TCP_01072016

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Serving the Polo Area Since 1857

POLO

Tri-County Press January 7, 2016 Volume 158, Number 16 - $1.00

Wrestlers Win

Recycle Trees

Seminary Founded

Marco wrestlers win two against Stillman Valley and Mendota Tuesday. B1

Local FFA members will recycle Christmas trees Jan. 9. A7

The Rock River Seminary was founded in 1839 by early settlers in Mt. Morris. B2

Polo woman dies after fire By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A Polo woman died Saturday morning after a two-alarm fire at her home. Shirley Jeanne Clayton, 74, known as “Jeannie,” was pronounced dead at KSB Hospital, Dixon, where she was taken by Polo ambulance. She lived alone at 502 E. Mason St. in a wellkept two-story home.

A spokesman for Lee County Coroner Jesse Partington said that an autopsy was performed Monday, but no cause of death will be available for several weeks. Polo Fire Chief Tony Karrow said firefighters found Clayton, still alive, in the kitchen shortly after they arrived on the scene at 7:40 a.m. Jan. 2. Karrow said the fire started in the living Polo firefighters rescued Shirley “Jeannie” Clayton, 74, from a fire that damaged her room of the home and home Jan. 2 at 502 E. Mason St., Polo. Clayton later died at KSB Hospital, Dixon. Turn to A3 Photo by Mark Ellis, Polo Fire Department

Glitch blamed for the siren activation No emergency Saturday night By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@ogleocounty news.com A computer board failure was to blame for the tornado sirens being activated throughout the county late Saturday night. After many residents went to bed Saturday night the sirens began sounding on a calm winter night. Ogle County Sheriff Brian

VanVickle said the problem was fixed and the system was tested Tuesday morning during the monthly test of the system. “The sirens accidentally going off was a rarity,” he said. “When we set off the sirens a message is sent out, but we were unable to get a message out Saturday until after the sirens were turned off.” Inside the 911 center the dispatchers are unable to hear the sirens and were unaware they were sounding until 911 calls flooded the system. “When sirens are activated, shelter in place and check local

media and social media for information,” said VanVickle. “Do not call 911 when there is no emergency.” Dispatchers handled 102 calls in the 17 minutes following the siren activation. “This increased call volume created several issues including preventing dispatchers from handling any emergency calls and making calls to get the sirens fixed,” VanVickle said. “Only use 911 for emergencies.” Just after midnight the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page had a post stating “The

tornado sirens in Ogle County sounded. There is no severe weather threat and it appears to be an issue with a computer system. Technicians are currently working on the problem.” That message was also sent to the local media including WRHL in Rochelle and the Rockford television stations. What made Saturday night’s glitch harder to fix was having the sirens automatically start up again even after dispatchers manually turned them off. Turn to A3

Polo native feels at home in 1908 house First look told Susan Zook this house was right

By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com Two Polo aldermen brought up two safety concerns at Monday’s city council meeting. Alderman Randy Schoon said a large hole has not yet been filled in on the property at 118 E. Mason St. west of Dad’s Bar & Grill. A building on the property, which is owned by Jim O’Connor, collapsed last April 12 and was demolished. The area was enclosed by a fence, which has been removed. “The fence needs to go back up,” Schoon said. The council directed City Clerk Susie Corbitt to call O’Connor about the situation. Alderman Jim Busser asked what is being done about a house, owned by Richard Hess, on Fulton Street that was severely damaged by a fire approximately three years ago but has not been cleaned up. City Attorney Tom Suits said numerous attempts to locate the owner have been unsuccessful. However, he said he recently received new information about how to reach him and is moving ahead. In other business, building projects in Polo saw a significant decline in money spent in 2015. Corbitt presented the report for the year. Although, the number of permits Turn to A3

Tax appeals were filed

By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com When Susan Zook stepped inside the grand old house at 515 E. Mason St., Polo, she knew she was coming home. “I walked in the front door and I said to my sister, ‘this is my house,’” she said. It’s not that it was in perfect shape at the time, but there was something about the Craftsmanstyle house, built in 1908, with its open stairway, large windows, egg and dart woodwork, pocket doors, hardwood floors, and builtins. It just felt right. Actually, it was not the first time, by far, that Zook, 62, had been in the house. Growing up in Polo, she was, in fact, quite familiar with the house — it was once the home of her parents’ good friends Joe and Mary Jobst. She has visited there often with her parents, Jim and Dorothy O’Connor and her seven sisters and brothers. Finding the house at the just right time seemed meant to be. Zook had been looking at other houses in Polo that day with her realtor Pat Gjonola. On a whim, Zook asked to take look at this house even though the For Sale sign had been taken down. “Every day when I wake up I’m glad I live in this house,” she said with a smile. Over the years since Zook had

Safety is a concern for Schoon

By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com

An original built-in hutch is the focal point of the dining room at Susan Zook’s home in Polo. Photo by Vinde Wells

gone away to go to college, the house had met with hard times, something she found hard to take. “I felt bad to see that it wasn’t being taken care of,” she said. Her brother-in-law, a house inspector licensed in Wisconsin, checked the house over and determined it was structurally sound. However, it needed work, and Zook hired local contractor Brad Long, who restored the elegant wraparound front porch, redid the roof, rebuilt steps, put in new windows, and installed a totally new kitchen. Long even saw to the painting

In This Week’s Edition...

Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5

of the house with its yellow and dark red color scheme, true to the era when it was built. “Brad kept the integrity of the house,” Zook said. “That was important to me.” The work took eight months, and after that was ready for its new occupant to move in. Zook found that her Stickley furniture was a perfect fit for the house, both in size and design. The furnishings look as if they were custom-made just for the house. The large rooms allow ample Turn to A2

Marriage Licenses, A4 Library News, A9 Pine Creek News, A3 Public Voice, A10 Property Transfers, B4

Susan Zook

Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B6 Weather, A3

Assessment appeals of the Byron Generating Station and a former Mt. Morris printing plant will be among the 48 scheduled to be heard by the Ogle County Board of Review (BOR) later this month. Ogle County Supervisor of Assessments Jim Harrison said the BOR is set to hear appeals on Jan. 28 that were filed by both Exelon Generation and the Byron School District contesting the assessment he set for the Byron nuclear plant. An appeal of the former Quad Graphics plant in Mt. Morris will be heard on Jan. 26. Harrison said the BOR will hear the 48 appeals in the last two weeks of January. More than half the appeals, 25 of them, are for commercial and industrial properties, Harrison said, while the rest are residential or farm properties. “We have a fair number of commercial and industrial from Rochelle,” he said. The appeals are for 2015 assessments, which affect taxes payable in 2016. Exelon officials believe the $482.4 million assessment set by Harrison is too high, while school officials argue that it’s too low. Exelon Generation’s appeal sets the plants value at $238.3 million, less than half of Harrison’s number, which is identical to the amount set by the BOR at the appeal hearing last January. The school district’s appeal did not specify a value for the plant. Turn to A3

Deaths, B5 David A. Buse, Anna M. Castle, Shirley J. Clayton, D. Dean Dye, J. Bruce Howell, Mark Schwartz, Royal L. Wells

Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com


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