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OREGON Republican Reporter
Softball Ousted Oregon High School’s softball team falls to Sterling Newman in tourney play. B1
Smart Homes
June 1, 2017 Volume 167, Number 26 - $1.00
Tree Falls on Home
New homes are being built in Oregon with all the modern needs. A9
An Oregon family is surprised when part of a tree falls on their home. A2
Special milestones for OHS students May 28 Nava-Moyotl first in family to get degree By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Getting her high school diploma marked much more than a milestone for one member of the Oregon Class of 2017 and her family. Mayra Nava-Moyotl was the first person in her family to graduate from high school. Pride in the well-deserved accomplishment showed in her wide smile Sunday afternoon. “I’m pretty excited,” she said after the graduation ceremony. Nava-Moyotl plans to attend Sauk Valley Community College this fall to pursue a career as a physical therapist. “I can’t wait to be a physical therapist,” she said. “It’s one of my dreams.” She graduated magna cum laude and achieved being a Premier Scholar. Nava-Moyotl was one of 137 OHS seniors who graduated in a ceremony at the Blackhawk Center. Commencement speaker Braden Barton, a member of the OHS Class of 2012, advised the seniors to pursue their dreams despite discouragement from others. Now a filmmaker in Los Angeles, Barton said his family doctor was less than impressed with his career choice. “He said ‘take almost any
Mayra Nava-Moyotl, left, gets ready to leave the stage as Andrew Newman gets ready Oregon High School Valedictorian Taylor Egan speaks at to receive his diploma. Photo by Earleen Hinton the commencement ceremony. Photo by Earleen Hinton
other job’,” Barton said with a smile. Since then, he said, his response to naysayers has become, “I’ve only just begun,” a tactic he advised the seniors to try. Class valedictorian Taylor Egan encouraged her classmates to imagine life as a football game with graduation as their first touchdown. “In some places, we may lose yardage,” she said, “but we have to keep pushing toward the goal.” Salutatorian Ellen Reckamp told her fellowseniors she was proud to be a part of the class, as she recounted their accomplishments and awards. Principal Andrew Nelson also listed off the accomplishments of the class, including 15 who earned Silver Service
Awards by doing more than 400 hours of community service, and 27 who were named Premier Scholars. Allyse Ketter amassed 1,047 Silver Service points, followed closely by Reckamp with 1,035. To be named a Premier Scholar, students must have a 3.0 grade point average or increase their GPA by a point between the end of their freshman year and beginning of their senior year; participate in eight seasons of athletics, activities, or clubs; complete at least 80 hours of community service by third quarter of their senior year; exhibit good citizenship throughout high school; and successfully complete at least one advanced placement or dual credit course. Nine seniors were earned the Ultimate Hawk Award Lukas Hurst shows his diploma folder to the crowd as he exits the Blackhawk Center by being three-sport athletes with classmates Allison Hunt, left, and Kaden Humphrey, right, during Oregon High Turn to A2 School’s Commencement on May 28. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Veterans remembered at services By Earleen Hinton ehinton@oglecounty news.com Memorial Day began Monday morning with members of the Oregon VFW Post 8739 and other veterans and officials placing wreaths at the Ogle County Fallen Soldier Memorial and the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, both on the Ogle County Courthouse Square. The traditional “parade” to Riverside Cemetery for the rest of the ceremony was not held this year, but a memorial service was held at that location at noon. “Thank you all for coming out today,” said Bob Coulter, of the Oregon VFW. “Next year we will have the parade again and the same schedule.” Vietnam Veteran John Tuttle and Oregon Mayor Ken Williams, who is also a member of the VFW, gave short speeches during the event. Williams urged everyone Matt Frtiz, a former Marine and Army Reservist, of Chana, to remember World War II reads the names of servicemen listed on the backside of veterans and their sacrifices. Lorado Taft’s Soldiers and Sailors Memorial on Sunday “We have fewer of them morning. Photo by Earleen Hinton every year,” he said. “Three
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Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B3
hundred and seventy two, the number of WWII veterans that we lose every day. This country will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. Today we remember our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice and honor the Gold Star families who keep their memories.” Tuttle asked any veterans attending the ceremony to stand and be recognized.
Library News, A3 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, A10 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
“Thank you for your service,” he said. “This is a very interesting cemetery. The vast majority of the veterans buried here are Civil War veterans. Although, right there is one dedicated to a veteran of the Great War. Charles Hitchcock died in 1931, he was a World War I veteran.” Tuttle said Oregon’s other cemetery, Riverview Cemetery, located just north
of town, has a plaque at its stone entrance that also honors those Ogle County soldiers who served in the Great War. “If you haven’t read it you should. It says: ‘service road in honor of Ogle County soldiers and sailors…” Coulter thanked everyone for attending the ceremony on such a beautiful, sunny day, “And it is not raining,” he quipped. Members of the Oregon VFW and other veterans salute after a memorial wreath was laid at the base of Lorado Taft’s Soldiers and Sailors Memorial on the courthouse square. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, A10, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Deaths, B4 Charles H. Ehmen, Gladys L. Haring, Gene E. Medlar, June E. Rowland, Sherry Siefken
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com