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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.

‘Informational meeting’ set for proposed K-12 academy in former DLR school

Shaw Local News Network

The Mt. Morris Village Board announced on social media Monday that GRACE Christian Academy will host an informational meeting at the former David L. Rahn Junior High School in Mt. Morris on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m.

The proposed school is affiliated with a growing private education movement called GRACE, an acronym for Gracefully Reclaiming a Conservative Education.

Sauk Valley Christian Academy opened in September, conducting classes at New Life Lutheran Church in Sterling.

“I’m very excited about the fact that we’re repurposing a school building for a potential school,” Mt. Morris Village President Phil Labash said. “If that happens, it’s a plus for the community.”

Families of Faith Christian Academy in Channahon is the founding school of the network, operating for 16 years. Founder and headmaster the Rev. Randy Blan issued a statement on the occasion of the Sauk Valley Christian Academy opening last month.

“The difference between the public and Christian school is not in the professionalism of its staff or perfection of its student body, but rather it is in the focus and goals of its education,” Blan said in a release. “At GRACE, parents are assured that every teacher will not only challenge their student with rigorous academics, but also teach their curriculum through the lens of scripture and openly model the love of Jesus Christ through their actions and words.”

The private school in Sterling offers classes for students in pre-K to Grade 12 and has 27 students. The curriculum is provided by Abeka, which specializes in home schooling and Christian school resources.

Tammy Marks is serving as school administrator. According to the school biography, she has homeschooled her own children and serves as office manager for a family-run IT support business, Secure Consulting Methodologies.

She said the school is blending elements of one-room classrooms and homeschooling that allows them to embrace traditional teaching methods. The school’s guiding principals, Marks said, is excellence, faith and character.

The school in Sterling, which has five teachers, is one of several network schools opening this school year, including Faith Christian Academy in Naperville and sites in Romeoville, Lincolnway-New Lenox and Springfield. According to GRACE’s website, there are plans to open association schools in St. Charles, Rochelle, Fairbury, Wood Dale and Arlington Heights in 2023.

The Village of Mt. Morris offered two links for those interested in attending the meeting, one on Facebook and another that o f f e r ed a t h r e e - p a g e d o c u m e n t t i t l e d “Mount Morris Christian Academy. The post said the document had been created to provide information “on how God has been helping GRACE Association impact lives and communities across our state”.

Anyone interested in registering for the informational meeting was directed to the GRACE website: www.graceassociation. org.

The Oregon School District voted in February to close DLR at the end of the 2021-22 school year and move seventh and eighth graders to the Oregon High School, five miles to the east.

In May 2021, Oregon Superintendent Tom Mahoney proposed closing DLR and moving seventh and eighth grade students to Oregon citing decreasing enrollments throughout the district and increasing maintenance costs at DLR as reasons for the closure.

In August, the Oregon School Board accepted a high bid of $51,000 from Fred Kenney, of Oregon, for the building and surrounding property.

The Oregon and Mt. Morris school districts merged in 1994 after the Mt. Morris School District dissolved because of financial reasons. Before the merger, the DLR building was Mt. Morris High School. DLR was the last remaining school in Mt. Morris.

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media David L. Rahn Junior High, formerly Mt. Morris High School, closed after the 2021-22 school year.

Alexa Zoellner contributed to this article

OREGON LIBRARY

New! A Boo Bundle

“A Boo Bundle” is a Binge Box for the month of October! Inside each box will be a Murder Mystery game, a scary book and scary movie hand-picked for you by our librarians, popcorn plus a festive treat. Call 815-732-2724 or visit our website www.oregonpubliclibrary.com to complete your bundle registration. Once your box is ready, you will be notified to pick it up at the Library. Registration deadline for a box will be Oct. 21.

Preschool StoryTime (18 months- 5 years)

We’re back and ready for stories and crafts on Mondays at 10 a.m. Go online or call to register.

Book Clubs

Cocktails & Crimes will meet Sunday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. (grab a book to find out where).

The Afternoon Book Club meets Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. to discuss Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware.

