Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter Home & Garden
Second Place The Lady Hawks track team finished second at the Landers-Loomis Relays. B1
Monarch butterflies need some green thumbs to flourish. A8-A9
April 24, 2014 Volume 164, Number 19 - $1.00
New Jobs Woods Equipment plans to add more jobs to their factory near Oregon. A2
Pit bulls attack jogger April 21 Rural Ashton woman was near her home By Vinde Wells Editor
Workers were busy April 11 pouring concrete into the forms for the new equipment storage building at the Ogle County Highway Department. Photo by Curtis Cook
Work begins on storage building New building to house highway dept. vehicles By Chris Johnson Reporter The foundation has been poured for the new equipment building at the Ogle County Highway Department. When completed, the 90foot by 150-foot building will have a concrete foundation and steel frame and will be located at the highway department headquarters at 1989 Ill. 2 South, Oregon. County Engineer Curtis Cook said the highway
department’s new $700,000 building will be used to store heavy equipment, some of which currently sits outside. “When you don’t have shelter for equipment it does not last as long,� he said. “This building will allow us to store everything inside and make the equipment last.� The existing storage building was completed in 1967 and is a tight fit for equipment. Road graders will be moved to the new building when the project is completed. “The old building was built for smaller trucks,� said Cook. “The road graders can barely get in.� Having the new space will make it easier to park
the equipment and allow for better access to all the equipment, he said. Dump trucks will remain in the original building. Cook said plans call for the building to be completed by July 1, and after that parking areas will be redone to ensure that water drains away from the buildings. “The parking lot is a mess with all the cuts in it,� said Cook. “I am looking forward to getting the project completed.� The parking lot reconstruction will cost $278,000 and will be completed by Martin and Company. The money to pay for the building will come from
the county’s Long Range Planning Fund. Revenues in that fund come from the host fees paid by garbage collection firms to dump refuse in the landfills within the county. The fees bring approximately $3 million per year to the county’s coffers. According to the budget, the Long Range Planning Fund, which is earmarked for major capital projects, was projected to start the new fiscal year with a balance of $13 million. Cook said the county board added the project to the budget for this fiscal year and the project was awarded to Cord Construction Company, Rockford, in January.
Long asks city to reconsider policy By Vinde Wells Editor An Oregon woman who recently incurred a huge water bill asked the city council Tuesday to reconsider its policy. Carol Long, 84, urged
the council to adopt a new policy that would not require homeowners to pay for unusually large water consumption caused when their equipment malfunctions. A malfunctioning toilet in Long’s home recently ran her water bill up to nearly $2,000
over a two-month period. However, an Oregon couple, who wished to remain anonymous, paid the bill for her. Long said she is grateful to the couple for their generosity, but told the council she still believes the
city should forgive large bills for accidental leaks. “It’s not for me — my problem is solved,� she said. “I’m looking out for the future. I care about the other people this could happen to.� Long told the council she Turn to A2
ambulance to KSB Hospital, Dixon, where she has undergone surgery and more is scheduled. Ebert’s husband Larry was riding a bike and was some distance behind her when the attack occurred. He saw the dogs attacking as he approached their home and came to his wife’s assistance. “It’s a good thing her husband was right there or it might have been a fatality,� Champley said. The dogs were impounded by Animal Control, he said, and the owner agreed that they should be euthanized. That has already been done. Champley said no previous problems have been reported to Animal Control with the two dogs involved in the incident.
A rural Ashton woman was severely injured early Monday morning after two pit bulls attacked her while she was jogging near her home. Aneda Ebert, 63, 3413 Dugdale Rd., was jogging past a neighbor’s residence on Dugdale Road in southern Ogle County when two pit bulls ran out of the yard and attacked her. “She was severely injured while she was jogging,� Dr. Tom Champley, Ogle County Animal Control Administrator, said. “She had severe injuries to her neck, Ogle County Sheriff’s shoulder, and leg.� Police are continuing to Ebert was taken by investigate.
Disagreement over ZBA appointment By Vinde Wells Editor An appointment to the Ogle County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) proved controversial April 15. County board member Bruce McKinney, Rochelle, objected to a motion to appoint former county board member Dennis Williams, Byron, to the ZBA. Instead he said he favored the reappointment of current ZBA member Randall Anderson, Chana, who had also applied for the seat. McKinney said Anderson has been a dedicated ZBA member and should be reappointed. He said he believes
Anderson was not recommended for another term because he did not vote in opposition to wind farms. Recommendations for appointments to the ZBA are made by the State’s Attorney’s Committee. Board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron, said Anderson’s voting record on wind farms was not mentioned during the committee’s discussion of the appointment. Instead he said, the issue was their stands on the county’s Comprehensive Plan. “There was a distinct difference between the two candidates,� he said. Turn to A2
Egg Hunt Happenings At left, Kennidy Suits, 5, Oregon, opens up a piece of candy during the Oregon Park District’s Easter Egg Hunt on April 19. Above, Laura Giedd and Sheree Rich run a Relay for Life bake sale. At right, one-year-old Coda Suter, Oregon, is all smiles as he finds a plastic egg. A story and more photos appear on page B2. Photos by Sarah Zuniga
In This Week’s Edition...
Byron Police, B5 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B2
Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1 State’s Attorney, B5
Deaths, B3 Joan I. Brinker, Florence A. Hieronimus, Curtis C. Krueger, Dorothy L. Lubbs, Viola M. Sheriff
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