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Oregon Republican Reporter, Ogle County News and oglecountynews.com are a division of Shaw Media. Ogle County Newspapers also prints the Mt. Morris Times, Forreston Journal and Polo’s Tri-County Press.
The OREGON REPUBLICAN REPORTER (USPS No. 411-420) is published weekly by B.F. Shaw Printing Co., Shaw Media. Periodical postage paid at Oregon, Illinois, 61061. POSTMASTER Send address changes to OGLE REPUBLICAN REPORTER, P.O. Box 8, Oregon, IL 61061. Phone 815-732-6166, ext. 5306.
By ALEXA ZOELLNER azoellner@shawmedia.com
Ogle County Board members’ unanimous denial of a zoning map amendment effectively squashed a request for a special use permit to build a solar farm.
USS Galena Trail Solar, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, requested 29.5 acres in the 13000 block of West Milledgeville Road be changed from a R-2 single-family residential district to an Ag-1 agricultural district. The location is just outside the Polo city limits.
“This happens to be in a residential area, and I just really hope that you will vote no on this,” board member Susie Corbitt said. “There’s been a large group of constituents from Polo who oppose this.”
Several Polo residents attended the Ogle County Board’s Aug. 16 meeting, including Polo Alderpersons Tommy Bardell and Randy Schoon. No one from P ol o s p o k e d u r i ng p u bl i c c o m m en t, which took place after the vote on the map amendment was complete.
The special use permit was on the County Board’s agenda, and originally was set to be voted on at the same time as the requested map amendment. The permit was removed from the vote following a brief period of discussion regarding proper procedure.
“ T h e m a p a m e n d m e n t h a s n o t occurred, so even if you approve the special use, you can’t use it,” State’s Attorney Mike Rock told board members. “If you vote to approve this special use permit, you are violating the zoning ordinance.”
Rock advised the vote be only on the map amendment, which is what the Ogle County Zoning Board of Appeals voted o n d u r i n g a J u l y 2 8 p u b l i c h e a r i ng regarding the request.
The ZBA voted 5-0 to deny the map amendment, according to meeting minutes, and the Ogle County Regional Planning Commission voted 4-0 to deny it. The Supervisor of Assessments and Planning & Zoning Committee agreed by 6-0 consensus to recommend denying the map amendment; the committee does not vote on whether to approve or deny zoning requests.
SPECIAL PROGRAM
Owner of Silver View rail car to speak at ‘Those Were the Days’
The Oregon Depot Museum program, “Those Were the Days” will feature Michael Abernathy, the current owner of the passenger rail car destined for the Oregon Depot, on Saturday, Aug. 27.
“Michael will review his ownership history and the current status of the Silver View. The car is expected to be at the Oregon Depot site by this meeting date,” said Chris Martin, one of the organizers of the Those Were the Days program. “Michael will also take us out to the rail siding and point out the features of the car and give a brief overview of the restoration plan currently in place.”
For more information on this program call Otto Dick at 815-440-0639, Roger Cain at 815-757-9715 or Martin at 815-742-8471.
OREGON LIBRARY
Board of Trustee Vacancy
The Oregon Public Library District is currently seeking applicants to fill a board vacancy. Interested persons should submit a resume and letter of interest toboard@oregonpubliclibrary. com. For more information about serving on our board of trustees, please visit our website at www.oregonpubliclibrary.com.
Letterboxing
Did you know that the Oregon Public Library is a letterbox location? Letterboxing is similar to geocaching and is a fun way to get active and explore your community. The Library has Letterboxing Take & Make kits available for ages 12-17. Limited supplies, first come, first serve. To learn more about letterboxing and to find locations near you, visit www.letterboxing.org.
Preschool StoryTime (18 months- 5 years)
We’re taking a break,but will be starting back on Monday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Go online or call to register.
Lego Club (2nd grade & up), Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2:30 p.m. (early school dismissal)
The club is designed to provide an enjoyable activity (FUN) that stimulates and develops spatial intelligence. Registration required. Go online to our website or call,815-732-2724, to register.
Local OHS Graduate, Pulitzer Prize Winner
Eli Murray – Sept. 6 at 4 p.m. 2012 graduate of Oregon High School, Eli Murray and teammates Corey G. Johnson and Rebecca Woolington received the Pulitzer Prize for their investigative journalism series, “Poisoned.” The Tampa Bay Times exposé tells the compelling story of highly toxic hazards inside Florida’s only battery recycling plant. In the WIFR news piece, Murray “credits several of his teachers at OHS as early influences in his career, saying Cheryl Bunton, the art teacher, taught him how to convey messages visually and his math teacher, Danyel Larsen, taught him to break down formulas into their logical components.”
Eli will be at the library to discuss his journey to the Pulitzer.
Book Clubs
Teen Book Club Association meets on Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. to discuss The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee.
