Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
April 14, 2016 Volume 166, Number 18 - $1.00
Hawks Win
Drug Take Back
Two Car Chases
The Oregon Hawks track team finished first at the Gebhardt-Worley Invitational. B1
Safely return all unwanted medications on April 30. A6
Officers responded to a pair of car chases over the past week in Ogle County. A7
Council approves borrowing for water upgrades By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
The Oregon City Council took the next step Tuesday to make upgrades to the city’s water system. The council unanimously agreed to borrow up to $4.5 million from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) through its Public Water Supply Loan Program. Public Property
Commissioner Jim Barnes said the city plans to clean and repaint both water reservoirs inside and out, and improve all three well houses to meet state requirements. He said the well house near the city hall will likely be torn down and a new larger one built. Additions will be built onto the other two. State requirements stipulate that water treatment chemicals must be kept in a separate room in the well houses, he said. Barnes said he is not yet sure
how much money the city will need, but estimated the cost at about $2.5 million. He said at least one of the reservoirs has not been cleaned and painted since the 1980s. After the meeting City Clerk Charlene Ruthe said city officials have not yet determined what effect the loan will have on water bills because the exact amount needed for the work has not yet been determined. Oregon residents can petition the city to put the
decision up to the voters. If 223 or 10 percent of the registered voters in the city sign a petition requesting it within a certain time period, the question of improving the public water supply system and entering into the loan agreement will be placed on the Nov. 8 ballot as a referendum. Petition forms will be available in Ruthe’s office at the city hall. Barnes said some sewer mains may also need to be
relined, but that work will likely not be scheduled until next year. In another matter, the council awarded the contract to Martin and Company to resurface and make repairs to Tenth Street and Hawk Drive. Mayor Ken Williams said the project will cost $267,000 less than $1.1 million originally estimated, mainly due to the current low cost of petroleum. Although sanitary sewer upgrades have begun for the project, street work will begin
Residents impacted by last year’s tornado turned out Saturday to remember the day, the recovery efforts, and to thank everyone who helped out. Homeowner Reuben Capen was one of the residents directly impacted by the storm. His home on Fowler Road by the Cherry Hill subdivision northwest of Rochelle was destroyed by the April 9, 2015 EF4 tornado. Capen and his wife Lilly were not home when the storm leveled their home. “We were in Rockford with family while it happened,” he said. “We received a call to let us know the house was gone. The couple lived in the home for 46 years and in an instant it was gone. However, the memories
they have of the home were spared. “I thank God that we recovered 85 percent of what money can’t buy,” said Capen. “Volunteers found old photo albums and other items. A refrigerator can be replaced.” Some of his wife’s instruments were also recovered, but the owner of a riding lawnmower that dropped on the property was not identified. Knowing memories are important to the family, Capen and his daughter started a scrapbook of the tornado cleanup. This scrapbook contained photos of the home before the storm and had a day by day account through the Rueben Capen holds a scrapbook of photos from damage last year’s tornado did rebuilding of the home. to his property. He brought the scrapbook to the tornado anniversary event at the He brought it to the Rochelle Township High School April 9. Photo by Chris Johnson community event at said Capen. “He works property.” volunteers for the quick Rochelle Township High at Anderson Plumbing Less than a week after the recovery. School April 9 to share his and Heating in Rochelle. storm, plans to build a new “We built the home on a story of the tornado. With his help and all the home on the property were different part of the property “My brother helped volunteers we were able to underway. Turn to A3 out with the rebuilding,” clear everything from the Capen credits all the
New book details Oregon’s storied art legacy By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com An Oregon woman set out in 2013 to make a list of art works and ended up writing a detailed history of art in her community and its impact. “The goal was to do a catalog of the art in the gallery [at the Oregon Public Library],” said Beth Simeone. “That’s all it was supposed to be.” However, she said, once she started her research for the library on the art works and artists, it soon became apparent the project could not stop there. “I soon realized the story was far more,” Simeone said. “…The initial catalog grew into a broader survey of art and its influence in this community.” The result of three years of painstaking research is “The Art of Oregon,” a 180-page book filled with information and colorful illustrations,
reaching back to Margaret Fuller’s visit to Oregon in 1843 to the formation of the Eagle’s Nest Art Colony in 1892 to the creation of the iconic Black Hawk Statue in 1910-11. Photographs for the book were taken by Bob Logsdon, and the design was done by Colleen Logsdon. “It’s about telling the story that’s in this town,” Simeone said. “It’s right in front of us and it’s authentic.” Simeone’s research has revealed information either unknown or long forgotten about Oregon’s long artistic legacy and the artists themselves. One section of the book focuses on John Prasuhn, the young German sculptor and engineer who built the Black Hawk Statue envisioned by sculptor Lorado Taft. Included are letters Prasuhn wrote to his brother and sister in 1946 while he was making repairs on the statue.
