Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
September 11, 2014 Volume 164, Number 39 - $1.00
Lady Hawks Sixth
AOP Festival
New Director
The varsity volleyball team finishes sixth at its own invitational on Sept. 6. B1
Oregon’s 44th Autumn on Parade festival is Oct. 4-5. Special Insert
Andrew Dettman will replace Marsha Zaccone as director of the Oregon Public Library. A2
Enrollment is down...again Forrestville is only district with a slight gain By Vinde Wells Editor For the first time in several years, one local school district has more students this year than last, while enrollment at two others remains down. Enrollment in the Forrestville Valley School District is on the upswing with a gain of 24 students this year for a total of 906, compared to last year’s 882. “This is the first year since 2007-08 that enrollment increased,� said Forrestville Valley Superintendent Sheri Smith. That year the district had 1,065 students. Smith attributed the increase to new families Riverboat cruises on the Pride of Oregon were just part of the annual Oregon Rotary’s Mark Twain Day held on moving into the district. Sept. 6. Here, the boat leaves its dock with the Black Hawk Statue in the background. Photo by Chris Johnson Forreston Junior-Senior High School, which includes grades 6-12, increased from 456 last year to 470 this year, a gain of 14 students, and Forreston Grade School, which houses kindergarten through fifth grade, gained 18 By Chris Johnson hand while offering Mark students to go from 305 last Reporter Twain quotes to the guests year to 323 this year. during the Sept. 6 event. German Valley Grade For the past four years Mark “The people have told me School, however, lost eight Twain has been portrayed they enjoy the quotes and students, going from 121 to by Don Griffin during the stories,� he said. 113. Students in preschool Oregon Rotary Club’s annual People from the through second grade attend Mark Twain Day. surrounding communities classes there. “The biggest part for turned out for the event Enrollments in the Oregon me being Mark Twain is including Freeport and and Polo School Districts visiting with the people,� Belvidere. declined again this year, as said Griffin. “The people “The word is getting out has been the recent trend for appreciate having someone and people are supporting most area districts. visit with them throughout us,� said Griffin. Oregon Schools decreased the evening.� The Oregon Rotary Club Ogle County Fair Queen Katrina Lowry and Mark Twain from 1470 last year to 1448 Griffin mingled with the hosts the yearly event to raise (Don Griffin) pose for a photo during the Oregon Rotary’s this year, an overall loss of 22 crowed with a pipe in his Turn to A2
Mark Twain Day another success
Mark Twain Day Sept. 6. Photo by Chris Johnson
students. Associate Superintendent Adam Larsen said the loss is apparently due to families moving out of the district for employment. “It appears to be moveouts,� he said. “We had 137 [new] non-12th grade students who were enrolled at some point last year but not this year. Compare that to only 95 students who are new this year in grades other than kindergarten. It’s more exports than imports. Anecdotally, I’d attribute this to jobs. I know a few families who moved out of state to find better work.� Although the high school lost 26 students from 485 to 459 and the junior high 18, going from 210 to 192, the news is not all bad. Oregon Elementary School picked up 22 students, with the enrollment there going from 775 to 797. Polo Schools, with the smallest enrollment, took the hardest hit, losing a total of 47 students from 650 at this time last year to 603 this year. Superintendent Chris Rademacher agreed with Larsen that jobs plays an important role in the loss. “We have been affected by the closing of the printing plants in Mt. Morris. This is a downward trend at the schools in our area,� he said. Polo has faced steadily declining enrollment for more than a decade. Enrollment in pre-school through 12th grade was 805 at the start of the 2001-02 school year. Rademacher said a trend toward larger farms and a lack of new homes being built in the district are factors. Turn to A2
Mother Nature offers perfect day for river sweep Volunteer team helps clean up the Rock River By Chris Johnson Reporter Picking up a piece of trash is easy, but picking up thousands of pieces of trash in one morning requires the help of a team of volunteers. That team of volunteers is what helped make the sixth annual Rock River Sweep a success on Sept. 6. “The volunteers are very important to this sweep,� said section organizer Mark Nehrkorn. “We can not get the coverage without them.� Volunteers gathered at Kiwanis Park at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning to learn about the plan to clean the river from the Oregon boat launch south to Castle Rock. “The biggest thing out there. Safety,� said Nehrkorn. “You know, if it does not look safe to pick up, do not touch
it. We don’t want anyone getting hurt, its not worth it.� He advised the volunteers to take care around the dam. “Stay away from the dam,� Nehrkorn said. “Don’t take any chances around the water and pay attention to where you are at.�
Unfortunately for these volunteers the garbage was plentiful. “There is plenty of garbage out there to pick up,� said Nehrkorn. “This is a one day event, one morning. It has to be a year round effort by everyone to take care of this
great resource we have.� He said boaters and fisherman can help year round by just picking up a piece of trash or two every time they use the river.
All the garbage collected during the sweep was brought to Kiwanis Park to be sorted for recycling. This year the pile was larger because the islands
north of the dam were cleaned this year. “Stay off of private property,� said Nehrkorn. “This year on the islands Turn to A10
Burt Schoor, Oregon, paddles away from shore before turning his motor on in the deeper water Saturday morning. Schoor was heading to the islands north of Nick Meives-Wylie and Angela Reigle pick up trash in Oregon Park East near the dam the Oregon dam to help clean it during the annual Rock Saturday morning. There was still trash trapped near the dam including tires that could not safely be removed during the annual Rock River Sweep. Photo by Chris Johnson River Sweep. Photo by Chris Johnson
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B9-B14 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B8 Marriage Licenses, A4
Oregon Library, A3 Oregon Police, A12 Public Voice, A11 Property Transfers, B3
Sheriff’s Arrests, B7 Social News, A4 Sports, A13, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Deaths, B4 Beverly J. Hammer, June A. Hinrichs, Barbara L. Holland, Helen I. Palmer
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