Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS September 7, 2017 Volume 50, Number 47 - $1.00
Hawks Fall
Saturday Sweep
At the Band Shell
Dixon’s defense proves to tough for the Hawks in a 42-7 loss Sept. 1. B1
Help clean up the Rock River this Saturday in Oregon. A6
The popular Jimmys will close out the 2017 Jamboree season on Friday. A2
Funds for Taft statue not part of new budget Demmer says he is frustrated by the delay By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Black Hawk statue appears to be doomed to spend another year shrouded in black plastic. State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) said Friday that a $350,000 grant earmarked for repairs to the Black Hawk statue may not be funded by the state legislature until the 2018-19 budget. Hopes were high that the grant, from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, would be part of the recently passed 2017-18 budget. However both Demmer and an IDNR official said that didn’t happen. “Grant funding was not included in the budget that was just passed,” Demmer said. “That’s basically unresolved. It wasn’t appropriated this year.” IDNR Director of
Sprucing Up Economic Development Group members Doug Aken, above, and Jerry Stauffer, at left, paints trim at the Campus Cafe in the downtown Mt. Morris Saturday morning. The EDG is helping local businesses with improvement projects. Below, Mary Jane Warkins, a member of the Mt. Morris Beautification Committee, waters marigolds at the corner of Wesley Avenue and Lincoln Street. Residents are encouraged to plant marigolds, which are the official village flower, and Warkins and her husband Dave, along with Mickey and Connie Tate help keep them watered. Photo by Vinde Wells
Facial features of the Black Hawk Statue protrude through the black covering draped over the historic structure last year.
Communications Ed Cross said Friday that the new budget did not include capital projects, which is where repairs to the statue falls. “What was passed was an operational budget, not a capital budget,” Cross said. “That’s why we haven’t been able to resume anything. Once we get a capital budget passed by the General Assembly then we can begin looking at that [the statue repairs].” Demmer said he backed an earlier budget bill that Turn to A2
Schools waiting for final word on funding total By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Two area school superintendents are taking a reserved approach to the state lawmakers’ longawaited approval to a bill for school funding. Oregon Superintendent Tom Mahoney and Forrestville Valley’s Sheri Smith both said they are reserving comment until they have definite numbers on how much their districts will receive as a result of the compromise bill approved by the General Assembly early last week and signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner on Aug. 31. “I have not seen the final numbers on how the funding bill will impact the district,” Mahoney said. “If it is the same as Senate Bill 1 we will received approximately an additional $80,000 in General State Aid. But I want to wait until I have seen the final dollar amounts before I make a comment.” Smith said she, too, is awaiting information from the ISBE on the final allocation for the current school year.
“For now, I can tell you that Forrestville Valley should start to receive state aid payments in 10-12 days,” she said. “These payments will mirror our payments from last year, so there will be no loss to the district. We are still owed one categorical payment from FY [fiscal year] 17, and we do believe we will receive this final payment in this fiscal year. However, there has been no date verified by the state board of education.” Polo Superintendent Chris Rademacher did not return phone calls. Due to the legislature’s failure to pass a school funding bill earlier, the districts did not receive two promised state aid payments in August. The fiscal year for the state and school districts begins July 1. According to a press release on the ISBE website, districts should start receiving their state aid checks late this week, but final calculations on the amounts each district will receive will not be available for a few months. Turn to A2
In This Week’s Edition...
Rochelle business grows better salads By Andy Colbert acolbert@oglecountynews.com Tired of the old-school salad of bland iceberg lettuce and hard tomato wedges? BrightFarms has something better for your taste buds and overall health. Since last year, its four-acre greenhouse south of Rochelle has been providing top quality fresh greens and herbs, along with tomatoes. It is different the Mighty Vine operation, also near Rochelle, that grows tomatoes only in its greenhouse. Bright Farms grows 75 percent greens and 25 percent tomatoes in its hydroponic greenhouse. “We choose Rochelle because they are very receptive to innovative farming,” said Abby Prior, Vice President of Marketing for Bright Farms. “They were friendly and open to our type of agriculture.” That type of agriculture is based upon the premise of controlling an indoor environment in creating a product superior to what is found outdoors. “When you compare the indoors to outdoors, you take away the harsher element,” Prior said. “We also use less water, land and energy
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B4-B8 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
Turn to A8
Mt. Morris Library, A3 Mt. Morris Police, A2 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
BrightFarms has been growing top quality fresh greens and herbs in this greenhouse just south of Rochelle. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 Weather, A3
Deaths, B4 Margaret C. Ashurst, Wiley J. Lynch, Darlene Nelson
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com