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Oregon Police

Oregon Police

oglecountynews.com ShawLocal.com

OFFICE 113-115 Peoria Ave. Dixon, IL 61021 815-732-6166, ext. 2592

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

OBITUARIES saukobits@shawlocal.com Deadline for obituaries is 2 p.m. Tuesday for Friday’s edition

SEND NEWS news@oglecountynews.com

Publisher Jennifer Heintzelman 815-632-2502 jheintzelman@shawmedia.com

General Manager Earleen Hinton 815-632-2591 ehinton@shawmedia.com

News Alexa Zoellner 815-632-2590 azoellner@shawmedia.com

Advertising Sales Jennifer Heintzelman 815-632-2502 jheintzelman@shawmedia.com

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. Photos provided Oregon Lions Club President Joe Kryszak presented a check for $1,000 to Bob and Mary Coulter from the VFW to help support the distribution of Christmas Food Baskets by the veterans. Pictured, left to right, are Oregon Lions Club President Joe Kryszak, Bob Coulter, Mary Coulter and Oregon Lions Club Vice President Lori Peterson. Lion Carol Ohrn and Lion Jean Hoff stopped by Head Start on Pines Road in Oregon to donate books to Director Lori Wagner. Oregon Lions are promoting the development of reading skills through their donation of books to organizations in Ogle County. Members of the Oregon Lions Club also volunteer weekly as reading coaches at Oregon Elementary School in order to help improve the students’ reading skills and foster an appreciation for literature. Pictured, left to right, are Oregon Lion Jean Hoff, Head Start Director Lori Wagner and Oregon Lion Carol Ohrn.

OREGON LIBRARY

Holiday Hours

The Library will be closed Dec. 24, Dec. 25, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 and 2.

Holiday Movie Binge Boxes - Registration is now, while supplies last!

Holiday Movie Night Binge Boxes are back! Inside each box are DVDs hand-picked for you by our librarians plus a festive treat and gift. Call 815-732-2724 or visit our website to complete your registration for your box. Once your box is ready, you will be notified to pick it up at the Library. Must be an Oregon Library Card holder.

December Distraction - It’s Back!

Through Monday, Dec.19, when Oregon Public Library District cardholders check out reading material, they may receive a scratch-off ticket for every 3 reading material items for a chance to win some readable prizes. Scratch off your ticket and see if you win! Winning ticket holders may select one of the prize packages that are now on display at the Library. Ask one of our librarians for more info.

Book Clubs

The Afternoon Book Club meets Wednesday, Dec. 21, 16 at 1 p.m. to discuss the 13th Gift by Joanne Huist Smith.

The Teen Book Association will meet Friday, Dec. 23 to discuss Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

Cocktails & Crimes will meet Sunday, Jan. 15 so (grab a book to find out where).

The 2WBC Book Club meets Jan. 11 at 12:30 p.m.

Books on Tap meets Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. to discuss Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.

YOGA Thursdays - 9:30 a.m. Dec. 15

Yin-Yasa - This class is a hybrid of yang (active yoga) with yin (passive yoga). We will use fundamental yoga postures to build strength and warmth and also incorporate passive, long held poses to help with flexibility and mobility of the joints and soft tissues. A yoga mat and blocks will be useful props for this class! All levels welcome. Oregon Library Patrons only. Registration required, this class fills quickly. Call 815-7322724 or visit www.oregonpubliclibrary.com.

Ink with A Friend Monthly Card Club

- Monday, Dec. 19 at 6:30 p.m.

Sending personal cards to your friends and family is a way to let them know you care and are thinking about them. Creating these cards makes it even more special. Come join us for Ink with a Friend. You will be provided a pre-cut kit along with personal instruction on how to create the wonderful cards while learning a variety of card making techniques. All designs include beautiful colored cardstock, gorgeous designer series paper, detailed stamped images, die cut pieces, matching ink, ribbon, and embellishments. This month, Liz has designed two (2) cards for you to make. All cards come with matching envelopes. Whether you’re a new card maker or a seasoned pro, our kits are suited to every skill level. Don’t wait! Sign up today to reserve your spot. Oregon Public Library cardholders only. Registration required 815- 732-2724 or www.oregonpubliclibrary.com.

Holiday Paper Lanterns - Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m.

This lantern craft is the perfect way to bring light into your home during those slightly chilly and dark evenings of winter. Kids and adults will love making these and the silhouette of the pieces look beautiful on the illuminated lanterns. Materials are provided, but if you have some ideas, bring them with you and we’ll see if they’ll work. Registration deadline is Dec. 16. Call 815-732-2724 or www.oregonpubliclibrary. com. to register!

Holiday Trivia Night at Cork N Tap - Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m.

Grab your friends and have a night out of fun! There will be holiday cheer, prizes and drinks! Register your team of up to 6 players at 815-7322724 or www.oregonpubliclibrary.com.

Lego Club (2nd grade & up) - Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2:30 p.m.

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.

Puzzle Library

The library has a free puzzle library. Take a puzzle, leave a puzzle. This is open to anyone in the community.

