Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS January 18, 2018 Volume 51, Number 14 - $1.00
Strite Advances
Special Place
New Cigar Shop
Oregon High School bowler Austin Strite has advanced to the sectional. B1
A local musician and mother will perform at the Village Bakery. A4
A new cigar shop also offers a great view of the Rock River. A2
Board approves Enterprise Zone By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Jerry Stauffer, Curator for the Mt. Morris Historical Museum stands near some Mt. Morris High School class photos from 1943-1946. The museum displays many items pertinent to Mt. Morris’ history. Photo by Zach Arbogast
Some things old are new at museum By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@ oglecountynews.com The public will be getting more chances to bask in local history thanks to the interest of volunteers. The Mt. Morris Historical Museum, located in the basement of the Mt. Morris Village Hall at 105 W. Lincoln St., opened on Jan. 13 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. for the first of what will be expanded monthly hours for public access.
Visitors “If there’s never something new, why should use the would you ever need to come back?” —Jerry Stauffer entrance on the Mt. Morris Museum Curator south side him about being open more of the building. often. According to curator Jerry “A group of women from Stauffer, the museum was the P.E.O. approached me, previously only open during and said ‘we’d like to see it special occasions and voting open more’,” said Stauffer. days. “I told them ‘Frankly, so That changed, however, would I.’” when members of the Stauffer said staffing has Mt. Morris chapter of the always been the biggest Philanthropic Educational issue, but with volunteers Organization approached
assisting, he is moving to being open every second Saturday of the month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Really, it’s a trial basis,” said Stauffer. “You could see us moving up to two days a month, or maybe down seasonal. It will depend on visitor demand.” Increasing demand for a local museum can be tricky, and Stauffer, who’s been in charge of the museum for 12 years, said the key is to keep Turn to A2
Oregon Chamber makes a move By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com After months of planning, preparation, and redecorating, the Oregon Chamber of Commerce is ready to show off its new headquarters. Chamber Executive Director Debbie Dickson and the Chamber board will host an open house in the near future for the public to get a look at the new Chamber office at 122 N. Fourth St. in Oregon’s downtown, in the building formerly occupied by Midland States Bank. Besides being the Chamber’s new space, the office will also be a satellite office for Ogle County Tourism through the Blackhawk Waterways Convention & Visitors Bureau, which covers Ogle, Lee, Carroll and Whiteside Counties and has its headquarters in Polo. Because of the importance
of tourism to the local economy, Dickson said the two are a good fit. “We’re hoping that the higher visibility and combination of tourism and Chamber will bring not only tourists into this space, but also local people who really don’t know what the Chamber is and how we partner and collaborate to serve our community as a whole,” she said. She said she plans to continue her efforts to make the public aware of local businesses and all they have to offer. “That’s very important to me,” Dickson said. “When we spend money here in our own hometown, we’re helping our neighbors, we’re helping our families and friends. That’s how communities thrive.” A move has been on the Chamber board’s mind for at least a year, she said. For the last several years, the Chamber has had office
In This Week’s Edition...
Mt. Morris has passed some of the necessary hurdles to become part of the LeeOgle Enterprise Zone. The village board approved joining Jan. 9 and authorized designating just over 200 acres of property in the village as an enterprise zone. They also gave the nod to paying $1,750 annually toward administration costs. “It’s a pretty big deal for villages,” said village president Dan Elsasser. “It enables us to give some pretty good tax abatements and incentives to businesses that would come in.” Mt. Morris Economic Development Committee Chairman Rob Urish also endorsed the plan. “Village officials and Economic Development Committee members are focused on strategies and initiatives to bring jobs to Mt. Morris,” he said. Enterprise zones serve as economic development tools that use incentives like sales tax exemptions for building materials or a 50 percent property tax abatement for six years to encourage new businesses to open or existing ones to expand. Mt. Morris is looking to put the enterprise zone stamp on 203 acres, most of which is located in areas prime for industrial development. The proposed extension includes about 100 acres of undeveloped land southeast
space right next door at the Oregon Coliseum, which is owned by the City of Oregon. “The city has been
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B8 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
very gracious and very accommodating for the use of that space for six years,” Dickson said. “But we were Turn to A2
Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Mt. Morris Police, A3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
Rachel Rodgers contributed to this story.
County board okays study for sidewalks By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Oregon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Debbie Dickson stands beside the new Chamber sign and tourism sign that welcomes visitors to the new office of the Chamber and Ogle County Tourism at 122 N. Fourth St. Photo by Vinde Wells
of the village as well as the downtown and the former Quad Graphics printing plant, which shut down operations in 2011 after 113 years in business. “They have great capacity for industrial growth, especially with work they’ve done to upgrade the infrastructure,” said Andy Shaw, zone administrator and GIS specialist for Blackhawk Hills Regional Council, who spoke to the village board Dec. 12 and again Jan. 9. Amending the enterprise zone to include Mt. Morris requires the approval from its four partnering governments – the Cities of Dixon and Rochelle, and Lee and Ogle Counties – as well as the final sign off from the state. Last week, the Rochelle City Council approved an ordinance to add Mt. Morris, and the Dixon City Council was scheduled to consider it on Tuesday. The Ogle County Board approved it Tuesday. The Lee County Board is expected to vote on it in February. The Lee-Ogle Enterprise Zone was approved by the state a year ago. The previous zone was established in 1986 and was due to expire at the end of 2017. It includes 15 square miles, mainly in the Rochelle and Dixon areas, but some acres are not spoken for and can be claimed by other communities within the two counties.
The Ogle County Board approved a study Tuesday that could mean an easier walk for pedestrians along Pines Road in Oregon. The board hired Chastain & Associates, Rockford, to determine if curbs and gutters and sidewalks can be extended on Pines Road from Ill. 2 to the city limits without causing drainage problems. The cost was limited to just over $29,000. “We’re studying it to see it’s possible to make the improvements without making the drainage problems out there worse, or maybe if we can even improve the drainage,” county engineer Jeremy Ciesiel said. Currently curbs, gutters, and sidewalks run from Ill. 2 to South 10th Street. Because a significant number of people walk along Pines Road to reach businesses located there, Ciesiel said he hopes to extend the sidewalks on the north side of the road, as
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well as the curbs and gutters, from South 10th Street to the S curve at the city limits. The drainage is crucial, however, because significant flooding often occurs in the area during heavy rain storms. Just last summer, heavy rain flooded the Village of Progress on Pines Road, and led the evacuation of residents of the Oregon Living and Rehabilitation Center on South 10th Street. In another matter, board chairman Kim Gouker said that an open house will held at the newly renovated Emergency Operations Center at 510 Lincoln Highway in downtown Rochelle on Wednesday, Jan. 24 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Besides the EOC, the former Rochelle Clinic will house the office of the Ogle County Emergency Management Agency, the Rochelle offices of the Ogle County Health Department and Probation Department, and a University of Illinois medical clinic. The county board purchased the building and its two parking lots in 2015 for $180,000.
Deaths, B5 Lois J. Horst, William L. Ehmen
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