Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
August 4, 2016 Volume 166, Number 34 - $1.00
What’s Poppin?
AMO Tour
Butterflies Rule
A new popcorn business, Hoppers Poppers, is coming to Oregon. A2
Ramblers and Ambassadors drove through Ogle County. B1
Butterflies were the stars at the Elkhorn Preserve July 30. B1
Polo alderman charged with theft, forgery
Project PLAY vote is Aug. 8
Police say Ackeberg forged documents while working at a Polo business
Condemnation motion is on the agenda
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Oregon School Board will vote on the ultimate fate Monday of Project PLAY (Play Leads to Active Youth), the large playground complex located just outside Oregon Elementary School. One of the items on the board’s Aug. 8 special meeting agenda is “motion to condemn Project PLAY as it is no longer useful for school purposes.” So far only one person has weighed in about the impending demolition of the playground. Superintendent Tom Mahoney announced last week that the 27-year-old all-wood playground with its castles and twisting walkways will be demolished before school starts for safety reasons.
Project PLAY was constructed by community volunteers in October 1989. The playground is located behind the Oregon Elementary School. Photo by Earleen Hinton
begin next week. “We’ve had an increase youth,” he said. He suggested holding a The unique playground in kids getting injuries on Project PLAY, mostly decommissioning before the was built by volunteers in 1989. splinters,” he said. “There’s no demolition begins. A committee, way to maintain chaired by Nancy it and guarantee The Oregon School Board will hold a Ryder and Deb no injuries.” special meeting on Monday, Aug. 8 at Wuebben, spent Mahoney months raising the asked for 6 p.m. to condemn Project PLAY. needed $45,000 input from the The meeting will be held at the district and planning community office and is open to the public. the playground about what they with the help want to replace of the Leathers Project PLAY. He said Monday that only “I want to be respectful of Company that designed it. Hundreds of volunteers one person has called him. the community,” Mahoney “I’ve had only one call and said. “But I’m up against turned out at the school that was a request to reclaim a timeline — school starts grounds on Oct. 11-15, 1989 for a five-day build to put it some of the wood for a Aug. 16.” He said demolition will all together. camp in Dixon for inner city
A Polo city alderman has been charged with theft and forgery connected to incidents that occurred between two and four years ago when he was employed by a local business. David Ackeberg, 38, turned himself in at the Ogle County Jail Monday after Illinois State Police issued a warrant for his arrest on the felony charges. He was released after posting 10 percent of his $10,000 bond. According to court records, Ackeberg is accused of theft between $500 and $10,000 and forging documents when he was employed as a salesman by Birkey’s Farm Store, Polo. The charges, both Class 3 felonies, stem from offenses committed between David Ackeberg October of 2012 and February of 2014. Ackeberg was indicted by an Ogle County Grand Jury on July 27 and is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 26. According to the bill of indictment, he knowingly told Birkey’s officials that he sold customers equipment for prices greater than actually agreed upon and then falsified documents to support that. The inflated prices were used to calculate his sales commissions. Ackeberg submitted a letter to the Polo City Council Monday, resigning from his alderman post, but did not attend the council meeting Monday evening. He was served as an alderman in Ward 2 from 2009 to 2011, and in Ward 1 since 2013. His current term expires next April. The council did not act on Ackeberg’s resignation because it did not arrive in time to be placed on the meeting agenda.
163rd Ogle County Fair promises good family fun By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com With antique tractors, a queen pageant, and good family fun, the 163rd Ogle County Fair is underway. “We want everyone to come out and have a good time,” said fair board
president Harlan Holm. The 2016 Ogle County Fair Queen Pageant kicked off the fair on opening night Wednesday, Aug. 3. The pageant included the Little Miss and Mister Ogle County Fair contests, the Young Miss and Junior Miss contests. The fair runs through
Sunday, Aug. 7 at the fairgrounds on Lime Kiln Road, just north of Ill. 64 a mile west of Oregon. Large signs on Ill. 64 point the way. The $8 admission fee includes unlimited carnival rides. As always, Ogle County 4-H Clubs will have exhibits of all kinds of projects on
display for the public and for judging. Holm urged the public to come out and see their work. “We’re there for the 4-H Clubs. It’s important to support the kids, ” he said. “They work very hard on their projects. It’s amazing all the things they can do. For those who have livestock
projects, it’s a year-round commitment.” New to this year’s fair are Welde’s Big Bear Expedition and Kids Bucks, both free shows. “The bear show has five or six trained black bears,” Holm said. “It’s both educational and entertaining.” At the Kids Bucks Show,
youngsters get a chance to grab play money from a machine and then buy prizes, he said. Also new is a bags tournament on Saturday, Aug. 6. The food fare has expanded this year to include cheese curds at the Cheese Turn to A2
Interest & enterprise meet with 4-H tasks By Earleen Hinton ehinton@oglecounty news.com Sarah Elliott could not help but smile as she walked into the Ogle County 4-H Exhibit Building on Saturday brandishing her wooden Viking shield. “I watch the History Channel’s Vikings and my ancestors were Vikings so I made this shield,” said the 18-year-old member of the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club. “I like to dress up for Renaissance Faires so this will now be part of my costume.” Made from a table top purchased at Menards, the 15-pound shield included rune writing as a tribute to Elliott’s ancestors. Connecting interest with enterprise was a common Sarah Elliott, age 18, a member of the Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club, shows the inside of the wooden Viking theme on Saturday as 4-H shield she made as a 4-H project. Photo by Earleen Hinton
In This Week’s Edition...
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B2 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1 State’s Attorney, B3
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com
kids brought their 4-H projects to the fairgrounds to be judged and then displayed at the fair, which opens this week. Taylor Yordy, age 13, took a dilapidated dresser and transformed it into a bench that she entered in the interior design category. Dubbed “My Dresser Makeover”, the project took just six weeks to complete. “We had this old dresser in my dad’s workshop. I didn’t think it would turn out as good as it did,” she told judge Tiffany West. “I grew really attached to it so I am going to keep it.” Ethan Bocker, another Leaf River Soaring Eagle, walked his rocket entry into the building with the help of his family. “He hasn’t shot it off yet, because we thought he might Turn to A8
Deaths, B4 Brenda G. Fauster Richard C. Folk