Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
January 29, 2015 Volume 165, Number 7 - $1.00
Tough Loss
Internal Audit
February Finds
The Hawks had their chances against Rock Falls but let them slip away. B1
The Sheriff’s Dept. is doing an internal audit of the Tow Fund. B8
Antiques and collectibles will be among the treasures Feb. 7 at February Finds. A6
Cars burglarized in SV school lot Windows were smashed during basketball game By Vinde Wells Editor Several vehicles were burglarized Saturday night while their owners were watching a high school basketball game in Stillman Valley. Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said thieves smashed the windows of seven vehicles and took items from inside them on Jan. 24 while the vehicles were parked in the Stillman Valley High School parking lot during a boys basketball An Oregon firefighter kneels by a fire hose as a machine shed at Nordman Excavating burns on Jan. 23, east of game versus Oregon. Sheriff’s police determined Oregon. Several fire departments were called to the scene to battle the late evening fire. Photo by Angie Newman the burglaries occurred between 7:30 and 8:45 p.m. when deputies were called. Superintendent PJ Caposey said some of the purses and bags stolen from the vehicles had been left in plain sight. He said an Ogle County deputy was on duty at the ball game, but was stationed inside the school. Forreston Police Chief By Vinde Wells Mike Boomgarden said a Editor similar incident occurred in early December during a Oregon fire officials are basketball game at Forreston still investigating a fire Jan. High School when thieves 23 that destroyed a large mabroke the windows of four chine shed at an excavating vehicles and took items from business east of town. The fire, which was re- Rubble was all that remained Saturday morning of a machine shed and the equipment inside. No one has been arrested ported around 9 p.m. at Nor- stored inside at Nordman Excavating on Ill. 64 east of Oregon. Photo by Vinde Wells in that incident, Boomgarden dman Excavating, 1431 Ill. Monday. “Upon arrival, fire comA semi, excavation equip64, destroyed the building He said a representative of panies were presented with ment, machinery, and tools and its contents. the State Fire Marshal’s Of- a fully involved metal 40x60 inside the building were deThe business is owned by fice is assisting with the in- [foot] machine shed and stroyed. Bill Nordman, Oregon. vestigation. shop with a nearby exposure Oregon firefighters were “The cause and origin The building was engulfed of another structure,” he said. assisted by the Mt. Morris, of the fire remain undeter- in flames when firefighters Firefighters kept the fire Polo, Stillman Valley, Bymined,” said Oregon Assis- arrived at the scene, Greene from spreading to the nearby ron, and Ashton Fire DepartBy Vinde Wells tant Fire Chief Al Greene said. building. ments. Editor
Blaze destroys building
said Monday, but some of the purses and other property taken were later recovered along Ill. 72 between Forreston and Byron. A credit card taken from one of the purses was used at a store in Byron that night, he said. Oregon Police Chief Darin DeHaan said three locked vehicles parked in the Oregon Elementary School lot more than a year ago were broken into and burglarized. That vehicle burglary occurred on Nov. 22, 2013 during the Thanksgiving tournament hosted by the Oregon High School girls basketball team. Some of the items were recovered at traffic pull-off locations on Ill. 2 north of Oregon. The Oregon police beef up their patrols of parking lots during major events at the schools, DeHaan said, because vehicle burglaries are often a problem. He advised the public to remove items of value from their vehicles or at least hid them from view. Anyone with information regarding the Stillman Valley incident Jan. 24, is encouraged to call Ogle County Sheriff’s Office at 815-732-6666 or Ogle-Lee Crime Stoppers at 888-2284488. Crime Stoppers pays rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in a crime.
Board rescinds fund transfer
All stars play in front of OHS crowd OCEC vs VOP held for fourth time in Oregon By Chris Johnson Reporter A group of all stars visited the Blackhawk Center last Friday morning to take part in an annual tradition. The Ogle County All Stars took on the Village of Progress All Stars in a game of basketball. From the moment these athletes stepped onto the court they were treated like all stars. The faculty and staff of Oregon High School filled the bleachers to cheer on the competitors. Music from the pep band filled the air and prepared the crowd for the game. As the clock ticked past 10 a.m. the festivities began when each of the athletes was introduced to standing ovations and loud cheers.
The Ogle County Educational Cooperative (OCEC) team and the Village of Progress team got together for their fourth annual game. OCEC provides special education services and programs for disabled students who are 3-21 years of age and residents of Ogle County. Village of Progress is a private not-for-profit corporation that was founded in 1969 to meet the training needs of adults with disabilities who reside in Ogle County. The Ogle County team plays seven games during the year including stops at Rockford Guilford, Woodstock and Aurora. “There is no other school that we play at that supports our team better than the students at OHS,” said Gayle Noble, OCEC adapted physical education teacher. “The athletes love to have their peers witness their talents and it is all they talk
In This Week’s Edition...
about throughout the entire year.” The game is important for the athletes and their families.
Noble said one parent was moved to tears at seeing the joy the athletes when playing in the game. Turn to A12
Ogle County All Star Josh Nambo puts up a shot in front of a crowd of OHS students Jan. 23 during a game against the Village of Progress. Photo by Chris Johnson
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B9-B14 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B8
Library News, A7 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B6
Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B6
The Ogle County Board last week reversed a decision made three months earlier to transfer more than $60,000 from the county’s Tow Fund to the General Fund. When it met Jan. 20, the board rescinded its Oct. 20 motion to transfer $61,713 improperly deposited into the Tow Fund to the General Fund where it rightfully belonged. County board chairman Kim Gouker said after last week’s meeting that the October action was taken to empty the Tow Fund and ensure that former sheriff Michael Harn, whose term was up Nov. 30, could not spend any more money from it. “We were trying to protect the funds from a lame duck sheriff,” Gouker said. “It was the only check and balance we had over that fund. We didn’t want to see it spent at the 11th hour for something that might not be appropriate. And we don’t want to hogtie the new sheriff.” Present sheriff Brian
VanVickle took over the post Dec. 1 after being elected Nov. 4. He defeated Harn in the March Republican primary election. The October action came the same night the board heard the results of a forensic examination of the Tow Fund. James Sullivan, director of dispute advisory for Sikich LLD, Naperville, told the board Oct. 20 that his firm’s forensic examination revealed that more than $10,000 is unaccounted for and that $61,713 was deposited into the Tow Fund that was meant for the General Fund. Sullivan said some of the $61,713 was $10,000 of a $12,920 check from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency which should have gone into the General Fund. He said the other $2,920 of the check was unaccounted for. The IEMA check to help cover overtime paid to deputies for working during a blizzard. The resolution to rescind Turn to A12
Deaths, B3 Dean Fletcher Montes “Polly” L. Ford Lucile G. Wyatt
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com