Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
June 23, 2016 Volume 166, Number 28 - $1.00
Hot Car Show
Family Farms
KB Tough Run
Cool cars and hot summer temps were on tap at the Oregon Lions Club car show. B1
Farming is a legacy for three Ogle County families. Insert
The annual KB Tough Run is this Saturday at White Pines Ranch. A8
County board moves ahead with jail planning By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Ogle County Board voted Tuesday to proceed to the next phase in the planning for a new county jail. “What this does is move us to the phase to determine the site location,” said board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron.
No location was discussed at the meeting, but two sites that have been discussed are the block on First Street where the public safety complex is located and the county’s property on North Sixth Street across from the judicial center. Both are in Oregon. The board has not yet voted to build a new jail, but is exploring the possibility.
Jeff Goodale, Director of Justice at HOK, a Chicago architectural and planning firm, recommended a jail large enough for 180 to 200 beds for adults and 32 beds for juveniles, which would cost an estimated $27 million. HOK was hired last fall to do a jail needs assessment. Goodale gave a presentation with graphs and
City water rates to increase soon By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com Water and sewer rates are set to change three times over the next 18 months for Oregon residents. “This is something that has to be done to keep our good water,” said Commissioner Jim Barnes June 14. “It has been 30 years since the reservoirs were painted.” The water and sewer department is having wells redone, sewer pipes relined, and other maintenance performed. Earlier this year the city council approved an ordinance to borrow up to $2.5 million for water supply improvement projects. To pay the loan, the water rates in the city needed to change. Starting Sept. 1 the
minimum monthly charge for water will increase to $15.56 for up to 3,000 gallons per month. A $1.65 per 1,000 gallon capital improvement rate will be added to any customer using more than 3,000 gallons per month. The rates will again increase on Feb. 1, 2017 with the minimum monthly usage charge raising to $20.78. The capital improvement rate will be 65 cents on Feb. 1, 2017. Rates will again change on Oct. 1, 2017. The minimum monthly charge will be $21.63 for up to 3,000 gallons per month. At that time the capital improvement rate will be set at $1.10 The council unanimously approved the water rate changes.
charts showing the increase in jail population over the last few years and projected an increase in the county’s population. His charts showed that the average daily population of the jail has grown from 13 in 1972 to 139 last year, a 1000 percent increase. The county’s population has increased 23 percent in the same time period, according
to his charts. He said the jail could be built on two acres or less. The 180-200 bed capacity for adults would include 88-96 beds for medium security men, 24 for woman, 40 for minimum security prisoners, 24 for maximum security, and 12 for prisoners with acute mental health or medical issues. A jail that size, he said,
would meet the county’s needs until at least 2040, when he estimated the county’s population will be at least 60,000. The 2010 census showed the county’s population at more than 53,000. Goodale estimated that the jail would cost approximately $5.8 million Turn to A8
State funding, statue hot topics at luncheon By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) promised answers Tuesday to Oregon residents who voiced their frustration over state budget issues, especially the halting of the Black Hawk statue restoration. Demmer told the 30 people at the Oregon Chamber of Commerce Lunch ’n’ Learn at the Rock River Center that he has already met with officials from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) about the $350,000 At top, Tom Demmer speaks at the Chamber’s Lunch ‘n grant promised for repairs Learn on Tuesday. Above Mary vonTish, Oregon, asks a to the 105-year-old statue at Lowden State Park. question about funding. Photos by Earleen Hinton
“I’ll turn the pressure up on them. I’ll definitely be a strong advocate for Black Hawk,” he said. Created by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1910, the statue stands on a 125-foot bluff overlooking the Rock River and draws thousands of visitors each year. It was unveiled and dedicated in 1911. The effects of time and weather have caused parts of the statue to crumble and fall off. Demmer said he keeps a photo of the statue on the wall of his Springfield office. He said the money that would ordinarily go for grants is being spent on roads. “We need to know the future of that statue before it Turn to A9
Final Community Art Legacy statue dedicated Steven Carpenter, an Oregon native, designed the piece By Christopher Heimerman cheimerman@saukvalley. com
Inspiration is rarely in short supply for artists, and the same goes for Oregon native Steven Carpenter. All he needed was enough time. He grew up in the artsy river city and had always hoped to create one of the 10 sculptures in the Community Art Legacy’s series of pieces, but his stonescaping business in York, Maine, kept him too busy during the summers. When his brother, Craig, a member of the Community Art Legacy board, told him the sculptor of the final piece in the series would be granted two years for total production, Steven jumped on the opportunity and pitched his concept to the board. Saturday afternoon, his multidimensional bronze depiction of Oregon founder John Phelps was unveiled on the west side of the Oregon Coliseum property, the former home of the community pool. The piece depicts Phelps along the Rock River in 1833, after a long journey that brought him to his new home in Oregon. “This was emotional on many, many levels,” Steven, 63, said. “This was my first large
commission, for one thing. That makes it very special, but this being my hometown makes it so much more special.” Several local fixtures, including another prodigal son, John Lindhorst, spoke during the hourlong dedication ceremony. Lindhorst, a former Oregon public schools teacher who owns Ukulele Station in town, spent 19 years in Hawaii and San Diego before retiring in 2014 and moving back home. “There was so much beauty out there, but I came back here because of the beauty of the people,” he said. He stepped onto his soapbox momentarily to urge that politics be put aside for the sake of saving the crumbling Eternal Indian statue at Lowden State Park, then played “The River Runs Through Me” on a ukulele. The Black Hawk statue, as it’s know to many, is a mammoth work that overlooks the Rock River, and it’s one of a few sculptures that triggered a movement that’s brought more than 20 sculptures to Oregon. Crucial to that movement was Richard Adams’ vision for what became the nationally known Field Arts Project in 1998. For years, many artists from throughout the nation spent a week in Oregon to focus on the theme Art and Agriculture – often by mowing fields into images of art best viewed from the air. The Community Art Legacy
In This Week’s Edition...
Byron Police, B5 Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
board presented the idea of the 10-statue series to the Fields Art Project 12 years ago, and Saturday’s gala marked the culmination. Several sculptors of the previously dedicated pieces were among the 150 or so in attendance. “Well, this is it,” said Jeff Adams, a local sculptor and owner of inBronze Foundry in Mt. Morris, as well as Richard’s son. “This is the last day, isn’t it?”
He introduced the sculptors and, after the event, said the beauty of legacy is that it doesn’t end. Further projects, however, likely wouldn’t include him, he said. “We saw the 10 statues through,” he said, “but I don’t have the itch right now.” Craig Carpenter gave an overview of Phelps’ legacy and said when he, Steven, and their brother, Mike, were growing up and playing “a
very historically inaccurate version of Cowboys and Indians,” everyone wanted to be Davey Crockett. He went on to point out many parallels between Crockett and Phelps: both of them hailing from Tennessee, both having fought in the War of 1812, both riverboat men, and both having dabbled in politics among the comparisons. “John Phelps was a dashing Turn to A2
Sculptor Steven Carpenter of York, Maine, stands by his sculpture of Oregon founder John Phelps after the June 18 unveiling on the west side of Oregon Coliseum. Photo by Alex T. Paschal. Sauk Valley Media
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon library, A3 Oregon Police, A9 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com
Deaths, B4 Doris D. Bergman Joyce M. Cox Hazel P. Fouke