Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS December 7, 2017 Volume 51, Number 8 - $1.00
Hawk Bowlers Roll
Food Drive
No Injuries
Oregon High School’s bowling teams are rolling along. B2
Scouts will pick up food donations Dec. 16, A8
No one is injured in an apartment fire in Mt. Morris. A2
Christmas on the Village Square
Village matches cat donations By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com
Above, sisters Paisley, Piper, and Paloma Albaugh, of Oregon, were shopping Saturday at the craft and vendors show at the Pinecrest Grove Community Center, one of many activities that made up Mt. Morris’ Christmas on the Village Square. Below left, Olivia Ortega, of Mt. Morris, gives her full attention to her coloring project Saturday morning at the community breakfast at the Mt. Morris Senior Center. Below right, Ed Baker, of Mt. Morris, looks over a wooden skier carved by his uncle Harlan Baker at the Holiday Art Show Saturday at the Old Sandstone Gallery. The show continues on Dec. 9 and 10 from 3 to 7 p.m. Photos by Vinde Wells
The Mt. Morris Village Board agreed to match a portion of donations given towards curbing the feral cat colonies around town. The board agreed Nov. 28 to match private donations given to alleviate costs of the feral cat capture, spay, and neuter program, up to $500. The decision refers to the Nov. 14 meeting, where Melinda Cox, a Mt. Morris resident, offered to lead a program of capturing feral cats and taking them to Emily Schier, a veterinarian at Pines Meadow Veterinary Clinic, Oregon. Schier offered to dedicate days to spaying, neutering, and administering rabies vaccinations to feral cats, which have set up sizable colonies at the 200 block of West First Street, the southwest corner of the village near west Lowell Park Road, and west of the
village near Ill. 64. “We know that if we don’t get this in check, it’s going to continue to grow,” said Phil Labash, Finance Committee chairman. “We haven’t budgeted for this, obviously, but I think it’s important to show support.” Costs have been estimated at $25 to neuter and $85 to spay. The program relies on donations from citizens who will benefit from the colonies being taken care of. Those interested in donating should contact the village clerk at 815-7346425. In other action, the board agreed to a three-year forgiveness of water and sewer bills for Aireloom Music Studio and Sandstone Bookstore. In the three-year agreement, those businesses will see a 100 percent water bill forgiveness for the first year, 75 percent for year two, and 50 percent for the third year. The surcharge on water usage still applies.
Candidates file for Primary Election Two Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination for Ogle County Treasurer in the March 20 Primary election. Chief Deputy Treasurer Linda L. Beck and Patrick Weisner, both of Oregon, have thrown their hats into the ring. Monday was the last day candidates could file for the primary. The General election will take place on Nov. 6. Running unopposed for reelection to their current posts are County Clerk Laura J. Cook, of Oregon, and Sheriff Brian E. VanVickle, of Rochelle. Twenty candidates, including two Democrats, are seeking nominations in the primary for seats on the Ogle County Board. Two seats are open in each
of the county’s eight districts, and all are four-year terms. In District 1, which includes Dement, Lynnville, Monroe, and Scott Townships, two Republicans, incumbent Rick Fritz, of Monroe Center, and newcomer Benjamin Pihl Youman, of Davis Junction, are running. In District 2, which includes White Rock, Pine Rock, Lafayette, and Oregon-Nashua Townships, Republican incumbents Wayne Reising and Pat Nordman, both of Oregon, and Democrat Jerry Shirar, also of Oregon, have thrown their hats into the ring. In District 3, which includes Flagg Township Precincts 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7, Republican incumbent Greg Sparrow and two Turn to A3
Bicentennial celebration begins By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Two local communities joined in the yearlong celebration of Illinois’s statehood Monday by raising the official bicentennial flag. Mt. Morris officials raised the white flag with blue lettering at noon at the Memorial Fountain in the downtown and Polo officials did the same outside the city hall. Ogle County is also flying the bicentennial flag at the courthouse in Oregon. Gov. Bruce Rauner
and leaders of the Illinois Bicentennial Commission kicked off the official state celebration on Sunday at Navy Pier in Chicago. Illinois became the 21st state in the Union on Dec. 3, 1818. Its first constitution had been signed a few months earlier on Aug. 26. The Illinois Territory was created on Feb. 3, 1809, with its capital at Kaskaskia, an early French settlement in the southwestern part of the state. After Illinois became a state, the capital remained at Kaskaskia, in a small rental
In This Week’s Edition...
building. The capital was moved a little north and east to Vandalia in 1819 and remained there for 18 years, during which three separate structures were built to serve as the capitol building. State legislators representing Sangamon County, under the leadership of State Rep. Abraham Lincoln, succeeded in having the capital moved to Springfield in 1837, where a fifth capitol building was constructed. The sixth and current Mt. Morris Village President Dan Elsasser reads a proclamation about the village’s capitol building was built in participation in the yearlong Illinois Bicentennial celebration Monday at the Memorial Fountain. Village Trustee Jerry Stauffer, left, and Police Chief Jason White hold the 1867.
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
bicentennial flag. Photo by Vinde Wells
Public Voice, A4 Property Transfers, B3 Senior Center News, A3 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com
Deaths, B4 Carolyn Armour