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POLO
Tri-County Press February 13, 2014 Volume 156, Number 21 - $1.00
Sectional Bound
What’s Cookin’
Pinewood Derby
Five Polo-Forreston wrestlers qualified for the Feb. 14-15 Byron Sectional. B1
Teams of four and encouraged to sign up for a cooking fundraiser. A8
Polo Cub Scout Pack 337 competed in the Pinewood Derby races. A10
Snowmobiler critically injured near Forreston By Vinde Wells Editor A Forreston man was critically injured Sunday afternoon when his snowmobile collided with a pick-up truck approximately
three miles north of Forreston. Adam C. Brown, 22, was airlifted to Rockford Memorial Hospital where he was listed in critical condition Monday. Robert Frazier, Acting
Regional Commander for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police, said Brown was riding on a snowmobile route near the roadway at 10608 N. Hollywood Rd. when he
went up over a large pile of snow at a high rate of speed and struck the pick-up truck, which was driven by Billy G. Deen, 67, Forreston. The crash occurred at 3:15 p.m. Deen was driving up the driveway to his home.
Frazier said the height of the snow pile obscured visibility. Deen was transported by ambulance to FHN Memorial Hospital, Freeport, for nonlife-threatening injuries. The crash remains under
investigation. The Conservation Police were assisted at the scene by the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, and the Forreston Fire Department and ambulance.
PCHS teacher receives award A Polo art teacher has been selected for state-wide recognition. Jamie Harmon, who teaches art to students in grades 4 through 12, has been named the recipient of the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education (IAAE) Service Recognition Award for 201314. She was nominated by Sarah Schlegel, eighth grade language arts teacher at Aplington Middle School, Polo. In her nomination letter, Schlegel detailed Harmon’s creativity in inspiring her students and her dedication to them. “School involvement is the name of the game for Jamie,â€? the letter reads. “Jamie’s dedication to her students in and out of the classroom Polo’s Jozi Grobe (21) greets teammates after Polo defeated Milledgeville Monday night. The win was the second is admirable to say the on the season for the Lady Marcos. Photo by Philip Marruffo least. A woman who‌has
Regional Win
Jamie Harmon
worked diligently to create a caring, uplifting environment where the visual arts are for everyone and where future generations of fledging artists find their wings.� The award will be presented March 20 at a luncheon held at the Illinois Executive Mansion, Springfield. The IAAE is sponsored by the Illinois Arts Council, Springfield.
Mishandling of funds led to Taylor’s resignation By Vinde Wells Editor Unauthorized withdrawals and redirection of payments are apparently at least part of the reasons why the Forrestville Valley School Board first suspended superintendent Lowell Taylor and later accepted his resignation. Although board members remain tight-lipped about Taylor’s departure, a resignation agreement between Taylor, 45, and the school board sheds some light on why the longtime administrator stepped down Feb. 4 after months of special board meetings and closed sessions. Apparently, Taylor diverted funds intended for a taxsheltered annuity and an IRA for his children’s education, both provided to him by the district, for his immediate use without the board’s knowledge or permission. The board approved Taylor’s resignation and the agreement at a special meeting Feb. 4. Ogle County Newspapers filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the resignation agreement and received it Feb. 5. The agreement, which makes Taylor’s resignation effective June 15, states the terms of the agreement do not release Taylor from “any liability he may have
for federal or state taxes, Medicare taxes, penalties, and interest.� “It is expressly understood,� the agreement reads, “that the employee’s (Taylor’s) withdrawals of deferred compensation, and redirection of payments intended for the employee’s tax sheltered annuity and educational IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts), all without the actioned approval of the board, may have resulted in the underreporting of the employee’s income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Illinois Department of Revenue.� “It is agreed that the issues presented by deferred compensation and payments intended for the employee’s tax sheltered annuities and educational IRAs will be deemed resolved as a result and on the date of this agreement, and such withdrawals and payments will be deemed as income to the employee as of the date of this agreement and reported by the board to the Internal Revenue Service and the Illinois Department of Revenue,� the agreement goes on to say. “The employee agrees to indemnify and hold the board harmless for any federal or state income tax, Medicare tax, penalties, and interest which may be due from the employee thereon.� Board president Robert Ebbesmeyer declined to comment Feb. 6 on whether or
In This Week’s Edition...
