POLO TRI-COUNTY BUSINESSPRESS NEWS POLO TRI-COUNTY PRESS Alexa Zoellner joins newspaper staff Alexa Zoellner has joined the staff of Ogle TRI-COUNTY PRESS
Tri-County Press / oglecountynews.com • Friday, Jul 9, 2021
TRI-COUNTY BEAT
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oglecountynews.com ShawLocal.com OFFICE 113-115 Peoria Ave. Dixon, IL 61021 (815) 732-6166 ext. 2592 Fax: (815) 284-2078 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday SUBSCRIPTIONS $39 in Ogle County, and $52 outside Ogle County. Single-copy price is $1 To subscribe, make a payment or discuss your delivery, call 815-632-2520 Monday-Friday or send an e-mail to subscriptions@ oglecountynews.com. You also can subscribe online by going to oglecountynews.com and clicking on Subscribe.
CLASSIFIED SALES 815-220-6942 apicco@shawmedia.com OBITUARIES 815-632-2534 phartman@shawmedia.com Deadline for obituaries is 2 p.m. Tuesday for Friday’s edition SEND NEWS news@oglecountynews.com Publisher Jennifer Heintzelman 815-632-2502 jheintzelman@shawmedia.com General Manager Earleen Hinton 815-632-2591 ehinton@shawmedia.com News 815-632-2591 ehinton@shawmedia.com Advertising Sales Patty Bridgeman 815-632-2555 pbridgeman@ shawmedia.com The Tri-County Press, Ogle County News and oglecountynews.com are a division of Shaw Media. Ogle County Newspapers also prints the Mt. Morris Times, Forreston Journal, and
Oregon Republican Reporter.
The TRI-COUNTY PRESS (USPS No. 638-530) is published weekly by B.F. Shaw Printing Co., Shaw Media. Periodical postage paid at Polo, Illinois. POSTMASTER Send address changes to TRI-COUNTY PRESS, 113 N. Franklin, Polo, IL 61064. Phone 815-732-6166, ext. 2516. All rights reserved. Copyright 2021
County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media. Zoellner, 30, is a native of Cary, Illinois, but is looking forward to learning more about Ogle County and its residents as she becomes one of them. She is familiar with the Rock River, which runs through Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, where she previously worked at the Daily Jefferson County Union as a staff reporter. Her bylines also can be found in the Traverse City Record-Eagle, based in Traverse City, Michigan. One of her Daily Union articles, “Good Samaritan risks high waters to save drowning goat”, won an honorable mention in Division B in the 2018
Wisconsin Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest. The story was about a goat that fell off a small island in the Rock River and had to be rescued. The accompanying video Zoellner shot of the rescue Alexa Zoellner has, to date, garnered more than 19,000 views on the Daily Union’s Facebook page. Zoellner also won first place for investigative reporting, Division C, in the 2016 WNA Better Newspaper Contest for her series, “Heroin: Consuming Resources.” The series examined how the heroin epidemic was impacting the budgets
and resources of some of Jefferson County’s largest departments. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Illinois University, graduating at the top of her class and with honors. Zoellner has minors in photographic media and engineering technology. “We welcome Alexa to our Shaw Media team and look forward to her enthusiasm and coverage-style for all of our publications,” said General Manager Earleen Hinton. Zoellner replaces Jeff Helfrich who took a position in May with the Rochelle News Leader. She can be reached at 815-632-2590 or by email: azoellner@shawmedia.com. Her Twitter and Facebook handles are @alexazoellner91.
