Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press October 24, 2013 Volume 156, Number 5 - $1.00
Marcos Win
Take Back
Singers Needed
The Polo Marcos picked up a huge win on the road in River Ridge Oct. 18. B1
Get rid of unwanted prescriptions on National Take Back Day. A3
Area singers are invited to perform at an annual Christmas concert in December. A8
New bathhouse delayed due to new permit rules By Chris Johnson Reporter Work on a new Polo Pool Bathhouse are temporarily delayed. Pool manager Terry Jenkins said a new law went into effect Oct. 1 that requires a state permit and licensed contractor. “The bathhouse needs this permit and we are working on the engineering for the permit,� he said. “The $75,000 we initially raised may not cut it due to the extra costs.� Jenkins said the plan is to get the permits so the building
can be completed by the 2015 season. “Right now we can open for the 2014 season,� said Jenkins. “The money is in the bank and we will have a new bathhouse.� The goal is to have the pool renovations completed so the facility can remain in Polo another 45 seasons. “We will have a new bathhouse in 2015,� Jenkins said. Work on the new filter room is scheduled to be completed before the opening of the 2014 season. “Our existing filter house will remain as the back up,�
said Jenkins. “The bathhouse is rusting out but will last another season.� Money for the filter house is being paid for by the city. Jenkins and Mark Scholl both thanked the community support on the project. “Everyone sees how important the pool is to the community,� said Scholl. “The community has supported all of our local Polo projects.� Other projects that have been helped financially include the new senior center roof and the playground at Centennial Elementary Swimming lessons are offered at the Polo pool throughout the summer. This photo School. was taken during the 2013 season. File Photo
Council approves $7,302 to fix sewer break By Vinde Wells Editor Repairs to Polo’s storm and sanitary sewers will begin as soon as possible. The city council agreed Monday to hire O’Brien Civil Works Inc., Polo, to fix a break in both in the 200 block of Maple Avenue for $7,302.
Civil Construction, Freeport, also submitted a proposal for the project at a cost of $10,197. “We need to do something,� said alderman Randy Schoon. “The storm sewer is laying inside the sanitary sewer.� “And it’s not getting any warmer,� said alderman
David Ackeberg. Mayor Doug Knapp said the storm sewer was located on top of the sanitary sewer and has crushed it, causing the storm sewer to fall into the sanitary sewer main. He said the project will take about two days to complete. In another matter, the council heard a proposal
from Steve Haring from MSA Professional Services for updating the city’s comprehensive plan. Haring said the comprehensive plan should be updated every five years, and Polo’s has gone more than twice that long. He said the update will take four to six months, and
the base price for the service is $12,800. The work can be scheduled so that it falls into two fiscal years, spreading out the cost over two budgets, he said. Knapp said the council will wait a month or two before making a decision because of recent unexpected city expenses.
“We do recognize that we do need to update the comprehensive plan, but we’re not in a position to do that right now,� he said. In other business, the council gave city street department supervisor Kendall Kyker a $1 per hour raise from $17 to $18, effective immediately.
Test results may shed light into teenagers death Fight occurred at drinking party By Vinde Wells Editor
Harvest Rick Nelson harvests soybeans Oct. 11 in a field at the intersection of Mt. Morris and West Grove Roads. Yields in most places have been surprisingly good despite the lack of rain in the mid to late summer. Photo by Vinde Wells
Florida inmate executed in prison By Earleen Hinton General Manager Twenty-seven years after his sister’s murder in Florida, Chris Crowley has finally found some relief. William Happ, 51, the man convicted of raping and murdering 21-yearold Angie Crowley in 1986 was executed Oct. 15 after receiving a lethal chemical injection at a Florida State Prison. Happ spent more time on death row than Angie, a 1983 graduate of Oregon High School, spent alive. Her brother Chris, 56, now a Missouri resident,
and her aunt Janell Diehl, 76, Oregon, along with other family members witnessed the execution. “I feel relieved,� said Chris late Tuesday night. “No more worrying about appeals or whatever.� Angie was involved in many school activities while at OHS including cheerleading, drill team, concert band, and marching band. She was also an honor student, sophomore class secretary, and served on the school’s newspaper staff. She had moved to Florida in 1986 to pursue a career as a travel agent. She was headed to a friend’s home on May 24, 1986 when
In This Week’s Edition...
she made a wrong turn and stopped at a gas station across from the Crystal River City Hall to call her friend for directions. It was there that Happ, who had an extensive criminal background, kidnapped her and then raped and strangled her before leaving her body in a canal. He was convicted in 1989 by a Florida jury and sentenced to death. Chris and his late mother Judy were the main contacts for updates on the Happ case following Happ’s conviction in July 1989. They waited as Happ filed numerous appeals. Chris set up an online
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B12 College and Service News, A4 Entertainment, A6
petition asking Florida Governor Rick Scott to sign the death warrant and also emailed the governor and his staff asking for the declaration. He said it was something he promised his mother he would do after her death 5 years ago. “My mom told me to stay on top of this and I did,� Chris said. “I still miss my sister a whole lot, but this was like an open wound. Now when I look at both their graves I can be at peace. Now it’s all over.� Angie and her mother Judy share a headstone at Daysville Cemetery, east of Oregon. Turn to A3
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Polo Police, A3 Public Voice, A10 Property Transfers, B4
Test results that officials hope will shed light into the death of an Oregon teen in August may soon be available. Winnebago County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Hintz said Tuesday that he was recently informed that toxicology and pathology tests may soon be completed in the death of Jonathan Williams. Williams, 18, died Aug. 11 at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford, after being injured in a fight in the wee hours of Aug. 10 at an underage drinking party at 804 Monroe St., Oregon. Hintz said he expects to receive the results in the near future from the Chicago area lab conducting the tests on tissue samples taken during Williams’ autopsy. Ogle County State’s Attorney Michael Rock said Monday that once he receives the test results, he will make a decision if anyone will be charged in the case. “We’re still waiting for the test results,� Rock said. “Once we get those we will decide if charges will be filed.� In the meantime, he said,
Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Weather, A2
Oregon police are continuing to investigate and follow up on leads. Because more testing than usual was done during the autopsy, Hintz said, the results have taken more time. Williams, who would have been a senior at Oregon High School, was an organ donor. Oregon police were called about 3:15 a.m. Aug. 10 by a neighbor who reported a disturbance outside the home on Monroe Street. At that time, police arrested five teens for underage drinking outside the home and another a block away. Several more partygoers scattered when police arrived, DeHaan said. Mt. Morris police and Ogle County deputies assisted at the scene. The fight had occurred outside the house before police arrived in the early morning hours, DeHaan said. The police who responded to the call did not see Williams, and none of the people there at the time mentioned that he had been injured, he said. Williams was found unconscious and unresponsive inside the home at 8:19 a.m., after a second 911 call from a “father figure� of one of the teens who had spent the night at the home after the party, DeHaan said.
Deaths, B3 Sharon Blake, Harry L. Deets, Milton L. Marceau, Thomas W. Wagner
0UBLISHED EVERY 4HURSDAY BY /GLE #OUNTY .EWSPAPERS A DIVISION OF 3HAW -EDIA s WWW OGLECOUNTYNEWS COM