Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
Diving Victory A diving catch gives the softball team a 6-5 win over Winnebago Monday. B1
Recycle
April 20, 2017 Volume 167, Number 19 - $1.00
Immigrant Tale
Electronics recycling events will be held on Saturday, and April 28. B1
A Mt. Morris man’s journey from Sovietoccupied Latvia was shared at church. A2
New bank will open April 24 Harvard State Bank is opening a new bank at Washington & Sixth By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
The Harvard State Bank’s new building on the northeast corner of Washington and Sixth Streets in Oregon will officially open April 24. Photo by Vinde Wells
County approves asbestos work Spoor House will be removed By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Asbestos removal is the next step in the final phase of the Ogle County Board’s plan to expand parking near the judicial center and courthouse. The county board approved asbestos removal Tuesday evening at the Spoor House, 102 S. Fifth St., Oregon, and at another house belonging
to the county at 507 Jefferson St., Oregon, at a total cost of approximately $25,000. Gold Piece Enterprises Inc., Union, will do the work. County board member Don Griffin, who is chairman of the Long Range Planning Committee, said doing the houses at the same time reduced the cost by about $1,500. Once the asbestos at the Spoor House is removed, the building will be demolished to make way for additional parking, the final step in a plan begun three years
ago when the county also purchased and demolished Jackass BBQ, a restaurant on the southwest corner of South Fifth and West Washington Streets. The area where the restaurant had been was leveled and paved for parking. The Spoor House sits between the new parking lot and the judicial center. The county board purchased the house at 507 Jefferson Street sometime ago as part of its 50-year plan.
Griffin said the county currently has no definite plans for that house. He said the asbestos removal would begin on April 19, and should be completed by the end of the month. In a related matter, architect Greg Reewerts of Reewerts Design Group, Rockford, told the board that renovations to the former Rochelle Clinic building, now owned by the county, are going well. He said the project is on Turn to A2
After years of planning and months of construction, The Harvard State Bank will officially open its brand new building in Oregon next Monday, April 24. A week-long grand opening will be held May 1-6 at the new bank on the northeast corner of Washington (Ill. 64) and Sixth Streets. The community is invited to stop by to see the new bank building and the staff. The celebration, with daily giveaways, will be capped off with a cook-out prepared by the Ogle County Pork Producers on Saturday, May 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Someone will leave with a new grill on Saturday. The Harvard State Bank’s commitment to Oregon and the surrounding area began in 2009 when it purchased the Rock River Bank at the corner of Washington and Fourth (Ill. 2) Streets. “Expanding our footprint to the Oregon community was a great decision for our bank,” said Phillip Lehmann,
CEO and president of the bank. Bank directors soon realized the bank was rich in history, as well as dedication the community it had served since its founding 133 years ago. Oregon resident and businessman Peter Hastings organized the Ogle County Bank in 1884 and served as its president after its incorporation in 1907. At first the bank was located on Washington Street a few doors to the east until the new building was built at the corner. According to Federal Reserve System records, it was established as national bank in 1935. It was renamed Untied Bank of Ogle County in 1976 and became Rock River Bank in 1987. Although the bank has been a mainstay in the heart of Oregon’s downtown, the building and location also had limitations. For example, the bank’s drive-through has been located a block away for several years. Bank officials started Turn to A2
Street closing and rezoning hearing not yet scheduled By Zach Arbogast. zarbogast@oglecounty news.com
Getting Ready to Hunt Luca Lozzi, age 3, and Rory Cotovski, age 4, both of Oregon, share a laugh as they wait for the Oregon Park District’s Easter Egg Hunt to begin at Oregon Park West on April 15. See more hunt photos on A10. Photo by Earleen Hinton
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Library News, A2
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Property Transfers, B3 Rock River Center, A7
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B4
The topic of closing part of an Oregon street has been controversial for months, and an Oregon Plan Commission hearing about it was expected in March. March came and went, and the sun is setting on April, but no mention of the street closing has been on the Plan Commission agendas. In February, Ogle County officials filed a request with Oregon city officials to close the 100 block of South Sixth Street for the proposed new county jail. A preliminary plan calls for the new jail to be built across South Sixth Street from the judicial center and connected to it by a large sally port across what is now the street. According to Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker, the original plan for two separate Plan Commission hearings for closing the street and rezoning for the jail has been altered, opting instead for a single hearing dealing with both. “The reasoning and
testimonies for both closing the street and rezoning are going to be pretty much the same, and it doesn’t make sense to go through the hearing process twice,” said Gouker. Mark Herman, Plan Commission chairman, echoed Gouker’s sentiments. “It really seems like a much more prudent decision to condense them into one hearing, instead of dragging this on,” said Herman. The county may not actually need to seek a hearing for approval to rezone; as a government building, the jail would still be permitted in an area zoned for residential use. According to Gouker, moving forward with a rezoning hearing is a show of good faith to the community. “This is more meant to show the city and the people that we want to go through the channels to work with them,” said Gouker. Gouker says a date has not been set for the joint hearing, but mid-May is the current projection. A two-week period between mailing information to the public and conducting the hearing is required.
Deaths, B4 John F. Brown, Lyle Manning, John D. Muyskens, Irvin M. Seuring
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com