Rock River Trail showcases beauty of the river
Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
September 4, 2014 Volume 164, Number 38 - $1.00
Hawks Win Opener
River Sweep
Time for Entries!
The Hawks football team battles Johnsburg and the weather to win their home opener 13-7. B1
Volunteer to help clean up the Rock River on Sept. 6. A10
Sept. 15 is the deadline for entries for Autumn on Parade’s Harvest Time Parade. B3
Basler retiring, store is closing By Vinde Wells Editor Business was brisk Tuesday morning at Basler’s Ace Hardware, Oregon, as customers flocked in to take advantage of the store’s going-out-of-business discounts. The large sign at the store’s entrance on Pines Road proclaimed “Sale 40% off Everything,� bringing in a steady stream of cars, pickup trucks, and vans loading up on landscaping materials, paint, tools, and everything else the store has offered the community for the last 40 years. At the back of the store, owner Jeff Basler waited on customers and chatted with well-wishers who congratulated him on his retirement. “Best thing I ever did. You won’t be sorry,� said one 80ish man as he added an item to his cart. Basler, 63, is retiring and closing the store on Oct. 1. “It’s been in the works for a while,� he said. “After 40 years in the business and working 60 hours a week, my wife told me it’s time to retire.� Attempts to sell the business over the last several months were unsuccessful, he said.
“I talked to six different prospective buyers — one just two weeks ago — but couldn’t get it worked out,� he said. He said his two daughters and son-in-law, who have worked at the business for several years, are not interested in taking it over. “Then the Farmer’s Almanac came out and said what next winter will be like and I told my wife ‘I’m coming along to Florida,’� Basler said with a grin. The magazine is forecasting a cold, snowy winter for much of northern Illinois. Basler and his wife Cindy bought the hardware store from Ed and Thelma Zumdahl in 1974. At that time it was located in downtown Oregon on the northeast corner of Washington and Third Streets. Basler moved the store to its present spot on Pines Road and expanded it in 1998. The store employed 15 people, he said. Basler said he has enjoyed his career in the hardware business. “I’ve enjoyed it,� he said. “Every day is a new experience. In 40 years I can say there’s been no two days the same.� In recent years, business hasn’t been as good as it once was, Basler said.
Car is found in field Police search for answers By Vinde Wells Editor
Store owner Jeff Basler, center, his son-in-law J.D. Heather, and daughter Kim Basler took time for a photo in between serving customers who came for close-out bargains at Basler’s Ace Hardware, Oregon, on Monday. The store will close for good on Oct. 1.
“Since 2008-09, the brakes got thrown in it,� he said. “The less retail in a community, the harder it is to hold retail. The market can only support so much.� He and Cindy plan to make their retirement home in Ft. Myers, Fla., where they have owned a house for several years. Having served on the Oregon School Board as well as several other boards over the years, Basler said he hopes to continue to volunteer. “We’re active in our church in Florida and it has a outreach program that includes a food A sign on the front window at Basler’s Ace Hardware, pantry,� he said. “I hope to Oregon, says “All Sales Final.� The store is going out of business on Oct. 1. Photos by Vinde Wells get involved in that.�
Scaffolding could go up around statue this week By Vinde Wells Editor The scaffold could go up around the Black Hawk statue as early as this week. Frank Rausa, Sterling, said Tuesday that the restoration
team expects the special stairs for the scaffolding to be delivered late this week. Once the stairs arrive, he said, the scaffolding will be erected, and the team will begin doing “mock-ups� or testing various mixtures of
concrete and other materials to see which one will work the best to restore the damaged areas. Rausa is a member of the Friends of the Black Hawk Statue, the organization spear-heading restoration
efforts and fundraising for the project. Testing and evaluations done last fall and this spring by Thornton Tomasetti, Chicago, an architectural firm that provides engineering design, investigation, and
analysis services to clients worldwide, showed that three areas of the statue greatly need repairs. Chunks of the concrete have fallen from the folded arms of the statue, and more Turn to A2
The owner of an abandoned car, who was the subject of an all-day search Tuesday, was located in a Chicago hospital. “We verified that he’s a patient in the VA hospital in Chicago,� Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn said around 5 p.m. Tuesday. He said the search had been called off, but he does not yet know if the car’s owner or someone else was driving it, or how it happened to be abandoned in a field along Ridge Road about three miles south of Pines Road. He said deputies searched the surrounding area on foot and by helicopter after a resident reported the abandoned car Tuesday morning. Harn said he did not know what time the car was found, how long it had been there, or who deputies were searching for. “We’re trying to find the driver. It looks like someone went for a walk,� Harn said in the mid-afternoon. “No one has reported anyone missing. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Until we figure out who was driving the car, we don’t know who we’re looking for.� He said a cell phone was found in the black Volkswagen. No sign of foul play was found in or near the car, Harn said.