Books on Tap meets on Aug. 25, at 6 p.m. to discuss Mother MayI by Joshilyn Jackson.
The 2WBC Book Club meets Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 12:30 p.m. to discuss The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah.
Cocktails and Crimes Book Club will meet Friday, Sept. 9 (stop by the library to find out what book and where the club will meet).
The Afternoon Book Club meets Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. to discuss Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
Puzzle Library
The library has a free puzzle library. Take a puzzle, leave a puzzle. This is open to anyone in the community.
Oregon Public Library StoryWalk®
StoryWalk® was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT in 2007, and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg Hubbard Library. Current story is Millions of Monarchs by Connie Roop.
Oregon Writers Group - 2nd Tuesday each month at 10 a.m.
The OWG is a gathering of writers or writer-wannabes who meet to support each other and further their own writing. The purpose of the group is to help and encourage you in your writing. If you need brainstorming ideas, we can help suggest ideas or aid with the creative process.
Passport Services
The Oregon Public Library offers Passport Application Processing. Patrons seeking Passport Services should call the Library prior to their visit to ensure that an official processor is available at that time.
By EARLEEN HINTON ehinton@shawnews.com
The Oregon School Board agreed Monday night to accept a $51,000 bid for the former David L. Rahn Junior High School, located in Mt. Morris.
Oregon Superintendent Tom Mahoney said three bids were submitted for the property: Fred Kenney, $51,000; George Duncan, $30,100; and Steven St. Clair, $1,007.
“We felt the bid from the high bidder was the appropriate amount and what was best for the district and gives the opportunity for the building to serve another purpose,” Mahoney said after the vote.
In February, the school board voted 4-2 to close DLR at the end of the 2021-22 school year and move seventh and eighth grade students to the Oregon High School, 5 miles to the east.
Mahoney first proposed closing DLR in May 2021, citing decreasing enrollment throughout the district and increasing maintenance costs for the 1952 building.
On Monday, students in grades 7-12 had their first day of school in the merged building which is now called Oregon Junior/Senior High School. The OJSHS now houses 684 students and 42 teachers.
Mahoney said he was pleased the district had received at least three bids.
“I didn’t have any expectations,” Mahoney said. “I talked to other school districts where they received no bids for buildings, so I was actually pleased to see three bids altogether and that at least there were three interested parties who believe that there’s some other use for that property that could help the community.”
Mahoney said he believed Kenney is a graduate of Mt. Morris High School and now a resident of Oregon. He said Kenney did not specify what he planned to do with the building.
“When we asked him he said he had several concepts or ideas that he was thinking about but he hadn’t decided on exactly what it was going to be,” Mahoney said.
DLR was the last remaining school in Mt. Morris after that district dissolved in 1993 because of poor finances. It merged with Oregon for the 1993-94 school year.
In June, the Oregon School Board offered the building to the Village of Mt. Morris, but the village board rejected ownership and urged the school board to delay selling the property in case moving the junior high students to Oregon was not successful.
“Again, I think it is the wrong decision, but we’ll live with the decision,” Mt. Morris Village President Phil Labash said on Monday. “And now how do we move forward in a way that’s going to benefit the community? I think that’s the most important thing here.
“I will reach out to the new owner, have a conversation to see what their intent and what their plans are. If they are willing to share that with us we will see if there’s anything that the community and the village can do to support whatever this transition plan looks like. We will know a lot more once we have an opportunity to talk to the new owner.” Labash said.
School board members Mindy Nesemeier and Molly Baker abstained from accepting the bid. Mike Guzman, Corey Buck, Mary Jo Griffin, and Rebecca Duke voted to accept the bid. Board president Bryan Wills did not cast a vote.
Mahoney said the district will now proceed with the legalities of completing the sale, which could take 60 days.
“This is no different than putting an offer on a house and the offer being accepted,” Mahoney said. “Now there’s the process of closing the deal so the district will have to go through the legal process of finalizing the real estate agreement to sell that property and then we’ll be able to move on.”
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media The Oregon School Board has accepted a bid of $51,000 for the former David L. Rahn Junior High in Mt. Morris.
By ALEXA ZOELLNER azoellner@shawmedia.com
Polo officials are working to have the city declared a disaster area after 9 to 12 inches of rain last week left dozens of homes with flood damage.
“It was literally Niagara Falls coming out of our toilet,” Janette Krontz said of the Aug. 7 and 8 storms’ impact. “We had 3 to 4 feet [of water] in our basement, and we’ve never had leakage in ours.”
The flooding was so bad a crack formed in their upstairs living room and “literally lifted our whole house up,” she said.
Krontz’s comments came during the public comment period of the Polo City Council’s Aug. 15 regular meeting. At least seven members of the public spoke, seeking answers regarding what the city could offer in terms of assistance with their damaged property. The discussion lasted about 30 minutes.
