Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS
February 22, 2018 Volume 51, Number 19 - $1.00
Fourth At State
Turtle Talk
Kerwin to Retire
Oregon’s Jacob Milliman finishes fourth at the 1A state wrestling meet in Champaign. B1
NIU’s Callie Klatt Golba will give a talk about Blanding’s turtles. A7
Nancy Kerwin is stepping down as Children’s Center Coordinator after 28 years. A8
Telecommunicator of the Year!! County bd. OKs interfund loans
Ogle County dispatcher gets top award for call
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com
By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecountynews.com
Ogle County will keep its bills paid by making interfund loans if needed in the next few months. The county board approved a cash flow agreement Tuesday evening that authorizes county treasurer John Coffman to make loans up to $3 million to the General Fund from the Solid Waste Fund or the Long Range Capital Improvement Fund. Finance Committee Chairman Greg Sparrow, of Rochelle, said the loans will be made only if necessary and must be paid back before the fiscal year ends on Nov. 30. The money may be needed, he said, to tide over the General Fund until real estate tax payments are received in June and September. Coffman said that last year the board approved $3 million in same inter fund loans, and only $1 million was actually borrowed. Because of budget tightening, including a hiring freeze, Sparrow said he hopes this will be the last time the loans are needed. “We hope to work out of this,” he said. “It’s still better than borrowing from the bank.” The current budget has General Fund appropriations of $14.2 million. Revenues in the Solid Waste Fund or the Long Range Capital Improvement Fund include the host fees paid by garbage collection companies to dump refuse in landfills in the county.
An Ogle County dispatcher was recently recognized as the Illinois Telecommunicator of the Year, thanks to her calm approach and quick thinking to helping a young girl Jennifer Hoffman,of Mt. Morris, a telecommunicator for the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, was recognized by the Illinois Sheriff’s Association as Telecommunicator of the Year during the winter training conference Feb. 3-6, specifically nominated for her efforts in assisting 5-year-old Jaylee Armstrong, of Adeline. Armstrong’s mother, Christina O’Brien, fell unconscious last June 28, and it was young Ogle County Telecommunicator Jennifer Hoffman operates the console in the Ogle County Armstrong who made the 911 call to Hoffman, communications center. Photo by Zach Arbogast who was on duty. For Hoffman, though, the recognition clearly any chance for recognition of the staff. Hoffman talked Armstrong through the hasn’t ended. “All of our employees do an outstanding job situation, asking her the color of her house and “I was shocked when the sheriff told me,” for the citizens in the community, and when helping her find the home’s address on a piece said Hoffman. “I was honored he would think you’re able to take an event like what [Hoffman] of mail. responded to, and put that on paper, and show enough of me to nominate me.” Responders arrived to O’Brien conscious Hoffman doesn’t soak up the recognition and recognition, that’s important,” said VanVickle. again, and Armstrong feeding her baby brother, accolades, though. She remains humble, and “It’s what they do day in and day out, and we’re Brantley. lucky to be able to recognize [Hoffman].” gives credit to her co-workers. Hoffman and Armstrong were both honored Hoffman, who has been a dispatcher for the “I’ve been recognized twice for the situation as 911 Heroes on Aug. 1 during Oregon’s with Jaylee, but honestly, it’s everybody in my past five years, spent the 16 years prior as a National Night Out. room and our center that does a fantastic job paramedic, starting in Mt. Morris and ending “The greatest thing about that entire event, in every single day,” said Hoffman. “They save at OSF St. Anthony, Rockford. my opinion, was how many people immediately lives every day. I’m really proud to work here, “I started thinking long-term about my body; started training their kids on what specifically and proud of our team.” how much wear and tear we see as paramedics, to do if they ever needed to call 911,” said Sheriff Brian VanVickle doubled down on Turn to A3 Hoffman. the respect for the team, and said he’s proud of
