Polo_Tri-County_Press-12-29-2023

POLO TRI-COUNTY PRESS VOLUME 165 NO. 42 • SERVING THE POLO AREA SINCE 1857

Friday, December, 29 2023 • $1.00

NEWS

Man Acquitted An Ogle County judge finds a Byron man innocent of all charges. / 6

SPORTS

Polo Seventh

DEMOLITION ORDER

The Marcos finish seventh at the Forreston Holiday Tournament. / 9

Special Delivery

Earleen Hinton

Santa and his band of fellow motorcyclists help a local woman. / 3

The house at 601 S. Division Ave. in Polo is slated for demolition. The building, which was being used as an apartment building, was declared unfit for human occupancy by the city of Polo in June 2021 and again in June and August 2022. It is located on the southwest corner of Illinois Route 26 (Division Avenue) and Milledgeville Road.

One section • 20 pages

INDEX Betty’s Column......... 4 Classifieds.......... 16-19 Colbert Column........ 8

Court News... 6, 13, 14 Oregon Police...........13 Otto’s Column........... 4

Pine Creek News...... 2 Property Transfers...14 Sports....................8-12

DEATHS Published every Friday

by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media

Marion E. Thompson, Page 7

POLO TRI-COUNTY PRESS House ‘unfit for human occupancy’ to be razed OLO TRI-COUNTY PRESS By ALEXA ZOELLNER city of Polo’s attorney’s fees reserved.” house at 601 S. Division Ave. azoellner@shawmedia.com The money, which was not to be Bocker Excavating was the lowest of OUNTY PRESS touched absent a court order, was to be three bids. Bill’s Excavating Services, of

Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS

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A house on South Division Avenue in Polo that was declared “unfit for human occupancy” is set to be demolished after almost a year in court.

On Dec. 13, Ogle County Judge Anthony Peska ordered that the city of Polo be allowed to proceed with demolishing 601 S. Division Ave. The ruling came after the property owner, Ahmed Farraj, of Polo, failed to follow a Nov. 8 court order requiring him to pay $35,000 for repairs by Nov. 17, according to court documents. Another $25,000 was to be paid in five installments of $5,000 on or before Dec. 13 and 27, Jan. 10 and 24, 2024, and Feb. 7, 2024.

“In the event of any delinquent payment the stay on this judgment and order for demolition shall be vacated and the order going into effect,” Peska wrote in the Nov. 8 order. “In the event the property is brought into compliance this order shall be vacated and the complaint shall be dismissed with the issue of the

deposited into a trust account owned by Polo city attorney M. Thomas Suits, the Nov. 8 order shows.

Instead of depositing funds into the trust account, Farraj paid $20,000 directly to a contractor – Eli’s Construction of Walcott, Iowa – which constituted a delinquent payment, Peska wrote.

“The judgment and order for demolition were stayed provided that the defendant [Farraj] complied with the other terms specified in the Nov. 8 order,” Peska wrote in his Dec. 13 order.

Peska noted that Farraj signed the Nov. 8 order, “evidencing his agreement thereto.”

Farraj was renting the first and second floors to separate people, Polo Building Inspector Casper Manheim noted in an Aug. 16, 2022, letter.

During the Polo City Council’s Dec. 18 meeting, alderpersons unanimously voted to accept a $19,885 bid from Bocker Excavating Inc., of Polo, to demolish the

Polo, entered a $23,500 bid, and Gray Excavating, of Polo, bid $40,000.

“Any judgment would not include the garage,” Suits told City Council members. “If you decided you wanted the excavators to take the garage down – because that was not part of the condemned property, which was the house.

That would be a city expense, totally, without going toward the judgment to the current owner if you wanted the garage taken down.”

Once the demolition is complete, Farraj still will own the property, Suits said.

He added that the city plans to ask the court to grant them a lien on all of the Ogle County properties that Farraj owns.

“We still have to petition the court for attorney fees and the expenses of the demolition,” Suits said.

The city of Polo first filed a request in Ogle County Court to order the demolition of 601 S. Division Ave. on Dec. 20, 2022.

and fellowship.

Last weekend, my brother, Ben Bittinger, his wife, Jo, and their son, Garrett, attended the graduation ceremony of their son, Hayden. Hayden earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Also attending the ceremony were Jo’s brother, Keith Chesnut, his wife, Katie, and their sons, Cole and Knox.

Hayden hopes to pursue a career as a teacher. He completed his student teaching in Forreston at the junior high.

This has been a very busy week for everyone as we prepare to celebrate Christmas. I sent my gifts to my children and they arrived in plenty of time to be placed under the tree. They are sent with wishes for a safe and happy holiday.

It seems like just yesterday I was busy preparing for a holiday at home with a house filled with children. We would spend hours decorating, cleaning, wrapping presents and preparing food for dinner and getting ready for the annual Christmas Eve service at church.

When I started writing this column in 2009, my life was far from what it is today.

My three children were in school and kept me busy running to activities. For work, I was filling in as a substitute teacher in several districts. I lived just a mile from our church where I am still active.

Writing the Pine Creek News has given me a chance to share not only my

life, but the lives of my family and friends from Pine Creek. I took over the column from Wanda Wiggins who actively gathered the news from the area.

In my first article, I soon discovered I did not have her same knack, which led to me sharing my weekly thoughts about what God has done for us. When I think of the many conversations about writing the news, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for every reader.

So, I leave you with this. God’s gift to all of us is love. His love for us shines through in so many different ways. We see it in the beauty of nature. We see it in the way situations just seem to work out.

We see it in the way we are comforted when everything starts to go wrong.

On this Christmas Eve, we will once again celebrate His ultimate show of love.

He comes to earth as Jesus to be our example of love. He comes to live with us and show us that we all matter to Him. His message is clear. Let us love each other as God loved us on this special night.

I hope to see you next week in our church. I would be honored to greet and welcome you to our little church in the country. I wish you and your family all the very best in the coming New Year.

PINE CREEK NEWS

By KAREN MERLAK The unexpected warmth of late December has given us a strange start to our winter season. No matter the weather, the warmth and light of God brings us together to celebrate this Christmas season. For the gift of eternal love, we give our thanks to God. This morning in church, we were greeted by Mark Stout. Pastor Suzanne Hall Stout shared her message of love for the fourth Sunday of Advent. Elizabeth Elliott and Judy Riffle shared a reading before lighting the fourth candle in our wreath.

This was a special morning for Ellen and Justin Rahn. Pastor Suzanne led a dedication ceremony for their son, Evan.

Our church was filled with many family members from the Hopkins and Rahn families. After church, they invited everyone for a brunch in our Fellowship Hall.

Pastor Suzanne led the children’s message for an entire row of children who were visiting our church. It was wonderful to see so many people gather in worship, prayer and singing for this special Sunday morning.

Tonight, we will gather for a Christmas Eve service, complete with candlelight and the singing of “Silent Night.”

We look forward to seeing families who will be visiting for the holiday. After the service, we will gather for refreshments

• Karen Merlak lives in Polo and is a member of the Pine Creek Christian Church.

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Bikers show support for woman living in tent with her dog

I am overwhelmed by everyone from all the communities who have showed up to help me.

I have met so many nice people. I am so thankful.”

By EARLEEN HINTON

ehinton@shawmedia.com OREGON – Santa was just one of the guys Saturday when he rumbled into Lowden State Park on his motorcycle on a damp and foggy afternoon to help make the Christmas season a bit brighter for one woman.

In full Santa garb, Ben Thielen of Rockford was one of 25 motorcyclists who took part in a fundraiser for Sarah Wright at the Ogle County Brewery and then climbed back on their bikes to visit the 69-year-old at her home – a tent at a campsite in the state park.

With temperatures in the 40s and thick fog enveloping the already soggy Rock River Valley, Thielen didn’t need Rudolph’s bright red nose to guide him or Santa’s girth to stay warm. Seeing the smile on Wright’s face and those of his big-hearted biker buddies was all he needed.

“Actually, I was a little too warm,” Thielen said as he held his Santa-hat-covered helmet. “I had started sweating after we stopped.”

Thielen, who rides with Kinsman Redeemers, was one of the bikers who made the trek to Wright’s campsite to say hello and show their support.

Wright has been living in a tent with her dog, Luna, at Lowden since October. Throughout the spring, summer and fall she alternated between the area’s state parks while trying to find rental property that will allow her to keep her pets.

She previously lived in Polo before the apartment building she was living in was cited by the city as unfit for human occupancy and has since been slated for demolition.

Because of her dog Luna and three cats, Wright has been unable to find rental housing that allows her to have all her pets. Her cats are staying with Kathy Wragg of Polo while Wright and Luna stay at Lowden.

“All I have are my animals and I am not going to give them up. Stuff [doesn’t] matter to me,” Wright said in an earlier interview.

Kevin Struse of Rockford, who also rides with Kinsman, gave Wright a big biker bear hug when he climbed off his Harley and walked up to her campsite.

“He called and we showed up,” Struse said.

That “he” was Brad Parkinson, 59, of Oregon, also a motorcyclist, but more important the man who has made it his mission to help Wright.

Less than two weeks ago, Parkinson saw Wright’s tent when he was

Sarah Wright, who is living in a tent at Lowden State Park

Earleen Hinton

Tony Duran of Franklin Grove sits on his motorcycle as he talks with Sarah Wright, Charlie Kitzmiller, Sherry Crumbaker and Brad Parkinson at Wright’s campsite at Lowden State Park on Dec. 23 during a fundraiser for Wright. Duran organized the motorcycle ride to the state park. walking his dogs at the state park.

Moved by her scant campsite, he left a note on her tent.

“I left a little note on your tent that said ‘if you need help reach out to me,’” Parkinson recalled as he and Wright greeted the bikers. “And she called me the next day. That was on Dec. 13 – just 10 days ago. So we came together in 10 days. Christmas is in two days so the 12 days of Christmas may have a new meaning now.”

“Yep, it does for me,” Wright said.

Charlie Kitzmiller and Sherry Crumbaker of Oregon also have been instrumental in helping Wright. They regularly stop by with freshly laundered clothes for Wright and make sure she’s OK. Parkinson thanked all the bikers for their support and making the drive to Oregon.

“You all did a good thing today. I can’t thank you enough,” Parkinson said. “I just didn’t want to let this go.”

Tony Duran of Franklin Grove helped organize the bike ride portion of the fundraiser and coordinated law enforcement officers from Oregon and Byron and the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department to help close off traffic when the bikers left the Ogle County Brewery in Oregon and traveled 10 miles north on state Route 2 to Byron before heading back south nine miles on River Road to Lowden.

“I explained what was going on and they all said count us in,” Duran said.

“They knew the best places to block traffic and they got everything organized for a perfect flow.”

Duran said when he read about Wright, he knew he had to help.

“Country folks come together to help people in need,” Duran said.

Gaylon McKenna of Rock Falls spoke for the Green River Riders Association, which had six riders at the event. He said Saturday’s weather conditions were not a factor.

“We usually ride about 10 mph faster, but because of our police escort we rode about 10 mph slower,” he said, grinning. “This is what we do. We help people in the community by riding.”

Parkinson said fundraising efforts are continuing with cash donations being accepted at the Oregon NAPA Auto Parts store, where he works as a driver. Wright does not keep cash at her campsite.

“We’re going to continue to take donations at NAPA,” Parkinson said.

“We want to make sure she gets a place to live. We’re going to make this happen.”

All the attention has been an adjustment for Wright.

“For months I was living in solitude, just camping and seeing campground hosts and park rangers who were all great. Then with these first three days, with all the attention, I was really stressed. I thought to myself ‘I never want to be famous,’” she said, chuckling.

“Before I didn’t have friends and now I’ve got some of the nicest ladies as friends,” she said as she hugged Crumbaker. “Everyone has been so nice and have been sending me stuff with caramels and those are my favorite.”

On Monday, Parkinson transferred ownership of his 1999 Dodge van to Wright, giving her a vehicle to call her own. The van is one step in helping her get back on her feet and just one steppingstone en route to finding her a new, permanent residence, he said.

Parkinson paid for the title transfer and plates and six months insurance so as he said, “she’d be mobile and legal and ready to go.”

He also has pledged his 1975 13-foot camper to use – if need be.

A native of Virginia, Wright moved to Illinois in 2011 to be near her father.

In 1998, she visited the Polo area and White Pines State Park with her dad.

Her path to living in a tent at Lowden included being flooded from her rental home near Fulton, living out of a storage unit, staying in an unheated garage loft in the Rock Falls/ Sterling area (offered by a friend at no charge) and a homeless shelter.

During those months, she continued to seek a place for herself and her pets and she has applied for housing through the Ogle County Housing Authority.

She started camping at White Pines State Park and Lowden in April, alternating between the two, adhering to the parks’ 14-night consecutive stay limit.

Without a vehicle, Wright has relied on the kindness of others and one Polo man in particular, Mark McGinnis, who moved her and her belongings to and from each park every two weeks during the summer.

Inside her dome tent, Wright has cots, a heater and a small cooking area. The tent is covered in blue tarps to help keep it warm and dry. She keeps water in jugs, collected from one of the park’s public drinking faucets, and has access to electricity at the campsite. She said she has plenty of camping experience.

Wright worked in law enforcement while in Virginia and spent a few years in security for a retail store in Virginia Beach in addition to other jobs, she said. Social Security is now her sole source of income.

She also used to own and ride a motorcycle and still has a motorcycle driver’s license.

“Well, I definitely miss riding for one thing,” quipped Wright as the last biker left the campground. “But I am overwhelmed by everyone from all the communities who have showed up to help me. I have met so many nice people. I am so thankful.”

OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

Santa leads bikers to campsite during fundraiser 3

Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS

4 LOCAL HISTORY

Family more important than snow on Christmas

Everyone was in the countdown as Christmas arrived. I was ready for the arrival of the Obendorf family. The slush punch was in the freezer and I still can remember the Polo Historical Society’s Christmas party at Bill and Carol Hammer’s home where I was introduced to the slush punch.

