Library News

2 MT. MORRIS TIMES MT. MORRIS TIMES MT. MO RRIS BE AT oglecountynews.com ShawLocal.com OFFICE 113-115 Peoria Ave. Dixon, IL 61021 815-732-6166, ext. 2592 Mt. Morris Times / ShawLocal.com • Friday, Jan 13, 2023 SUBSCRIPTIONS $39 in Ogle County, and $52 outside Ogle County. Single-copy price is $1 To subscribe, make a payment or discuss your delivery, call 815-732-6166, ext. 2518, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday or send an email to subscriptions@ oglecountynews.com. You also can subscribe online by going to oglecountynews.com and clicking on Subscribe. CLASSIFIED SALES classified@shawlocal.com HELP WANTED employment@shawlocal.com LEGAL NOTICES sauklegals@shawlocal.com Library Closing The Mt. Morris Library will be closed on Monday, Jan. 16, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

OBITUARIES Story Time

saukobits@shawlocal.com Deadline for obituaries is Bring your little ones by for a great story time! 2 p.m. Tuesday for Friday’s edition We will be reading books and then children will be making a craft this Wednesday, 1/18. Story SEND NEWS news@oglecountynews.com time is every Wednesday at 11:15 a.m., bring your little ones to enjoy stories and a craft at the Publisher Mount Morris Library! Jennifer Heintzelman 815-632-2502 Adult Book Club jheintzelman@shawmedia.com The January book is “Have You Seen Luis Valez?” by Cathrine Ryan Hyde. Everyone is General Manager Earleen Hinton welcome to join this book club group! Copies of 815-632-2591 the book are available at the library. This group ehinton@shawmedia.com will meet in-person on Monday, Jan. 30 at the News library.

Alexa Zoellner Cookbook Club

815-632-2590 Join us as we explore The Cookbook Club!azoellner@shawmedia.com Wonderful recipes combined with friendship Advertising Sales creates something both beautiful and deliJennifer Heintzelman 815-632-2502 jheintzelman@shawmedia.com cious!Stop by to choose your recipe from this month’s book, “Eat at Home Tonight” by Tiffany King, then bring the dish to pass at our next Mt. Morris Times, Ogle County News and oglecountynews.com are a meeting! Join us on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. at The Senior Center for another exciting meal! division of Shaw Media. Ink with a Friend: Card Making at the Library Ogle County Newspapers also prints the Mt. Morris Times, Join us in February to make some lovely Oregon Republican Reporter home-made cards to send to family and friends. and Polo’s Tri-County Press. We will be offering a card-making class from local The MT. MORRIS TIMES crafter, Liz Gullett. Liz has already been working (USPS No. 365-440) is published with the Oregon Public Library and her classes weekly by B.F. Shaw Printing Co., are quite the success! We want to offer her lovely Shaw Media. Periodical postage paid at workshops to our Mt. Morris patrons also. She Mt. Morris, Illinois. will be here on Thursday, Feb. 9 from 5-7 p.m.! POSTMASTER Send address You will get all the materials to make two changes to MT. MORRIS TIMES, P.O. Box 8, Oregon, IL 61061. beautiful cards to take home. Stop by to see the Phone 815-732-6166, ext. 2516. samples, fees are by donation. Registration is limited so call the library or stop by to save your All rights reserved. Copyright 2023 spot before Feb. 3.

Lego Club

Our next Lego night is Thursday, Jan. 19, from 6 – 6:45 p.m. Bring a friend and build some fun with Lego bricks! All children and parents are invited. Children under 8 need to bring a parent with them.

Memorial Gifts

Give a Christmas gift that lasts, brings joy to many, and doubles in value. Your memorial gift to the library is matched by the Mt. Morris Library Foundation, doubling your generosity! Many thanks to all who gave memorial gifts in 2022.

Display Case Showings

Stop in to see our new display for January! It is a wonderful winter display revealing some of Margaret Dannhorn’s collection of snow globes. Stop by to enjoy the enchantment of the gorgeous snowy scenes! We are always looking for collectors or artists who are willing to share their treasures in our display cases. If you are interested, please call, 815-734-4927.