By EARLEEN HINTON ehinton@shawmedia.com

A woman was rescued from the Rock River in a dramatic effort by fire crews after an alert homeowner saw her in the river – above the Oregon dam – and immediately called for help.

A homeowner in the 500 block of North Fourth Street reported the woman in the river at 5:11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10, Oregon Fire Chief Mike Knoup said in a news release.

“Oregon police advised that she was in the middle of the west channel,” Knoup said. “Due to the low head d a m , c r e w s w e r e i m m e d i a t e l y deployed with swift water suits into the river, but due to her being a few hundred feet away from the shore, crews could not get to her while she floated down the river.”

The Oregon dam is classified as a “low head dam” making it difficult to see when on the river at water level.

Knoup said one of the fire department’s boats was put in the river above the dam from Kiwanis Park, located behind Conover Square, on the west bank of the river.

“Boat 5382 was deployed into the river with two swift water technicians. The crew was able to make contact with the victim less than 200 feet about the dam,” Knoup said.

The 32-year-old Oregon woman was rescued from the river, brought to the shore, and then transported to KSB hospital. She remained in stable condition during transport, Knoup said, noting he believed she was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit.

He said the air temperature at the time of the rescue was 34 degrees. “I d o n ’ t t h i n k t h e w a t e r w a s m u ch warmer than that,” said Knoup on Tuesday noting that rescuers were working in the dark before the sun had risen. “Our swift water training really made a difference in this rescue.”

Oregon Police Chief Joe Brooks said the incident was classified as a “ m e d i c a l a s s i s t ” w i t h t h e w o m a n somehow entering the river above the dam.

“She was in the water for about 45 minutes,” he said noting that his officer could see her swimming. “Everyone did a great job working together.”

Knoup agreed.

“The patient was successfully saved due to a quick 911 call made by a citizen who heard the victim call for help, fantastic work by our dispatch, quick actions by fire and EMS personnel and the help of the Oregon Police Department and the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office.”

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media Oregon fire crews rescued a woman from the Rock River after she entered the water above the Oregon dam about 5 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10. She was within 200 feet from the dam when she was rescued, officials said.

Deput y testifies he feared for his life at end of chase

Judge rules probable cause exists to continue attempted murder charge

By EARLEEN HINTON ehinton@shawmedia.com

An Ogle County Sheriff’s deputy testified Dec. 7 that he thought he was “going to die” when an Ohio man fleei n g a S t e p h e n so n C o u nt y d e p u t y veered his car in an attempt to avoid being apprehended.

Patrol Sgt. Michael Halfman testified during a preliminary hearing for Brian K. Taylor, 49, of Massillon, Ohio, who has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of aggravated battery to a police officer, one count of aggravated assault of a police officer, two counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, one count of unlawful display of a license plate and one count of Class A speeding 35-plus mph over the speed limit.

Judge John Redington ruled probable cause existed to continue the case. Taylor has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Halfman testified he had been dispatched at 12:15 p.m. to assist with a high speed chase that had originated in Stephenson County.

He said he had parked his squad car at the intersection of Freeport and Milledgeville roads and was ready to deploy “stop sticks” to flatten Taylor’s tires when he saw Taylor and the Stephenson County squad coming at a “high rate of speed” in the southbound lane.

He said Taylor’s Mazda swerved into the northbound lane and then directly at him causing him to “shuffle” to try to avoid from being hit as the Mazda veered into the ditch.

“I thought he was going to hit me. I thought I was going to die,” Halfman said.

Earlier in the preliminary hearing, Stephenson County Deputy Anthony Miller testified he started pursuing Taylor about 11:59 a.m. in Dakota, Illinois, on Route 75, after clocking him at 70 mph in a 55 mph zone.

“It took me a while to catch up with him,” Miller said, noting he had turned on his sirens and lights. “He did not pull over.”

Miller said he pursued Taylor to U.S. Route 20 when he realized he was fleeing. He testified that Taylor made “abrupt turns” and went through a ditch and over a median while “appearing to smile” before entering Freeport. He said Taylor disobeyed stop signs and traffic signals during the pursuit with speeds reaching 110 mph when going west on Route 20.

The chase then went south into Ogle County on Illinois Route 26 and eventually Freeport Road.

“I had the siren on the entire time,” Miller said.

As the vehicles reached the intersection of Freeport and Milledgeville roads, Miller said he could clearly see Halfman and his parked squad in the northbound lane.

“I clearly saw the sergeant standing t h e r e , ” s a i d M i l l e r , r e f e r r i n g t o Halfman. He said the Mazda veered toward Halfman and then the ditch before entering the ditch and then exiting the ditch, eventually striking his squad car.

He said the Mazda came to a rest in the ditch and Taylor was apprehended.

Redington set Taylor’s next court date for Dec. 14 at 1 p.m.

Taylor was represented in court by Public Defender Michael O’Brien and remains in custody with bail set at $500,000.

Only prosecution witnesses testify at preliminary hearings.

Brian K. Taylor

FORRESTON – Forreston received a $242,103.22 water infrastructure loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, half of which will be forgiven.

The village plans to replace all meters within the distribution system with radio read meters and to purchase a data collection device and software, according to a Nov. 1 news release from the IEPA.