I loved it and I have made it ever since that evening at the Hammer’s home.

At our house, Clare always put it together using the frozen part and ginger ale. We all loved it and then I started taking it to our Polo Historical Society parties. At one of the Barnicopia parties, a little girl asked me, “How do you make this?” I got the recipe to her later. Paula now makes it for our historical society parties. So Carol, your recipe continues on and on.

I also make eggnog and our family loves it – even the little kids. I think it

POLO HISTORY Betty Obendorf is all that whipped cream floating around on the top in the eggnog bowl.

The eggnog bowl is a special white milk glass bowl that has been in the family for a number of years. Before that we used a vintage Santa Claus bowl with Santa cups until we realized that the bowl needed to be retired and placed out just for show. The color was starting to come off when washing it.

I also make a big tub of hot chocolate mix because that is Beth’s favorite and I am even enjoying it now early in the morning when I cannot sleep. So we have plenty of special drinks that are holiday favorites. I

remember when the teachers would go out to Elly and Ron Erdman’s home for a holiday gathering.

Elly made her Swedish glogg that was hot with little things that were floating around in it. That was always a special time. Carol, Elly and Ron are no longer around and we keep them in our memory.

Krista comes with all the Christmas cookies that have been beautifully made and decorated. We look forward to those each year. One kind she makes is a cookie with a chocolate Hershey kiss in the center.

One year after all had left, I found cookies tucked away in little places with the Hershey kiss eaten out of the center. From then on, we had the Hershey kisses out in a little bowl so the cookie part was not wasted.

The rest of the family will bring their favorite snacks and late in the afternoon we have pizza. Everyone

loves pizza so it is a hit with all ages.

Our pizza order went to our pizza place in Polo a couple of weeks ago and I am hungry for pizza. I like mine plain with cheese. Our gluten-free people in the family are taken care of since they now have gluten-free pizza.

I am certain every family has their traditions. We sing, have a trivia history game and play a bingo type game using Christmas names. We take family pictures every year and I have just finished putting together a family photo album of all the pictures. It is fun to look back and reflect on past holidays.

I do not need a white Christmas since we have many traveling over holiday time. It is an important time to be together as families.

• Betty Obendorf is a retired teacher and volunteer for the Polo Historical Society.

Illinois commemorated state centennial in 1917

By OTTO DICK This information was in the Dec. 6, 2017, Ogle County Reporter newspaper.

“Each township, through its school system, to be a unit in celebrating Illinois century anniversary event.

“Horace H. Bancroft, assistant director of the centennial celebration, recently visited Oregon and offered suggestions relative to a county pageant to which purpose he stated the scenic advantages of this region and Ogle is the home county of the present Gov. [Frank] Lowden and was the home of former Gov. [Thomas] Ford

and renders it desirable that Ogle take a conspicuous place in the statewide celebration of Illinois’ century mark in statehood.

“Monday of the present week was the day set apart Thomas Ford

by Gov. Lowden’s proclamation as the 99th anniversary of the formal admission of Illinois into the union.

The general celebration of the event will take place during the coming year and many cities and towns of the state will have appropriate celebrations.

“Ogle County enjoys reflected credit in the personality of Illinois’ present great war Gov. Lowden and Ogle County may regard with pride.

Gov. Ford, who at a juncture when the Frank Lowden financial credit was at such a low ebb that many public men of the state urged the repudiation of the state’s debts, stood staunchly against such course and saved Illinois from the stigma of dishonor that it must otherwise have suffered.

“(April 18, 1818), the U.S. Congress passed the Illinois Enabling act, allowing for the establishment of the state of Illinois. Aug. 26, at the Illinois Constitutional convention in Kaskaskia, the state constitution was adopted and Kaskaskia named the first state capital. Oct. 6, Shadrach Bond was inaugurated as the first governor of Illinois.

Dec. 3, Illinois becomes the 25th state.”

It’s interesting that we do not have a statue or sign of Illinois governors Ford and Lowden on the courthouse square.

grams people would like to see in the new year. Everyone is welcome.”

For more information, call Roger Cain at 815-757-9715, Chris Martin at 815-742-8471 or Otto Dick at 815-4400639.

Performers can sign up for time slots on a first-come, first-served basis at 6 p.m. or earlier.

“The event attracts many talented performers, but musicians and singers of all skill levels find acceptance from its supportive audience,” said Lowell Harp, a First Fridays volunteer.

Those with questions can call Jerry Tice at 815-449-2660.

The VFW is located at 1310 W. Washington St. in Oregon. There is ample parking and a restaurant and bar. A fish fry runs from 4 to 8 p.m.

Serenity Hospice and Home offers sessions on grieving

• Otto Dick is a retired teacher and has researched Ogle County history for several years.

LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS Oregon Depot to host holiday open house Dec. 30

The Oregon Depot Museum is hosting a holiday open house from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 30.

“We’ll have coffee, hot cocoa, cookies and other goodies to share,” said Michal Burnett, a museum member.

“We’ll celebrate the steady progress being made in restoring the 1947 Silver View Zephyr train car. We’ll look back at all the excellent ‘Those Were The Days’ programs we’ve had in 2023. We’ll look forward to 2024 and ask what pro-

First Fridays at the Oregon VFW on Jan. 5

OREGON – The First Fridays Open Mic presents its monthly show at the Oregon VFW at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5.

There is no admission, but freewill donations are accepted.

OREGON – Serenity Hospice and Home will be hosting a free six-week class titled “Understanding Your Grief” based on the book by Dr. Alan Wolfelt.

Each participant will receive a book.

The class starts Jan. 10 and ends Feb. 14. The group will meet from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays at The Serenity Shed, 131 N. Third St., in downtown Oregon.

Call Cathy or Denise at 815-732-2499 for more information or to register.

OCUSD staff recognized for 5 Don and Myrle Fuller celebrate response to Nov. 28 bus crash

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Don and Myrle Fuller, formerly of Oregon, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on Dec. 28.

They were married on Nov. 28, 1958, at the First Baptist Church in Clinton, Iowa.

Don’s parents were Donald W. and Florence Fuller and Myrle’s parents were George and Fern Rowen.

Don is a retired bank executive who worked at Stillman Valley Bank. Myrle is a retired school teacher who worked at Etnyre Middle School in the Oregon School District.

They have two daughters, Susan (Jeff) Head of Germantown, Wisconsin, and Laura (Dave) Mills of Woodbury, Minnesota.

They have five grandchildren: Andrew, Ashley, Jennifer, Lauren and Taylor and one great-grandchild, August.

They reside at W195 N9550 Photo provided by Susan Head Rolling Meadows Circle Apt. Don Fuller and Myrle Rowen were married A329, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051. on Nov. 28, 1958.

School bus with students on board rear-ended; no serious injuries reported

By ALEXA ZOELLNER

azoellner@shawmedia.com OREGON – Three Oregon school district staff members were lauded for their response during a Nov. 28 crash in which a school bus was rear-ended.

On Dec. 18, the Oregon School District Board recognized bus driver Bob McGhee, bus aide Nate Clow and Co-Director of Transportation Liz Ludwig.

“Their response after the accident was really, really good in terms of making sure, A., our students were OK, and B., that students that needed to be checked out by EMS were,” OCUSD Superintendent Tom Mahoney said. “Then just communication with both Liz and then Liz with the administration was excellent.”

An OCUSD school bus carrying 26 students and two adults was rearended by a Mazda CX-5 at Tomahawk

Drive and Illinois Route 64, just outside Oregon city limits, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said. The crash occurred at 3:41 p.m. Nov. 28.

The bus was on a regular afterschool route and headed back into Oregon when the crash occurred, Mahoney said. The children on board ranged in grade level from kindergartener to high school, he said.

Two students went to a local hospital with back and neck pain, while the others refused treatment, VanVickle said. The students’ injuries were not life-threatening, he said.

Mahoney credited McGhee and Clow’s good, strong relationships with the kids on the bus that allowed the children to look to them for guidance during the incident. Ludwig wasn’t on the bus, but drove out to the scene once she was alerted to the crash, he said.

“The care and concern they showed the kids is the thing we were focused on,” Mahoney said of the recognitions.

The driver of the Mazda – Michael Heller, 25, of Oregon – was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, VanVickle said.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS CAUSE NO. 2023TX27: TO THE FOLLOWING NAMED PERSONS (AND IF DECEASED, TO THEIR UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DEVISEES), AND TO THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, AND TO ALL INTERESTED DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES THEREOF, INCLUDING AMONG OTHERS ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL, ILLINOIS DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, ILLINOIS PUBLIC AID CONSULTANT, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPT OF HEALTHCARE & FAMILY SERVICES (PUBLIC AID) GENERAL COUNSEL AND OGLE COUNTY CLERK, OGLE COUNTY TREASURER, OGLE COUNTY STATES ATTORNEY, CITY OF OREGON, COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO, LOST LAKE UTILITY DISTRICT, UNITED LOST LAKE PROPERTY OWNERS, AND TO OCCUPANTS, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND PARTIES INTERESTED IN THE PARCELS HEREINAFTER NAMED:

Depot Museum receives donation

Parcel Number 11-23-157-002 11-23-157-002 11-23-157-002 11-23-157-002 11-23-157-002 16-15-282-003 21-13-109-002 21-13-109-002 22-08-130-003 22-08-130-003 22-08-406-037 22-08-431-009 22-08-431-009

Owners/Parties Interested BUNGER, BRETT BUNGER, HAROLD HEIRS AND DEVISEES VILLAGE OF DAVIS JUNCTION LARSON, RICHARD RESOURCE BANK, N.A. STONE, ROCKY ROSE, JEFFREY J ROSE, TOM FRENCH, SYLVIA UNITED LOST LAKE P.O.A. RA: EDITH ANN CANALES-KOBBEMAN DIEHL, JACOB NORK, GEORGETTE E HEIRS AND DEVISEES UNITED LOST LAKE P.O.A. RA: EDITH ANN CANALES-KOBBEMAN.

Cert Number Street Or Common Address 2020-00061 102 S. UNION ST. 2020-00061 102 S. UNION ST. 2020-00061 2020-00061 2020-00061 2020-00109 2020-00126 2020-00126 2020-00132 2020-00132

102 S. UNION ST. 102 S. UNION ST. 102 S. UNION ST. E. MAIN ST. S. GREEN ST. & W. ROCK ST. S. GREEN ST. & W. ROCK ST. NORTH FORK RD. NORTH FORK RD.

2020-00134 2020-00135

107 MISSISSIPPI DR. 329 BIRCH LN.

2020-00135

329 BIRCH LN

TAKE NOTICE THAT THE ABOVESAID PARCELS WERE SOLD ON NOVEMBER 3, 2021, FOR GENERALTAXES FOR THE YEAR 2020 AND PRIOR YEARS, AND THAT THE PERIOD OF REDEMPTION FROM SUCH SALE EXPIRES MAY 29, 2024. TAKE FURTHER NOTICE THAT A PETITION FOR ORDER DIRECTING ISSUANCE OF TAX DEEDS HAS BEEN FILED IN THE ABOVESAID CAUSE AS TO THE ABOVE-NAMED PARCELS BY OGLE COUNTY, AS TRUSTEE, AND THAT ON JUNE 27, 2024 AT 9:00 AM [COURTROOM 302], SAID PETITIONER WILL APPLY FOR AN ORDER THAT A TAX DEED ISSUE AS TO EACH ABOVESAID PARCEL NOT REDEEMED ON OR BEFORE MAY 29, 2024. /S/ OGLE COUNTY AS TRUSTEE, PETITIONER. Photo provided by Rich Rhoads

The Oregon Depot Museum received an early Christmas gift from Martin and Co. The Oregon-based company blacktopped the parking area in front of the Depot and Silver View rail car that is being restored. The renovated dome car will be unveiled during a fundraising event in June 2024. “Thanks for the start Martin and Co.,” said Rich Rhoads, Depot Museum board member.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE COUNTY CLERK ADDRESS: 105 S. 5TH ST STE 104, OREGON, IL 61061 TELEPHONE: (815) 732-1110

December 15, 22, 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

65th wedding anniversary

Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS

6

Judge finds man not guilty in ’22 New Year’s Eve incident in Forreston

By EARLEEN HINTON

ehinton@shawmedia.com OREGON – An Ogle County judge found a Byron man not guilty Dec. 20 of two charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon that stemmed from a 2022 New Year’s Eve incident in downtown Forreston.

Judge John Redington acquitted Jeremy G. Jones, 42, of all charges after a bench trial that started Tuesday afternoon and ended Wednesday Judge John morning.

J o n e s w a s Redington accused of hitting a Forreston man with his car and then stabbing the man’s girlfriend as he left the scene during a Dec. 31, 2022, incident in the 200 block of state Route 26.

Jones pleaded not guilty to the charges in January and later waived his right to a jury trial, asking instead to be tried in front of Redington. He chose not to testify during the bench trial.

“My client has decided to exercise his right not to testify,” Willam Gibbs told Redington.

After the defense rested its case, Redington ruled immediately that prosecutors had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jones was guilty of using his car to strike Travis Cox of Forreston and then stab Cox’s girlfriend, Ashley Thomas, after she jumped onto Jones’ car after the alleged altercation.

“Somehow or other, contact was made, but the state failed to show me that the contact made was ‘knowingly’ as opposed to negligent,” said Redington, referring to the prosecution’s language citing the car being used as a deadly weapon.

Redington also found Jones not guilty of using a knife to stab Thomas as she was hanging onto his car.

“She said she was caught in the car, but she didn’t say what she was caught on,” Redington said, referring to Thomas’ testimony Tuesday.

“When she felt a sharp pain, she released. She did not know if she was stabbed. She said Jones was hitting her so she let go.”

On Tuesday, two witnesses characterized the scene as “chaotic” after Cox and Thomas testified.

