Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
July 21, 2016 Volume 166, Number 32 - $1.00
Hawaii Bound
Alumni Fall
Marching Band
OHS graduate Samantha Lambrigtsen will be playing basketball in Hawaii. B2
The Oregon alumni football team loses to Rock Falls 20-12. B1
The Blue Devils came to Oregon Sunday afternoon for a rehearsal. A7
South Sixth Street is preferred site for new jail By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com Ogle County officials have decided where they would like to build a new jail. Long Range Planning Committee Chairman Don Griffin, Oregon, who is also a county board member, told the county board
Tuesday that the consensus of the committee is that the jail should be built on South Sixth Street in Oregon across the street from the judicial center. The county already owns the property. Just prior to that announcement, Griffin attended an Oregon Planning Commission meeting to make a formal request that
city officials consider vacating a portion of Sixth Street for the new jail. “We presented to the Long Range Committee the comprehensive plan the city adopted,” said Griffin. “We will take it to the county board next month for the location where we will put the jail.” The county board has been discussing options for jail
locations, including the highway department property south of Oregon, the Sheriff ’s Department property on First Street in Oregon, and the Sixth Street property. “The Long Range consensus is Sixth Street,” said Griffin. “It is only proper to get together with you about the project.” The county is asking to have Sixth Street between Washington
and Jefferson vacated. The county has the judicial center on the east side of the street and currently owns all the vacant lots on the west side of the street. “Do you know about the size of the jail?” asked Planning Commission member Rick Ryland. Griffin said the county has Turn to A8
Budget is topic July 26
Pokemon Go game arrives at Oregon sites
By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com
By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecountynews.com Walking through Oregon Park West used to include friendly waves and hellos. Now, heading through the park with a cell phone in your hand, the greeting might be “What team are you on?” This greeting is not asking which summer sports team someone is on, but rather which of the three teams being supported in a popular smartphone app craze, Pokemon Go. Pokemon Go is an augmented reality game that uses a smartphone’s GPS feature to guide players to different locations to grab up animated monsters that are overlaid onto an image of the player’s location. Players build their collection, gather strength and do electronic battle with other gamers. The game has become a full-fledged sensation in recent weeks, attracting droves The Pokemon Go mobile phone application has players walking around trying of downloaders – and when we say droves, we mean it. The to capture Pokemon, interact with landmarks in the community that are called game’s been downloaded an estimated 15 million times Pokestops in the game, and train and capture gyms which are also landmarks in the community. On Saturday afternoon, this Pikachu was spotted by the Oregon and counting. This reporter downloaded the app for a day to see what Park West Splash Canyon. Photo by Chris Johnson the fuss was all about. Heading across Oregon Park West, a bicyclist saw a phone in my hand and asked “What level are you?” as he briefly stopped to collect the items from a Pokestop. Being only a level two at that point, the bicyclist said to join team red when reaching level 5. But what was important about level 5? Pokestops are locations in the game that correspond to local landmarks and signs. At park west they include the Joey Kerwin memorial press box, the splash pad, the park sign, the skatepark, and more. Other locations in Oregon that are Pokestops include Iron Mike, the sculptures throughout the city, historic buildings, and locations in parks. Each time a player uses the location in the game they receive free ingame items. The quest was on to gain enough experience to become level 5 and learn more about teams. To gain experience players catch more Pokemon, train their Pokemon, and interact with these Pokestops. It did not take long to reach level 5. The animation for reaching level 5 was not even complete before another player asked, “Are you team blue, I just took over that gym.” Having just reached level 5 the concept of a gym in the game was foreign to me, but I would soon learn what it meant. Adam McFall, 17, Oregon, plays Pokemon Go at the Ukulele At level 5 players are given the option to join one of three teams in the Station America in Oregon Saturday afternoon. John Lindhorst game. They all have a back story with attributes the players could choose, (right) owner of the Ukulele Station, enjoys the attention that the but for simplicity, the players I interacted with just referred to the teams as game has brought to his shop. Photo by Michael Krabbenhoeft, blue, yellow, and red. Sauk Valley Media Turn to A9
The City of Oregon’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year is available for citizens to view. Finance commissioner Terry Schuster passed out copies of the document during the July 12 meeting. He said a public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday July 26 at 5:30 p.m., just before the start of the regular city council meeting. “The draft has been completed,” said Schuster. “I want to thank the department heads for their time. In two weeks this can be approved.” Schuster asked the commissioners to review the proposed budget and make any corrections before the hearing. The proposed budget is balanced. The city council is also planning to hold meetings about a potential tax increment financing (TIF) district in the city. Oregon Mayor Ken Williams said several meetings will be held to talk with a consultant about options. “We will learn the steps needed to form a TIF district during these meetings,” said Williams. “These will be informational meetings only.” Williams said the information learned during the meetings will be brought to committee meetings before possibly being brought before the council for discussion and Turn to A2
New viewing platform is taking shape at historic Oregon Depot By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com The first pieces of a viewing platform were installed along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks at the Oregon Depot on July 15. Dale Beesing directed the fork lift driver as the steel framework was raised into the air and moved into F.N. Smith engineer David Head, left, talks with Oregon Mayor Ken Williams about the position with each piece depot viewing platform July 15 while the structure was being assembled. Photo by being assembled like a jigsaw puzzle. Chris Johnson
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Library, A6 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B4
Assembling the frame was just one of the steps in completing the viewing platform. The concrete pad for visitors to stand on still needs to be completed before the viewing stand will be open, said Depot board member Roger Cain. A fence separating the depot from the active train lines is also planned. “This viewing platform will combine biking in Ogle County and be a
viewing stand for railroad enthusiasts,” said Cain. A bicycle work station will be installed that will allow for tires to be inflated and tools will be tethered to the station for basic maintenance to be performed. “Terry Schuster and I created Bike Ogle,” said Scott Stephens. “That will bring people to the depot with bike routes. Each route starts at the depot.” Nine separate bike routes Turn to A3
Deaths, B4 Michael W. Carpenter, Dorothy M. Galor, Karen L. Groves
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