Orr 2016 12 15

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Serving Ogle County since 1851

OREGON Republican Reporter

Tournament Win The Lady Hawks earned a win over Polo at the Polo Holiday Tournament. B1

Recognition

December 15, 2016 Volume 167, Number 1 - $1.00

Volunteer

The Ogle County Fair Board named a volunteer of the year. B1

Families are encouraged to volunteer together throughout the year. B3

Riverfront zoning ordinance recommended By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com Riverfront zoning will be discussed by the Oregon City Council following a Planning Commission recommendation Tuesday night. Every seat in the Oregon City Council Chambers was packed for the public hearing

about the zoning of the Riverfront (RF) District. Recommendations for zoning were based on the 2003 comprehensive plan that had been updated over the past year to reflect modern economic issues and development plans, as well as urban design studies. Konstantine T. Savoy, AICP Principal of Teska Associates Inc, gave a

detailed presentation addressing the contents of the comprehensive plan, as well as the mission for the riverfront. The city’s plan is to redevelop the RF District to be an attractive, mixed-use district for economic growth – namely, encouraging commercial, residential, recreational, hospitality and arts-oriented business.

However, Teska ran into some snags when examining the existing zoning ordinance to ensure they had the authority to try to usher in the improvements. Teska decided the best course of action would be to create a new “by-right” zoning district. In this type of district, developers do not need to obtain special zoning

approvals from the city as long as they meet the zoning district’s standards. After the presentation, the floor was opened to public comment. Janene Prose raised concern over the city exercising eminent domain. According to Mayor Ken Williams, “The city’s position is, we have no intention of doing any sort

It’s time to file election petitions

Open Program showcases talent By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com Oregon High School Open Program students displayed nearly 20 projects aimed at both contributing to the community and helping themselves grow as leaders at last week’s Open Program Fair. Depending on who you ask, getting youth involved in community service has ranged from a mild struggle to nearly impossible. However, the OHS Open Program teaches the students not only to serve the community, but to spearhead the projects themselves. The Open Program

hosted an open house event on Dec. 7, where 21 sophomores displayed 17 projects that would put their mathematic, communication, problemsolving, and planning skills to the test - all in service to the public. For Hannah Donaldson, this means taking the reins in hosting a Special Olympics event at the high school. She plans on working with the special education departments within the Oregon School District, the athletic department, and possibly trying to reach out to the Village of Progress. Glorie O’Connell is taking the issue of hunger into her hands by creating a

of rights under eminent domain; it wouldn’t get past this Planning Commission, and it wouldn’t get past the city council.” After closing the public hearing, the commission unanimously accepted the ordinance. The plan is available at cityoforegon.org under “documents” in the City Government section.

By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com

Marissa Henry helps push her aspirations of being an EMT forward with her Oregon community blood drive project. Henry is collaborating with the Rock River Valley Blood Center on her Open Program project. Photo by Zach Arbogast

school-wide food pantry. She’s also trying to host a “Homework Hub” where students can meet in the school to work on homework, get something to eat, and be involved with each other.

While some students went straight toward charity and service, others used the creative juices to target the spirit of fun and competition as fund raisers. Dakota Stone plans on hosting a “Super

Smash Bros. for Wii U” tournament, where the proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Taylor Hultquist attracts

Candidates running for office in the April 4 Consolidated Election have just a few days to get their petitions filed. The filing period for signed petitions and the related paperwork started Dec. 12 and runs through Monday, Dec. 19. Offices on the April ballot include cities and villages, fire protection districts, forest preserve districts, public

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Highway Department was well prepared for snow By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Ogle County Highway Department was wellprepared for the one-two wintry punch that came in early December. A storm on Dec. 4 dropped six to eight inches of wet snow on the county and was followed less than a week later by another snowstorm that began in the midafternoon of Dec. 10 and continued for the next 28 hours. County engineer Jeremy Ciesiel said he has stored plenty of salt in readiness for whatever Mother Nature

deals out. “We started the season with two full bins, so we were ready,” he said. “The last two weekends have made a dent in it, but we are prepared to order more as we need it.” He said he was thankful, however, that the most recent snowfall proved to be less than the 10 to 15 inches predicted. The snowfall Dec. 10-11 varied across the county, with eight inches in the north, diminishing to the south. “We had more issues with blowing snow in the southwest part of the county,” Ciesiel said. The storms coming on the weekend have posed

a challenge for snowplow drivers. “They’ve already worked all week, and then they get called in again,” he said. “It can be a long week for the guys. These storms have been coming every six and a half to seven days,” The county is responsible for plowing 270 miles of roads with 11 snowplows, two graders, and 13 drivers to man them. Last weekend Ciesiel said they went out Saturday afternoon and evening to treat the roads and clear the snow that began falling around 2:30 p.m. They returned to do it all over again early Sunday

morning, then Sunday afternoon, and finally early Monday morning. “We try not to go more than 12 hours at a time,” Ciesiel said. “But sometimes we have to do 12 to 14-hour shifts.” Based on the weather forecast, the crew is planning on another weekend on the roads. Forecasts on Tuesday called for another storm with snow and possibly freezing rain to begin Friday afternoon and continue into Saturday. The amount of precipitation and exact track The Ogle County Highway Department was out Saturday of the storm have not yet evening plowing snow at the start of the weekend storm. Photo by Chris Johnson been determined.

Wassail Toast The Oregon High School Madrigal Choir held its annual dinner and performance Dec. 9 and 10 at the Brubaker Center at Stronghold near Oregon. Pictured here, the OHS Madrigal Choir leads the crowd into the first challenge with the Gloucestershire Wassail. Sopranos: Mekenna Johnson, Amanda Judge, Hope Croegaert, Tessa Burger,Brook Harris. Altos: Kelsey Handschuh, Salina Ferge, Chloe Diehl-Walker, Olivia Stafford, MyKenzie Beitel. Tenors: Gage Brown, Jeffrey Gracyalny, Jacob Kwak, Jacob Davis. Basses: Bill Paul, Johnathan Prose, Mason Handel, Gabe Crook. Photo by Zach Arbogast

In This Week’s Edition...

Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5

Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B5

Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3

Death, B4 Wilborn D. Reagan

Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com


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