Cox, 29, of Forreston, testified that Jones struck him with his car after the truck he and his friends were riding in was tailgated before reaching Forreston.

Under questioning by Ogle County Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten, Cox said he and four friends,

including his girlfriend Thomas, 28, also of Forreston, were celebrating on New Year’s Eve and had been drinking at bars in Mt. Morris and Polo before heading to Josh’s Saloon in Forreston for the rest of the evening.

He said Thomas was driving his Ford F150 because she was the designated driver for the evening.

Cox said the car continued to tailgate and after the truck parked in a lot north of Josh’s Saloon he walked toward the car that was stopped near the intersection of state routes 72 and 26.

He claimed Jones accelerated quickly and struck him.

Under cross examination by Gibbs, Cox denied making an obscene gesture from the truck’s window while Jones was following the truck before reaching Forreston.

“You weren’t leaning out the window yelling? You also gave him the finger, didn’t you?” Gibbs asked.

“I do not recall,” Cox replied.

“Didn’t you tell police after the incident that you didn’t really know what happened?” Gibbs asked.

“Sounds right,” Cox said, claiming he had suffered a concussion and could not identify Jones as the driver of the car. “I didn’t lose consciousness, but I did hit my head.”

Thomas testified the car was tailgating the truck and denied anyone was yelling at the car as it was traveling on the highway. She said Cox exited the truck from the parking lot and walked toward the car when the car accelerated toward Cox and hit him.

Thomas said she chased the car and reached in through the driver’s side window to try to grab the keys when she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She said her friends noticed she was bleeding through her longsleeved T-shirt and sweatshirt and she learned she had been stabbed after being taken to the hospital with Cox. Neither Cox nor Thomas identified Jones as the driver.

Ogle County Patrol Deputy Matthew Gendusa said he responded to the altercation at 10:40 p.m. Dec. 31, 2022. When he questioned Cox and Thomas after the incident, he said Cox appeared to have been drinking, but he did not see any signs of intoxication in Thomas. “He was highly intoxicated,” Gendusa said, referring to Cox. Ogle County Sgt. Michael Halfman testified he stopped Jones’ sedan on Route 72, about 10 miles east of Forreston, after being called to assist with the incident. He said he identified the car from a partial license plate number Gendusa had provided. Gendusa said he had clocked the car at 65 mph heading east on Route 72 as he was

headed west to Forreston.

Halfman said Jones immediately pulled over and cooperated with his requests to shut off the vehicle, toss his keys out the window and exit the vehicle.

Halfman said he noticed Jones’ belt buckle was large and asked him if it had a knife in it. He said Jones told him it did. Halfman said he told Jones a woman had been stabbed in Forreston and he was a suspect.

Halfman said he bagged the knife as evidence when he noticed it had a “shiny substance” on it and then transported Jones to the Ogle County Correctional Center in Oregon.

Dr. Robert Garretto, the emergency room doctor who treated Thomas, testified Tuesday for the defense that he diagnosed Thomas’ wound as a stab wound that required four stitches. He said he would not have classified it as a stab wound without Thomas telling him she was stabbed.

“If she had not told you it was a stab wound, you would have diagnosed it as a puncture wound?” Redington asked.

“Yes,” Garretto replied.

In his closing argument, Gibbs said the prosecution witnesses were not credible and “made no sense.” He also

said the investigation was “not proper.”

“In what world is brake checking someone OK?” he argued.

Redington said the tailgating allegation was “irrelevant” to his decision when he rendered his verdict.

Gibbs also said none of the people in the parking lot could identify his client as the driver of the car.

“There are several witnesses and there was never an identification of who was in that car. They didn’t know who was in the car,” Gibbs argued.

“They didn’t test the knife or even show it to Ashley Thomas.”

Redington agreed.

“No one tested the knife or saw the knife in use. I agree with Mr. Gibbs,” Redington said. “It would have been simple enough to test to identify what ‘substance’ was on the knife. There were no statements made by Mr. Jones that he used a knife. I can’t make a reasonable assumption it was blood, let alone that it was Ms. Thomas’ blood.”

Leisten had argued that it was “reasonable to conclude” the substance on the knife was blood.

“The state has not proven Mr. Jones used a knife to stab Ms. Thomas,” Redington ruled.

Gibbs and Jones declined to comment on the verdict.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS CAUSE 2023TX28: TO THE FOLLOWING NAMED PERSONS (AND IF DECEASED, TO THEIR UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DEVISEES), AND TO THE ILLINOIS SECRETARY OF STATE VEHICLE SERVICES, ILLINOIS SECRETARY OF STATE, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL AND OGLE COUNTY CLERK, OGLE COUNTY TREASURER, OGLE COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY, DITECH FINANCIAL LLC CORP AGENT: C T CORPORATION SYSTEM, RITHM CAPITAL, AND TO OCCUPANTS AND UNKNOWN OWNERS AND PARTIES INTERESTED IN THE PARCELS HEREINAFTER NAMED: Parcel Number Owners/Parties Interested 05-40-50-008-0 TILBURY, WILLIAM LAKEVIEW MOBILE HOME PARK 05-40-50-008-0 TILBURY, CONNIE LAKEVIEW MOBILE HOME PARK 05-40-50-008-0 TALLMAN, BRENDA L 05-40-50-008-0 CORNERSTONE CREDIT UNION FKA: MICRO SWITCH EMPLOYEES’ CREDIT 05-40-50-009-0 COYNE, LAWRENCE LAKEVIEW MOBILE HOME PARK 10-40-50-006-0 AMUNDRUD, JOSHUA MERIDIAN MANOR MOBILE HOME PARK 10-40-50-006-0 WHITE, ALEXIS A 24-40-50-037-0 ASTUDILLO, ASCENCION SHANGRI LA MOBILE HOME 24-40-50-074-0 AVILA, SERGIO SHANGRI LA MOBILE HOME PK 24-40-50-097-0 ORANDAY, BJ SHANGRI LA MOBILE HOME PK LOT97 24-40-60-030-0 TORRES, LUPE

Cert Number Street Or Common Address 2020-90002 8528 N RIVER RD LOT 8

24-40-60-030-0

SMITH, HERBIE G

2020-90030

24-40-60-030-0

MORGAN-JORDAN, ZELNORA

2020-90030

24-40-60-030-0

TEXTRON CAPITAL CORPORATION /AVCO FINANCIAL SERVICES PRENTICE HALL CORPORATION

2020-90030

2020-90002

8528 N RIVER RD LOT 8

2020-90002 2020-90002

8528 N RIVER RD LOT 8 8528 N RIVER RD LOT 8

2020-90003

8528 N RIVER RD LOT 9

2020-90010

7058 E IL RTE 72 LOT 6

2020-90010 2020-90023

7058 E IL RTE 72 LOT 6 7027 S SNAPDRAGON LOT 37

2020-90026 2020-90027

7192 S SNAPDRAGON LOT 74 7118 S LILAC LOT 97

2020-90030

800 TREATMENT PLANT RD LOT 30 800 TREATMENT PLANT RD LOT 30 800 TREATMENT PLANT RD LOT 30 800 TREATMENT PLANT RD LOT 30

TAKE NOTICE THAT THE ABOVE SAID MOBILE HOMES WERE SOLD ON NOVEMBER 3, 2021, FOR DELINQUENT MOBILE HOME LOCAL SERVICES TAXES FOR THE YEAR 2021 AND PRIOR YEARS, AND THAT THE PERIOD OF REDEMPTION FROM SUCH SALE EXPIRES MAY 29, 2024. TAKE FURTHER NOTICE THAT A PETITION FOR ORDER DIRECTING ISSUANCE OF TAX CERTIFICATES OF TITLE HAS BEEN FILED IN THE ABOVE SAID CAUSE AS TO THE ABOVE-NAMED MOBILE HOMES BY OGLE COUNTY, AS TRUSTEE, AND THAT ON JUNE 27, 2024 AT 9:00 AM [COURTROOM 302] SAID PETITIONER WILL APPLY FOR AN ORDER THAT A TAX CERTIFICATE OF TITLE ISSUE AS TO EACH ABOVE SAID MOBILE HOME NOT REDEEMED ON OR BEFORE MAY 29, 2024. /S/ OGLE COUNTY AS TRUSTEE, PETITIONER. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE COUNTY CLERK ADDRESS: 105 S. 5TH ST STE 104, OREGON, IL 61061 TELEPHONE: (815) 732-1110 December 15, 22, 29, 2023

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Barbara (Duncan) Satterfield, brother in law, MARION E. THOMPSON

DonaldMay Satterfield Born: 7, 1939 of Genoa, IL and niece Heidi Brooke Ann (Duncan) Tintori of Sterling, IL. Died: December 22, 2023 Marion was employed at Kable Printing/ Quebcor/QuadGraphics Marion as Purchasing SecE. Thompson, retary and later as Office Copy Department 84, died suddenly at Manager and retiring after 30+ years. her home in Mt Morris Survivors include her on sonFriday, and daughter-inDecember law, John R (Jack) Suzanne Mt 22nd,Thompson, 2023.

Morris; daughters, Kim Duncan (Tim Cox), Marion was born Mt Morris and Tammy May Knott, 7, CO.; 19396tograndRobert children; Troi (Terra) Knott, Tonya (James) and Lola (Blake) DunJoseph, (Mitch Mann), John can, Mt. Kristin Morris.Alexander Marion attended Mt Morris M (Jay) Jessica Thompson, Kraig (Stephanie) schools and graduated Class of 1957.

Duncan Shauna Raimondi and Marion and married John(Michael) G Thompson on March 12 1961 great-grandchildren another on the 17, in Mt. Morris, IL.with Marion is predeway. Brother Duncan Mt Morris ceased by her Steve parents of Mt of Morris, sister, and Sister Linda (Duncan) Gary Nesemeier Barbara (Duncan) Satterfield, brother in law, of ByronSatterfield IL along with severalIL nieces andHeiDonald of Genoa, and niece nephews. di Brooke Ann (Duncan) Tintori of Sterling, IL. Marion was enjoyed and loved time Printing/ spent with Marion employed at Kable family, her children and grandchildren, her Quebcor/QuadGraphics as Purchasing Secearly years of camping later their cabin retary and later as Officeand Copy Department along theand river, gardening, studying/watchManager retiring after 30+ years. ing hummingbirds, Sunday family lunches, Survivors include her son and daughter-inyearly family reunions and being active and law, John R (Jack) Suzanne Thompson, Mt involveddaughters, with her High School Class ‘57 Morris; Kim Duncan (Tim of Cox), outings, dailyKnott, coffee-clutches and Mt Morrisreunions, and Tammy CO.; 6 grandtraveling.

She also spent her early morning children; Troi (Terra) Knott, Tonya (James) hours faithfully reading her devotional Joseph, Kristin Alexander (Mitch Mann),and John Bible. overKraig the years within M (Jay)Actively Jessicainvolved Thompson, (Stephanie) the Disciples United(Michael) MethodistRaimondi Church inand Duncan and Shauna Mt Morris by serving as a past pre-k Sunday 12 great-grandchildren with another on the school teacher, Choir member, served way. Brother Steve Duncan of Mt Morrison various committees and the Prayer Shawl and Sister Linda (Duncan) Gary Nesemeier crochet/knitting group.

Barbara Satterfield, in law, of Byron(Duncan) IL along with severalbrother nieces and Donald nephews.

Satterfield of Genoa, IL and niece Heidi Marion Brooke enjoyed Ann (Duncan) and loved Tintori timeofspent Sterling, withIL. family, Marionher waschildren employed andatgrandchildren, Kable Printing/ her Quebcor/QuadGraphics early years of camping and as Purchasing later their cabin Secretary along and the river, later as gardening, Office Copy studying/watchDepartment Manager ing hummingbirds, and retiringSunday after 30+ family years. lunches, yearly Survivors family include reunions her son and and being daughter-inactive and law, involved John with R (Jack) her Suzanne High School Thompson, Class of Mt ‘57 Morris; outings,daughters, reunions, Kim dailyDuncan coffee-clutches (Tim Cox),and Mt traveling.

Morris and She Tammy also spent Knott, her CO.; early6morning grandchildren; hours faithfully Troi (Terra) reading Knott, her Tonya devotional (James) and Joseph, Bible. Actively Kristin Alexander involved over (Mitch the Mann), years within John Mthe(Jay) Disciples JessicaUnited Thompson, Methodist KraigChurch (Stephanie) in Duncan Mt Morris andbyShauna serving(Michael) as a pastRaimondi pre-k Sunday and 12 school great-grandchildren teacher, Choir member, with another served onon the way. various Brother committees Steve Duncan and theofPrayer Mt Morris Shawl and crochet/knitting Sister Linda (Duncan) group.

Gary Nesemeier of Byron IL along with several nieces and Funeral services were held Thursday, nephews.

December 28, 2023 11:30time AM spent in Disciples Marion enjoyed andatloved with United Methodist Church, Mt. Morris, family, her children and grandchildren,IL, herwith Pastor Marcia Peddicord officiating.

Burial early years of camping and later their cabin was held Oakwood Cemetery, Mt. Morris, along the in river, gardening, studying/watchIL. Visitation was held on Thursday December ing hummingbirds, Sunday family lunches, 28, 2023 from 10:00 AM until service yearly family reunions and being activetime and in Disciples Methodist involved withUnited her High School Church, Class of Mt. ‘57 Morris, IL. outings, reunions, daily coffee-clutches and At the family’s request in lieumorning of flowers, traveling.

She also spent and her early please consider a memorial in Marion’s name hours faithfully reading her devotional and to: Bible. Actively involved over the years within Disciples United Methodist Church 102in the Disciples United Methodist Church Maple Mt Morris IL 61054 and/or to: Mt Morris by serving as a past pre-k Sunday Graceteacher, NetworkChoir International school member,organization served on PO Box 1249 Redmond various committees andOR the97756 PrayerATTN: ShawlCurt Floski crochet/knitting group. or via their website: gracenetworkintl.org.

ofFuneral Byron ILservices along with wereseveral held Thursday, nieces and Funeral services were held Thursday, nephews.

