Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
November 10, 2016 Volume 166, Number 48 - $1.00
New Coach
Earth Angels
Business Workshop
OHS will have a familiar softball coach in 2017. Jamie Revelle is returning. B1
Donations will be accepted to help families during Christmas. A6
A free small business workshop will be held in Mt. Morris on Nov. 17. B1
Voters rejected
Woman casts her 21st vote for president
township merger Defeated 270277 in Taylor By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
“I’ve voted in every one of them since I An Oregon woman was 18,” — has been voting for U.S. Lucille Black
Presidents for the last 80 years. The first time Lucille Black, 101, cast a ballot for President was back in 1936 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was running against Kansas Governor Alf Landon. Roosevelt, a Democrat, was seeking a second term in the White House and defeated Landon by a landslide. Black went to the Ogle County Courthouse last month to early vote in her 21st Presidential election. “I’ve voted in every one of them since I was 18,” she said with a smile. This is her 21st Presidential election, but Black had already been going to the polls before the RooseveltLandon race. Born in 1915, she was old enough to cast her ballot for the first time in 1933 — and did. Since then, she’s never missed an opportunity to make her voice heard. “It’s a privilege to be able to vote. I don’t know why people don’t vote — and then they holler about what happens,” she said, shaking her head. “They need to exercise their privilege.” Black got her passion for being part of the elective process from her father. “He always voted, and he never voted for anyone but a Republican,” she remembered with a chuckle. She, in turn, has always encouraged her own children to go to the polls. Black’s daughter Marjorie Hammes, 74, Oregon, said she, too has voted in every election since she could. Hammes said her brothers and her own children are also dedicated to the process.
Vote Totals Yes No Taylor 270 277 Lafayette 55 35
Lucille Black, 101, Oregon, casts her ballot early for her 21st President election at the Ogle County Courthouse. Photo supplied
“I keep after them,” Black said, grinning. Although, she is not sure who will win this year’s hotly contentious race, she does have a preference. “I hope it’s her,” she said. Black attributes her longevity to perseverance. “I just put one foot ahead of the other,” she said. The most important invention in her lifetime, she said, is the light bulb. “I was happy to see that light bulb,” she said. Computers, however, are another matter. “I haven’t even tried,” Black said. Politics are not her only interest - she’s also an avid Chicago Cubs fan and her years of devotion paid off last week when they won the World Series for the first time since 1908. “I’m happy about that,” she said. “I’ve always been for the Cubs.”
Voters in two Ogle County Townships had a difference of opinion Tuesday about joining forces. Lafayette Township voters favored a referendum to merge with Taylor Township 55 to 35, while those in Taylor narrowly rejected the measure 270 to 277. For the merger to happen, a majority of voters in both townships had to approve the referendum. “The people have spoken,” said Lafayette Township Supervisor Cliff Jones. “We’ve talked about it for 12 years, and it was time to let the people decide. They’ve decided.” Officials in the two townships, on the county’s southern border, have been discussing the possibility over the years for financial reasons and efficiency of operations. The county board gave the plan its blessing last July, enabling it to go on Tuesday’s ballot. The two townships touch each other with Hoosier Road as the north-south
“It was time to let the people decide. They’ve decided.” — Cliff Jones, Lafayette Township Supervisor boundary between them. Taylor lies directly south of Oregon-Nashua Township with the Rock River forming most of its western boundary. Lafayette lies just to the east of Taylor. Lee County borders both on the south. Both are in rural areas of the county and are sometimes referred to as “half-townships” because they are about half the size of most others. Lafayette is 18 square miles and has a population of 170 people. Taylor is 15.5 square miles and boasts a population of 963, largely due to the Lost Lake Subdivision. Oregon and Nashua Townships, also “halftownships” back then, took action to merge in 1993 and became Oregon-Nashua Township.
City council accepts Settlers Ridge Subdivision By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com The Oregon City Council accepted the Settler’s Ridge Subdivision, approved a tax abatement on bonds, and announced an upcoming public meeting for a proposed TIF. After more than eight years of work, the council
decided Tuesday to officially accept the Settlers Ridge Subdivision for lot-buying and housing development. The subdivision project began in 2007, falling victim to the recession and ending up in foreclosure. It has remained the property of Sycamore National Bank & Trust since 2010, until the bank and the council entered into an agreement in January
to give the project legs. In the agreement, the city provided $107,000 toward getting utilities and amenities established, and the bank provided $75,000. However, Mayor Ken Williams says that the money put into the project is all refundable; as houses are built in the subdivision, the city will recoup the money from the utility companies.
“There is room for 50 homes to be built in the subdivision; it’ll only take 19 homes to recoup our investment,” said Williams. He added that the money is all between the city and the bank, via a low-interest loan; it is not funded on the backs of the taxpayers. In another matter, the council also approved abating the tax on bonds.
The abatement is a statement that the tax on bonds through city projects will not be paid for by the taxpayers. Mayor Williams says the abatement is a yearly formality. “The bond companies always want the ability to take their payments out of the property taxes in case the city can’t pay them outright,”
said Williams. “We need to do these abatements to say it isn’t necessary.” The council also announced a public meeting for a proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 6 at the Oregon Coliseum. The meeting is as 5 p.m. The Oregon City Council meets again on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 5:30 p.m.
Clerk said turnout was phenomenal By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com Voter turnout was phenomenal compared to previous years, breaking
records at many of the polling places on Tuesday. Many places, such as the Polo Senior Center, experienced lines well out the door and down the block. “One of my judges has
been doing this for 48 years, and says she has never seen it this busy,” Ogle County Clerk Laura Cook said. Altogether, Ogle County had a 72 percent voter turnout; 23,936 ballots cast
out of 32,880 eligible voters - five percent higher than the 2012 election. Brookville had the highest turnout with 89 percent. The lowest turnout was at Mt. Turn to A2
Parents tried to prevent heroin OD Editor’s note: This is the third of a 4-part series on the growing use of heroin in Ogle County and how it is affecting governmental agencies, addicts, family members and the political process. By Andy Colbert acolbert@oglecounty news.com Election judge Tony De Porter shows a ballot to Julie Krejci at Oregon Nashua 3 precinct at the Nash Recreation Center in Oregon on Tuesday. Also pictured is election judge Don Stevens. Photo by Earleen Hinton
In This Week’s Edition...
Strange as it sounds, one of the most relaxing times for the parent of a heroin addict is
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 Entertainment, A6 Library News, A3
when their son or daughter is in jail. “There is a sense of relief knowing they are locked up,” said Bob (not his real name), father of an addict. “Jail is the best place for our kids. For a least a while, we don’t have to worry about them overdosing.” Bob and his wife spent many a day worrying about that. “Any day, you could walk into his bedroom and find him
Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
dead,” Bob said. “Many times, I heard his mom screaming at him, ‘I don’t want to find you dead’.” Unfortunately, that is what happened several months ago. Their son took an injection of heroin and some oxycontin. He was scheduled to report for work at 11 that night. Instead, he overdosed about an hour earlier. He had overdosed before, by his own count, 12 times, including three in which an
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Zoning Permits, B4
ambulance was called for him. “You never know,” Bob said. “You can shoot up every day for years and still be alive and then one day be gone.” Their son died from the mixture of heroin and oxycontin. It wasn’t until the next morning, that his sister found him unresponsive. “In 10 seconds, I went from a dead sleep to bounding down the basement stairs to Turn to A10
Deaths, B4 Wilma M. Buse, Edward L. Ludwig, Pauline V. Rowland
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com