Ballot not available
Report:
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com
Cause of fatal Lost Nation fire cannot be determined By Kathleen A. Schultz kschultz@saukvalley.com The fire that took the lives of a Dixon family of six, and the firefighters’ efforts to contain it, so heavily damaged the two-story home that a cause of the inferno cannot be determined, a state arson investigator concluded. “The cause of this fire will be documented as undetermined in nature,” Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office Arson Investigator Greg Castronovo wrote in his report, obtained Feb. 16 through a Freedom of Information Act request. “This was based on my inability to examine all areas of the structure due to structural collapse as a result of the fire and fire suppression efforts,” Castronova wrote. Arson was not suspected in this case. Timothy A. Shaw, 39, Melissa (Duncan) Shaw, 37, and Tim’s children, Ethen, 17, LeAnne, 15, Hailey, 12, and Dylan, 11, all died of smoke inhalation in the fire Nov. 21 at 204 N. Miami Drive. Ethen made the call to 911 at midnight from the smoke-filled basement, where his bedroom was, and where he said he was trapped, officials said. When firefighters arrived 17 minutes later, the home was fully engulfed. Two dogs and five cats also died in the fire. The Shaws were renting from Edward and
In This Week’s Edition...
Fire investigators work at the scene Nov. 21 of a fatal fire at 204 Miami Drive in Lost Nation, northeast of Dixon, that claimed the lives of six people. Photo by Alex T. Paschal, Sauk Valley Media
Rebecca Lamken, of Salem, South Carolina; Edward Lamken had worked with Tim’s father, David, for 30 years, and the home was insured, he told Castronovo. Lost Nation straddles the Lee and Ogle County border, and the Shaw home was in Ogle County.
Fund set up for surviving children
A fund to help pay for the education and other expenses of Melissa Shaw’s two surviving children has been established at Sterling Federal
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 Entertainment, A6 Library News, A2 Marriage Licenses, A4
Bank. Melissa, a 1998 Rock Falls High graduate, is survived by her parents, Robert and Linda Duncan of Rock Falls, and by Mackenzie and Alex Irwin, 16 and 13, who live in North Carolina with their dad, Jonathan M. Irwin. Checks must be made payable to the Benefit of Melissa Irwin Shaw. They may be mailed to or dropped off at Sterling Federal Bank, 110 E. Fourth St., Sterling IL 61081 or to any of its branches in Rock Falls, Dixon, Morrison, Mount Morris, Byron, or Clinton, Iowa.
Pine Creek News, A3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B6 Senior Center News, A3 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B6
Ogle County voters who wish to cast an early ballot in the March 20 Illinois Democratic Primary Election will have to wait at least a little longer. Early voting began two weeks ago, but the State Board of Elections could not certify the Democratic ballot due to the pending objection of Democratic candidate Scott Drury for the office of Illinois Attorney General. A Cook County judge ruled Feb. 2 that Drury’s name could not appear on the Democratic Primary ballot because of questions over the filing of his economic interest disclosure statement. Drury appealed the ruling. County Clerk Laura Cook said the matter was finally resolved in Drury’s favor on Feb. 16, but Democratic ballots are still not available for early voters. “They resolved it Friday afternoon,” Cook said Tuesday. “But we’re waiting for our vendor to get us the information.” That information is needed to print the ballots. The dilemma has not, however, affected the Republican ballot. Early voting, which is conducted at the Ogle County Courthouse, began as usual on Feb. 8 for the Republican Primary. Cook said early voters who request a Democratic ballot will not be turned away. They can sign a vote by mail application, and the ballot will then be mailed to them once it is available and voting machines have been tested, she said. Another option is that Cook’s staff can call voters who wish to return to the courthouse to cast their ballots. For more information go to Cook’s website at oglecounty.org or call her office at 815-7321110.
Deaths, B4 Margaret B. Foster, Kelly L. Graham, Gene Hoak, Thomas E. Joworski
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com