December 28, 2023 at 11:30 AM in Disciples December 28, 2023 at 11:30 AM in Disciples United MarionMethodist enjoyed and Church, lovedMt. timeMorris, spent IL, with with United Methodist Church, Mt. Morris, IL, with family, Pastor her Marcia children Peddicord and grandchildren, officiating. Burial her Pastor Marcia Peddicord officiating. Burial early was held yearsinofOakwood campingCemetery, and later their Mt. Morris, cabin was held in Oakwood Cemetery, Mt. Morris, along IL. Visitation the river, was gardening, held on Thursday studying/watchDecember IL. Visitation was held on Thursday December ing 28,hummingbirds, 2023 from 10:00 Sunday AM until family service lunches, time 28, 2023 from 10:00 AM until service time yearly in Disciples familyUnited reunions Methodist and being Church, activeMt. and in Disciples United Methodist Church, Mt. involved Morris, IL. with her High School Class of ‘57 Morris, IL. outings, At the family’s reunions,request daily coffee-clutches and in lieu of flowers, and At the family’s request and in lieu of flowers, traveling. please consider She also a memorial spent her in early Marion’s morning name please consider a memorial in Marion’s name hours to: faithfully reading her devotional and to: Bible.

Disciples Actively United involved Methodist over the Church years102 within Disciples United Methodist Church 102 the Maple Disciples Mt Morris United IL 61054 Methodist and/or Church to: in Maple Mt Morris IL 61054 and/or to: MtGrace Morris Network by serving International as a past pre-k organization Sunday Grace Network International organization school PO Boxteacher, 1249 Redmond Choir member, OR 97756 served ATTN: onCurt PO Box 1249 Redmond OR 97756 ATTN: Curt various Floski committees and the Prayer Shawl Floski crochet/knitting or via their website: group. gracenetworkintl.org. or via their website: gracenetworkintl.org.

Funeral services were held Thursday, December 28, 2023 at 11:30 AM in Disciples United Methodist Church, Mt. Morris, IL, with Pastor Marcia Peddicord officiating. Burial was held in Oakwood Cemetery, Mt. Morris, IL. Visitation was held on Thursday December 28, 2023 from 10:00 AM until service time in Disciples United Methodist Church, Mt. Morris, IL. At the family’s request and in lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial in Marion’s name to: Disciples United Methodist Church 102 Maple Mt Morris IL 61054 and/or to: Grace Network International organization PO Box 1249 Redmond OR 97756 ATTN: Curt Floski or via their website: gracenetworkintl.org.

I.

A public hearing to approve a proposed property tax levy for the Polo Community School District #222 for 2023 was held on December 18, 2023 at 6:00pm at Centennial Elementary School in the community room at 308 S. Pleasant Avenue, Polo, IL 61064.

Any person desiring to appear at the public hearing and present testimony to the tax district may contact Dr. Kelly Mandrell, Superintendent, Polo Community School District #222, 100 S. Union Avenue, Polo, IL 61064 at 815-946-3815.

II. The corporate and special purpose property taxes extended for 2022 were $4,343,017. The proposed corporate and special purpose property taxes to be levied for 2023 are $4,585,114. This represents a 5.57% increase over the previous year.

Christmas tree recycling available in Ogle County

III. The property taxes extended for debit services and public building commission leases for 2022 were $898,315.

Monroe Center: Lichty’s Landscaping, 309 Pacific St. Polo: Southwest corner of East Colden Street and South Green Avenue On Saturday, Jan. 13, local FFA chapters will provide curbside pickup for trees. Remove all decorations, lights and plastic bags and place your tree at the curb by 8 a.m. The pickup service will be offered in Byron, Forreston, Leaf River, Mt. Morris, Oregon and Polo.

For Rochelle residents, the Rochelle Street Department will mulch trees at the curb during the first two weeks of January, weather permitting. All trees should be free of light strands, garland and other decorations. No wreaths or other designs with wire backings and no artificial trees.

Those with questions regarding the program can contact the OCSWMD at 815-732-4020, visit the Ogle County Solid Waste Management Department on Facebook or go to the county’s website at www.oglecountyil.gov.

The estimated property taxes to be levied for debt service and public building commissions lease for 2023 is $928,706.10. This represents a 3.38% increase over the previous year.

SHAW LOCAL NEWS NETWORK contact@shawmedia.com

The Ogle County Solid Waste Management Department once again is partnering with units of local government and some high school FFA chapters to conduct the annual Christmas tree collection and recycling program.

Since the program began in 1999, there have been more than 16,550 trees collected with trees averaging about 50 pounds each. That equates to about 414 tons of trees, which all were turned into usable mulch.

Starting Dec. 26, cities and villages with drop-off points will include: Oregon: Park District Maintenance Department, 507 Hill St. Byron: Byron boat launch lot, East Blackhawk Drive (Route 2) Forreston: 407 N. Locust St. Leaf River: 208 Railroad St. Rochelle: Atwood Park, 10th Avenue and 20th Street

IV. The total property taxes extended for 2022 were $5,241,332.43.

The estimated total property taxes to be levied for 2023 are $5,513,820. This represents a 4.67% increase over the previous year.

SM-ST2132433

OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

ompson, enly at Mt Morris ember

7

OBITUARIES

Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS

8 BOYS BASKETBALL: BYRON 57, NEWMAN 40

Byron tops Newman in Forreston Holiday Tournament championship

By DAN WUSSOW

dwussow@shawmedia.com FORRESTON – Facing top-seeded Byron in the Forreston Holiday Tournament championship, Newman had a tough task in front of it.

Scoring 25 points in the opening quarter and never letting the Comets get into a groove, the undefeated Byron Tigers won the title game 57-40 on Dec. 21.

“I feel like we boxed out a lot better and got more offensive rebounds and kept them off the boards [in the second quarter],” Newman senior Lucas Simpson said. “I feel like rebounds were a big factor in this game, but we didn’t outrebound them, so I think rebounds ultimately decided it.”

Simpson gave the Comets their only lead of the game at 6-5 with a left-corner 3-pointer just under two minutes into the first quarter.

After Byron sophomore Cason Newton hit a left-wing 3-pointer 27 seconds later, the Tigers never trailed again.

Byron (8-0) answered a Simpson layup midway through the first quarter with a 12-0 run. Seniors Ryan

Earleen Hinton

Newman’s Lucas Simpson splits Byron defenders Cason Newton (11) and Carson Buser (3) in the championship game of the 62nd Forreston Holiday Tournament on Dec. 21.

Tucker and Carson Buser hit back-toback 3s to start it, sophomore Caden Considine got a steal and assisted on a Tucker fast-break layup and Tucker and senior Braylon Kilduff dropped

in back-to-back layups as the Tigers’ lead expanded to 22-8 and 25-13 after the first quarter.

“I think our defense really led to our transition points and that was a

big thing because our best offense is transition offense,” Tucker said.

“When you’re able to get out and run and make those easy layups, it gets us on a good start.”

Newman junior Cody McBride made a layup to cut the deficit to 25-15 only 32 seconds into the second quarter and Simpson grabbed an offensive rebound off his own blocked shot and put it back in to make it 25-17 with 6:56 remaining, but the Comets (7-6) would draw no closer.

With two free throws each from Simpson and sophomore George Jungerman in the last 2:34, Newman pulled to within 31-21 at halftime.

The Tigers grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds in the first half and capitalized on a number of those second-chance opportunities.

“We didn’t get defensive rebounds, allowed them to get offensive rebounds to start. Their first two 3s came off offensive rebounds, kicked it back out for open 3s. That hurt us a little bit,” Newman coach Ray Sharp said. “Their physicality bothered us.

We didn’t shoot very well. We missed a bunch of layups.

See BYRON, page 11

Let’s take a look back at the Forreston Holiday Tournament The Forreston Holiday Tournament has quietly come and gone with Byron easily claiming a repeat title.

What stood out about the four Ogle County teams that competed?

As I watched Byron ring up a huge lead in the semis against River Ridge, it looked like the football team steamrolling someone. With how well the Tigers pass the ball, there was even a slight hint of the Globetrotters.

“We do a great job of sharing the ball off transition,” coach Matt Huels said.

“It’s a great group to coach.”

Defensively, they use multiple schemes that throw off opponents. It’s a smart, experienced bunch that is basketball ready. The big test will be mixing it up with Rockford Christian, Lutheran and Rock Falls for BNC supremacy.

Having three-year varsity players Ryan Tucker and Carson Buser adds further credence. Tucker looked to be the class of the tourney.

Oregon took fourth and did it with a bunch of sophomores. At one point, I counted four of them on the floor.

The only senior is all-tourney selection Jameson Caposey, the smoothest of the Hawks. Collectively, the team plays hard but will be prone to mistakes.

That’s part of the youthful lineup that needs to develop mental discipline.

GUEST VIEW Andy Colbert At least they are deeper than years past and have speed.

After upsetting Winnnebago, 11-seeded Polo lost by one point to Oregon, finishing in seventh place. So far, the Marcos have proved capable of playing with anyone.

“We’ve had the lead in the second half of every game we’ve played,” coach Matt Messer said. “But we have to find a way not to have lulls.”

What would help is having another scorer or someone or something to put the team over the edge. One reason Polo has been in every game is by playing hard defense.

Forreston is even younger than Oregon, with freshmen and sophomores making key contributions. The future look bright with talent and size at the eighth grade level.

“Help is on the way, but we’re struggling with such a young team and also being outsized,” coach Jake Groom said. “It’s been a tough year and I hope the young kids don’t get discouraged.”

Coming in as the last seed of the

tournament, the Cardinals won their last two games to place 13th.

Winnebago won the consolation bracket, but wasn’t the same Indians team of the past. Veteran coach Joe Murphy realizes numbers have been very low in both football and basketball from the senior class.

“I think we’ll be OK. There are good numbers in the other classes,” said Murphy while doing old-school coaching duties of ankle taping before the consolation final, a 48-34 win over Milledgeville.

Admittedly, this year’s version of the tournament was quite weak. Pecatonica left for the Eastland Tournament, which had always been a week later.

That bye will be taken by Genoa-Kingston next year, one of four teams that had been on a waiting list to get in. Another gap that needed to be filled was Orangeville and Aquin cooping in basketball instead of competing separately.

Ashton-Franklin Center was a new addition, finishing last. With Aquin’s enrollment precariously shrinking, this once proud athletic program may not make it back to a stand-alone team in football or basketball.

Maybe a bigger issue for Aquin is the viability of the school as a whole.

Parochial schools throughout Illinois have been struggling for several decades and closures often are the result.

In chatting with Forreston AD Kyle Zick, the tournament remains healthy, but attendance is down about 50% from 10 years ago. It’s not just Forreston, but all over Illinois that interest in basketball has declined.

That hurts the bottom line, when the gate and concessions are considered. A goal for Forreston is to break even after expenses. For example, the cost for officiating is $6,600 alone. Money well spent, though.

To help defray the expenses, teams are charged an entrance fee and are guaranteed four games in a 16-team bracket. However, there was a time that entrance was free and teams even shared in the profits.

Still, the tourney remains universally popular among contending teams.

A key factor is Forreston’s complimentary food offerings for coaches and referees. Vikki Anderson used to handle that responsibility and has since turned the reins over to Kim Hay. “They both have done a great job and it is a big selling point to coaches and refs,” Zick said.

• Andy Colbert is a sports writer for Shaw Media.

9

BOYS BASKETBALL: OREGON 43, POLO 42

Late jumper lifts Oregon, sinks Polo FORRESTON – In a back-and-forth quarterfinal at the 62nd annual Forreston Holiday Tournament on Dec. 19, Oregon and Polo had answers to the other team’s run.

But Hawks sophomore point guard Keaton Salsbury had the final response, banking in a jump shot in the lane with four seconds remaining to send Oregon to a 43-42 victory over the Marcos.

“The play wasn’t even drawn up for me,” Salsbury said. “I was supposed to set the screen on the guy coming around, but he wasn’t open and I took the ball and had nowhere to pass it.

They left me too much space and I just had to pull it and shoot. I kind of just had to put it on line. I wasn’t really thinking about it too hard.”

It was a fitting end to a competitive game that saw Polo (4-4) close the first half with a 13-3 run, only to have Oregon (7-4) go on a 14-1 run to end the third quarter and start the fourth.

Then it was the Marcos’ turn to rally as they outscored the Hawks 12-4 over a 51/2-minute stretch to take a 42-41 lead with 18 seconds left.

That lead came courtesy of Gus Mumford, who hit a 3-pointer with 1:55 left off a kick-out pass from Brock Soltow to cut the Polo deficit to 41-40. A free throw by Carter Merdian tied the score with 1:21 to play and the Marcos then got a defensive stop and took possession with 1:14 to go.

They ran through the offense and eventually Mumford got the ball on the baseline and was fouled. He split two free throws with 18.1 seconds to play.

Teammate Noah Dewey chased down the missed second shot, but the Hawks stole the ball and called timeout to set up a final play with 7.1 seconds remaining.

“I was pretty nervous at the [freethrow] line, but I put the first one in. I missed the second one by a little and we just made some mistakes at the end of the game that cost us,” Mumford said. “It was a good shot by [Salsbury].

We were trying to not give them any open 3-pointers because we know they’re a good shooting team. He just got a drive and got a pretty easy shot in the mid-range and knocked it down.”

Polo called timeout and Soltow managed to dribble to half court, but his heave came up short.

The Marcos took control in the second quarter as Merdian’s 3-pointer tied the score at 16-16 with 4:06 left in the first half and sparked the big run.

Mumford hit a 3 early in the third quarter to answer a 3 by Kade Girton and make it 29-22 before both teams went into a scoring drought for the next four minutes.