Explore More Illinois Welcomes 2 New

Attractions: The German American Heritage Center & Museum and The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

Explore More Illinois, RAILS’ online cultural and recreational pass program for Illinois libraries, welcomes its newest attraction, German American Heritage Center & Museum (GAHC&M) in Davenport, IA! The German American Heritage Center & Museum signed on to Explore More Illinois at the end of 2022, making it the first Iowa attraction.

Explore More Illinois also has attractions in Illinois and Wisconsin. The German American Heritage Center and Museum seeks to preserve the heritage of our German speaking ancestors for present and future generations and to enrich our knowledge of the German immigrant experience. Today GAHC&M, a National Historic Site, has evolved into a museum that includes a large permanent exhibit and two rotating special exhibits.

The German American Heritage Center & Museum is offering Two-For-One Admission.

Illinois State Scholars were recognized at Oregon High School’s Pack the Place Night in between basketball games Jan. 6 at the Blackhawk Center.

Eight seniors were honored for their accomplishments: Ashley Cadie, Jennica Ciesiel, Alexys Davis, Ryan Fox, Valerie Nyderek, Abigail Rogers, Ethan Schafer and Sophia Stender.

The State Scholar Program, sponsored through the Illinois Student Assistance Co mmis sio n (ISA C), rec og nize s high school seniors for outstanding academic achievement.

“ISAC has paved the path to post-secondary education with innovative programs for more 50 years. Illinois State Scholar winners rank in the top percentile

MT. MORRIS LIBRARY

Explore More Illinois users can access and reserve passes from any of our attractions on their participating library’s website.

Explore More Illinois, RAILS’ online cultural and recreational pass program for Illinois libraries, spotlights attraction, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield! The presidential library and museum uses a combination of rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship to immerse visitors in Lincoln’s life and times. Visitors can see ghosts come to life on stage, watch TV coverage of the 1860 Presidential election, roam through the Lincoln White House, experience booming cannons in a Civil War battle and come face to face with priceless original Lincoln artifacts.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is offering $2 Off Individual Admission. Explore More Illinois users can access and reserve passes from any of our attractions on their participating library’s website.

Explore More Illinois is easy to use with your library card. Visit the library’s website to browse attractions. You can find the information on our website, www.mtmorris-il.org under the resources page.

Rock River Center

The Rock River Center has a representative in our library the second Thursday of every month. Services provided by Rock River Center are designed to enable older and disabled persons to remain independent, thereby avoiding costly long-term care. No appointment necessary but, if you want to make an appointment with the Rock River Center you may call 815-732-3252.

Adult Programming

We are trying to get back into the swing of offering monthly programs for adults. We would love to hear from you. Do evenings or weekends work better? Do you have a program you would like to share? Contact Mary Cheatwood at the library through email at mmlib@mtmorris-il.org or call 815-734-4927.

of high school seniors. Selection is based on SAT and/or ACT test performance and academic performance in high school,” the school district said in a social media post. “Oregon Junior and Senior High

Eight OHS students honored as state scholars Eight Oregon High School seniors were honored by being named Illinois State Scholars. Here, six of the students pose for a photo during a special presentation Jan. 6. School is proud of our students for their hard work and dedication. We hope our scholars take pride in their accomplishment and recognize they have a promising future!”

By ALEXA ZOELLNER azoellner@shawmedia.com

An effort to restore the American Legion Memorial Fountain in Mt. Morris is taking shape.

The Mt. Morris Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit 501(c) (3), has acquired ownership of the lot on which the fountain is located, said Rob Urish, a member of the Mt. Morris Economic Development Corporation. The property address is 16 S. Wesley Ave., Mt. Morris.

“The fountain was erected in 1926 in honor of World War I servicemen,” U r i s h s a i d . “ T h e l o c a l A m e r i c a n Legion Post [No. 143] underwrote the erection of it. There are stones there from all over the world, but predominately North America and the Midwest.”

Kable News Co. and Kable Product Services deeded the property to the EDC for $0 in exchange for a property appraisal the company could use as a tax write-off, Urish said. Originally, Kable executives wanted $10,000 for the property, he said.

