ORR-10-24-2013

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Serving Ogle County since 1851

OREGON Republican Reporter

October 24, 2013 Volume 163, Number 45 - $1.00

Hawks Win

Recycling Time

Singers Needed

Size did not matter to the Hawks when they downed Mendota 35-20. B1

You can recycle that old TV or computer on Nov. 2 in Dixon. B3

Area singers are invited to perform at an annual Christmas concert in December. A11

City approves settlement on sewer plant By Vinde Wells Editor The City of Oregon has reached a $1.7 million outof-court settlement with two firms involved in making improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Siemens Water Technologies has agreed to pay the city $1.5 million, and

Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Inc. agreed to pay $200,000. Following a brief closed session, the city council approved the settlement Tuesday by a vote of 4-0. Commissioner Tom Izer did not attend the meeting. Siemens Water Technologies was hired in 2009 by the city council to construct a solids reduction

or “cannibal� process or for the new wastewater treatment plant. Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Inc. is the engineering firm that oversaw the project. Water and Sewer Commissioner Patrick Wiesner said the dispute arose when the solids reduction system did not operate as anticipated. He said it was not

determined if the problem stemmed from faulty work or equipment. “It just wasn’t operating as we expected it to,� Wiesner said. He said the solids reduction system was part of the $5.6 million wastewater treatment plant project. The city had paid Siemens $835,000 for the solids

reduction system that didn’t perform as well as expected. “We are satisfied with the agreed resolution of this situation and look forward to continuing to provide the residents of Oregon with outstanding water and sewer services at competitive rates,� Wiesner said, in a press release issued after the council meeting.

Mayor Tom Stone agreed. “I am grateful that this situation was resolved in a way which protected the best interests of our citizens,� he said in the statement. In July the council approved a bid of $885,996 from a Kelsey Excavating, Inc., Davis, for a sludge Turn to A2

Test results may be available soon in teen’s death

Snow Flurries

By Vinde Wells Editor

At right, a fuschia plant is partially covered with the wet snow flakes Tuesday morning. Below, snow flurries and temperatures in the 30s did not prevent local fisherman from trying their hand at catching fish Tuesday afternoon below the Oregon dam. Photos by Chris Johnson and Earleen Hinton

Test results that officials hope will shed light into the August death of an Oregon teen may soon be available. Winnebago County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Hintz said Tuesday that he was recently informed that toxicology and pathology tests may soon be completed in the death of Jonathan Williams. Williams, 18, died Aug. 11 at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford, after being injured in a fight in the wee hours of Aug. 10 at an underage drinking party at 804 Monroe St., Oregon. Hintz said he expects to receive the results in the near future from the Chicago area lab conducting the tests on tissue samples taken during Williams’ autopsy. Ogle County State’s Attorney Michael Rock said Monday that once he receives the test results, he will make a decision if anyone will be charged in the case. “We’re still waiting for the test results,� Rock said. “Once we get those we will decide if charges will be filed.� In the meantime, he said, Oregon police are continuing to investigate and follow up

on leads. Because more testing than usual was done during the autopsy, Hintz said, the results have taken more time. Williams, who would have been a senior at Oregon High School, was an organ donor. Oregon police were called about 3:15 a.m. Aug. 10 by a neighbor who reported a disturbance outside the home on Monroe Street. At that time, police arrested five teens for underage drinking outside the home and another a block away. Several more party-goers scattered when police arrived, DeHaan said. Mt. Morris police and Ogle County deputies assisted at the scene. The fight had occurred outside the house before police arrived in the early morning hours, DeHaan said. The police who responded to the call did not see Williams, and none of the people there at the time mentioned that he had been injured, he said. Williams was found unconscious and unresponsive inside the home at 8:19 a.m., after a second 911 call from a “father figure� of one of the teens who had spent the night at the home after the party, DeHaan said.

Variance denied for Sinnissippi building By Vinde Wells Editor

Turn in old prescription drugs Saturday Area residents are offered an opportunity to get rid of unwanted prescription drugs on National Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, the Ogle County Solid Waste Management Department, local police departments, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will sponsor the event, the seventh of its kind in three years. The public is encouraged to bring expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications so that the drugs

can be properly disposed of. The service is free and anonymous — no questions will be asked. The no longer needed prescription drugs can be dropped off at the following locations: Oregon — Ogle County Jail parking lot, 107 S. Fifth St., Mt. Morris — village hall, 105 E. Lincoln St., Polo — police department, 116 S. Franklin Ave., Forreston — village hall, 102 S. Walnut Ave., Byron — police department, 232 W. Second

In This Week’s Edition...

St. Pills should be removed from medicine bottles and placed in plastic bags for drop off. Remove the labels from the medicine bottles and recycle the bottles. According to a press release issued jointly by the Oregon Police Department and Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, medications that remain in home medicine cabinets are very susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. “We have seen a large increase in prescription drug abuse in Ogle County and in

Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B12 College and Service News, A4 Entertainment, A6

Oregon,� said Oregon Police Chief Darin DeHaan. “Please join us in our effort to limit the potential risks of unwanted prescription drugs by participating in this Take Back event,� said Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn. According to the press release, a national study of drug use among young people shows that prescription drugs are the second most abused category of drugs after marijuana. Young children and pets are at risk from potentially

Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B4

Turn to A2

Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3

The Oregon City Council rejected a request Tuesday for a variance for a planned new building. The council voted 4-0 to uphold an Oct. 15 Planning Commission recommendation to deny a variance requested by Sinnissippi Centers, Inc. for a building at 100 Jefferson Street. The variance asked the city to allow the roof overhang to extend three feet over the lot line on the east side of the building. Tuesday night, John McLane, the architect for the project, asked the city council to reverse the Planning Commission’s

recommendation. He said the extra three feet will allow for landscaping and create a more appealing exterior to the new building, which will be located at the former site of Oregon Lawn & Farm across from the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department. McLane said he met with city building inspector Casper Manheim and street department supervisor Mike Bowers to show them the drawings. He said neither saw a problem with the overhang extending past the lot line and indicated the variance was likely to be granted. However, after the meeting, Bowers said McLane referred to the overhang as an awning when the three discussed the plan. Turn to A2

Deaths, B3 Sharon Blake, Harry L. Deets, Milton L. Marceau, Thomas W. Wagner

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


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