Noah Johnson scored inside and Jameson Caposey went coast-to-coast for a layup off a steal to get Oregon out of its funk and it turned a 29-23 deficit into a 37-30 lead after Caposey scored the first five points of the fourth quarter.

“Coach just wanted us to come out with a lot of energy after halftime, so we did that coming out of the locker room. That was our main goal was to come out with more energy than them and I think that was the biggest swing for us in the second half,” Caposey said. “We knew they were going to come back and make a run, but we’ve

got a great team and we just kept playing hard and stayed true to us.”

The Marcos made the anticipated surge as Merdian nailed a 3 off a Soltow kick-out pass with 5:35 to play. Soltow then drove the lane and dumped a pass to Dewey underneath for a layup before finding Mumford in the right corner for the 3 to get to within one with just under two minutes left.

“We just had to get rid of all the turnovers and mental mistakes. We just got rid of that out of our heads and had to keep playing with positive energy,” Soltow said. “When we were up seven and they came back, we just knew it was going to be a battle the rest of the game and we couldn’t give up.”

Soltow led Polo with 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Mumford hit four 3s and finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Merdian added seven points and seven rebounds, Dewey had six

points and six boards. Nolan Hahn chipped in five rebounds and three assists.

Girton paced Oregon with 14 points and nine rebounds. Caposey stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Noah Johnson added eight points.

Salsbury finished with five points, four rebounds and two steals. Cooper Johnson and Tucker O’Brien each pulled down five rebounds for the Hawks.

“The second half, I feel like the bench had a lot more energy than it did in the first half and that kind of turned things around for us,” Girton said.

“We started really passing the ball around and doing a lot of good things mentally in the second half to get us through it. Our defense turned up a lot better because our bench was hyping us up and rebounding was a lot better.

Things were going a lot better for us and we just got the job done with that.”

SM-ST2042898

By TY REYNOLDS

Shaw Local News Network correspondent

OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

Photos by Alex T. Paschal

ABOVE: Oregon’s Cooper Johnson defends Polo’s Brock Soltow on Dec. 19 at the Forreston Holiday Tournament. RIGHT: Polo’s Carter Merdian and Oregon’s Tucker O’Brien go after a rebound.

Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS

10 HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ROUNDUP

By DAN WUSSOW

dwussow@shawmedia.com

BOYS BASKETBALL Forreston Holiday Tournament

River Ridge 74, Oregon 71: The Hawks were outscored by the Wildcats 14-10 in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s third-place game.

Four Oregon players scored in double figures. Nole Campos led the way with 16 points, Keaton Salsbury and Noah Johnson scored 14 points each and Kade Girton added 10.

The Hawks’ Jameson Caposey was named to the all-tournament team.

Polo 50, Dakota 41: The Marcos took charge with a 14-0 second-quarter run and held off the Indians for a seventh-place finish.

Polo was led by Brock Soltow with 16 points, Nolan Hahn with 11 points, Gus Mumford with nine points and Carter Merdian with eight points.

Forreston 46, Orangeville 43: The Cardinals edged the Broncos in the 13th-place game.

Forreston was led by Brendan Greenfield with 19 points, 18 rebounds and six assists, Mickey Probst with 14 points and Kendall Erdmann with 12 points.

Newman 66, Oregon 44: Lucas Simpson scored 32 points to power the Comets past the Hawks on Wednesday.

Isaiah Williams added 10 points for the Comets.

Oregon was led by Jameson Caposey with nine points and Kade Girton with eight points.

Lena-Winslow 49, Polo 39: The Marcos built an 18-11 first-quarter lead but couldn’t hang on against the Panthers.

Polo was led by Brock Soltow with 20 points and Gus Mumford with 11 points.

Forreston 71, Ashton-Franklin Center 44:

Brendan Greenfield and Kendall Erdmann combined for 50 points as the Cardinals routed the Raiders.

Brendan Greenfield led Forreston with a 26-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Kendall Erdmann scored 24 points and Mickey Probst added 10.

Brock Lehman scored 11 points and Noah Danielson chipped in nine points for Ashton-Franklin Center.

GIRLS BASKETBALL Polo Holiday Tournament

Polo 47, Oregon 34: The Lady Marcos led 26-20 at halftime and cruised past the Hawks.

Polo was led by Camrynn Jones with 18 points, four assists and three rebounds, Madison Glawe with nine points and two rebounds and Carlee Grobe with four points and five assists.

Mya Engelkes paced Oregon with 14 points. Alease McLain added 13 points.

Newman 44, Forreston 25: The Comets rolled past the Cardinals.

Newman freshman Brooklyn Smith

Photo provided by Kyle Zick of Forreston High School

Here are the all-tournament team members for the 64th Forreston Holiday Tournament. Second-team members (from left) are Carson Buser, Byron; Jameson Caposey, Oregon; Quinn Rodebaugh, Lena; and Joe Winter, River Ridge. First-team members are Jack Hiveley (fifth from left), Byron; Ethan Petta, Pearl City; Lucas Simpson, Sterling Newman; Ryan Tucker, Byron; and Isaiah Williams, Sterling Newman. Second team member Austin Stuckey of Dakota was not present when the photo was taken. Byron won the team championship, Newman was second and River Ridge took third. Winnebago won the consolation championship. hit five 3-pointers in a 19-point performance. She also had four steals and three rebounds. Jess Johns added 12 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.

Jenna Greenfield paced Forreston with six points.

Oregon 49, West Carroll 42: The Hawks outscored the Thunder 24-10 in the fourth quarter to claim a comeback win.

Oregon’s Mya Engelkes scored all 12 of her points in the fourth quarter.

Teagan Champley chipped in eight points for the Hawks.

Karissa Andrews paced West Carroll with 20 points, while Emma Randecker added 12 points.

Forreston 38, Milledgeville 30: The Cardinals outscored the Missiles 26-11 in the second half for a comeback win.

Jenna Greenfield scored 12 points and Elly Bamberg added 11 for Forreston.

Milledgeville was led by Olivia Schurman with 15 points and Loren Meiners with nine points.

ABOVE: Oregon’s

Cooper Johnson brings the ball up the court against River Ridge in the third-place game at the 62nd Forreston Holiday Tournament on Dec. 21.

LEFT: Oregon’s Kade Girton shoots against River Ridge.

BOYS BOWLING

Oregon 3,563, Rockford Lutheran 2,375:

At Town & Country Lanes in Mt. Morris, the Hawks topped the Crusaders to move to 13-2 on the season.

Oregon was led by Matthew Stahl with a 686 series (215, 224, 247) and Gavvin Surmo with a 681 (215, 200, 266), followed by RJ Keene with a 594 series, Codey Dunbar with a 556 series, Caleb Ehrler with a 535 series and Brady Davis with a 511 series.

Oregon wins at Peru: The Hawks traveled to IV Super Bowl, Peru and came away with a 3,308-2,912 nonconference victory. Oregon was led by RJ Keene with a 637 series (212, 193, 232), fol-

Photos by Earleen Hinton

lowed by Matthew Stahl with a 570 series, Brady Davis with a 541 series, Gavvin Surmo and Caleb Ehrler with 531s and Codey Dunbar with a 498

series. The win raised their season record to 11-2.

Bowling for the girls was Ahren Howey with a 310 series.

Oregon wrestlers win Stillman Valley Holiday Tournament 11 Thirteen Oregon Hawks wrestlers won the team title at the Stillman Valley Holiday Tournament on Dec. 16.

Oregon came home with its second consecutive team title.

Oregon squeaked out the championship with 181 points, the thirdplace heavyweight match being the difference.

Dundee-Crown had 178 points and host Stillman Valley finished third with 162 points. The Classical Academy from Colorado Springs, Colorado, was fourth and Wheaton Academy took fifth.

It was truly a team victory. Eleven Oregon wrestlers reached the medal round and four advanced to the firstplace mat. Twelve of the 13 wrestlers contributed at least one pin to the points total.

Oregon was led by first-place medalist Anthony Bauer at 157 pounds.

Landon Ege was second at 113. Jackson Glendenning was second at 165 and Andrew Young was second at 175. Finishing third for the Hawks were Nelson Benesh at 120, Jayden Berry at 138, Ethan Mowry at 150 and Quentin Berry at 190. Seth Rote was fourth at 215. Colton Flaharty at 126 and Preston LaBay at 132 both reached the fifth-place mat and finished sixth. Landen Elder at 285 pinned in his opener and dropped out in the third round of consolation.

Jakobi Donegan, down at 144 for the first time this season, also exited the tournament in the third round of consolation.

Bauer pinned twice to reach the first-place mat where he weathered a late reverse to prevail 7-3.

In a four-man bracket, Ege came from behind with a five-point move and a half nelson at 4:16 to reach the

• BYRON

Continued from page 8 “They’re a really good team, so if you don’t play top-notch at a high level of basketball, you’re not going to do very well against them.”

Newman won the second quarter 8-6, but Byron wouldn’t stay down for long.

In the third quarter, the Tigers pulled away with a 14-7 run.

Simpson made back-to-back layups with assists from sophomore Garret Matznick to draw Newman to within 31-23 and then 33-25 in the first 1:07 of the third quarter.

But as hard as they tried, the Comets couldn’t break the eight-point

Photo provided by Randy Holland

Oregon High School’s wrestling team poses for a group photo after winning the Stillman Valley Holiday Tournament. title match, where he lost 5-0.

Glendenning scraped at 1:09 in his first match and fought off his back to pin at 5:57 in the semifinal. Glendenning never got going in the title match and went down 7-0.

Young trailed 10-2 in his opener but came back and stacked for a pin at 3:23. He also came from behind in the semifinal, hitting a throw at 4:47.

In the championship, Young got going too late and lost 11-4.

Up at 120, Benesh pulled out an 8-7 win in his opener and took a 10-2 major decision loss in the semifinal.

He advanced in the wrestlebacks with a cradle at 2:10 and came from behind with a reverse to the back to take a 7-6 win in the third-place match.

Jayden Berry was pinned in a chicken wing at 3:24 in his opener. In consolation, he stacked at 3:00 to move to the third-place match and stacked again at 1:58 to take the bronze.

Mowry came from behind to take an 11-4 win in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Mowry was on his back twice in the first period in a 19-1 technical fall loss at 3:19. He took a 16-4 major decision in the consolation semifinal. In the medal match, Mowry reversed to the back and pinned at 3:40.

Quentin Berry started with a takedown to the back in 30 seconds. In the semifinal, he was rolled into a headlock and pinned at 4:17. In the wrestlebacks, he pinned with a half

nelson in 56 seconds and worked the double leg takedown on the way to a 7-2 decision to take the medal.

Rote was pinned in a half nelson at 5:51 in the quarterfinal. He advanced to the third-place match with a throw at 1:32 and a hip toss at 1:33. Rote lost a takedown to his back at 1:40 in the medal match.

Flaharty had a pin at 1:04 in consolation, but was pinned with a half nelson in the wrestleback semifinal and pinned in a high half nelson at 1:57 in the medal match.

LaBay lost a 4-0 decision in his opener. He scraped for a pin at 3:06 but was pinned on a takedown to the back at 5:00 in the consolation semifinal. In the fifth-place match, he lost 4-1, his only point on a penalty.

barrier against the Tigers.

Byron answered Simpson’s second layup with a 10-0 run, seizing control of the game with a 43-25 lead.

Seniors Jack Hiveley and Tucker drilled consecutive 3s to start it and Tucker followed with back-to-back layups, the second off an inbounds pass from Buser.

A Newton layup widened the lead to 45-28 after three quarters.

“We really just want to bring it.

We didn’t want to let up,” Tucker said about Byron’s mentality coming out of halftime. “We just wanted to hone it on it, do our thing how we do it and that’s how we pulled away again.”

The Tigers matched the Comets point for point in the fourth quarter

to preserve their 17-point margin of victory.

Simpson finished with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Senior Sam Francque added nine points on three 3-pointers and Matznick chipped in six points, five rebounds and five assists for the Comets.

Tucker paced the Tigers with 30 points. Hiveley contributed 12 points and Newton added eight points.

“We always want to play in the championship game, so we’re really happy about that. I’m really proud of the team to get through the games and get to the championship game,” Sharp said. “It’s a lot of fun for our team and for our coaches to play in a championship game with a high-level

team and it’s a great test for us.

That’s what’s great about this week for us. We did a great job to get to the championship game, played a highlevel team in a great atmosphere and that’s just going to help us as we go through the year.”

Although it came up short in its championship quest, Newman improved on last year’s tournament finish.

“Coach said ever since we joined this tournament, since 2013, we’ve gotten a trophy, so it’s good to get a trophy, too,” Simpson said. “We got third last year, so it’s a better place than last year.”

Simpson and teammate Isaiah Williams were named to the all-tournament team.

OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

By RANDY HOLLAND

Shaw Local News Network correspondent

Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS

12

Oregon varsity wrestlers knock off Dakota, fall to Rochelle

By RANDY HOLLAND

Shaw Local News Network correspondent The Oregon Hawks wrestlers hosted Dakota and Rochelle on Dec. 14 at the Blackhawk Center and came away with one victory.

The Hawks pinned four times and received four forfeits in rolling to a 48-33 win over a diminished Dakota team.

Rochelle was much tougher and defeated Oregon 54-24.

Pinning for Oregon against Dakota were Nelson Benesh with a scrape at 3:59, Anthony Bauer with a half nelson at 1:27, Jackson Glendenning with a

scrape at 1:02 and Andrew Young with a half nelson at 1:26. Landon Ege, Colton Flaharty, Preston LaBay and Ethan Mowry received forfeits for the Hawks.

At 138, Jayden Berry had the first takedown but dropped a 7-4 decision. At 144, Brantly Watts had a takedown to his back in 52 seconds.

Zander VandeSand was taken down to his back at 1:45 in the 190-pound match. At 215, Seth Rote was turned with a chicken wing at 2:36. At heavyweight, Landen Elder was pinned in a half nelson at 5:42. Oregon forfeited at 106.