“The current water meters are outdated and losing their recording capabilities and accuracy,” the project description reads. “Replacing the water meters will allow the village to read this amount of water used more accuracy and efficiently and detect leaks.”

The IEPA issued more than $70 million in water infrastructure loans to 13 local governments and sanitary districts for the first quarter of fiscal 2023, which runs July to September 2022.

The IEPA State Revolving Fund program provides low-interest loans which fund wastewater, stormwater and drinking water projects. Eleven of the loans qualified for Disadvantaged Community Principal Forgiveness.

“The Illinois EPA’s robust State Revolving Fund programs continue to serve as a valuable resource for c o m m u n i t i e s t o a d d r e s s o n g o i n g water infrastructure needs,” Director John J. Kim said in the news release. “Our programs provide a financial solution for funding infrastructure improvements while protecting Illinois’ water resources.”

IEPA’s SRF includes two loan programs: the Water Pollution Control Loan Program, which funds both wastewater and stormwater projects, and the Public Water Supply Loan Program for drinking water projects.

Both programs provide funding at a low interest rate of just 1.24 percent for fiscal 2023. The programs receive federal capitalization funding annually, which is combined with state matching funds, interest earnings, repayment money and the sale of bonds, to form the source of financing for these infrastructure projects.

The state matching funds for fiscal years 2020 to 2024 are being provided through Gov. JB Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan, thus increasing the funding capacity of both loan programs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Card shower planned for Doris Swedberg

Doris Swedberg will mark her 98th birthday on Dec. 29 with a card shower.

S h e t a u g h t English, drama and speech at Mt. Morris High School before retiring.

Anyone wishing to send her a birthday card can do so at: Allure of Pinecrest, 414 S. Wesley Ave., Mt Morris, IL 61054.

A llure’s purchase of Pinecrest Community complete

Labash: New owners busy analyzing, working to ‘do right’ by employees while stabilizing financials

By ALEXA ZOELLNER azoellner@shawmedia.com

As the final minutes of November approached, Pinecrest Community’s third-shift employees clocked out of their jobs at the Mt. Morris-based nonprofit. Once midnight came and went, they clocked back in as employees of Allure of Pinecrest.

Allure Healthcare Services’ purchase of Pinecrest Community was finalized Dec. 1. Pinecrest is a continuing care retirement campus with 129 years of history that today serves about 170 residents.

“There’s just a lot of things changing all at once,” Allure of Pinecrest A d m i n i s t r a t o r F e r o l L a b a s h s a i d Dec. 13, when asked how things have gone since the closing. “It’s going to take us a little time. The new ownership has had about a week. There’s a lot that they’re looking at, that they’re analyzing.”

Labash was Pinecrest Community’s CEO prior to the sale.

Allure, which is headquartered in Chicago, owns nine other nursing facilities, including ones in Sterling, Mount Carroll and Prophetstown. Its centers provide short-term stays for respite or rehabilitation, hospice care, dementia and memory care, 24-hour nursing care, various therapies and more, according to AllureHCS.com.

P in ec r est ’s b o ar d o f d ir e ct o rs sought a buyer because of a combination of increased costs, staff shortages and lost revenue, Labash said in a previous interview.

“Pinecrest has been losing $150,000 or more each month during the last two years, which has caused us to burn through cash at a rate that alerted the board and management to the need to act,” she told the Church of the Brethren Newsline.

Pinecrest Community was formed in 1893 as “Brethren Home” by the Church of the Brethren to care for seniors and orphans; the church was affiliated with Pinecrest before the sale, but no longer owned it. The sale ended that affiliation.

“The Church of the Brethren is grieving this loss, and we realize that there were factors and situations beyond the control of the Pinecrest board that really forced them to seek a buyer,” said Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, Church of the Brethren news service director. “I think the prayers of the church are with Pinecrest employees and residents as they go through this change.”

There are a few job positions that existed within Pinecrest Community that Allure didn’t hire on, Labash s a i d . O f t h e a b o u t 1 5 5 P i n e c r e s t employees, four were laid off; other employees whose positions changed were offered alternate work with Allure, she said.

“I’m really seeing a good effort from Allure management to keep our staff employed,” Labash said.

Allure’s vice president of operations met with Pinecrest certified nursing assistants Dec. 13 to “talk through a lot of their questions,” Labash said, adding that she thinks the meeting answered many questions staff members had. Similar meetings are planned with other departments, she said.

“All my interactions with the new ownership, they’re doing their best to really do right by our employees,” Labash said. “They’re trying to make sure they’re doing their best for our employees, while also turning the financial situation around.”

The wait for employees while higher-ups analyze various aspects of the company can be difficult because staff aren’t always privy to that part of things and finding answers takes time, she acknowledged.

Labash said she expects things to improve once some of the unknowns are sorted out and as people become more comfortable with the new owners.

“It’s just a process,” she said. “I think it’s just going to take a few months.”

Calls to reach a representative from Allure were not returned as of Tuesday night.

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media Pinecrest Community has been sold to Allure Healthcare Services. The facility is located on Brayton Street and McKendrie Avenue in Mt. Morris.

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