darn cold. I put a sweatshirt on,” he said with a chuckle. It was still sweatshirt weather Friday morning when a stiff breeze added another dimension to the chilly temperatures. “It warmed up fast every day though,” Holm said. “ And I’d rather have it in the 70s than the 90s.” An estimated 17,000 turned out for fair, which was held Aug. 2-6 at the fairgrounds west of Oregon. That number is down slightly from last year, Holm said, something he attributed to the forecast on Thursday. “Our attendance was down Thursday,” he said. “It was sunny but they were calling for rain all day, and I think that kept a lot of people away.” Friday and Saturday were the fair’s busiest days with large crowds coming to the grandstand shows. Saturday’s demolition derby was the biggest draw with the Big Hat Rodeo on Friday a close second. Jon Pearson, President of the Ogle County Beef Association, was happy to be on hand on Saturday selling burgers, brisket, and ribeye steak sandwiches. “It’s always a good time here,” said Pearson. “I’m a huge fan of the tractor pull, and we have a great time serving our products to the hungry community.” Ivy Unger, Nelson, said the pigs building is her favorite place at the fair. “I just love the pigs, and going through the tent really makes me just want to take one home!” Unger said. The 4-H and Junior Open Shows went on throughout the fair and covered a wide array of topics from the traditional livestock, foods,
Art shows open on Aug. 11
Two unique art events will open in downtown Mt. Morris this week. The first is the U.S. National Straw Sculpting Competition, a presentation of fine art in straw, which opens Friday, Aug 11 at 6 p.m. on the historic Mt. Morris campus. Giant sculptures will be on display, and the competition winner is determined by visitors’ votes. The campus event will continue daily Aug. 12–27 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Straw sculptures from the 2016 competition have been on display around the area recently at the White Pines State Park, the Ogle County Fair, Ukulele Station America in Oregon, and various locations in Mt. Morris. Additional information is available at StrawUSA.com. WATT Global Media and Encore! Mt. Morris will present a display of poultry breed Katelyn Mernack, 20, of Stillman portraits in Old Sandstone Valley was crowned Miss Ogle County on Aug. 2. She was crowned by last Evan Kosick, of Mt. Morris, dressed his 10-week-old pygmy goat Josie as a Gallery, also opening Friday, year’s winner, Maddie Kirchner. Photo clown for the costume judging at the Ogle County Fair on Aug. 4. Photo by Aug. 11 at 6:30 p.m. by Peter Balser, Sauk Valley Media The show features the largEarleen Hinton est single collection of rare poultry breed portraits worldwide (1926–1950). The complete collection, which has never before been publicly displayed in its entirety, is comprised of 58 framed oil paintings of the most important poultry breeds. The paintings were created by three American artists, A.O. Schilling, L. Stahmer and F.L. Sewell, and were commissioned in the mid-1920s by J.W. Watt and Adon Yoder, founders of Watt Publishing Company (now Turn to A2
Elianna Hanson, age 7, Mt. Morris, and Xairyn Goeddeke, age 6, German Valley, carry a fire extinguisher as they take part in the Firefighter Show at the Ogle County Fair. The show was designed to teach kids about what to do when a fire breaks out. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Benefit for VOP is Aug. 21
The White Pines Resort is offering a unique event to help the Village of Progress recover from a devastating July flash flood. On Monday, Aug. 21, Denny Diamond, will begin performing at 6 p.m. followed by a cocktail hour, at 9 p.m.. The cost of this fundraiser is $28 per person and includes White Pines’ homemade potato chips and one free beverage (beer, wine or soft drink). White Pines is also offering a special cabin rate of $98 for those who would like to spend the night out at the Pines. White Pines Resort will be donating 50 percent of all ticket, food, beverage and cabin sales, to Village of Progress Inc. to help offset costs of flood damage to its facility. Additional information Megan Buttens, age 15, Mt. Morris, smiles as she hangs on to her friend Katelyn Bowers, age 12, Oregon, while appears on page A4.
Turn to B2 swinging on a carnival ride at the Ogle County Fair on Aug. 4. Photo by Earleen Hinton
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5 Library News, A3
Oregon Police, A9 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4
Sports, B2 State’s Attorney, B5 Weather, A3 Zoning Permits, B5
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com
Death, B5 Darrel N. Hepp