Serving Ogle County since 1851
OREGON Republican Reporter
July 6, 2018 Volume 168, Number 30 - $1.00
Zumbini in Oregon
Butterflies Fly
Those Were the Days
Moms and kids get their exercise at Zumbini class in Oregon.B2
Monarch released at dedications for Serenity Home & Hospice B1
The Oregon Bible College will be the topic at the Saturday, July 14 “Those Were the Days”. A3
More Funds Needed Even with state grant, $300,000 is still needed for statue repairs By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Even with a state grant on the way, the Black Hawk Restoration Team has to raise the better part of $300,000 for repairs to the area’s best known landmark. The $350,000 state grant approved recently by the Illinois General Assembly, is a matching grant, which means private donors must come up with an equal amount, or in this case slightly more than that, to fix the Black Hawk statue at Lowden State Park. The grant is a 51-49 match, and the 51 percent must come from private sources. At a meeting Monday morning that included State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), Restoration Team Chairman Jan Stilson said the estimated cost of the repairs currently sits at $600,000. The fund for the statue’s repair has $59,000 in it. Demmer was on hand to answer questions and to present official copies of the resolution that released the grant money to Stilson and Oregon Mayor Ken Williams. The grant was approved in 2009, but remained tied up by state budget woes until last month. Demmer said that the money previously spent on the
Music, food & fun all at LFR By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Let Freedom Ring festival in Mt. Morris got off to a steamy start with temperatures at 90 degrees on Wednesday for the traditional 4th of July Patriotic Program, Grand Parade, and fireworks. Special events including music, food, and family entertainment will continue through Sunday, July 8 with the theme “Fourth of July in the Emerald City” to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the State Rep. Tom Demmer updates the Oregon Together Black Hawk Restoration Team Monday morning about the progress festival. Activities on Friday get on funding for the statue’s repairs. At left is Beth George, president of White Pines Resort, and at right is Debbie Dickson, started with a silent auction executive director of the Oregon Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Vinde Wells on the lower level of the Mt. preparation work for the repairs Morris Coliseum from 11 a.m. to the 107-year-old concrete to 5 p.m. statue will not be considered The annual Jonas Levi as part of the private matching Fultz Memorial Cruise will be funds. held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Main “Past contracts don’t count,” Street and Wesley Avenue he said. Jonas and Linda Fultz had The preparation work was been producing this event for done under a contract with more than 15 years before his then-project conservator death in 2013, and Linda is Andrzej Dajnowski, from carrying on the tradition in his Conservation of Sculpture & memory. Objects Studio, Forest Park. The show includes a mix of Quality Restorations Inc., of classic cars, street rods, and Wood Dale, has been chosen motorcycles. by the Illinois Department of A bake sale and craft fair Natural Resources to finish the will be held on the downtown job, although a contract has not campus from 5 to 8 p.m., while yet been signed, Demmer said. kids have fun in the Bouncy The money to pay for the Houses. preparation work, which The Ogle County Pork included repair specifications, Producers will offer serve laser scans, and chemical sandwiches from 5 to 8 p.m. on and structural analyses of the campus. the concrete, came from the Music begins at 7 p.m. approximately $500,000 Pieces of the Black Hawk Statue have fallen from the right elbow of the iconic statue. Photo with Shindig featured at the Turn to A8 by Earleen Hinton Turn to A2
Knoup is appointed as full-time Oregon fire chief Board’s decision is first time in district’s history By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Oregon Fire Protection District Board made history recently when they appointed the district’s first full-time fire chief. Current fire chief Michael Knoup was made full-time on May 1. Knoup was named chief of the all-volunteer department on Sept. 30, 2016. He will be paid an annual salary of $60,000 plus benefits. According to a June 28 press release from the fire district, the change to a full-time chief had been considered for several months because of growing
demands of the State Fire Marshall’s office, call volume, and to most effectively and efficiently run the department. “This very positive change has been long overdue and will be a tremendous benefit in the district’s ability to provide excellent service to the citizens of the Oregon Fire Protection District,” said board president Steve Carr. Knoup said he is honored to be appointed to this position. With the mounting call volume and increase in administrative demands by outside government agencies, the board decided to hire a fulltime chief to meet the extensive administrative demands, the press release said. At the most recent trustees meeting, Knoup reported that so far this year requests for both fire and ambulance services are up 64 percent in the district, with 500 calls to
In This Week’s Edition...
Oregon Fire Chief Michael Knoup stands in front of one of the district’s trucks. Photo by Earleen Hinton
date in 2018. The district is the second largest Ogle County at 124 square miles. The Byron, Dixon Rural, Mt. Morris and Stillman Valley Districts all employ full-time chiefs.
Byron Library, A7 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B7 Entertainment, A6
Prior to 2014, the district did not provide EMS services. With the closing of the Oregon Ambulance Service in 2014, the district would have been left without EMS services. The approval of the referendum in 2015 corrected
Fines, B4 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Library, A6 Public Voice, A7
that issue. Oregon was the last fire district in the county to provide EMS services. “The addition of EMS services in 2014 was a tremendous improvement in the district’s ability to meet the needs of our tax payers and visitors,” the press release said. Knoup began working in the fire service in 1985 as a firefighter for the Pecatonica Fire Protection District and moved up through the ranks there to become Deputy Chief of Operations. He worked with German Township Fire District in Springfield, Ohio as a firefighter and EMT from 1992 to 1996, and then returned to service in the Pecatonica Fire District. He began working for the Oregon Fire District in 2014 as an EMT working a 24/48 shift. He attained his paramedic license in 2014 as the district
Property Transfers, B4 Rock River Center, A4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Published every Friday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com
began staffing the ambulance service with two full-time paramedics. After he was appointed Oregon Fire Chief, he continued working as a paramedic on a 24/48 hour shift, fulfilling many of his chief duties while on his shift every third day, as well as putting in additional time as needed. He purchased a home and moved to Oregon in November of 2017. Knoup’s goals will be to improve fire prevention, and ongoing training and education of our firefighters and EMS personnel. He also desires to continue to grow and improve teamwork with the surrounding districts and within the community. Knoup said the fire service has changed dramatically over the past 25 years and one of Turn to A2
Deaths, B4 Dorothy F. Foy, Beverly J. Groenewold