Alderperson Randy Schoon prefaced the public comment period by recapping what city council members already have done, and are doing, to help.
“I’ll tell you right square, your insuran ce compan y has probably already told all of you there’s no [coverage],” Schoon told meeting attendees. “I guarantee you, the city’s insurance is going to tell you that same thing. We’ve been down this road before. When you get that kind of water, that kind of rain, there ain’t nowhere for it to go. And once it fills them pipes, it’s game on.”
City officials made calls to state Reps. Tony McCombie and Tom Demmer and state Sen. Brian Stewart, Schoon said. McCombie, Demmer and S t e w a r t d i r e c t e d t h e c i t y t o O g l e C o u n t y E m e r g e n c y M a n a g e m e n t Agency Coordinator Tom Richter and told city officials to get Richter a list of impacted residents and as much supporting documentation as possible.
As of Tuesday morning, City Clerk Sydney Bartelt had a list of more than 35 Polo residents who experienced basement flooding on Aug. 8 to send to Richter.
Ogle County will have to declare the area a disaster area before the Red Cross or the Federal Emergency Management Agency will step in to assist, Bartelt said.
Those whose homes or businesses were flooded should take pictures and keep all receipts, Schoon said.
“Have a paper trail so you can say, ‘This is what I spent,’” he said.
Dumpster for use by those impacted by flooding
During the Aug. 15 meeting, city council members came to a consensus that the city would pay for a large dumpster where people who experienced flooding in homes or businesses can dispose of damaged or destroyed items.
The dumpster is located in the parking lot of 113 E. Colden St. and was put in place Tuesday afternoon.
If anyone has questions, or would like to be added to the list of those impacted that will be submitted to Ogle County, contact Polo City Hall at 815-946-3514. Why sanitary sewers also flooded
Rain usually drains into storm sewer pipes, but when there’s basement flooding or standing water on streets, it infiltrates the sanitary sewer system, Public Works Director Kendall Kyker said.
People tend to try to squeegee water into floor drains when a basement floods, and those floor drains are hooked up to the sanitary sewer system, he said.
The Colden Street Project – a $3.2 million storm sewer improvement p r o j e c t e n c o m p a s s i n g a b o u t 1 0 . 5 blocks of Polo’s downtown business district and residential neighborhoods – is meant to help alleviate standing water on Division Avenue caused by torrential rain events. Division Avenue is the name of Illinois Route 26 within Polo city limits.
The Colden Street Project will “help tremendously” once it’s complete, Kyker said. But, in the meantime, that water is pouring right into the sanitary sewers through the tiny holes in manhole covers meant to open them, he said.
“It’s just like turning a faucet on and leaving it run,” Kyker said.
Another reason the sanitary sewers overflowed is because of illegal pump hookups, Schoon said. The city has been working for some time on checking hookups in each house to ensure they’re done properly, he said.
However, Schoon said, even he will try to squeegee water into his floor drain to get rid of it when there’s flooding like there was on Aug. 8.
“That’s what most of it is – floor drains,” Kyker said. “When you get nine or 10 or however many basements, the water goes to the floor drain and the [sanitary sewer] pipes fill immediately.”
That’s why the Krontzes toilet was overflowing, he noted.
Kyker, who lives on the opposite side of town from the Krontzes, said the 8 inches of water in his basement couldn’t leave through his floor drain because the sanitary sewer pipes were full.
On a normal day, 250,000 to 300,000 gallons of water pass through the city’s wastewater treatment plant, Schoon said. On days such as Aug. 8, 3 million gallons of wastewater are being processed.
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media Several inches of rain washed out gravel on construction work in Polo on Aug. 8 and also flooded homes. Residents are now seeking help because of the damages.
First days for new combined school go well, off icials say
By EARLEEN HINTON ehinton@shawmedia.com
The first two days of seventh and eighth graders joining high school students in the new Oregon Junior/ Senior High School went well, school officials said on Monday.
“The kids were really, really amazing with the older kids helping the younger ones,” OJSHS Principal Heidi Deininger said. “It was very heartwarming.”
Monday marked the first day of school for the Oregon district and the first day that junior high students attended classes in what was just the Oregon High School.
In February, school board members decided to close the David L. Rahn Junior High School, located in Mt. Morris, at the end of the 2021-22 school year and have seventh and eighth grade students attend classes in the high school.
School officials cited decreasing enrollment throughout the district and increasing maintenance costs for the DLR building as their reason to close the school.
On Monday, students in grades 7-12 had their first day of school in the merged building which is now called Oregon Junior/Senior High School. The OJSHS now houses 684 students and 42 teachers.
Deininger said officials still needed to work on the “flow” of students to the cafeteria during lunch periods.