Urban camping part of Rock River Trail experience By Chris Johnson Reporter From the marshes of Wisconsin, a winding river flows through 11 counties on its way to the Mississippi River. For the past 40 years Frank Schier has been canoeing the Rock River and recently started the Rock River Trail Initiative. Schier was one of the presenters during the Illinois Renewable Energy and Sustainable Lifestyle Fair Aug. 24. “In 1972 I started exploring the river,� he said. “I started canoeing and looking at the beauty.� Not wanting to keep this to himself, Schier began looking at turning the river into an organized trail. This led Schier to look at making the river a National Trail in 2010. “I started talking to officials and Rockford and Winnebago County agreed to spend $20,000 to map the
river,� said Schier. “I then went to the National Park Service to start discussions.� These discussions led to a meeting with all 11 counties and 37 municipalities that are along the Rock River. The meeting was held in August 2010. “Winnebago County is the founding county for the trail,� said Schier. “We are lucky to have the support of the Rockford Park District.� This collaboration has led to the forming of urban camp sites along the Rock River in Rockford. “It is a unique experience to camp in an urban area,� Schier said. These campsites are only part of what the final trail could look like. “The river starts at the Horicon Marsh which is 14,000 acres of beautiful land,� said Schier. “We are trying to set up campsites along the entire river.� A goal of a campsite every eight hours for canoers along with several portages is the
In This Week’s Edition...
first step. “I started doing the costs of campsites and portages,� said Schier. “Currently campsites are lean along the river.� There are also 23 dams on the river and portages would be built to make it safe to paddle down the river, he said. In Oregon, a portage currently exists at Oregon Park East. Signs on the river direct paddlers to the east shore to use the portage to get around the dam. “We also want information kiosks along the river at each community to provide local information for the canoers,� said Schier. “They could also advise the paddlers which channel of the river to use.� All of these upgrades cost money. The estimated costs are an average of $2,500 per site for camping and $250,000 for a portage. Schier said these costs go down if existing services are in place that could be utilized for camping and portages. “There are challenges to the
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
project and we are working to overcome them,� said Schier. With dams along the river, safety was a major goal for the trail. “In Oregon there are signs warning of the dam,� said Schier. “The first is a sign 5,050 feet from the dam to advise boaters to stay to the left [east shore].� A second sign is 500 feet from the dam advising canoers that there is a dam ahead and a portage available on the east shore. Finally at Oregon Park East the park district has a portage sign marking a safe location to exit the river. “We are working on installing signs along the entire river with uniform markings, “ said Schier. One aspect of creating the trail system was making the river the cleanest tributary to the Mississippi River. “Our goal is to make it the cleanest tributary,� said Schier. “We are working on it.� Turn to A10
Oregon Police, B3 Property Transfers, B6 Public Voice, A8 Sheriff’s Arrests, B7
Rock River Trail Initiative founder Frank Schier shows a picture of a Native American tablet found in Rockford. Schier was a presenter during the 2014 Energy Fair last week. Photo by Chris Johnson
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5 Zoning Permits, B6
Deaths, B5 Edward B. Bryant, Yvonne S. James, Arlene F. Kness, Evelyn J. Pederson
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