The appraisal came in at $125,000, and the tax benefit of a donation of that amount “far exceeds the $10,000” originally sough, Urish said.

The EDC has been in contact with the Wisconsin-based Kohler Foundation regarding restoration of the fountain, he said.

The tentative plan is to deed the property to the Kohler Foundation, which in turn will underwrite the restoration of the fountain later this year, Urish said. Before that can happen, t h o u g h , t h e K o h l e r F o un da t i o n ’ s board has to approve the project.

Once the fountain is restored, the property will be deeded back to the village of Mt. Morris, Urish said.

“If it all comes to pass, we’re hoping to have a centennial celebration in 2026,” he said.

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media The memorial on the campus in downtown Mt. Morris was created by the Mt. Morris American Legion in 1926.

Off icials exploring barrier poles near intersection

Commissioners discuss options following Sunday auto accident

By ALEXA ZOELLNER azoellner@shawmedia.com

A weekend crash has prompted Oregon city officials to ask the Illinois D e p a r t m e n t o f T r a n s p o r t a t i o n whether barrier poles can be added to the northwest corner of Illinois Routes 2 and 64.

A n S U V e n d ed u p i n t h e g l a s s garage door of Ogle County Brewery –which is located on that corner – after it was struck by another vehicle whose driver ran a red light early Sunday afternoon. No one was injured, according to police.

“We were really lucky. We dodged a bullet on this one that nobody was there [in the way] when this car went through,” Streets and Public Improvements Commissioner Tim Krug told fellow council members Tuesday. “It’s just a matter of time. It’s going to happen.”

Ogle County Brewery’s address is 400 W. Washington St., which is the name of Route 64 within city limits; Route 2 is called Fourth Street in city limits.

The barrier poles are relatively easy to install, Finance Commissioner Terry Schuster said. It’s an idea worth pursuing, he said.

“We were lucky there was no one sitting at a table by the door because the door just swept in,” Mayor Ken Williams said. “We also talked about, had they gone in closer to the street, they would have gone through the window and knocked over one of those tanks because that little knee wall’s not going to stop an SUV from coming through.

“So you hear about those things and you have to look and say, ‘What can we do to keep our citizens safe and our community safe?’” he added.

Krug noted that while the city isn’t legally liable for the intersection, there still is a level of moral responsibility. As such, he has instructed Public Works Director Bill Covell to reach out to IDOT.

“We don’t want somebody to get seriously injured or dead and thought we could have done something,” Krug said.

In other business, council members:

Unanimously approved a preliminary elevation and water line designs for a proposed Dollar General at 1192 Illinois Route 64 (E. Washington St.). The approval was sought by the developer prior to it doing full site plans to bring to Dollar General, City Administrator Darin DeHaan said. The project is not yet a sure thing, he said.

Unanimously approved job descriptions for a deputy police chief and a Public Works mechanic/heavy equipment operator.

SPECIAL EVENT

Recycle your electronics Jan. 27 in Oregon; permits are required in advance, but they are free

The Ogle County Solid Waste Management Department (OCSWMD) will host a residential electronics recycling event on Jan. 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 909 Pines Road in Oregon.

This event is for Ogle County residents only and a free permit is required in advance of the event.

To obtain a free permit call 815-732-4020 or email solidwaste@oglecountyil.gov by 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26.

Accepted items include all televisions and computer monitors, computers, computer hardware and cables, laptops, tablets, cellphones, printers, FAX machines, scanners, shredders (no tubs), copiers, video gaming equipment, DVD/VCRs, cable/satellite boxes, stereo equipment, radios, digital clocks, cameras, calculators, phone systems, holiday light strands, extension cords, rechargeable batteries, printer ink cartridges, CD/DVDs, and

CFL bulbs.

Microwave ovens are accepted for $5 per unit. Cash or check is accepted.

There is a limit of seven large or bulky items per permit and one permit per county household per month.

Business or institutional electronic materials are not accepted at these events.

For more information about this recycling event call the OCSWMD at the number listed earlier, visit www.oglecounty.org, or go on Facebook at Ogle County Solid Waste Management Dept.