Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
April 10, 2014 Volume 164, Number 17 - $1.00
Lady Hawks Win
Scouts Help
Tow Fund Issue
The Lady Hawks softball team wins two games in a double-header against Dixon. B1
Oregon Scouts collected 7,000 food items for Lifeline. A10
An internal memo from the sheriff says fee will not be collected for the Tow Fund. A11
Committee picks low bid for sheriff’s building Recommendation goes to county board April 15
building got the nod Tuesday from the Ogle County Long Range & Strategic Planning Committee. The committee agreed to recommend Rockford By Vinde Wells Structures to the full county Editor board as the contractor for the The low bidder for a new $4 million project. sheriff’s administration Seven contractors
submitted base bids which ranged from $3.9 million to $4.5 million. Architect Guy Gehlhausen of Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects, Rockford, estimated that the project will total $4.1 million with all costs, including a $200,000 contingency, added in.
The county board is expected to vote on the contractor at its April 15 meeting. The proposed location for the new building has met with some opposition. Plans call for the building to be located at 103 Jefferson Street, Oregon, where the
current sheriff’s office is situated. County board member Ron Colson, Mt. Morris, asked the county board in January to delay moving ahead with the project because that location is part of the City of Oregon’s Comprehensive Plan for a Riverfront District.
Colson said the property is a key part of planned development to promote tourism in the city, which would also financially benefit the county. He said he favors building on the property the county owns on Sixth Street across Turn to A2
Two face felony charges after rural shooting By Vinde Wells Editor
Auctioneer Lenny Bryson auctions off the 1966 John Deere tractor at the Hazelhurst Sale on April 5. The tractor was donated by the Bocker family. Seventy-five percent of the $22,000 sale price was donated to the Polo Lions Club with the remaining 25 percent yo be donated to a charity of the purchaser’s choice. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Donated tractor helps Polo Lions By Earleen Hinton General Manager The 1966 tractor was hard to miss when visitors walked into the 2014 Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale on Saturday. Yes, John Deere tractors always draw the interest of the green and gold faithful, but this one was starting to catch the eyes of others. Maybe it was the way the sun sparkled off the bright green and gold while a burst of red, white and blue in a smartly designed American flag, seemed to unfurl across the 4020’s hood.
Or was it the buzz that 75 percent of the sale price would be donated to the Polo Lions Club? Either way, the interest level was high when auctioneer Lenny Bryson started to sell the “parade ready� tractor. “This John Deere 1040 has been donated by the Bocker family. Seventy-five percent of the sale price will go to the Polo Lions Club and the other 25 percent will go to a charity that the buyer wants it to go to,� said Byrson. “In other words, the Bocker family is donating this tractor. What a great, great donation.�
The bidding quickly reached $21,000. “This is all for a great cause folks,� said Bryson in between bids. “What a great tractor. Now $21,500 do I hear $22,000...yesss...now how about $22,500?� After a another minute or so, Bryson closed the deal. “Going once, twice, sold! You all know the story, we want to thank you all very, very much,� he said. Chuck McCormick, Geneva, was the successful bidder for the tractor and it was the only item he bought at the sale. “I collect tractors so I
probably will add it to my collection,� he said on Monday. The tractor was being used as a “chore� tractor when the Bocker family saw a brand new life for the faded green diesel workhorse. “We bought it when it was in pretty hard shape,� said Mark Bocker, Polo, as he took a break from helping at the Polo Lions Club food booth. “It was being used as a chore tractor. It needed mechanical repairs and miscellaneous repairs.� Donating the tractor was a way his family could Turn to A2
Great weather, good crowd for annual sale A perfect spring day greeted winter-weary bidders last Saturday at the annual Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale, west of Polo. An estimated crowd of between 5,000-6,000 descended on the 30-acre site with each visitor taking his or her time to walk by rows of farm machinery, cars, and a miscellaneous mix of this and the occasional “what the heck is that?� “We had a real good turnout,� said Lyle Hopkins, who owns and operates Public Auction Service, Polo, with his wife, Sheryl. “No one was able to get out and work in the fields yet so we could not have asked for a more beautiful day.� Temperatures in the high 50s, sunny skies, and a 60-plus year tradition helped bring the crowd to the sale site on Saturday. “With all the weather we’ve had this year, we really lucked out,� said Hopkins. The sale has been held west
Two people are facing felony charges in connection with a shooting last month in rural Byron. Ogle County State’s Attorney Michael Rock said Tuesday that Brandon McMahon, 20, has been charged with attempted first degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a weapon by a gang member, and possession of a weapon by a felon. Rachel Deiter, 18, Machesney Park, has been charged with concealing or aiding a fugitive. Assistant State’s Attorney Joshua Versluys said Deiter is accused of attempting to prevent McMahon’s arrest after the shooting by fleeing with him from the county. McMahon was arrested in Rockford. As of Tuesday, it was unclear as to where Deiter was arrested. McMahon is accused of shooting Wyatt Ackerson, 19, Byron, during a confrontation at a party in the early morning hours of March 22 at a residence on North Hoisington Road, northwest of Byron. Ackerson remains in the hospital. Deiter is being held in the Ogle County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bond, Versluys said. She was arraigned March 28, and a public defender was appointed then to represent her. Although Deiter was taken into custody March 24, the report of her arrest has not appeared on the Ogle County Sheriff’s website that lists arrests. Rock said last week that he
Brandon McMahon
Rachel Deiter
knew of no arrests in the case other than McMahon. A juvenile may also be involved in the incident, Rock said Tuesday, but he would not give further details. McMahon, a parolee, is currently being held in the Winnebago County Jail. He has also been charged with a shooting in Winnebago County. According to Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) records, McMahon was paroled from state prison in July of 2013. He was sentenced to three years in the IDOC in 2010 after being convicted on several charges, including armed robbery (no firearm) and possession of a firearm by a gang member. All the offenses occurred in Winnebago County.
Leaky toilet runs up a $2,000 water bill By Vinde Wells Editor
Sunny skies and mild temperatures greeted bidders at the Hazekhurst Sale on April 5. A plea for relief for an almost Here, an auctioneer and a spotter take bids as farm machinery is auctioned off. Photo $2,000 water bill prompted a by Earleen Hinton lively discussion at Tuesday’s
of Polo near the tiny hamlet of Hazelhurst ever since Sheryl’s mother and father, Ruth and Ellery Shank, hosted the first sale on their 30-acre farm site in the 1940s. It started as a venue where
In This Week’s Edition...
local farmers could buy and sell farm machinery. Now, in addition to farm machinery, the sale also includes a wide variety of other items including cars, trucks, lawn tractors, allterrain vehicles, snowmobiles,
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B6-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B6 Marriage Licenses, A4
snowblowers, lumber, tires, and other miscellaneous “finds.� Vehicles, primarily pick-up trucks hauling trailers of all sizes, were Turn to A10
Oregon Library, A3 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B2 Service News, A4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Oregon City Council meeting. The council tabled making a decision until April 22 while they further study what action to take. Oregon resident Rick Ryland asked the council to
Social News, A4 Sports, A12, B1 State’s Attorney, B4 Zoning Permits, B6
reduce or forgive the bills sent to his neighbor Carol Long, 84, after a toilet malfunctioned and used 188,000 gallons of water in about two months time. Ryland said Long lives in an average-sized house, and normally her water bill is $41.10 per month. However, that all changed when Long received two bills totaling a whopping $1,955.14. Turn to A2
Deaths, B3 Phyllis A. Brashaw, Neil D. Johnson. James M. Schoonhoven, Darrell O. Wagner
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