Rochelle rolled to a 22-0 lead before Oregon got on the scoreboard. Ege lost a

late reversal to drop a 10-2 major decision. Flaharty was caught in a half nelson at 1:15. At 132, LaBay went over in a cradle at 1:13 and the Hawks forfeited 136.

Jakobi Donegan pinned with a half nelson at 1:17 to score first for the Hawks. At 150, Mowry took a 7-2 loss.

Bauer got his second pin of the night with a chicken wing at 2:24. That closed the gap to 25-12, but that was as close as Oregon would get.

Glendenning was caught in a crook at 5:57. Jack Tinsman wrestled at 175 and was pinned in a half nelson in 46 seconds. At 190, Quentin Berry was

pinned in a cradle at 2:58.

Maxx George took a forfeit at 285 and Oregon forfeited 106. The meet ended wth Benesh hooking up a cradle for a pin at 1:39.

On the JV mat, Young pinned at 3:55, Zander VandeSand found a half nelson in 48 seconds, Zayden VandeSand caught a half nelson at 1:05 and Jakob Moser got a takedown in a half nelson at 3:32.

Brantley Watts dropped an 8-7 decision. Anna Marquardt had an 18-2 technical fall loss at 4:00. Dylen Ware in 51 seconds and Miles Olsen at 1:01 both were pinned.

Hawks junior varsity wrestlers earn 3 titles at Stillman Valley JV tournament

By RANDY HOLLAND

Shaw Local News Network correspondent Thirteen Oregon Hawks junior varsity wrestlers competed in the Stillman Valley JV Tournament on Dec. 16.

Six wrestlers advanced to the medal round. Three came home with championships, two finished second and another took third.

First-place winners were Brantley Watts at 144 pounds, Leyton Kenney at

157 and Maxx George at 285.

Kenney pinned his way to the title.

He had a second-period pin and two first-period pins.

Watts started with a 16-0 technical fall, won 4-3 and 5-3 decisions and pinned at 2:17 in the final.

George opened with a fall at 2:49 and had two decisions, 4-1 and 5-0 in the title match.

Finishing second were Jakob Moser at 175 and Dawson Alcala at 215.

Moser had two second-period pins and was pinned in 25 seconds in the title match. Alcala had two second-period pins and was pinned at 1:18 in the title match.

Zander VandeSand started with a pin, lost by a fall and then pinned his way through the consolation bracket with falls at 1:03, 1:04, and 39 seconds in the third-place match.

At 132, Dylen Ware got a pin in his opener but was pinned twice in the

wrestlebacks. Brody Eckdahl at 138 started with a pin and lost twice in consolation. Miles Olsen lost by a fall and had a pin in consolation before he was eliminated on a pin. Jack Tinsman at 175 lost by a fall to the eventual champion and pinned twice in the wrestlebacks before he was pinned in the quarterfinal. Kaimana Barcai had one pin in consolation. Zayden VandeSand and Nicholas Burke both lost two matches by falls.

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Continuance granted for man charged with killing Rochelle woman in 2022 13 OREGON – A Palatine man is scheduled to appear in Ogle County court again in January on charges that he fatally stabbed a Rochelle woman and set her apartment on fire in an attempt to conceal her death in September 2022.

Gary C. Freeman, 28, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, one count of residential arson and one count of concealment of a Gary C. Freeman homicide.

He is charged in connection with the death of Devin K. Gibbons, 28, of Rochelle.

Freeman, who is being held at the

Ogle County Correctional Center on $10 million bond, appeared in Ogle County court Dec. 14 via a video conference from jail. He was represented by defense attorney Robert Kerr, who also appeared remotely.

Kerr asked for another continuance, noting he planned to meet with Freeman on Dec. 19.

In previous court hearings, Kerr has said he had received discovery documents provided by prosecutors but needed more time to review the state’s evidence, which included “over 2,500 pages.” Ogle County Assistant State’s Attorney Allison Huntley did not object Dec. 14 to the continuance.

Judge John Redington set Freeman’s next hearing for 1 p.m. Jan. 21.

Gibbons was found dead in her Rochelle apartment, 503 Seventh Ave., after Rochelle police and firefighters were dispatched to that address at 10:46

a.m. Sept. 18, 2022, for a smoke investigation, according to a news release from the Rochelle Police Department and Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock.

“Upon entry into the residence, fire personnel located a deceased female,” according to the release. “The fire was deemed suspicious and additional investigators arrived on scene.”

Freeman became a suspect during the course of the investigation, according to the release.

Rock submitted the case Feb. 28 to an Ogle County grand jury, which indicted Freeman. An arrest warrant was issued Feb. 28 and Freeman was apprehended in Palatine.

The first-degree murder charges, Class M felonies, allege that Freeman “knowingly stabbed” Gibbons “with the intent to kill her or do great bodily harm” and that the “murder was committed in a cold, calculated and premed-

itated manner, pursuant to a preconceived plan, scheme or design.”

The concealment of a homicidal death indictment, a Class 3 felony, alleges that Freeman knew Gibbons “had died by homicidal means” and “knowingly concealed” her death by leaving her body inside her apartment and then starting the fire. The residential arson charge is a Class 1 felony.

Rock said many agencies worked on the investigation, including the Rochelle Police Department, Ogle County Sheriff’s Office, Illinois State Police, State Fire Marshal’s Office, the American Red Cross, Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigators, the Ogle County Coroner’s Office, Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District, FBI Rockford and Chicago offices, Schaumburg Police Department, Palatine Police Department, Sterling Police Department and the Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center.

Holly B. Woods, 58, of Rockford, was arrested at 9:19 p.m. for no valid driver’s license. Woods also was issued citations for speeding 40 mph in a 30-mph zone and illegal transportation of alcohol as a driver. Woods was transported to the Ogle County jail where she was processed and released with a notice to appear. The violations occurred in the 500 block of Gale Street.

Korey C. Pepper, 33, of Oregon, was issued a citation at 7:14 a.m. for disobeying a stop sign. The violation occurred at the intersection of Jefferson and South Fifth streets.

of Leaf River, struck a deer. No citations were issued.

OREGON POLICE Oregon Police Chief Joe Brooks reports the following police activity.

Dec. 2

Bradley C. Hertzner, 48, of Oregon, was issued a citation at 6:41 p.m. for disobeying a traffic control device. The violation occurred at the intersection of Fourth and Washington streets.

Dec. 5

Morgan M. McCulloh, 28, of Oregon, was arrested at 4:09 p.m. for criminal trespass to real property and resisting/ obstructing a peace officer. McCulloh was transported to the Ogle County jail where she was processed and released with a notice to appear.

Boston S. Rink, 26, of Oregon, was arrested at 6:48 p.m. for driving while license suspended. Rink was transported to the Ogle County jail where he was processed and released with a notice to appear. The violation occurred in the 300 block of Jefferson Street.

Dec. 6

Dec. 9

Warner G. Hinrichs, 22, of Sycamore, was arrested at 6:52 p.m. for driving while license suspended. Hinrichs also had an outstanding Kane County warrant for failure to appear on a driving while license suspended charge. Hinrichs was transported to the Ogle County jail where he was processed and released with a notice to appear and a new notice to appear for the Kane County warrant.

The violations occurred in the 100 block of South Fourth Street.

Dec. 11

Dec. 13

Trenten G. Bettner, 20, of Oregon, was issued a citation at 1:54 p.m. for operating a vehicle with a tinted windshield. The violation occurred in the 1200 block of West Washington Street.

Dec. 14

Casandra E. Smith, 34, of Oregon, was arrested at 8:56 a.m. on an outstanding Ogle County warrant for driving while license suspended. Smith was transported to the Ogle County jail where she was left in the custody of the corrections officers.

Dec. 15

At 4:53 p.m., police responded to a car versus deer traffic crash in the 1700 block of West Washington Street. A 2016 Subaru driven by Brian L. Cuningham, 59,

Dec. 17

Gregory L. Greer II, 30, of Dixon, was issued a citation at 7:51 a.m. for failure to wear a seat belt as a driver. The violation occurred in the 500 block of North Fourth Street.

Lydia A. Burd, 23, of Moline, was issued a citation at 11:31 a.m. for speeding 53 mph in a 30-mph zone. The violation occurred in the 700 block of North Fourth Street.

Guadalupe Moyotl-Nayotl, 36, of Aurora, was issued a citation at 10:23 p.m. for disobeying a traffic control device. The violation occurred at the Oregon Trail Road and West Washington Street intersection.

Twenty verbal warnings and one parking citation were issued Dec. 4-17.

Charges are accusations and all subjects are presumed innocent unless proved guilty in a court of law.

POLO POLICE Dec. 6

Sydney J. Gunder, 22, of Polo, was arrested at 7:36 p.m. on an outstanding Whiteside County warrant. Gunder was transported to the Ogle County jail for processing.

Dec. 7

Steven L. Foss, 56, of Mount Morris, was cited at 4:34 p.m. for speeding 41 mph in a 30-mph zone. Foss was released with a citation.

Dec. 8

Kyle J. Roberts, 22, of Morrison, was

cited at 4:39 p.m. for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration.

Roberts was released on a notice to appear.

Patrick M. Quinlan, 40, of Polo, was cited at 5:41 p.m. for operating a motor vehicle with an expired registration and no valid driver’s license. Quinlan was released on a notice to appear.

Zachary N. Koltunchik, 26, of Polo, was arrested at 11:47 p.m. for driving while under the influence of alcohol, operation

of an uninsured motor vehicle and no rear registration plate light. Koltunchik was released on a notice to appear.

passenger. Albee was released on a notice to appear.

Dec. 10

Roman Garcia-Velazquez, 35, of Freeport, was cited at 3:10 p.m. for the unlawful use of a cellphone and operating an uninsured vehicle. Garcia-Velazquez was released on a notice to appear.

Charges are accusations and all subjects are presumed innocent unless proved guilty in a court of law.

Elizabeth Jackson, 34, of Wheaton, was cited at 7:50 p.m. for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration.

Jackson was released on a notice to appear.

Brian Lee Albee, 36, of Polo, was cited at 8:23 p.m. for possession of adult use cannabis in a motor vehicle as a

Dec. 13

OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

By EARLEEN HINTON

ehinton@shawmedia.com

Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS

14

Leaf River woman charged with aggravated battery Silvia Rogers also accused of going after same person two more times in days after first arrest

By ALEXA ZOELLNER

azoellner@shawmedia.com OREGON – Police said a 56-year-old Leaf River woman charged with aggravated battery has been arrested two additional times for going after the same person, all within an eight-day span.

Silvia L. Rogers was arrested twice Dec. 10 and a third time Dec. 18.

The aggravated battery charge stems from the first arrest, according to Ogle County Circuit Court charging documents.

On Dec. 10, Rogers grabbed the victim while they were outside the Leaf River Methodist Church in a way that “knowingly made physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature,” according to the documents.

The incident occurred about 10:30 a.m., according to an Ogle County Sheriff’s Office report.

At that time, Rogers was taken to the Ogle County jail. She was released on a notice to appear and given a future court date.

Later that day, about 1:30 p.m., deputies responded to the 100 block of Main Street in Leaf River, at which point Rogers was arrested for criminal damage to property and criminal trespass to property, according to the sheriff’s office report.

Rogers was taken to the Ogle County jail and scheduled to appear in

court Dec. 27.

Conditions of her release after the second incident included having no contact with the victim, Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock said.

Rogers was arrested for disorderly conduct about 3 p.m. Dec. 18 after deputies again responded to the 100 block of Main Street in Leaf River, according to a sheriff’s report.

The aggravated battery charge is a Class 3 felony that carries a maximum sentence of two to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, followed by six months of parole, according to the charging document.

As of 3:30 p.m. Dec. 21, Rogers was not charged with property damage, trespassing or disorderly conduct, according to court records. She also is not in custody.

Under the SAFE-T Act, the aggra-

vated battery charge that Rogers is facing is not one for which police can detain her, Rock said.

He said a conviction of aggravated battery doesn’t automatically mean prison time; an offender could instead be placed on probation for up to 30 months.

“We’ve filed the most serious offense we can right now,” Rock said.

“We’ll have to look at everything else.”

Other court records show that Rogers and the victim recently filed orders of protection for stalking against each other, both of which were denied by the court.

Rogers requested an order of protection Dec. 4. The other person requested one Nov. 22.

A preliminary status hearing for Rogers was set for Dec. 27 in courtroom 202.

January court date for Forreston man charged with sexual assault

By EARLEEN HINTON

ehinton@shawmedia.com OREGON – A Forreston man is scheduled to appear in court again on charges that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in 2016 and 2017.

Michael A. Gaston, 67, appeared in court Dec. 14 with his attorney Aaron Buscemi for a pretrial conference before Ogle County Judge John

Redington.

Redington granted the defense’s motion to continue the conference to 1 p.m.

Jan. 31. Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten Michael A. Gaston did not object.

Gaston was charged May 1 with six

counts of criminal sexual assault.

According to court documents, the incidents occurred in May and December 2016 and January, February and March 2017. Gaston pleaded not guilty to the charges May 26 and has requested a jury trial.

Forreston police received a report of a sexual abuse incident Feb. 18, began an investigation and arrested Gaston in May, Chief Chris Thiel said

in a news release.

Bail was set at $100,000. Gaston posted $10,000 bond May 3 and was released.

Gaston was a bus driver with Forrestville Valley School District 221 but was fired March 1, according to the March 15 school board minutes.

• Alexa Zoellner contributed to this story.

PROPERTY TRANSFERS FOR OGLE COUNTY Filed Dec. 15-21 Warranty deeds

The late Thomas L. Hill by heirs to Jason P. and Candace Hill, 1901 Squires Landing, Rochelle, $250,000.

Margaret A. Smith to Amy A. Otten and Thomas J. Grace, 415 W. Fourth St., Byron, $150,000.

Brian K. and Kelly P. Duncan to BIF Land Inc., 15983 W. US Highway 52, Polo, $2,363,897.

