MTMT 072718

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Serving the Mt. Morris area since 1967

MT.Times MORRIS

July 27, 2018 Volume 51, Number 41 - $1.00

Farm to Table

Fair Guide

At the Band Shell

The Oregon Park District’s first Farm to Table event was well attended. B1

The Ogle County Fair offers a wide variety of family fun Aug. 1-5. Inside

The season’s last Kable Band concert is Aug. 1, and Rhythm Ramblers are at the Jamboree Aug. 3. A6

Sheriff: new jail to offer improved security, climate By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The plan for Ogle County’s new jail offers better conditions for both corrections officers and prisoners, according to county officials. “It will provide a better workplace, better environment for inmates, and provide more educational opportunities,” Sheriff Brian VanVickle said. “We’re very excited about it.” “The old building is simply outdated,” said county board chairman Kim Gouker. “The new one will provide more efficiency, better security, and improved public safety.” A sally port large enough to accommodate several vehicles for transporting prisoners is a key part of the increased security, Gouker said. Currently, the sally ports at the jail and the judicial center each hold only one vehicle. “Right now, if a vehicle is already in the sally port at the judicial center, the Illinois Department of Corrections has to park their vehicle in the street and walk prisoners in [for

Out for a Walk Dakota “Atlas” Hecox pulls his 15-month-old daughter, Sora, down a sidewalk in Mt. Morris on Monday afternoon. Summer temps allowed Ogle County residents to get out and enjoy the weather. Photo by Earleen Hinton

Ogle leads way in tourism revenue By Pam Eggemeier peggemeier@sauk valley.com In a record-setting year for Illinois tourism, the four-county Blackhawk Waterways Convention and Visitors Bureau region also saw an uptick in travel-related spending and tax revenues in 2017. Ogle County, one of four counties in the region, brought in the most money, $78.81 million last year, thanks mainly to the Black Hawk Statue, three state parks, and the John Deere Historic Site. The Illinois Office of Tourism announced in May that travelers spent $39.5 billion statewide last year, a $1.1 billion, three percent increase over the previous year. That spending generated $2.95 billion in state and local tax revenue, a $75 million increase. The breakdown by region and county was released July 18. The numbers track the total economic impact of tourism, including travelrelated spending, employment and payroll, and tax revenues generated.

The Black Hawk Statue is slated for repairs this year. The Lorado Taft statue is located in Lowden State Park. Photo by Earleen Hinton

The Blackhawk Waterways CVB, headquartered in Polo, covers Ogle, Lee, Whiteside, and Carroll counties. Collectively, the region brought in $174.77 million in travel dollars, a 3.78 percent increase from 2016. The number of tourismrelated jobs came in an 11,600, a 2.65 percent jump. Tourism brought $4.23 million in tax revenue to the region, up 3.68 percent from the previous year. Whiteside County led the

In This Week’s Edition...

way, percentage-wise with a healthy 7.6 percent boost in travel spending, totaling $39.67 million, and $940 million in local tax revenue, a 7.9 percent bump from 2016. Lee County saw travel spending jump to $33.07 million, a 4.6 percent increase, while local tax revenue checked in at $660,000, a 4.8 percent increase. Ogle and Carroll counties saw smaller percentage increases across the board. Ogle, however, has about

Agriculture, B4 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5

double the tourism spending seen in Whiteside, even after its healthy jump. Two of Ogle’s biggest attractions are steeped in history – the Black Hawk Statue in Lowden State Park near Oregon and the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour. Its three state parks, Lowden, White Pines, in rural Mt. Morris, and Castle Rock, south of Oregon, draw thousands of visitors annually. Many of those visit the White Pines Resort, known for its lodging, fine dining, and dinner theater. Both Lowden and Castle Rock are bordered by the Rock River, which offers boating and fishing. Despite seeing just a 1.7 percent increase, travelers still dropped $78.81 million in Ogle County last year. Ogle received $1.52 million in travel-related tax revenue, a 1.9 percent increase. Travelers brought $23.22 million into Carroll County last year, 1.5 percent better than 2016. Local tax receipts came in at $1.11 million, 1.7 percent more than in the previous year. Of the four counties, Turn to A3

Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B6 Public Voice, B6 Property Transfers, B5

court appearances],” Gouker said. “That’s not what we want done. This will allow for better efficiency and handling of inmates for public safety.” The county board approved a plan presented July 17 by Thomas Leonard, of Gilbane Building Company, the firm hired in February for the design and construction of the new facility. Gilbane is working with Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. Chicago, which was hired last year to do the architectural and engineering design. The new jail will be located in the 100 block of South Sixth Street in Oregon on property already owned by the county. The $26.7 million plan approved by the board was scaled down in size from a preliminary design presented by HOK last year. In an effort to minimize costs, the plan was downsized from three stories to a story and a half, from 70,000 square feet to 50,796 square feet, and from 180 to 200 beds to 152 beds with the capacity to go to 176. Turn to A2

New OESPA contract includes hourly raises By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Oregon School Board and the Oregon Education Support Personnel Association recently came to an agreement on a five-year contract that increases starting wages and includes annual hourly increases. “The board and OESPA used interest-based bargaining and completed negotiations in six meetings and took a little over one month,” said Superintendent Tom Mahoney. “The two major changes to the contract are starting wage and hourly increases. Both were addressed to ensure the district could attract and retain highquality staff members to serve our students.” He said the first negotiating session was held on May 9 and the final one on June 13. According to the terms of the new agreement, starting wages will increase for all support personnel as follows: • Secretaries from $8.50 per hour to $10.50, • Certified Aides (Special Education, English as a Second Language, Early Childhood, Pre-K, instructional, library aide) from $8.50 to $10.50, • Bus Aides from $8.87 to $10.50, • Bus Drivers from $15 to $16, • All Other Aides (non-

Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B2 State’s Attorney, B5

Published every Friday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com

certified library aide, health aide, lunch aide, playground aide, secretary aide) from $8.50 $10.50, • Food Service Workers from $8.50 to $10, • Assistant Head Cook from $11.44 to $12, • Custodians from $9 to $10.50, • Maintenance from $14.65 to $18, • Nurses, LPN from $13.75 to $17, and RN from $13.75 to $20, • Technical Support from $13.50 to $17. Annual hourly increases are based on years of service to the school district. Those with 0 to 3 years prior 2018-19 will receive 50 cents per hour more for 2018-19, and wages will be frozen for 201920. Those with 4 to 5 years will get a 50-cent increase for both 2018-19 and 2019-20. Employees with 6 to 10 years will get 75 cents more for 2018-19 and 50 cents for 201920. Those with 10 to 15 years service will get $1 more per hour for 2018-19 and 50 cents for 2019-20. Those with 16 years or more will be paid $1.25 more the first year and 50 cents the second year. All support personnel will receive a 25-cent increase per hour for each of the last three years of the contract.

Deaths, B5 Francis P. Bral, Donald E. Wiltfang


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