Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967
MT.Times MORRIS
May 31, 2018 Volume 51, Number 33 - $1.00
Hussung Medals
Double Winner
At the Band Shell
Oregon’s Ian Hussung brings home track medals in the 800 and 1600M runs. B1
Forreston-Polo’s AJ Christensen wins both hurdles event at state meet. B1
The Jimmys will kick off the free Mt. Morris Jamboree Concert this Friday night. A6
Board approves street closings for July 4 festival Beer garden, car show to be part of LFR festival By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The village board approved two requests last week in preparation for the annual Let Freedom Ring festival. Village president Dan Elsasser said the board gave the nod May 22 to closing streets in downtown Mt. Morris for a beer garden and car show. Wesley Avenue between Front and Center Streets will Oregon High School’s Class of 2018 throw their caps into the air before exiting the Black Hawk Center after commencement be closed during the 4th of July celebration for a beer on Sunday. Photo by Earleen Hinton garden at Maggie’s Idle Hour. The board also approved
Despite the Heat
The grass was planted after the parkway was torn up during replacement of natural gas mains throughout the village.
Teen dies after being rescued at Lake Louise
Kindness and service was the day’s message
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Unseasonably hot weather didn’t stop the 100-member Class of 2018 from showing their delight Sunday after they were declared graduates of Oregon High School. Despite the 90-plus temperatures outside, hats went high in the air as, diplomas in hand, the class turned to face their families and friends, amid cheers all around. Commencement speakers told the class that showing kindness and a willingness to serve others hold the keys to true success. “Kindness is more valuable than intelligence. Contentment
closing Main Street from the east side of the Kable News parking lot to Wesley Avenue and Wesley Avenue from Main Street to Front Street for the car show on Friday, July 6. In another matter, the board awarded a $62,137 contact to Civil Constructors, Inc., Freeport, for seal-coating several streets in the village. In other business, the board took no action on a resident’s request for compensation for a larger than normal water bill. Elsasser said one resident asked for his bill to be adjusted after he watered newly planted grass in the parkway adjacent to his property.
Izak Holley takes a selfie with the crowd behind him after walking across the commencement stage on Sunday. Photo by Earleen Hinton
is more powerful than always getting my way,” said Brion Brooks, executive director of Village of Progress, an agency that provides social and work opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Those are some of the les-
sons Brooks said he is learning from the people VOP serves daily. He recounted lessons he has learned throughout his life while making career decisions and dealing with difficulties. One of those lessons came when his daughter Rachel, now
in her 30s, was born with development difficulties. In church one Sunday, Brooks said he wrote a letter to God detailing his disappointment. “I told God that I’d dreamed of a little girl who Turn to A10
A 16-year-old Rockford boy died Monday evening after being pulled from Lake Louise near Byron early in the afternoon. Winnebago County Coroner Bill Hintz said Tuesday that Luis Campos died from drowning around 9:10 p.m. at Mercyhealth, Rockford, where he was taken by ambulance after being rescued from the lake around 1 p.m. According to a press release from Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle, the teenager disappeared under the water in area of the lake designated as “no swimming” as he
was attempting to retrieve a beach ball that had floated away. Witnesses reported seeing him go under water and not resurface. Several people along with on duty life guards and first responders searched the area and pulled him from the water after approximately 10 minutes, the press release said. Lake Louise is a campground and recreation area north of Byron at 8840 N. Ill. 2. Illinois Conservation Police and the Byron Police Department assisted at the scene. “The incident remains under investigation, however, no type of foul play is suspected,” the press release said.
Black Hawk fundraising effort to go on the road By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Fundraising efforts for the Black Hawk statue will go on the road next month, when members of the Oregon Together Black Hawk Restoration Team take their plea for the internationallyknown landmark to Chicago. Roger Cain, one of the volunteers involved in the process, told an audience of more than 30 people Saturday
at the Oregon Depot that team members will speak to the Cliff Dwellers Club in June. “That statue is the only tribute to Native Americans in the state,” he said. “The Cliff Dwellers are very eager to help us.” The club was formed in 1907 by Hamlin Garland, a brotherin-law of Lorado Taft, the statue’s creator, to encourage and promote the arts and artists. Approximately $500,000 is needed to complete the repairs,
In This Week’s Edition...
which were started in 2014. Taft created the concrete statue in 1910 as a tribute to Native Americans. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2009, the 48-foot statue needs the repairs due to the ravages of weather and time. The landmark was unveiled and dedicated in 1911, and sits on a 125-foot overlooking the Rock River at Lowden State Park near Oregon.
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5 Library News, A3
Turn to A3
Roger Cain addresses a crowd of more than 30 people Saturday at the Oregon Depot. Cain spoke about the progress being made on repairing the Black Hawk statue. Photo by Vinde Wells
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B4
Social News, A4 Sports, B1. B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Deaths, B5 Betty Diven, Ron Erdman, Carl A. Forney, Robert Gaul, Maryann Hackett Mason, Linda Straith
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com