In This Week’s Edition...
Once completed, 10th Street will have curbs, gutters, and sidewalks all the way to Pines Road. Hawk Drive will be resurfaced only.
Woman’s vision leads to planning
Community remembers EF4 tornado By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com
in May, he said, after school is out for the summer. Tenth Street will remain open for local travel throughout construction, he said. “But if you’re just driving down 10th Street to get across town, you may want to go a different way,” Williams said.
The more Simeone uncovered, the more she became concerned that the history could easily be lost for good. “Soon it became clear that the art story of Oregon was much broader than the 1918 Eagle’s Nest Art Collection in the Oregon library gallery and that it must be told before the connecting threads disappeared,” she said. Simeone was impressed when she saw the dedicated community work, volunteerism and economic development “before they knew the word” done by early Oregon residents to promote the city as a destination. The back cover depicts a poster calling Oregon “an inimitable summer resort.” The promotion was developed by Oregon citizens working with the Burlington Railroad, Rand McNally Map Company, and the Palmer House in Chicago. “A lot of people
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Beth Simeone holds a copy of “The Art of Oregon” book. Photo by Vinde Wells
volunteered and were community-minded way back,” Simeone said. “They wanted to give back to the community. They wanted things to be better.”
Library News, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B5
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Zoning, B4
That effort led to the migration, she said, of Wallace and Tillie Heckman, founders of the Eagle’s Nest Art Colony, Frank O. and Turn to A2
By Pam Eggemeier peggemeier@sauk valley.com A vision for the downtown to become an arts destination point came into focus during a three-day conference that wrapped up April 9 at Pinecrest Grove Community Center, Mt. Morris. The third session drew about 80 people who participated in smaller action planning sessions. Each group made presentations that included timelines, and who would be accountable for carrying out the plans. The vision of the arts fueling downtown revitalization and growth belongs to a former Mt. Morris resident. Artist Andria Thorngren Burchett, Geneva, has been a longtime believer in the potential of the Mt. Morris College campus. The buildings would become a rural artists retreat with studios, galleries, renowned guest instructors, and space for the visual and performing arts. A flourishing arts community would need the support of new businesses, from restaurants and brew pubs to bed and breakfasts and gift shops. Andria visits her hometown often, to see her 94-year-old father, and the vision continues to grow. “She’s had this dream for 10 years now, that the old campus can be revitalized as an arts center,” her husband Steve Burchett said. “She believes this can be the core for driving economic development.” Andria has made a believer of the village’s Economic Development Group, and she has been working closely with City Clerk Paula Diehl to make the vision a reality. The village had been planning the conference since November. “This was an ambitious undertaking because this project was launched with just volunteers,” said Rob Urish, chairman of the Economic Development Group. “We tried to put together diverse skill sets, and we’ve assembled a group of quality people.”
Deaths, B4 Georgeanne F. Donegan, Margaret J. Reichenbach, James E. Samsel
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