Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS October 12, 2017 Volume 50, Number 52 - $1.00
Hawks Fall Again
$75,000 Given!
Deficit Budget
Rockford Lutheran edges the Hawks football team 14-7. B1
An anonymous donor gives $75,000 to HOO. A4
The Ogle County Board is working to solve a $850,000 deficit budget. B3
Felony charges filed
Blue skies draw crowd to AOP Spotty showers on Saturday, but sun and fun on Sunday By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Although the final numbers aren’t yet tallied, Oregon’s 47th Autumn on Parade festival may have drawn its largest crowd ever on Sunday. “Several people told me they had never seen so many people there before,” said AOP Committee President Marseyne Snow. After intermittent drizzle all day Saturday, Sunday dawned bright and beautiful with temperatures topping off in the mid-70s — picture perfect for browsing craft booths, shopping for mums and pumpkins, and best of all, watching a parade. “Even with the rain on Saturday, we still had a good crowd, and yesterday was just beautiful,” Snow said on Monday. As always, the Harvest Time Parade was a crowdpleaser. “The South Shore Drill Team is always a favorite, and the Jesse White Tumblers got the crowd involved. People really liked that,” Snow said. The tumblers invited members of the audience to Jennifer Scheck of Mt. Morris, runs with her son Briggz, age 4, in Autumn on Parade’s Kids stand tall while their high-flying acrobats, one after Fun Run on Sunday. Photo by Earleen Hinton another, did flips over top of them. The crowd started coming into town early Sunday morning. “We had nearly 500 runners in the 5K,” Snow said. The festival’s second 60/40 cash raffle also topped last year’s total. This year’s winner, Jeff Donaldson, of Polo, won $13,140. The cash total of tickets sold was $21,900. By noon, virtually every one of the 180-plus booths in the Farmers Market had a line of shoppers, and the block-long Food Court was elbow-to-elbow. Amanda Wielgus, of Rochelle, was involved in what she laughingly called “the endless debate,” as she contemplated a handmade
Straw-Beary, the winning straw sculpture in Mt. Morris’ National Straw Sculpting Contest this summer, took a trip
Mongan facing DUI, reckless homicide in boating fatality By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Felony charges were filed in Ogle County Court Oct. 4 against an Oregon man who was operating one of boats involved in a collision that took the life of a Rockford woman more than a year ago. Marc Mongan, 47, was charged with seven new felony counts — one count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, a Class 2 felony; three counts of reckless homicide, all class 3 felonies; and three counts of reckless conduct, all Class 4 felonies. Mongan had already been charged with six misdemeanors in the death of Megan Wells, 31, who died on June 24, 2016 after the johnboat he was operating struck her when it went over the back of the pontoon boat she was riding in, throwing her overboard. The collision occurred just around 8:40 p.m. on the Rock River three miles north of Oregon. Judge John Redington set a preliminary hearing for Wednesday, Oct. 18, when he will rule on whether or not probably cause exists for the felony charges. Special prosecutor David Neal, from the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor’s office, said he decided not convene a grand jury for an indictment on the new charges.
Turn to A8 to Oregon Sunday for the Harvest Time Parade. Photo by Vinde Wells
Turn to A3
The lodge at the White Pines State Park gets addition and new name Long-awaited expansion for Henderson By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A long-awaited expansion is close to becoming a reality at the White Pines State Park. Local and state officials attended a ground-breaking at the park’s lodge Oct. 6 that they say will usher new tourism dollars into the area economy. Lodge concessionaire Beth Henderson said the construction project, which is slated for completion Dec.
18, means the lodge, now known as the White Pines Resort, will have a brand new stage with state-ofthe art lighting and sound, seating for 40 more guests in the dining room, and more storage. The goal, she said, is have a retreat center to attract corporate groups to the facility. “We have tourists and weddings on the weekend, but all we have mid-week is the dinner theater. Now we have space for corporate retreats mid-week as well,” she said. Henderson declined to give the cost of the expansion, but said the project is a partnership between the resort and
In This Week’s Edition...
the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which has authority over the park. “The state [IDNR] paid for the design and I’m paying for everything else,” she said. Henderson told the crowd at the ground-breaking that the expansion has been a long time coming. “I’ve been here 29 years and this has been in the making for 20 years,” she said. “It is really a symbol of growth as we transform from the White Pines Lodge to the White Pines Resort. We want to be a showplace for the state.” Keynote speaker Cory Jobe, director of the Illinois Office of Tourism, said the cooperation between Henderson and the IDNR is
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4 Guest Column, A7
noteworthy. “This is the first time I’ve been at a ground-breaking for a public-private partnership,” he said. “It’s refreshing to see that happening at one of our state parks.” State Sen. Tim Bivins (R-Dixon) recounted coming to the White Pines since his childhood. He said when he came the first time with his parents he was fascinated with the park’s fords. “How cool is that to drive through the water?” he said with a smile. “This is a jewel,” Bivins continued. “This place has special meaning for those of us who live around here and White Pines Lodge concessionaire Beth Henderson addresses the crowd at the ground-breaking ceremony grew up here.” Turn to A2 at White Pines Resort on Oct. 6. Photo by Zach Arbogast
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Zoning, B4
Deaths, B5 Lawrence L. Acker, Robert H. Cavanaugh, Freda J. Engelkes, Charles E. Kump Jr.
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com