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Tri-County Press January 14, 2016 Volume 158, Number 17 - $1.00
Polo Invite
Cookie Time
Grand Gift
Polo-Forreston wrestlers take sixth place at Polo Invitational Tournament. B1
Local Girls Scouts are once again selling their tasty cookies. A4
A Polo couple donates a grand piano to Heartland Community College. A9
New Grubsteakers may be open in late spring By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A well-known Ogle County restaurant is rising from the rubble just 9 months after the most devastating tornado to hit the area in recent memory. Grubsteakers, on the northeast corner of state Routes 64 and 251, was in the direct path of the EF4 tornado that tore through Lee, Ogle, and DeKalb counties on April 9. After months of planning and getting the necessary permits, owner Ava Mirtoska has started rebuilding on the same site, and hopes to reopen sometime in May. “I can’t wait,” she said. “I miss my customers. I can’t wait to see everybody again.” Mild December weather
allowed the site to be excavated, the foundation to be poured, and the framework to go up. By now, Mirtoska said, the roof is half done, along with some of the outside brick work. Recent snow and cold temperatures have slowed the work down, but she hopes to have the outside finished by the end of January. “Then they can work on the inside,” she said. Several fundraisers were held, and almost $20,000 was raised to help rebuild Grubsteakers. She appreciates the support she has received from her customers and the community, Mirtoska said. “I am glad to be living here, where people care about each other.” The tornado touched down
in Lee County west of Ashton about supper time, then cut a northeasterly path through Ogle County to the small DeKalb County village of Fairdale, where two women were killed and most of the homes were devastated. Mirtoska was recognized by the Ogle County Board 2 weeks after the storm for her actions that night, when she saw the storm approaching and, with just minutes to spare, ushered her customers and employees into a storm cellar. About a dozen people safely rode out the storm and were rescued a couple of hours later by firefighters. The restaurant, several vehicles in its parking lot, and several nearby homes were smashed before the twister moved on to Fairdale, destroying farm buildings and homes along the way.
basic five-day a week plan to get started. He began with cardio and weights, determined to meet the goals he had set for himself. He admits the first couple of months the workouts were hard, but cutting out the junk food was even harder. “I knew meeting with the trainer would be a good motivator to keep losing the weight and inches,” Johnson said. “I never wanted to go to an appointment for a weight in and find myself heaver than the previous session.” At his one year mark, in November 2015, Johnson stepped on the scale at 290 pounds. He admits the weight loss could have been more, but he has worked with his doctor and is making this a life-style change. He doesn’t want any fast fixes, since this is a lifestyle change, not a fad diet. His goals are attainable and he continues to modify his diet while monitoring
his blood pressure and blood sugar. With a 50-pound weight loss, the surprising thing to Johnson is the inches he has lost with his weight training. He began wearing a 4X shirt and is now into a 1X. Pants have gone from a 48 inches waist to a loose 40 inch waist. His goals for 2016 is to be in a 36-inch waist. With his consistent weight loss he is confident this will be not problem. Johnson hasn’t been his current size since 2000. While he admits the workouts aren’t always easy, the trainer helps keep him motivated and keeps the workouts interesting. He also doesn’t like to take a day off. “When doing weight training, you have to give your body time to recover,” he said. “That is the hardest thing for me is not coming to the gym on my off day.” Motivation and goals kept Johnson on task in 2015. He was never discouraged Turn to A2
Oregon man works out to lose weight, get healthier By Tina Ketter Communications Marketing Supervisor Oregon Park District
Annual Tournament The Polo High School was the place to be Saturday when 20 schools competed in the annual Polo Wrestling Tournament. The main gym was filled with three mats being run at the same time. A fourth mat was in the wrestling room. Photo by Chris Johnson
K-9 Center is being built Sauk Valley Media Delays have been a bit of a thorn in Granny Rose’s side, but friends of man’s best friend needn’t worry. The animal shelter’s K-9 Enrichment Center will still open. It’s just going to be a little later than expected. Construction on the new Granny Rose K-9 Enrichment Center is running 6 weeks behind schedule. Mark Knie, president of the shelter’s board, said supplies coming in late and bad weather are mostly to blame for the delay. “The steel came in 2 weeks
late, which was a factor,” Knie said. “When we were working on the roof, it was really windy, and the next week, we had rain and snow.” Despite the setbacks, the hope is that the 13,000 square-foot, $1 million project will be completed by the second week of February. Construction on the project began in July. “We still have to lay down the flooring, put up more drywall and paint,” said Debora Proctor, who will serve as the director of the facility. “We have the heat and lights on, cooling is in and the doorways are coming
in.” The new facility will provide dog training, and is designed to hold obedience and agility training as well as therapy dog classes yearround. Eight instructors will be brought in to train dogs. The hope is to also host American Kennel Clubsanctioned events. The AKC is known nationally for its televised Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Knie said any sanctioned club within a 125-mile radius of Granny Rose would Turn to A2
Dry wall is going up at the Granny Rose K-9 Enrichment Center in Dixon. Weather has delayed construction about 6 weeks. Photo by Alex Paschal
In This Week’s Edition...
Business Briefs, B5 Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6
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Chris Johnson, Oregon, knew he wanted to make a change. After weighing in at 350 pounds in July of 2014 he started off slowly, walking the central loop at Oregon Park West. As his stamina increased he went from walking .83 miles to the entire trail at 2.13 miles. “When I started I was walking slow and was unable to keep a good pace,” said Johnson, who is a reporter and photographer for Ogle County Newspapers. “By the end of summer I was averaging about 3.5 mph and decided to try and change my food habits.” Johnson, 34, hit a wall with his weight loss at 340 pounds. He tried a variety of physical activities but nothing was working. Knowing he needed extra motivation and direction if he was going to reach his goal of getting healthy he decided to purchase a membership tothe Oregon Park District’s Nash Recreation Center in November of 2014. “I knew if I waited until New Year’s, I would never stick to a New Year’s resolution. I knew I needed to start right away,” he said. After beginning at Nash, Johnson took things a step further and enlisted Kim Henry, Nash’s personal trainer, for assistance. “I knew if I was paying the money for a membership and a trainer I would take things seriously,” he said. “I did not want to waste that money.” With trainer and membership in hand, Johnson began his journey. After going over his basic goals with Kim he left with a
Library News, A8 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B3
Chris Johnson poses with Scooby-Doo on a trip to Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, in November.
Sheriff’s Arrests, B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1. B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Weather, A3
Deaths, B4 Harlan E. Blake, Bradley W. Jewell, Robert E. Luy, Karshan A.L. Peterson, Alexis M. Walker
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com