Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
August 21, 2014 Volume 164, Number 36 - $1.00
Alumni Game
Fair Results
Red & White Night
Oregon graduates defeated Winnebago Aug. 15 during an alumni football game. B1
Read how the projects fared at the 2014 Ogle County 4-H Fair. A10
Come and meet Oregon High School’s fall sports teams this Friday night. A9
Cost to audit Tow Fund could double
#EREMONIAL 'ROUNDBREAKING
By Vinde Wells Editor
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Ogle County Sheriff’s Administration building. Pictured here shoveling dirt are architect Guy Gehlhausen; Nathan Heinrich, Rockford Structures; architect Dan Saavedra; Mike Olson, Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects; Sandy Beitel, E-911 Coordinator; Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker; Oregon Mayor Tom Stone; Greg Suthers, Rockford Structures; county board member Don Griffin; and coroner Lou Finch. Photo by Chris Johnson
New facility was “long-needed� By Vinde Wells Editor Everyone was in agreement Tuesday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Ogle County Sheriff’s Administration Building — the facility is much needed. “It’s a long-needed facility,� Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker. County board member Don Griffin agreed. “It’s not only going to serve the present but also long into the future for the county.� “This is a facility that’s desperately needed,� said architect Guy Gehlhausen. “It will have all the latest security.� Ogle County 911 Coordinator Sandy Beitel said the new building will be a more convenient, safer environment for county employees. The new building, which has been under construction since early this spring, will
Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker, left, speaks at the ceremony while in center is board member Don Griffin, who is also chairman of the Long Range Planning Committee. Oregon Mayor Tom Stone, right, told the audience Tuesday afternoon that the county is the city’s largest employer. Photos by Chris Johnson
replace the century-old sheriff’s office donated to the county more than 25 years ago by the E.D. Etnyre Company. The building has a leaky roof, needs electrical and technological upgrades, and is not handicapped accessible. The Oregon Mayor Tom Stone said he remembered working in the old building years ago when he first went
to work for Etnyre’s. “This will be a nice facility,� he said. “It will be a great thing for the City of Oregon.� The final speaker was Nathan Heinrich, the vice president of Rockford Structures, the contractor for the project, who said he was honored to be a part of it. The new facility is being
built to the east of the current sheriff’s office at 103 Jefferson St. and will house the sheriff’s department, coroner and morgue, and the 911 call center. It is expected to be completed by early next year. Once it is completed, the old building will be demolished, and the space where it now sits will be used for parking.
A forensic examination of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Tow Fund may cost double the original estimate. The Ogle County Board on Tuesday authorized paying Sikich LLP, Naperville, up to $7,500 more to dig further into the financial records. The board agreed in May to pay Sikich $7,500 plus outof-pocket expenses for the initial investigation into the Tow Fund expenditures and revenues. County board chairman Kim Gouker said then that if fraud was uncovered during the examination, the costs could increase to as much as $300 per hour for the investigators’ services. In May, the board approved engaging the forensic services of Sikich to examine Tow Fund expenditures and revenues from the time it was implemented in 2011 to the present. The firm also does the county’s regular annual audits. Tuesday’s motion to pay Sikich the additional sum met with some opposition. The measure passed 19-3 with board members Lee Meyers, Byron, Lyle Hopkins, Polo, and Dorothy Bowers, Byron, voting no. Board members Bill Welty, Chana, and Bruce McKinney, Rochelle, did not attend the meeting. Meyers said he believes Sikich is changing the cost midway through the process. “I think they need to have their feet put to the fire and made to do it for the original $7,500,� he said. Pat Saunders, Polo, said she remembered that Sikich officials said at the start that additional fees might be
incurred. Hopkins said he is opposed to spending more. “If they haven’t found anything that jumped out at them by now, why should we give them more money?� he said. “Could it be they have found something?� asked Bobbie Colbert, Rochelle. “That could be,� replied Gouker. Gouker said that so far the investigators have looked through the records they knew to be in existence and spent three days “on site� doing that. “Examinations like this are like peeling off an onion,� Gouker said. “There are different layers. They said the records were quite disorganized.� He said the investigators want to look at more records and do more interviews. They may find what they need without using all of the additional $7,500, he said. On the other hand, Gouker said, this may not be the last time they ask for more funds to complete the examination. Martin Typer, Stillman Valley, said he believes it is important that the examination is completed, even with the additional cost. “We owe it to the people we represent to find out what happened,� he said. Gouker said he was misquoted in a newspaper article that said he has not seen a preliminary report from Sikich. He said Sikich has not yet completed a preliminary report on their findings to this point. In other business the board: s GAVE APPROVAL BY A consensus to have Chevron Energy Solutions Company do an assessment of county facilities at no cost.
Otto Dick chosen as Oregon’s Citizen of the Year By Christi Warren Sauk Valley Media A man who loves history and loves sharing it even more was named Citizen of the Year during the Oregon Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner on Aug. 14. Guests dined and participated in a lively dessert auction before Debbie Dickson, executive director of the chamber, took the stage to announce Otto Dick as this year’s recipient. “This is a man quiet in nature, mild in manner, working silently behind many scenes, whose actions speak loudly of the pride and commitment he carries when he walks throughout our community,� Dickson said. Dick moved to Oregon with his family in 1946, as a
Laura Medlar, Volunteer of Year Alpine Chiropractic, Business of Year young school boy. His father was a principal, and Otto kind of followed in those footsteps – spending 25 years as a teacher at Dixon High School. He now spends most of his time volunteering around the community, and working to promote it any way he can, from his work with the Ogle County Historical Society, to his passion and, as Dickson said, the “immeasurable sweat equity� he has poured into the Depot restoration project. He also writes weekly articles about local history for the Republican Reporter. “I’m proud to be up here with ‘the lady on the rock,’�
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he joked, before thanking the chamber for the award. “I’m one of many people who volunteer and [give] so much effort for the town of Oregon,� he said. “I love Oregon. ... It’s a great place; I’m just so happy to be here. I’d choose no place else to live. We have a great history here. Let’s be positive about our town.� He is the 30th recipient of the chamber’s annual award. Laura Medlar was named Volunteer of the Year. She has served on the Candlelight Walk Committee for more than 10 years in a variety of positions. She is also a chamber ambassador and an Autumn on Parade
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
committee member, serving as Duck Dash chair for more than 10 years, interim food court chair, and as a member of the executive board. She’s also served 8 years on the Ogle County Community Mental Health Board, and volunteers for the Mt. Morris Moose Club and the Oregon VFW. “It is an honor,� Medlar said upon taking the stage, her voice shaking with emotion. “I have known so many of you – as I look out here and see familiar faces – from years of serving on boards and doing social activities with many of these people in this room. It is an honor. I am amazed, I didn’t have a clue. If anyone can reach out and touch another Local historian Otto Dick makes a few remarks following life through mental health his award for Oregon Citizen of the Year. Photo by Alex
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, A3 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B2 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5
Turn to A2 T. Paschal, Sauk Valley Media
Service News, A4 Social News, A4 Sports, A11, A12, B1 State’s Attorney, B6
Deaths, B3 David L. Dickson, James E. Gross, Wayne L. Lantz, James M. Maxwell, William M. McNett, Samuel E. Thomas, Kenneth M. Wolf
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