Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
Six Advance
Mural Painted
Library Grants
Six Hawk grapplers earned a spot to compete at this weekend’s sectional in Oregon. B1
February 12, 2015 Volume 165, Number 9 - $1.00
Several local libraries received grants to offer services. B3
Students at Oregon Elementary School painted a mural that is on display at the library. A9
Hiking in snow at Castle Rock Snowshoeing trek offered by park district By Chris Johnson Reporter Hiking through one of the many trails at the state parks in Ogle County may seem like a difficult task in the winter months. However, thanks to snowshoes, the trails open up a unique landscape. “It was beautiful,” said Julie Cheatham, Polo, after finishing a hike through Castle Rock State Park on Saturday morning. Feb. 7. Cheatham was one of 10 people taking part in a snowshoeing event through the Oregon Park District. Snowshoeing is an activity that anyone who can walk can accomplish, said organizer Candice Holbrook. “The thing about Candice Holbrook, Oregon Park District recreation program snowshoeing is you do not manager, leads a group of 10 on a snowshoeing trip through have the ability to get out of Castle Rock State Park on Feb. 7. Photo by Chris Johnson control,” said Holbrook, who is the park district’s recreation program manager. “In cross country skiing you have the possibility of flipping. You will never get out of control while snowshoeing.” “You are not going to be like ahhhh, there is a tree, By Vinde Wells Firefighters returned Editor to the downtown at 12:41 p.m. for smoke inside Max Oregon firefighters were Media, at the corner of called to the downtown Washington (Ill. 64) and The Oregon School Board twice in a little more than Fourth (Ill. 2) Streets. took no action Monday night an hour Feb. 6 for fires Greene said a heating at a special meeting. involving microwave ovens. pad filled with dried beans Oregon Superintendent The Ogle County Judicial ignited as it was being of Schools Tom Mahoney Center, 106 S. Fifth St., was heated in a microwave oven. said the board met in closed evacuated at 11:37 a.m. He said an employee got session to discuss a personnel after smoke from a batch of the fire out but smoke was burning popcorn set off the throughout the business. fire alarms in the building. Greene said the employee Assistant Fire Chief Al left the building and was Greene said the popcorn had outside when firefighters By Vinde Wells been cooked in a microwave arrived. Editor oven. Firefighters set up fans to The building’s remove the smoke and odor Mild weather, winter maintenance crew reset from the building and allow doldrums, and a variety of the fire alarms and issued the business to reopen for treasures all led to a near an “all clear” to allow customers. record crowd Feb. 6 at Mt. employees, officials, and No one was injured and Morris’ annual antique and the public to return to the no damage was reported at collectibles market. building. either incident. The fourth annual February Finds, held at the Mt. Morris Moose Family Center, drew an estimated 500 people, possibly matching the best crowd ever, according to event organizer Edie White. “It was great. We had a great turnout. We don’t have everything totaled up yet, but it may have been our largest crowd ever,” White said Tuesday. Sunshine and temperatures in the 40s offered a pleasant day for people to get out, especially after the blizzard that left more than a foot of snow behind the previous weekend. “I think everyone who came was looking for things to add to their collections,” White said. “And people came out to socialize. I think they wanted to get out The Oregon Fire Department responded to the Ogle because it’s winter.” County Judicial Center Feb. 6 following fire alarms that A varied array of went off in the building. Photo by Chris Johnson merchandise also drew the
Microwaves set off fire alarms
I am going to hit it,” said Julie, who was on her third snowshoeing hike. Hikers were shown how to strap on snowshoes and prepare trekking poles at Nash Recreation Center before heading to the park. Once at the park, Holbrook had everyone in the group practice walking in snowshoes before heading out onto the trail. “I want to get people to enjoy being outdoors,” said Holbrook. “Having people
fall in love with snowshoeing and being outdoors in the winter is fun.” Throughout the hike Holbrook encouraged the group to spread out and enjoy the trail to avoid looking at the “backside of the person in front of you the entire hike.” About halfway through the hike the group came across an overlook that offered an uninterrupted view of the surroundings. Except for deer tracks
through the snow, the scene was filled with snow covered trees and a blanket of snow covering the ground. “It was a very nice view,” said Craig Cheatham. Just down the hill the hiking trail split into two paths. Group members could choose to finish the short hike, or turn right to add another two miles to the trip. By a vote, the group was Turn to A10
This is just one of the views that participants of the snowshoeing trip saw when they trekked through Castle Rock State Park. Photo by Chris Johnson
No action at special board meeting matter but took no action on it afterward. The regular board meeting set for Tuesday, Feb. 17 has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Oregon High
School library. The date was changed due to a scheduling conflict. Regular board meetings are usually held on the third Monday of each month. The February meeting
had been set for a Tuesday because Presidents Day, a school holiday, falls on the third Monday. The meetings are open to the public.
Unique treasures found at market
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B7
crowd, she said. “We had 22 vendors with a lot of different things to offer,” she said. Merchandise included antique furniture, antique tools, primitives, tins, lamps, vintage clothing and jewelry, tin toys, collectibles, quilts and linens, artwork, stamps, postcards, tin lunch pails, local advertising memorabilia, Depression Glass, pottery, and enamelware. A bake sale put on by the Let Freedom Ring Committee was almost sold out by early afternoon. Robert and Evelyn Thomas took advantage of the almost spring-like day to drive up from Dixon. Robert said they weren’t looking for anything in particular Saturday, but usually come to the event. “We enjoy looking,” he said. “And it’s not far from home.” Vendors were also pleased with the crowd. Howie Herman, Mt. Morris, was enjoying a brisk business at the booth of collectibles he was sharing with Kris Brunner, Stockton. “It’s been a good show,”
Library News, A9 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B3
Sheriff’s Arrests, B6 Social News, A4 Sports, A11, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Zoning Permits, B7
Robert and Evelyn Thomas, Dixon, look over an item of interest to them Feb. 6 at February Finds at the Mt. Morris Moose Family Center. Photo by Vinde Wells
he said. “It was packed this morning and it’s been steady all day.” He said the shoppers seemed interested in primitives and in finding bargains. “I’ve seen people walk by with old windows, chests,
and old jars,” Herman said. Marla Buskohl, Polo, was also pleased with the number of people who came to shop. “I’ve had good sales, especially this morning,” she said. Turn to A2
Deaths, B5 Arthur W. Dietze, Albert L. Horrell, Donald L. Miller, Phyllis Ruter, Alice M. Shetler, Bradley A. Thomas
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com