Newrez LLC and Shell point Mortgage Servicing to Timothy Hayden, 825 N. 12th St., Rochelle, $87,400.

Aaron J. and Siera M. Wetzel to Steven E. Smith, 502-504 N. Woodland Drive, Dixon, $240,000.

Rick W. and Terese M. McKnight to Nathan Ocker, 102 W. Main St., Davis Junction, $180,000 Zachary A. Freeman to Gracie E. Young, 110-112 N. Hickory Lane, Dixon, $94,000.

Donald and Sarah Florian and Rick and Elizabeth Buck to Kendal M. and George

F. Justice III, 3271 N. Silver Ridge Drive, Oregon, $349,000.

Evelina Q. Troike to Eric Ruchti, 200 S. Third St., Oregon, $160,000.

Tiffany Marie Tibben to Asa J. and Angela S. Derstine, 5108 S. Hidden Heights Road, Oregon, $207,000.

Trent R. and Kayla L. Metzger to Allen Cox, two parcels on Clara Ave., Rochelle, $40,000.

Melanie A. Howells to Steven Sims, 411 S. Sixth St., Oregon, $175,000.

Michael G. Beeter to Double L. Trust 1293, Tex and Peggy A. Bellows, trustees, 1975 S. Lowell Park Road, Oregon, $10,000.

Kimberly Donovan Ray to Darrell R. Donovan, 625 N. Allison Circle, Byron, $0.

Contry Homes Group LLC to Juan Carlos and Jessica L. Munoz Gonzales, 723 Oxford Drive, Byron, $293,880.

Duane and Shirley Bartelt to Norman D. and Edna S. Tangerose, 15559 W. Milledgeville Road, Polo, $239,100.

James D. and Beverly D. Hodge to Olivia

Lavonne Weaver, 504 N. Fourth St., Oregon, $95,000.

Quit claim deeds

Edgar Mascorro Galvan to Olivia Galvan Gonzalez, 1001 N. Seventh St., Rochelle, $0.

Amy Adams, Brian Buddinger and Kate Laird to Eugene E. Buddinger, 1221 Crest Lane, Rochelle, $0.

Village of Davis Junction to Habitat for Humanity of Ogle County Inc., 117 Prairie Moon Drive, Davis Junction, $0.

Trustees deeds

Helen J. Toms Trust 102, Marvin L. and Irvin L. Toms and Anita L. Wetzbarger, trustees, to Brian K. and Kelly P. Duncan, 15983 W. US Highway 52, Polo, $2,505,994.

Leroy E. Toms Trust 101, Martin L. Toms, trustee, to Helen J. Toms Trust 102, Marvin L. and Irvin L. Toms and Anita L. Wetzbarger, trustees, 15983 W. US Highway 52, Polo, $0.

Lentz Land Trust 2013, Ronald Leo and

Julianne Lentz, trustees, to Justin Wood, 8752 N. Perryville Road, Davis Junction, $275,000.

Jon R. Wolf Living Trust, Jon R. Wolf, trustee, to Brian and Kelly Duncan, one parcel in Buffalo Township, $225,000.

Karen Lea Peterson Trust 102 and Larry Clark Peterson Trust 101, Karen Lea and Larry Clark Peterson trustees, to Gretna Properties LLC, 515 N. Sixth St., Rochelle, $225,000.

Executors deeds

Estate of Mary L. Spencer by executor to Jesus Valdez Barraza, 1061 Meadow Lane, Rochelle, $175,000.

Estate of Deborah A. Jaeger by executor to Amanda and Robert Welter, 1405 Crest Lane, Rochelle, $191,000.

Sheriff’s deed

James D. Ratledge, Michelle R. Collins and Ogle County sheriff to First State Bank of Shannon-Polo, 405 E. Mason St., Polo, $0.

Source: Ogle County Recorder’s Office

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR FIRST FRANKLIN MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2006-FF11, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-FF11, PLAINTIFF, VS. LISA D HOLBY A/K/A LISA DIANE HOLBY A/K/A LISA HOLBY; REBECCA J PATTON; ILLINOIS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS, DEFENDANTS. NO. 2022FC54 205 EAST CHICAGO AVENUE DAVIS JUNCTION, IL 61020 NOTICE OF SALE PURSUANT TO JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE UNDER ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE ACT PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered by the Court in the above entitled cause on October 20, 2023, will on 02/02/2024, in the Ogle County Sheriff's Office, Main Lobby, 202 South First Street, Oregon, IL 61061, at 10:00 AM, sell at public auction and sale to the highest bidder for cash, all and singular, the following described real estate mentioned in said Judgment, situated in the County of Ogle, State of Illinois, or so much thereof as shall be sufficient to satisfy said Judgment: TAX NO. 11-23-152-005 COMMONLY KNOWN AS: 205 East Chicago Avenue Davis Junction, IL 61020 Description of Improvements: The property is a single family home.

The Judgment amount was $125,806.91.

Sale Terms: This is an "AS IS" sale for "CASH". The successful bidder must deposit 10% down by certified funds; balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours.

NO REFUNDS. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments or special taxes levied against said real estate, water bills, etc., and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to plaintiff. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the bid amount, the purchaser shall receive a Certificate of Sale, which will entitle the purchaser to a Deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

The successful purchaser has the sole responsibility/expense of evicting any tenants or other individuals presently in possession of the subject premises.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For Information: Visit our website at http://ilforeclosuresales.mrpllc.com.

Between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. only - McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC, Plaintiff's Attorneys, 1 N. Dearborn St., Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60602. Tel. No. (312) 3469088. Please refer to file# 22-09486IL PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT, THE PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. Plaintiff's attorney is not required to provide additional information other than that set forth in this notice of sale.

I3231704 December 22, 29, 2023 January 5, 2024

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OGLE COUNTY - OREGON, ILLINOIS First State Bank PLAINTIFF Vs. Linda M. Van Duzen; et. al.

DEFENDANTS No. 2023FC28 NOTICE OF SHERIFF'S SALE OF REAL ESTATE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on 11/17/2023, the Sheriff of Ogle County, Illinois will on February 2, 2024 at the hour of 10:00 AM at Ogle County Public Safety Complex 202 S. 1st St. Oregon, IL 61061, or in a place otherwise designated at the time of sale, County of Ogle and State of Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described real estate: PIN 22-07-126-007 Improved with Residential COMMONLY KNOWN AS: 7300 S. Rock Nation Road Dixon, IL 61021 Sale terms: 10% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the auction; The balance, including the Judicial sale fee for Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in "AS IS" condition.

The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

If the property is a condominium and the foreclosure takes place after 1/1/2007, purchasers other than the mortgagees will be required to pay any assessment and legal fees due under The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g) (4).

If the property is located in a common interest community, purchasers other than mortgagees will be required to pay any assessment and legal fees due under the Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee's attorney.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser shall receive a Certificate of Sale, which will entitle the purchaser to a Deed to the real estate after Confirmation of the sale. The successful purchaser has the sole responsibility/ expense of evicting any tenants or other individuals presently in possession of the subject premises.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and Plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the Court file to verify all information.

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information: Examine the court file or contact Plaintiff's attorney: Codilis & Associates, P.C., 15W030 North Frontage Road, Suite 100, Burr Ridge, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876. Please refer to file number 14-23-02824.

I3235059 December 29, 2023 January 5, 12, 2024

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17 OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

UNRESERVED

providers.htm to November 29, tody and guardian- tion, the allegations CLAIM NOTICE 2023, a petition ship of the minor.

Notice is given of learn more and to of the petition may was filed under the 304 stand admitted as the death of Gary select a service If the Petition re- against you and L. Runte of For- provider. If you Juvenile Court Act additional

by ASA R. Russo, quests the termi- each of you, and reston, Illinois. Let- need of your an order for judg- ters of Office were help or have trouin the Circuit Court nation of Ogle County en- parental rights and ment entered. issued on Novem- ble e-filing, visit EGAL Nthis OTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL “In NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES of LDated LEGAL29, NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES titled the inter- the appointment 2023, to http://www.illinois20th day ber est of Lylyanna a guardian with of December, 2023 Luke R. Runte, 311 courts.gov/FAQ/ge IN THE CIRCUIT Alba, a minor”, and power to consent Kimberly A. Stahl W. Colden St., For- thelp.asp. that in courtroom to adoption, you COURT OF THE Clerk of the reston, IL 61030, Claims against the 304 at 106 South may lose all Circuit Court Independent Ad- Estate may be filed FIFTEENTH Fifth, Oregon, Illi- parental rights to By: L. Haas, ministrator, whose in the Office of the JUDICIAL Deputy Clerk attorney is Heather Clerk of the Court nois on February the child. Unless CIRCUIT OGLE at Ogle County 20, 2024 at 8:45 you appear you will Dec. 29, 2023, Jan. McPherson, COUNTY, a.m. or as soon not be entitled to 5, 12, 2024 McPherson Law Courthouse, 106 S. ILLINOIS thereafter as this further written noOffices, 1720 S. 5th St., Oregon, IL In the interest of: STATE OF may be tices or publication Drive, 61061, or with the cause Hance Lylyanna Alba, ILLINOIS IN THE heard, an adjudica- notices of the proFreeport, IL 61032. representative, or a minor CIRCUIT COURT E-filing is now both, on or before Case No: tory hearing will be ceedings in this OF THE mandatory for doc- June 17, 2024, and 2023 JA 23 held upon the Peti- case, including the FIFTEENTH tion to have the filing of an uments in civil cas- any claim not filed NOTICE BY JUDICIAL child declared to amended petition es with limited ex- on or before that PUBLICATION CIRCUIT emptions. To e-file, date is barred.

To: Jason Alba, be a ward of the for a motion to OGLE COUNTYyou must first cre- Copies of a claim 1142 Stephenson court and for other terminate parental IN PROBATE ate an account filed with the Clerk Street, Freeport, IL relief under that rights. with an e-filing ser- must be mailed or 61032, respondent act. The court has Unless you appear In the Matter of the Estate of the hearing vice provider. Visit delivered to the (s), and to all whom authority in this at https://efile.illinois- representative and it may concern, proceeding to take and show cause GARY L. RUNTE, Deceased. courts.gov/service- to the attorney take notice that on from you the cus- against the petiNo. 2023 PR 75 providers.htm to within 10 days afNovember 29, tody and guardian- tion, the allegations CLAIM NOTICE of the petition may learn more and to ter it has been 2023, a petition ship of the minor.

Notice is given of select a service filed. stand admitted as was filed under the 304 If the Petition re- against you and the death of Gary provider. If you Luke R. Runte, Juvenile Court Act Legal additional

by ASA R. Russo, quests the termi- each of you, and L. Runte of For- need of your an order for judg- reston, Illinois. Let- help or have trouRepresentative in the Circuit Court nation ters of Office were ble e-filing, visit of Ogle County en- parental rights and ment entered. th titled “In the inter- the appointment of Dated this 20 day issued on Novem- http://www.illinois- December 15, 22, est of Lylyanna a guardian with of December, 2023 ber 29, 2023, to courts.gov/FAQ/ge 29, 2023 Kimberly A. Stahl Luke R. Runte, 311 thelp.asp.

Alba, a minor”, and power to consent Clerk of the W. Colden St., For- Claims against the that in courtroom to adoption, you lose all Circuit Court reston, IL 61030, Estate may be filed 304 at 106 South may By: L. Haas, Independent Ad- in the Office of the Fifth, Oregon, Illi- parental rights to Deputy Clerk ministrator, whose Clerk of the Court nois on February the child. Unless 20, 2024 at 8:45 you appear you will Dec. 29, 2023, Jan. attorney is Heather at Ogle County McPherson, Courthouse, 106 S. a.m. or as soon not be entitled to 5, 12, 2024 McPherson Law 5th St., Oregon, IL thereafter as this further written noOffices, 1720 S. 61061, or with the cause may be tices or publication Hance Drive, representative, or heard, an adjudica- notices of the proFreeport, IL 61032. both, on or before in this toryTo hearing be ceedings bewilltruly independent, your personal E-filing is now June 17, 2024, and held upon the Peti- case, including the mandatory for doc- any claim not filed of needs an tion emergency to have the filing device to work on the uments go. in civil cas- on or before that child declared to amended petition es with limited for you a motion to emergency help 24 hours be MobileHelp® a ward of theallows to summon a day, 7 ex- date is barred. emptions. To e-file, Copies of a claim terminate parental court anda for other days week by simply pressing your personal help button.you Unlike tradiFREE EXPEDITED SHIPPING* must first cre- filed rights. with the Clerk relieftional under that that systems only work inside your home, a MobileHelp medical ate an account must FREE MONTH Unless you appear beONE mailed or SERVICE* act. alert The system court has extends help beyond the home. Now you can with participate in seran e-filing at the hearing delivered the 50% OFF to AUTO FALL DETECT* authority in this all your favorite activities such as gardening, taking walks, shopping and Visit representative and vice provider. proceeding to take and show cause plus FREE EQUIPMENT TO USE!* traveling all with the peace of mind of having a personal alert system with https://efile.illinoisto the attorney from you the cus- against the petithe “on-the-go” by one of the the allegationshelp button, is powered courts.gov/servicewithin 10 days aftodyyou. andMobileHelp, guardian- tion, providers.htm to largest cellular so there’s virtually no limit to your help of the networks, petition may ter it has been shipnation’s of the minor. learn more and to filed.

