Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
June 26, 2014 Volume 164, Number 28 - $1.00
Recycling Issue
Family Farms
Let Freedom Ring
Illegal dumping could spell the end of a popular recycling program. B2
Farms are still in the same family after more than a century. Inside
A full schedule of events are in store for visitors at a Mt. Morris festival. A10-A12
Area EMS help cover Oregon
Statue Status: More is needed to repair Black Hawk statue
By Vinde Wells Editor
By Vinde Wells Editor The $724,000 already raised for the repair and restoration of the Black Hawk statue probably won’t be enough. “We have sufficient funds to do 80 percent of the work,� said Frank Rausa, Sterling, who is heading up the effort to Amy Lamb Woods, an engineer with Thornton Tomasetti, explains damage to the Black Hawk Statue repair the 103-year-old world during a press conference on Tuesday. Photo by Earleen Hinton renowned icon that overlooks He held a press conference engineering design, investigation, team of experts who measured, the Rock River at Lowden Tuesday morning at Maxson’s and analysis services to clients cored, and poked the statue last State Park near Oregon. fall and again this spring to find He said he will not have a better Riverside Restaurant to outline worldwide. The folded arms of the statue, out how bad the toll taken by estimate of the total cost until the repair and restoration plan. Engineer Amy Lamb Woods especially the elbows and the ravages of time and weather repair work actually begins on the said testing and evaluations done underneath the arms; the middle actually is. statue later this summer. “The damage is way more than “Until we start removing the recently show that three areas of of the robe; and the vertical fold in exterior surface we won’t know the Black Hawk statue are in dire the robe from armpit to toe are the we expected,� she said. critical areas, Woods said. In fact, the statue has the full extent of the damage,� he need of repairs. “Three areas of the statue show The areas are spalled, meaning deteriorated significantly since said. Rausa is a member of the significant deterioration,� she chunks of concrete have already close-up photos were taken in fallen out, and delineated, 2008. Last winter’s cold and snow Friends of the Black Hawk Statue, said. Woods is an engineer with meaning areas of concrete are further hastened the aging process. an organization that has been Getting the work done is working to secure funding for the Thorton Tomasetti, Chicago, an loose and ready to fall. architectural firm that provides Woods was a member of the Turn to A2 repairs.
Just over a week after its privatelyowned ambulance service closed down, Oregon’s ambulance calls continue to be answered by neighboring fire departments. Oregon Fire Chief Don Heller said Monday that for the time being ambulances from other communities will answer ambulance calls in the Oregon Fire District. “I won’t have anymore information until after our meeting on July 9,� Heller said. “I won’t have anything more to say about the ambulance until after that.� The Oregon Fire Protection District Board of Trustees will hold its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 9 at 7 p.m. at the administration building at 106 S. First St., Oregon. The meeting is open to the public. One of the topics that will likely be discussed is holding a referendum that would allow the fire district to tax district residents for an ambulance service run by the fire department. Heller said the earliest that could appear in the ballot would be the Nov. 4 election. The deadline for filing referendum Turn to A2
Concealed carry policy adopted by county board By Chris Johnson Reporter Bringing county policy in line with Illinois law caused a stir during the Ogle County Board meeting last week. The discussion over concealed carry required two votes to approve. “Can we go to private session and hash this over?� said Lee Meyers, Byron, June 17. “This can not be discussed in closed session,� said board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron. “We are bringing our
personnel policy in line with Illinois legislation.� “It makes them (county employees) sitting ducks,� said Pat Saunders, Polo. “It bothers me that we adopt something written by Democrats in Chicago. Can we make changes to this?� Board member Skip Kenney, Rochelle, had the same concerns. “I think we are better than that,� he said. “We can develop one for Ogle County.� “This is state law,� said Bill Welty, Chana. “I am not
sure you can change this.� A roll call vote on the motion to approve the policy was requested by Zach Oltmanns, Stillman Valley. One of the concerns raised was the wording about bringing a firearm on county property. Board member Pat Nordman, Oregon, told the board the law is clear on what is allowed and Welty expanded on details of the law. “There is concealed carry and appropriate carry,� Nordman said.
“Concealed carry allows loaded handguns in a car in any parking lot,� said Welty. “I can not exit the vehicle with a loaded weapon on county property.� The concealed carry law allows a registered gun owner with a proper license to drive through parks, county, and school property. The gun can also be kept in the vehicle as long as it remains locked. “The new law does not take away any gun rights,� said state’s attorney Mike Rock. “You still have safe harbor rules.�
Gouker said if the state changes the concealed carry law the board could revisit and relax the policy. “I think the whole law is dumb,� said Lyle Hopkins, Polo. “Marking these buildings is the stupidest thing.� He said criminals can target these buildings because they know the employees and customers do not have a gun. The law calls for a sign with a gun in a red circle with a line through it to show guns are not allowed. “I think we have county
officials in a threatening position,� said Ron Colson, Mt. Morris. Kenney suggested delaying the vote for 30 days. “I think the personnel committee can sit down and develop a policy better suited for our county,� he said. “My understanding is this is what we have,� said Gouker. Rock said some employees could be authorized to carry a weapon. In some counties the Turn to A2
Wandering bear visits Mt. Morris, moves on IDNR urges residents to leave bear alone By Vinde Wells Editor
A black bear looks down on the crowd that had formed after he climbed a tree southwest of Mt. Morris last week. Photo by Earleen Hinton
In This Week’s Edition...
Agriculture, A7 Birth, A4 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6
Mt. Morris’ wild visitor is apparently still on the move. Although the last confirmed sighting was southwest of Mt. Morris last week, Robert Frazier, Acting Regional Commander for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday that the black bear has reportedly been seen in Carroll County as recently as Monday. However, he said that sighting is unconfirmed. The 200-pound male bear spent several hours in and near Mt. Morris on June 18, spending several hours in an oak tree a mile or so out of town, and then lumbering off through a cornfield to the west in the early evening.
Fines, B6 Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B2 Public Voice, A8
According to Mt. Morris Police Chief Jason White, the bear sightings started early in the morning. “Some time around 6:30 in the morning we got calls about a bear seen in the subdivision east of Dillehay Park,� he said. Before that, the bear had been spotted in Chana on June 15. “I feel the bear just took the railroad tracks across the river and to Mt. Morris,� he said. “That would have kept him away from people.� Somewhere around 6:30 a.m., a Mt. Morris resident, who didn’t want to be identified, saw the bear at the railroad tracks on Ill. 64 at the east edge of town. The bear ran west and was near the medical clinic when he last saw it. From there the bear apparently made his way west across backyards. He was caught on a surveillance camera at Trinity
Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B1 State’s Attorney, B5
Lutheran Church running through yards on the other side of Brayton Road. Church secretary Barb Diehl checked the tape that morning when she got to work. “He ran from behind LaBashes toward Garrisons [a half block west],� she said. After that several people leaving an exercise session at Dillehay Park saw the bear as he crossed Ogle Avenue. By then, word had spread around the community about the bear’s arrival and a crowd was gathering to catch a glimpse or snap a photo. White said he and another Mt. Morris officer, Fire Chief Rob Hough, and Ogle County Deputy Brian Ketter chased the bear out of town after it was seen in the 400 block of South McKendrie Avenue. “We just kind of herded him south out of town,� White said. “We wanted to get him away from people.� Turn to A7
Deaths, B3 Hughling A. Blumeyer, Jessie B. Hinkle, Wayne W. Koeller
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