Books on Tap meets on Oct. 27, at 6 p.m. to discuss A Lullaby for Witches by Hester Fox.

Teen Book Club Association meets on Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. to discuss All These Bodies by Kendare Blake.

The 2WBC Book Club meets Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 12:30 p.m. to discuss Looking for Alaska by John Green.

YOGA Returns! Thursdays - 9:30 a.m. Oct. 20,

27 Welcome, Kara Schabacker! Kara first entered the health and wellness field as a massage/myofascial therapist in 2008.

After 13 years working solely in curative care, she laid down roots as a yoga instructor to shift her focus to a more preventative approach to well-being.

Passport Fair – Saturday, Oct. 15 at Byron Public Library, f11 a.m. - 3 p.m. The Oregon Public Library is hosting a special passport event at the Byron Public Library, 100 S. Washington St, Byron, on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to provide passport information to U.S. citizens and to accept passport applications.

Mysterious Legends and Ghostly Encounters

– Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Kathi Kresol will take you on a ghostly journey through some of Northern Illinois most haunted locations.

These stories will cover everything from mysterious legends, horrid true crimes, and eerie encounters with the dead. Kathi has been researching the odd and unusual for over 15 years. Registration required, call 815-732-2724 or www. oregonpubliclibrary.com

Halloween at the Library- (youth) ages 3 -12

Come by the Library Wednesday, Oct. 26 thru Saturday, Oct. 29 and pick a papier-mâché pumpkin from our indoor pumpkin patch (plain, so you can decorate it at home or already decorated and ready to go)! On Halloween Monday, Oct. 31 from 4-6, visit our front yard “Halloween patch” and pick out your surprised filled papier -mache pumpkin! Limited supply. In case of inclement weather just come in the Library to receive a pumpkin.

By ALEXA ZOELLNER azoellner@shawmedia.com

In its first go-round, the Oregon Area Farm Tour was a success, organizers say.

“It was a sunny fall day with perfect weather,” said Liz Vos, Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce executive director. “People just wanted to get out of their houses and go exploring.”

The farm tour took place the afternoon of Oct. 9. People were able to tour four farms: BerryView Orchard and Dietrich Ranch, both in Mt. Morris, and Dandelion Feathers Farm and White Pines Ranch, both in Oregon.

Vos said she was told by Dandelion Feathers Farm owner Andrea Murray that Murray was doing face painting nonstop from 1 to 4 p.m., and Murr a y ’ s p a r e n t s c o u n t e d 1 2 0 t o 1 4 0 visitors.

Total participation is hard to measure because of the spread-out nature of the event, Vos said.

“Based on the number of people at the Dandelion Feathers Farm, I’d say maybe there were more than that,” she said. “I don’t really have a way of knowing.”

The University of Illinois Extension was at Dietrich Ranch, where they had a worm compost and soil testing stand, Vos said. The people running that reported 27 adults and 20 children visited their stand, and even more were exploring other areas of the farm, she said. “They had so much fun,” Vos said.

A dinner and barn dance originally were scheduled to follow the afternoon farm tours, but that part of the event was canceled.

“I think some people just wanted to do the farm visits,” Vos said.

There used to be farm tours every year, but there hasn’t been one in a while, Vos said when asked her reason for hosting the event.

“We live in a rural community, and I think that we have several [Chamber of Commerce] members that they have farms, farm stores and farm boutiques and things,” she said. “I thought it would be fun to do an event centered around them and what they have to offer. Our community is really a great rural destination.”

Alexa Zoellner/Shaw Media Buddy Murray, 10, of Oregon, leans against a hay bale holding his chicken, Fluffy, during the Oregon Area Farm Tour on Oct. 9. Buddy’s mother owns Dandelion Feathers Farm.

L et Freedom Ring Family Fall Festival set for Oct. 16

By ALEXA ZOELLNER azoellner@shawmedia.com

A new Let Freedom Ring family fun event is scheduled for this weekend in Mt. Morris.