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Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR FIRST FRANKLIN MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2006-FF11, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-FF11, PLAINTIFF, VS. LISA D HOLBY A/K/A LISA DIANE HOLBY A/K/A LISA HOLBY; REBECCA J PATTON; ILLINOIS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS, DEFENDANTS. NO. 2022FC54 205 EAST CHICAGO AVENUE DAVIS JUNCTION, IL 61020 NOTICE OF SALE PURSUANT TO JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE UNDER ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE ACT PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered by the Court in the above entitled cause on October 20, 2023, will on 02/02/2024, in the Ogle County Sheriff's Office, Main Lobby, 202 South First Street, Oregon, IL 61061, at 10:00 AM, sell at public auction and sale to the highest bidder for cash, all and singular, the following described real estate mentioned in said Judgment, situated in the County of Ogle, State of Illinois, or so much thereof as shall be sufficient to satisfy said Judgment: LOT 10 IN BLOCK 2 AS DESIGNATED ON THE PLAT OF THE TOWN OF DAVIS JUNCTION; BEING A PART OF THE SOUTH EAST QUARTER OF THE NORTH EAST QUARTER OF SECTION 22 AND THE SOUTH WEST QUARTER OF THE NORTH WEST QUARTER OF SECTION 23, TOWNSHIP 42 NORTH RANGE 1 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, THE PLAT OF WHICH IS RECORDED IN BOOK A OF PLATS PAGE 170 AND RERECORDED IN BOOK D OF PLATS ON PAGE 7 IN THE RECORDER'S OFFICE OF OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS; SITUATED IN OGLE COUNTY IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. ALSO,THE SOUTH HALF OF A PUBLIC ALLEY LYING NORTH OF AND ADJACENT TO LOT 10 IN BLOCK 2, AS DESIGNATED UPON THE PLAT OF THE ORIGINAL TOWN OF DAVIS JUNCTION, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN FILE A OF PLATS, PAGE 170 IN THE RECORDERS OFFICE OF OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEGINNING AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF LOT 10 IN SAID BLOCK 2, THENCE SOUTH 88 DEGREES 17 MINUTES 44 SECONDS WEST (BEARINGS ASSUMED FOR DESCRIPTION PURPOSES), A DISTANCE OF 50.02 FEET (50 FEET RECORDED) ON THE NORTH LINE OF SAID LOT 10, TO THE NORTHWEST CORNER THEREOF; THENCE NORTH 1 DEGREE 41 MINUTES 44 SECONDS WEST, A DISTANCE OF 8.00 FEET ON THE NORTHERLY EXTENSION OF THE WEST LINE OF SAID LOT 10, TO THE NORTH LINE OF THE SOUTH HALF OF SAID PUBLIC ALLEY; THENCE NORTH 88 DEGREES 17 MINUTES 45 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF 50.02 FEET ON SAID NORTH LINE, TO THE NORTHERLY EXTENSION OF THE EAST LINE OF SAID LOT 10; THENCE SOUTH 1 DEGREE 41 MINUTES 51 SECONDS EAST, A DISTANCE OF 8.00 FEET ON SAID NORTHERLY EXTENSION, TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING, CONTAINING 0.009 ACRES (400 SQ. FT.), MORE OR LESS. TAX NO. 11-23-152-005 COMMONLY KNOWN AS: 205 East Chicago Avenue Davis Junction, IL 61020 Description of Improvements: The property is a single family home.

The Judgment amount was $125,806.91.

Sale Terms: This is an "AS IS" sale for "CASH". The successful bidder must deposit 10% down by certified funds; balance, by certified funds, within 24 hours.

NO REFUNDS. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments or special taxes levied against said real estate, water bills, etc., and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to plaintiff. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

Upon payment in full of the bid amount, the purchaser shall receive a Certificate of Sale, which will entitle the purchaser to a Deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

The successful purchaser has the sole responsibility/expense of evicting any tenants or other individuals presently in possession of the subject premises.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For Information: Visit our website at http://ilforeclosuresales.mrpllc.com.

Between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. only - McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC, Plaintiff's Attorneys, 1 N. Dearborn St., Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60602. Tel. No. (312) 3469088. Please refer to file# 22-09486IL PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT, THE PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. Plaintiff's attorney is not required to provide additional information other than that set forth in this notice of sale.

I3231704 December 22, 29, 2023 January 5, 2024

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LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC, PLAINTIFF, VS. PATRICIA MESSINA A/K/A PATRICIA G CARTER-MESSINA; SALVATORE C MESSINA, JR A/K/A SALVATORE C MESSINA; NICOLE REID; UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS, DEFENDANTS. NO. 23 FC 69 6791 NORTH RIVER ROAD BYRON, IL 61010 JUDGE PRESIDING JUDGE NOTICE BY PUBLICATION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN TO YOU, Patricia Messina a/k/a Patricia G Carter-Messina Salvatore C Messina, Jr a/k/a Salvatore C Messina Unknown Owners and Non-Record Claimants defendants, that this case has been commenced in this Court against you and other defendants, asking for the foreclosure of a certain Mortgage conveying the THE LAND HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO IS SITUATED IN THE TOWNSHIP OF ROCKVALE, COUNTY OF OGLE, STATE OF IL, AND IS DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: PART OF THE NORTH FRACTIONAL HALF (1/2) OF THE NORTHWEST QUARTER (1/4) OF SECTION 1, TOWNSHIP 24 NORTH, RANGE 10 EAST OF THE FOURTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: COMMENCING AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE SAID NORTH FRACTIONAL HALF (1/2) OF THE NORTHWEST QUARTER (1/4); THENCE WESTERLY ON THE SOUTH LINE OF SAID NORTH FRACTIONAL HALF (1/2), 220.0 FEET; THENCE NORTHWESTERLY AT AN ANGLE OF 95 DEGREES 39 MINUTES 09 SECONDS MEASURED COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM THE LAST DESCRIBED COURSE, 862.98 FEET MORE OR LESS TO THE SOUTHERLY EDGE OF ROCK RIVER, BEING THE POINT OF BEGINNING OF THE TRACT OF LAND BEING DESCRIBED; THENCE SOUTHEASTERLY ON THE LAST DESCRIBED LINE, 862.98 FEET MORE OR LESS TO THE SAID SOUTH LINE OF THE NORTH FRACTIONAL HALF (1/2); THENCE WESTERLY ON THE SAID SOUTH LINE OF THE NORTH FRACTIONAL HALF (1/2), 280.0 FEET; THENCE NORTHWESTERLY AT AN ANGLE OF 98 DEGREES 09 MINUTES 28 SECONDS MEASURED COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM THE LAST DESCRIBED COURSE, 716.0 FEET MORE OR LESS TO THE SAID SOUTHERLY EDGE OF ROCK RIVER; THENCE NORTHEASTERLY ALONG SAID SOUTHERLY EDGE, 332 FEET MORE OR LESS TO THE SAID POINT OF BEGINNING; Commonly known as: 6791 North River Road Byron, IL 61010 and which said Mortgage was made by, Patricia Messina a/k/a Patricia G Carter-Messina and Salvatore C Messina, Jr a/k/a Salvatore C Messina Mortgagor(s), to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for Nationstar Mortgage LLC d/b/a Mr. Cooper Mortgagee, and recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Ogle County, Illinois, as Document No. 202106620; and for other relief.

UNLESS YOU file your answer or otherwise file your appearance in this case, on or before January 29, 2024, A JUDGMENT OR DECREE BY DEFAULT MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU FOR THE RELIEF ASKED IN THE COMPLAINT. You have been sued. To participate in the case, you MUST file an official document with the court within the time stated on this Notice called an "Appearance" and a document called an "Answer/Response". The Answer/ Response is not required in small claims or eviction cases unless ordered by the court. If you do not file an Appearance and Answer/Response on time, the court may decide the case without hearing from you, and you could be held in default and lose the case. After you fill out the necessary documents, you need to electronically file (e-file) them with the court. To e-file, you must create an account with an e-filing service provider. For more information, go to ilcourts.info/efiling. If you cannot e-file, you can get an exemption that allows you to file in-person or by mail. You may be charged filing fees, but if you cannot pay them, you can file an Application for Waiver of Court Fees. It is possible that the court will allow you to attend the first court date in this case in-person or remotely by video or phone.

Contact the Circuit Court Clerk's office or visit the Court's website to find out whether this is possible and, if so, how to do this. Need help? Call or text Illinois Court Help at 833-411-1121 or go to ilcourthelp.gov for information about going to court, including how to fill out and file documents. You can also get free legal information and legal referrals at illinoislegalaid.org. All documents referred to in this Notice can be found at ilcourts.info/forms. Other documents may be available from your local Circuit Court Clerk's office or website. ¿Necesita ayuda? Llame o envíe un mensaje de texto a Illinois Court Help al 833-411- 1121, o visite ilcourthelp.gov para obtener información sobre los casos de la corte y cómo completar y presentar formularios.

PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT, THE PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC Attorney for Plaintiff 1 N. Dearborn St. Suite 1200 Chicago, IL 60602 Ph. (312) 346-9088 File No. 23-16677IL-993646 I3235261 December 29, 2023 January 5, 12, 2024

LEGAL NOTICES

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(Attorney ID: 6288863) Attorneys 33 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1150 Chicago, Illinois 60602 STATE OF ILLINOIS, COUNTY OF Ogle, ss IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OGLE COUNTY OREGON, ILLINOIS, FLAGSTAR BANK, N.A., Plaintiff, vs.

WILLIAM STOTT, JR.; MELISA COYLE; AMERICAN EXPRESS NATIONAL BANK; BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE; CITIBANK, N.A.; DISCOVER BANK; LVNV FUNDING LLC; UNKNOWN OWNERSTENANTS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS, et. al., Defendants, Case No. 23 FC 46.

The requisite affidavit for publication having been filed, notice is hereby given to you: UNKNOWN OWNERS-TENANTS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS, defendants in the above-entitled suit has been commenced in the IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OGLE COUNTY OREGON, ILLINOIS, by the said plaintiff against you and other defendants, praying for the foreclosure of a certain Mortgage conveying the premises described as follows, to-wit: LOT FOURTEEN (14), AS DESIGNATED UPON THE PLAT OF WILDLIFE ESTATES UNIT TWO, A SUBDIVISION LOCATED IN PART OF THE EAST HALF (1/2) OF SECTION 27, TOWNSHIP 25 NORTH, RANGE 11, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, THE PLAT OF WHICH IS RECORDED IN PLAT FILE "C", ON PAGE 53, IN THE RECORDER`S OFFICE OF OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, SITUATED IN THE TOWNSHIP OF MARION, COUNTY OF OGLE AND STATE OF ILLINOIS..

PIN: 05-27-426-004.

Commonly known as: 6821 E. Wildlife Dr., Stillman Valley, IL 61084, and which said Mortgage was made by WILLIAM STOTT, JR. and MELISA COYLE as Mortgagors to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for North American Savings Bank, FSB, as Mortgagee, and recorded as document number 201701539, and the present owners of the property being WILLIAM STOTT, JR. and MELISA COYLE and for other relief: that summons was duly issued out of said Court against you as provided by law, and that the said suit is now pending.

Now, therefore, unless you, the said above named defendant, file your answer to the Complaint in the said suit or otherwise make your appearance therein, IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OGLE COUNTY OREGON, ILLINOIS, 106 South Fifth Street, Oregon, IL 61061 on or before JANUARY 29, 2024, default may be entered against you at any time after that day and a Judgment entered in accordance with the prayer of said Complaint.

Clerk of the Ogle County Circuit Court.

THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT, AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. 8190-938404 December 29, 2023 January 5, 12, 2024 938404

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LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OGLE COUNTY - OREGON, ILLINOIS First State Bank PLAINTIFF Vs. Linda M. Van Duzen; et. al.

DEFENDANTS No. 2023FC28 NOTICE OF SHERIFF'S SALE OF REAL ESTATE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on 11/17/2023, the Sheriff of Ogle County, Illinois will on February 2, 2024 at the hour of 10:00 AM at Ogle County Public Safety Complex 202 S. 1st St. Oregon, IL 61061, or in a place otherwise designated at the time of sale, County of Ogle and State of Illinois, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, as set forth below, the following described real estate: LOT THIRTY-ONE (31) IN ROCK NATION ESTATES IN THE SOUTH FRACTIONAL HALF (1/2) OF SECTION 6 AND THE NORTH FRACTIONAL HALF (1/2) OF THE NORTHWEST FRACTIONAL QUARTER (1/4) OF SECTION 7, ALL IN TOWNSHIP 22 NORTH, RANGE 10 EAST OF THE FOURTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN PLAT FILE A, PAGE 3 IN THE RECORDER'S OFFICE OF OGLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS; TOGETHER WITH THAT PART OF THE VACATED ROCK NATION DRIVE, LYING PARALLEL WITH AND ADJACENT TO THE WEST LINE OF AFOREMENTIONED LOT; SITUATED IN THE TOWNSHIP OF TAYLOR, THE COUNTY OF OGLE AND THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. PIN 22-07-126-007 Improved with Residential COMMONLY KNOWN AS: 7300 S. Rock Nation Road Dixon, IL 61021 Sale terms: 10% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the auction; The balance, including the Judicial sale fee for Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, which is calculated at the rate of $1 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof of the amount paid by the purchaser not to exceed $300, in certified funds, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in "AS IS" condition.

The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court.

If the property is a condominium and the foreclosure takes place after 1/1/2007, purchasers other than the mortgagees will be required to pay any assessment and legal fees due under The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g) (4).

If the property is located in a common interest community, purchasers other than mortgagees will be required to pay any assessment and legal fees due under the Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1).

If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee's attorney.

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser shall receive a Certificate of Sale, which will entitle the purchaser to a Deed to the real estate after Confirmation of the sale. The successful purchaser has the sole responsibility/ expense of evicting any tenants or other individuals presently in possession of the subject premises.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and Plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the Court file to verify all information.

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information: Examine the court file or contact Plaintiff's attorney: Codilis & Associates, P.C., 15W030 North Frontage Road, Suite 100, Burr Ridge, IL 60527, (630) 794-9876. Please refer to file number 14-23-02824.

I3235059 December 29, 2023 January 5, 12, 2024

19 OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OTICES

Ogle County Newspapers / ShawLocal.com • Friday, December 29, 2023

OGLE COUNTY NEWS

20

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