Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
November 16, 2017 Volume 167, Number 49 - $1.00
Finch Signs
Business Tour
Tigers Win Again
OHS volleyball player Gylian Finch will play for the Mocs next year. B1
Japanese businessmen check out what Rochelle has to offer. A7
Byron’s football team beats Williamsville to advance to the 3A semifinals. B1
No action on closing street By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Although the Oregon City Council took no action Tuesday on an agenda item concerning the closing of a block of South Sixth Street, local residents had plenty to say. The council met in closed session for 25 minutes to discuss an intergovernmental agreement with Ogle County concerning the 100 block of South Sixth. The county board has proposed building a new county jail on property it owns there. They requested that the city council close the block to allow the new jail to be connected to the existing judicial center across the Officers from the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigations look over the house where Leaf River firefighter street. Greg Wood, 19, died in a Nov. 10 fire. Photo by Vinde Wells Anne Jones told the board that she expected the council would take action to close the street, which she described as “the death knell for Sixth Street.” “Think about five years from now,” she said. “You’re going to think ‘what have we By Vinde Wells done?’” vwells@oglecounty She said the property the news.com
Leaf River firefighter perishes in house fire At least 300 people turned out Sunday evening for to honor a young Leaf River firefighter who died when his family’s home was destroyed in a fire early Friday morning. Greg Wood, 19, was remembered at a candlelight vigil by the firefighters from departments across northern Illinois, as well as family, friends, and local residents, who filled the front driveway at the Leaf River Fire Station. Wood was pronounced dead at the scene of the 12:40 a.m. fire at 209 W. Second St., Leaf River, just a block from the fire station. Two members of his family remain hospitalized for treatment of serious injuries suffered in the fire. His father, Marcus Wood, 43, who is the deputy chief of the Leaf River Fire Department, was listed in fair condition Tuesday in the burn unit at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford, and his younger brother Travis, 16, a cadet firefighter, is in good condition at Mercyhealth Hospital, Rockford. His mother Nicole, an EMT on the department, was transported by ambulance to Mercyhealth, where she was treated and released. The family’s dog also perished in the blaze. Fire Chief Steve Shelton said Monday morning that the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigation, the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department are
Greg Wood in his senior 2017 high school yearbook photo
Above, the crowd at a vigil Sunday evening holds their candles high in tribute to Greg Wood. Below, Byron Fire Department Chaplain Randy Snider pays tribute to Wood. Photos by Vinde Wells
conducting the investigation. Investigators said the fire is not considered suspicious. Shelton, who lives across the street from the Wood home, said he was awakened at about 12:40 a.m. on Friday when members of the Wood family pounded on his door for help. At that point, he said, the entire front of the two-story frame house was in flames. He said he and his son Aaron, also a firefighter,
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immediately went to the fire station. When they arrived back on the scene with a firetruck, the house was totally engulfed. “Basically there were flames coming from every window of the house,” he said. Fifteen area fire departments responded with mutual aid. This is the first time the Leaf River Fire Department has suffered the loss of
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
a firefighter in a fire, Shelton said, and the entire department is devastated. “I’m at a loss for words,” Shelton said. “He was a fine young man. He cared about the community and was there when we needed him.” “I just want to ask everyone to keep this family and the fire department in their prayers,” he said. Neighboring fire departments have been covering Leaf River’s fire calls since Friday and will continue to do so for the next few days. “The overwhelming support has just been phenomenal,” Shelton said on Monday. Both Marcus and Greg also volunteered for the German Valley Fire Department. Shelton said Greg, a 2017 graduate of Forreston High School, had just successfully completed EMT classes. “All he needed to do was take the state test to be certified,” he said. Greg was employed at JoEng Dairy Farm, German Valley. After two to three hours, the firefighting efforts depleted the village’s water supply, and they switched to pumping water from tankers. “We went to a fifth alarm for tankers,” Shelton said. “By the time we switched the fire was under control and we were just hitting hot spots.”
Oregon Library, A3 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3
county owns on Pines Road would be a better location for both the jail and a new judicial center. The judicial center, completed in 2005, could be sold, Jones said, and converted into housing for senior citizens. Cindy Enzler also protested the South Sixth Street location of the jail as well as its size. “It’s too big,” she said. “It’s absolutely too big.” Enzler said that if the Pines Road property is in a flood plain, as has been discussed, the county could create a wetland there and find another location for the jail. Marine Kuethe and Marlene Hobbs also voiced their dislike for the South Sixth Street location. The city council rejected the county’s request to close the street on June 27, even though a majority voted for it. Three of the five city council members voted to grant the county’s request to vacate the street. However, according to state statute, a super majority of four votes was required for the measure to pass.
Exelon protesting tax assessment of station...again By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Among the 56 property tax appeals recently filed in Ogle County are two companies that protest their assessments almost every year. Exelon Generation Co., LLC has filed an appeal of the assessment of its Byron Generating Station, and Mt. Morris Business Park LLC has objected to the assessed value set for the former Quad Graphics printing plant in Mt. Morris. Supervisor of Assessments Jim Harrison said the number of appeals filed is normal compared to other years. “A few others were filed earlier, primarily residential, but those have been resolved with the township assessors,” he said. “This is a typical number, maybe on the low side in comparison to some years.” The assessments were published in local newspapers in late September and the deadline to file an appeal was Oct. 30. Exelon officials are asking that the current assessment of $546 million is reduced to $308.9 million. The plant’s value, set this fall by Harrison, is identical to the amount set a year Turn to A2 ago, which was upheld by
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3-B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B4
the Ogle County Board of Review last January. Attorneys for the utility company argued then that the plant’s assessment should decrease due to economic conditions and the plant’s age. The two reactors came online in 1985 and 1987 and were licensed for 40 years. Both were granted 20-year license extensions in 2015. This year Exelon paid $37.6 million in real estate taxes to 11 taxing bodies, which include the Byron School District, Ogle County, Rockvale Township, Oregon School District, Oregon Park District, Byron Fire District, Rock Valley College, Byron Public Library District, Byron Museum District, Byron Forest Preserve District, and Kishwaukee Community College. More than $19 million of that went to the Byron School District. The value of the plant has frequently been disputed throughout the history of the facility. Currently several recent appeals are pending before the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board. Commonwealth Edison, which formerly owned the plant, filed its first tax in 1989 when the assessment Turn to A2
Deaths, B4 John A. Axelson, Elizabeth J. Deuth, Pete M. Dinsmoor, Ronald Erdman
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com