Superintendent’s Compensation for 2013-14 Salary $169,179 Tax Sheltered Annuity (through payroll) $17,500 4EACHERS 2ETIREMENT 3YSTEM 4()3 $22,775 4AX 3HELTERED !NNUITY EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION $29,500 (EALTH $ENTAL )NSURANCE $10,844 ,IFE )NSURANCE DISTRICT SPONSORED $53 ,IFE )NSURANCE PER CONTRACT $12,608 %DUCATION )2! $1,000 -EDICAL 2EIMBURSEMENT $500 not the IRS is investigating the matter. He also declined to say how much money was involved, how long the unauthorized withdrawals and redirection of payments had been going on, or how and when they were discovered. “We worked to make this fair to both sides,� Ebbesmeyer said. After the Feb. 4 meeting, Ebbesmeyer told the crowd who attended that he would not likely comment further. “There are a lot of legal ramifications,� he said then. The terms of the agreement prohibit the board from discussing the details. Ebbesmeyer said the board will pay Taylor for 60 days of accumulated vacation, running from Jan. 8 through April 4. Taylor will then be on unpaid leave from April 5 through June 15 when the resignation takes effect. According to the terms of Taylor’s original contract, which approved by the school
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
board in December of 2000, in addition to his salary, retirement contributions, and insurance, the district provided Taylor with other benefits, including a tax sheltered annuity and an educational IRA for his children’s education. The board agreed in the original contract to pay $10,000 per year into the annuity as well as $500 for each of his two children annually into the educational IRA. The original five-year contract specified an annual salary of $94,000 for Taylor’s first year, 2001-02, with annual increases to a salary of $118,000 by the fifth year (2005-06). The contract was extended several times accompanied by annual salary increases and was due to expire on June 30, 2018. According to information released by the school board, Taylor’s compensation for the current school year was to have
Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
included $169,179 in salary and an additional $94,780 in benefits that included retirement, health and life insurance, the tax sheltered annuity, the educational IRA, and medical reimbursement. Taylor went on sick leave in early August of 2013, and the board approved his request for medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) on Aug. 26, the same day they hired interim superintendent Jane Eichman to take over the reins of the district. The board suspended Taylor without pay on Jan. 8, and rescinded that action Feb. 4 before accepting the resignation agreement. The district’s annual audit report, which was presented Dec. 18, was several weeks late in coming. Ordinarily audit reports are presented in October or November. “Basically the auditors had to do more research,� Ebbesmeyer said in early January. “They needed to
Social News, A4 Sports, A12, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Weather, A2
clarify financial issues about where the money had gone.� He declined to comment further, but said the district was not missing funds. When auditor Jerry Funk, from Wipfli, Freeport, presented the audit report to the board on Dec. 18, he said difficulties were encountered while doing the audit. “It did require us to perform additional procedures,� he said. He told the board that one of the audit findings concerned the administrator’s access to certificates of deposit and employee benefits. The audit report reads, “The current controls over administrative compensation and benefits allowed an administrator to cash in certificates of deposit and request reimbursements without specific board approval or notice.� Taylor became the district’s superintendent on July 1, 2001. Prior to becoming superintendent, he served as the district’s assistant superintendent for a year. Before that he was the principal at Leaf River and German Valley Grade Schools. Eichman will remain as the district’s interim superintendent for the rest of the school year. Ebbesmeyer said Feb. 4 that the search for a new superintendent is the board’s number one priority.
Deaths, B3 Raymond H. Doyle, Michael P. Dvorak, Margaret E. Gearhart, Virginia P.Heberg, Francis E. Vock
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