Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO Best Wrestlers
Tri-County Press February 5, 2015 Volume 157, Number 20 - $1.00
Scout Derby
Andy Colbert and several area wrestlers remember the best Polo wrestlers. B2
Honoring Family
The Polo Cub Scouts held their annual Pinewood Derby. A4
A young student honored his late grandfather by writing an essay about his life. A12
Roads closed during storm By Chris Johnson Reporter The light snow that began falling Saturday night turned into a blizzard that dropped more than a foot of snow and made roads impassable across Ogle County. The snowfall began tapering off Sunday afternoon, but the winds picked up causing blizzard conditions and dangerously drifted roads. Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle had requested all motorists to avoid traveling after 4 p.m. on Sunday due to the road conditions. “Road conditions are extremely poor and very dangerous,” he wrote on a news release. “Many roads are nearly impassable and with the continued snow and gusty winds these conditions will continue to deteriorate.” This continued deterioration led the sheriff to close all roads in the county shortly before 9 p.m. “I decided to issue the travel ban for the safety of our deputies and to warn motorists if they became stranded help may not be immediately available,” VanVickle said Monday morning. “We had issues throughout the day and evening with motorists not listening to the warnings.” Complicating matters was the NFL Super Bowl game Sunday evening. Many residents were still heading out to see the game at various parties despite the weather and poor road conditions. By the time the game was over the roads were shut down.
An Illinois Department of Transportation truck and snow blower was out on US 52 Monday morning clearing the large piles of snow on the roads. Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said US 52 west of Polo and Ill. 64 west of Ill. 26 were drifted due to high winds and a foot of snow. Photo by Chris Johnson
Residents dig out after Sunday blizzard By Chris Johnson and Earleen Hinton Some used shovels others fired up their snowblowers
and some just smiled and went sledding. Those were the range of responses from Ogle County residents we talked
to and photographed on Monday—one day after Old Man Winter dropped more than a foot of snow in our lap.
Tiffany Rufer and her exchange student, Anton Aba-Varela, were shoveling out the driveway in front of Rufer’s home on S. Third
Polo resident Shannon Day shovels snow from around his car trying to get it free from where he got stuck on Ill. 26
Street in Oregon. “We shoveled some yesterday and are trying to finish up today,” said Rufer. Aba-Varela smiled as he reacted to the amount of snow. “See, I have my sunglasses on. We’ll shovel and then go skiing,” he said laughing. Across the street, Mary McGinnis was clearing the sidewalk with a snowblower. “We brought it from Wisconsin and I’m glad we did,” she said. One block away, fouryear-old Sam Ross was too busy to stop and talk as he helped his mom Allie, shovel the sidewalk in front of their home. “We have a really nice postal carrier and we wanted to clear the sidewalk for them,” said Allie. On N. Sixth Street, Oregon postal carrier Diana Mullarkey trudged through the foot of snow, smiled, and leaned over to reach a mailbox that was partially covered with snow.
Turn to B3 Sunday evening. Photo by Chris Johnson
Turn to A10
Donations are still needed for all local food pantries By Vinde Wells Editor With holiday giving past, local food pantries are still in need of donations to meet the ever-growing number of residents they serve. Four food pantries in Ogle County served a total of more than 300 families in December, a number that is steadily on the rise. “The need for helping people in Ogle County is greater than anyone would have imagined,” said Sharon Wallace, a board member at Oregon’s Lifeline Food Pantry. “Lots of people need a helping hand.” Polo Lifeline served 110 families in the Polo School District in November - an
all-time high. “We get new people every month,” said director Kathy Wragg. “It’s not that people aren’t working. Jobs don’t pay enough.” The situation is the same in two more pantries. “We get new people all the time,” said Jan Francis, a board member at Loaves & Fish Food Pantry, Mt. Morris. Rhowena Genandt, who serves on the board of Forreston’s food pantry at the New Life Community Center, said six new people have come in for food in the last few days. The Mt. Morris and Polo pantries have been a little short on food since Christmas. Francis said they have had to
In This Week’s Edition...
send a few people away with less food than needed. Bad weather in early January kept the Polo pantry from getting a delivery from the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Wragg said. Genandt said the local churches that support the pantry have been faithful about donating both food and money. “We’ve been very blessed,” Genandt said. However, she added that some items, like laundry and dish soap, are always in short supply. Donations are often short this time of year for the Oregon pantry and again in the summertime, Wallace said. Money is the most needed
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6
donation at the pantries, although food is also appreciated. “Money is the best donation because we can buy food at a cheaper price,” Wragg said. “Money is the best,” Francis agreed. Wallace explained that money is often needed to purchase meat as well as to cover expenses like rent and utilities. Volunteers are also needed at all four pantries to help stock shelves, help customers shop, and a number of other tasks. “It’s a real rewarding experience to help,” Wallace said. “I don’t think people realize the extent of the need in our communities.”
Fines, B6 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B5 Property Transfers, B6
Volunteer Kevin Rothermel helps stock shelves at Polo Lifeline Food Pantry. Photo by Vinde Wells
Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B7
Deaths, B6 Harlan J. Alderks, Leo Barney Jr., J. Elaine Pumfrey, Robert J. M. Tudor
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com