ORR-10-17-2013

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Serving Ogle County since 1851

OREGON Republican Reporter

October 17, 2013 Volume 163, Number 44 - $1.00

State Bound

Pumpkin 5K

Wellness Fair

Senior golfer Ben Gardner shot an 83 to advance to the IHSA Golf Finals. B1

Participants in a 5K run will receive a pumpkin Oct. 26. A6

A Wellness and Resource Fair will be held Friday, Oct. 25 at the Rock River Center. A7

Meal receipts now required for employees County board approves policy change Oct. 15 By Vinde Wells Editor

An engineer uses a laser to scan Black Hawk’s head to make a 3-D drawing of the statue. Photo by Vinde Wells

Statue test results to take a month Time is needed to make 3D drawings By Vinde Wells Editor It will likely be a month before the results of testing on Ogle County’s best-known landmark are available. Structural engineer Aldo De La Haza said Oct. 11 that it will take some time to make three dimensional drawings of the Black Hawk Statue and to analyze the data collected during four days of testing. The iconic statue, which is under the authority of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), sits on a high bluff at Lowden State Park northeast of Oregon. De La Haza, who works for the Dynasty Group, Chicago, and other experts spent most

of last week examining the 102-year-old concrete statue and doing non-destructive testing to determine what needs to be done to repair and preserve the statue, which has been damaged by the ravages of time and weather. “It would be a shame not to preserve this statue,� De La Haza said. He and fellow engineer Daniel Schultz used high-tech scanners which allowed them to see inside the concrete to assess its condition and to determine the amount and location of steel reinforcing. The locations of the steel were then marked on tape placed on the statue’s hollow interior. Another crew scanned the statue with rotating lasers Friday to create an exact 3-D model of the statue. The testing, which also included ground-penetrating Structural engineers Aldo De La Haza and Daniel Schultz radar work and ultrasonic take readings Oct. 11 at the base of the Black Hawk Turn to A2 Statue. Photo by Vinde Wells

Receipts will now be required for Ogle County employees to be reimbursed for meals they eat while traveling on county business. The county board approved changes in its policy Tuesday that increase the amount allowed for meals, but tighten the requirements for reimbursement. Board member Marty Typer, Stillman Valley, chairman of the Finance, Insurance, and Personnel Committee, said the change was being made to ensure that employees are repaid for the actual cost of meals when they travel on county business. The amounts were increased by $1 each meal to a maximum of $8 for breakfast, $10 for lunch, and

$16 for dinner. Ogle County Clerk Rebecca Huntley said that currently employees are reimbursed for meals even if they did not eat them and receive the full amount allowed even if the meal costs less. Under the new requirements, reimbursement will cover only what was actually spent on the meal, up to the maximum amount. Before approving the changes, the board amended the measure to include all county employees. The original resolution said it would apply to “all county employees not governed by union agreements.� The amendment struck the words “not governed by union agreements.� More than half of the county employees belong to labor unions, while the others do not. Employees in the sheriff’s department, probation department, circuit clerk’s office, and health department are union members. Turn to A2

Murderer of Oregon woman is executed By Earleen Hinton General Manager Twenty-seven years after his sister’s murder in Florida, Chris Crowley has finally found some relief. William Happ, 51, the man convicted of raping and murdering 21-year-old

Angie Crowley in 1986 was executed Tuesday night after receiving a lethal chemical injection at a Florida State Prison. Happ spent more time on death row than Angie, a 1983 graduate of Oregon High School, spent alive. Turn to A2

Veterans visit Washington despite the shutdown By Chris Johnson Reporter A pair of Korean War veterans smiled and laughed while talking about a recent trip to Washington D.C. The memories from a Oct. 3 Honor Flight were still sinking in Oct. 9 for Neil Holland, 82, and Gene Medlar, 82, both from Oregon. “The tip organizers announced that ‘you guys will never forget this,’� said Medlar. Never forgetting began with a mail call. “Unbeknownst to us, they contacted our families and letters were written to us,� he said. “As we waited at the airport we had the mail call.� Medlar had letters from his two children and his grandchildren. “It was amazing,� he said. “There were a lot of tearyeyed veterans.� The tears continued when they returned to the Quad Cities at 11:30 p.m. “We walked around the

corner and were greeted by 500 people when we got off the flight,� said Holland. “It was amazing,� Medlar said. “There were even little kids greeting us.� “If you did not have tears in your eyes there is something wrong with you,� Holland said. At the airport Medlar said good-bye to his guardian on the trip. “We were both crying,� he said. “I told her this is where we separate and she said ‘don’t make me cry.’� The volunteer guardians assist the veterans with stairs, help walking, or pushing a wheelchair. They ensure any request or need the veterans have is taken care of. While in Washington the veterans were constantly thanked for their service. “When I arrived home I was thinking about everyone who was thanking me for my service,� Holland said. “Even the active military members were thanking me.� The late flight meant a visit

In This Week’s Edition...

to the Vietnam Memorial Wall had to be scrubbed. And the federal government shutdown prevented the veterans from going to the Udvar-Hazy Center Air & Space Museum. But this Honor Flight was the first from the area to tour the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon “We saw a lot of veterans and active military when we visited the Pentagon,� said Medlar. A hijacked airplane crashed into the pentagon Sept. 11, 2001. A lighted memorial honors those killed in the Pentagon and those who died on the flight. “I had a son-in-law who worked in the Pentagon in the same area the flight crashed,� Medlar said as he recalled the visit to the memorial. “He was in Texas on that day.� Holland said the workers at the Pentagon came up to thank the veterans for their service. Memories of friends and family were constantly going

Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B12 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4

through their minds as they visited Washington. Due to the morning’s delay, only about 15 minutes could be spent at the Korean War Memorial, if the veterans were going to have time to see the 4 p.m.

“changing of the guard� at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. “I was in Arlington years ago and you could see it all,� said Medlar. “Now it seems like several miles.�

The unfortunate part of this observation is it means a lot of soldiers have passed away. Holland was impressed with how organized the whole cemetery was. Turn to B3

Gene Medlar and Neil Holland pose for a photo after talking about their Honor Flight. Photo by Chris Johnson

Library News, A3 Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B4

Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4

Deaths, B3 Susan L. Andreas, Mayron J. Cockrel, Tressa L. Willstead-Sheely, David A. Yates

0UBLISHED EVERY 4HURSDAY BY /GLE #OUNTY .EWSPAPERS A DIVISION OF 3HAW -EDIA s WWW OGLECOUNTYNEWS COM


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