“We have to work on the ebb and flow there,” she said.
On Tuesday, Deininger along with assistant principal Kip Crandall and Shannon Cremeens, dean of students, were observing the flow of students in the cafeteria, which is located in the school’s basement.
“We are working on it,” Crandall said.
D e i n i n g e r a l s o s a i d t h e h i g h school’s new policy of requiring students to turn over their cellphones at the start of each class period and place them in a phone safe’ appeared to be well received.
“I think the kids were like ‘thank you’ and the parents were like ‘thank God’,” Deininger said.
She introduced the new policy to school members last month as a way to eliminate cellphones as a distraction in classroom.
Deininger said the district purchased cellphone safes for each of the school’s 50 classrooms. She said she hopes the safes, which cost around $140 each, would standardize each classroom’s approach to cellphones.
In the event of an incident, the phones could be taken out of the safe, she said.
The local Rockabilly band Dirty Fishnet Stockings returns to Jamboree on Aug. 19.
The local Rockabilly band Dirty Fishnet Stockings returns to the Mt. Morris Jamboree on Friday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m.
“DFS first started as a group that was to be a Rockabilly Christmas band called ‘Ted & The Mistletones’,” said Larry Ubben, Jamboree organizer. “The idea exploded into something much bigger, wanting to take the band further than playing just the holidays. A set list of 10 was made, then 20 and so on. Now they play over 50 songs every show for you to swing to all night long!”
The band is made up of lead singer Ted O’Donnell, Harry Euhus on lead guitar and vocals, Rick Nolting on u p r i g h t b a s s a n d v o c a l s a n d B i ll Englund on drums.
DFS was proud to be inducted into the Rockford Area Music Industry’s Hall of Fame.
“This high-energy band brings a show of rousing favorites from the ’50s, ’60s and more. Always a good time. Make sure you don’t miss this event,” Ubben said.
Concessions for the evening will be provided by the Mt. Morris Moose Lodge, which will be serving hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pulled pork, cole slaw, chips, brownies, soda and water, starting at 6 p.m.
“The Campus will be extra festive that evening as the seventh annual National Strawsculpting Competition continues, with four new sculptures and many others from past years on d i s p l a y a l l a r o u n d t h e C a mp us , ” Ubben said.
In the event of inclement weather, the rain location will be the Mt. Morris Moose Lodge, located at 101 Moose Drive.
Chicago Tribute Anthology, Aug. 26
The Chicago Tribute Anthology returns for a free two-hour concert on Aug. 26, from 7 to 9 p.m.
“Born in the Midwest and infused with elements of jazz, blues and Latin influences, the first album by Chicago Transit Authority, or CTA as they were commonly known, went double platinum. Such hits as ‘Beginnings, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?’ and ‘Question 67 & 68’ propelled the band to popularity,” Ubben said.
With a rock rhythm section led by guitarist Terry Kath, a powerful horn section and unique vocals, the band is n o w k n o w n s i m p l y a s “ C h i c a g o ” and released its second album in January 1970.
C o n s id er e d b y m a n y t o b e t h e band’s breakout album, Chicago 2 also went platinum with hits such as “Make me Smile,” “Colour My World” and “25 or 6 to 4.”
Chicago became a dominant force in popular music during the 1970s, producing at least one new album each year. This period was marked by the release of classic songs such as “Free,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Dialogue,” “Just You ‘n Me,” “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day,” “Call On Me” and “Old Days,” to name a few.
“CTA brings to life the ‘Golden Age’ of Chicago by meticulously recreating many of the great songs from the first 11 albums. Members include Tom Anderson, Paul Bata, Terry Geraci, Paul Mabin, Chuck Parrish, Reed Pauley, Dan Peters and John Springbrunn. Learn more about the band at chicagotribute.net.
“Enjoy CTA live and experience all of these classic songs just the way you remember them!” Ubben said.
Concessions for the evening will be provided by the Mt. Morris Firefighter’s Association, who will be serving Walking Tacos with all the toppings, canned Pepsi products, bottled water a n d B e r r y v i e w O r c h a r d ’s A r o n i a Berry lemonade slushies.
All proceeds stay in Mt. Morris and benefit the Firefighter’s Association, which has served Mt. Morris since 1889. The Mt. Morris Community Woman’s Club will be serving dessert and Just For Fun Ice Cream will be here, too, all starting at 6 p.m.
“The Campus will be extra festive again that evening as the seventh annual National Strawsculpting Competition continues,” Ubben said.
Attendees to the concert series are encouraged to bring a blanket or chair.
In the event of inclement weather, the rain location for the CTA concert will be at the Pinecrest Grove Community Center, 500 Evergreen Lane.
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AFREE PUBLICATION OF SHAW MEDIA The Chicago Tribute Anthology returns for a free two-hour concert Aug. 26.
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