The Family Fall Festival is set for 1 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 16. It will take place on the village square; the rain location is the Mt. Morris Senior Center.

“It’s a new thing we’re trying to raise some money for the festival, but also to get some fall fun in, too,” said Tiffany West, Let Freedom Ring Committee chairperson.

Activities include a penny carnival, pumpkin carving contest, costume parade and craft show, she said.

There are about 15 craft vendors signed up to attend, West said. Tickets for penny carnival games are six tickets for $1, she said.

“The Evangelical Free Church is helping with the penny carnival games and stuff,” West said. “We’ll be doing prizes for those games for the kids.”

To enter the pumpkin carving contest is $2 for ages 5 and under with a painted pumpkin and $5 per pumpkin for all other ages, she said. Pumpkins are to be entered already carved and ready to be judged, West said.

There will be winners for different age groups: 5 and under; 6 to 10 years old; 11 to 15 years old; and 16 and up.

“The costumes, it’s another time for people to wear costumes,” West said. “It’s not necessarily judging.”

People should come to have family fun, support the Mt. Morris community and to support Let Freedom Ring in funding the Fourth of July firework show, she said.

Fireworks cost $20,000, and the price is expected to go up next year, West noted.

POLICE NEWS

Two arrested for retail theft f rom Oregon store

T w o F r e e p o r t r e s i d e n t s w e r e arrested last week for stealing merchandise from an Oregon store.

Terry M. Ernst, 58, of Freeport, and Michael C. Hille, 57, of Freeport, were arrested after police investigated a retail theft at the Oregon Snyder Ace Hardware store, 201 N. Fourth St., at 6:54 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6.

“Oregon police responded to a possible retail theft at the Oregon Snyder Ace Hardware. It was alleged that two male subjects entered the store and began concealing a felony amount of merchandise,” Oregon Police Chief Joe Brooks said in an Oct. 7 news release. “The two subjects matched the description from a prior theft at the store and they were confronted by employees. Upon arrival of the Oregon officers, a foot pursuit ensued.

“With the assistance of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Depart ment , the Byron Police Department, and the Mt. Morris Police Department, the suspect’s vehicle was located in the 200 block of North Third Street and a felony stop was conducted. Two male subjects were taken into custody.”

Ernst was charged with four counts of felony retail theft.

“The Byron Police Department charged Hille with two counts of felony retail theft,” the news release said.

Both were transported to the Ogle County Jail.

Within the vehicle a large amount of possible stolen property from other j u r i s d i c t i o n s w a s r e c o v e r e d , t h e release said.

BRIEFS

County Crossroads Quilt Guild to host ‘quilt trunk show’

The Country Crossroads Quilt Guild will offer a quilt trunk show, “Attic Quilts,” on Monday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. at the Forreston Grove Church.

The show will be presented by Heidi Brenum, owner of the Pins & Pieces Quilt Shop in Darlington, Wisconsin. Her shop is in the newly renovated Driver Opera House in Darlington.

Please join us for a fun-filled evening and the viewing of some beautiful quilts!

Guild meetings are held at the Forreston Grove Church, 7246 Freeport Road, Forreston, the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m., with ample time to meet and greet members before the meeting.

Visitors are welcome for a fee of $5 at the door. For more information, call Program Committee Chair Shauna Heck 815-2381342 or Guild President Barb Gaertner 815-297-2700.

Polo Women’s Club to accept winter coats, accessories through Nov. 1

The Polo Women’s Club has officially kicked off its third annual coat drive season, which runs until Nov. 1.

The club is accepting donations of NEW or “gently used” coats, hats, scarves, mittens and gloves. Drop-off locations in Polo are First State Bank Shannon-Polo (211 S. Division Ave.), Polo Senior Center (101 W. Mason St.), 802 E. Buffalo St. and 103 E. Oregon St.

Distribution will take place free of charge at Crossroads Community Church in Polo on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon.

GFWC Illinois Polo Women’s Club, organized in 1921, is a community-based service organization that makes a difference through volunteer service.

For additional information, call Louise Hall at 815-946-2198.