815-946-3212 or you can get them from any church member. Car Show Polo’s 32nd Annual Car Show” will be Saturday, Aug. 14. Call the Polo Chamber at 815-946-3131 to sponsor, register your car, truck or motorcycle. There will be a craft and Vendor Show in Quick Park call to register for your spot. 50/50 raffle ticket will be on sale soon. Coffee With a Cop Visit the Polo Public Library for Coffee with a Cop on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. Enjoy a cup of coffee and a nice chat with a cop. Farmer’s Market
Enjoy fresh produce from Farmer’s Market on Thursday’s from 3-6 p.m. Business After Hours If you are interested and would like to host a Business after Hours or Breakfast before Business call the Chamber at 815-946-3131. Get the Word Out Contact The Polo Chamber of Commerce at (815) 946-3131, polochamber@gmail.com, or mail to P.O. Box 116, Polo, IL 61064 if you would like to post your event on the Chamber Sign, Chamber Website (www.polochamber.org), Chamber Face Book Page and/or the Chamber Chatter.
their sons, Hayden and Garrett. With Jo’s mom, Pat Garrison, and Jo’s brother, Keith Chesnut and his sons, we enjoyed a cookout and conversation to celebrate the holiday. It has been a busy week for families and many activities that have returned this year. Carnivals, parades, and fireworks displays were available in neighboring towns. I have great memories of attending with my mom and my children over the years. This afternoon I went to the store for a few items and ran into several familiar faces. One person, in particular, was from one of my first jobs. Peggy and I worked at Hardees in the late 1980’s. Over the years, we have bumped into each other, most times at the grocery store, and conversation usually followed. We spent a few minutes catching up with each other. On this visit, I was amazed at how much she remembers from previous conversations. I can say with confidence that the last time we saw each other was at least five years ago. She still remembers stories about me and my children. We caught up on current events, reminisced about our days at Hardee’s, and then parted ways.
I left the conversation feeling loved at being remembered and sorry that I had failed to remember her entire story in return. I still care about my friend and I am always happy for our mini-reunions. That happens in my relationship with Jesus. He knows my every thought, emotion, struggles, and celebrations. I will admit, sometimes I fall short of remembering Him in everything I do. I am definitely not perfect, but He is. His love is perfect. We feel loved when we are remembered. Jesus remembers us every single hour. His love is constant. Even when we fall short in returning His love, it still continues. He is always here for us and ready for us to return to Him. When I need a reminder about His care, one place I find it is at church. Listening to the sermon, singing hymns, and visiting with my church family are all ways to see and feel His love. Our churches are open and ready to help those find their way to Jesus. I hope to see you next week in our church in the country. Come and visit our new building, meet others who love Jesus, and spend time in worship. Our service starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings. We welcome you and your family.
CHAMBER CHATTER Movies in the Park Movies start at dusk at the Louise Quick Park: July 9, The Goonies; July 30, Detective Pikachu; Aug. 13. Showing at the Polo Pool will be Muppet Treasure Island. Bring your family and enjoy the show and the free popcorn. Church Supper Faith United Methodist Church is having a Pulled Pork and Sweet Corn Supper on Saturday, July 24,, from 5-7 p.m. This will be a drive thru meal with pulled pork sandwich, sweet corn, salad, potato chips, dessert and a bottle of water. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets may be ordered through the church office by calling
PINE CREEK NEWS BY KAREN MERLAK Even though the summer days are filled with extra hours of daylight, the days seem to move faster as we head into July. Today is a day to celebrate the birth of our nation where we have the freedom to worship as we please. This is the day for our Lord and we are thankful. This morning in church, we were greeted by Sandra Ford. Pastor Charlotte Hoppe shared her message in her summer series, “Summer of Grace.” Her sermons can be viewed online each week on Facebook Live. Charlotte continues to give a shorter message during her midweek, midday moment. These messages are available live on Facebook on Wednesdays at noon. Visit our Facebook page to see previous messages. We were all very excited to see James and Nancy Hopkins’s children, Edie Klein, her husband, Dave, and their daughter, Hanna visiting from Arizona, and Eric Ellingsen, and his husband, Andrew. It is always a treat to have Eric and Andrew singing with our congregation. In the evening, I was a guest of my brother, Ben Bittinger’s, his wife, Jo, and
