Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press February 18, 2016 Volume 158, Number 22 - $1.00
Marcos Best Aquin
Self Defense
Lady Cards Fall
The Marcos basketball team beats Freeport Aquin, gears up for playoffs. B1
Well Armed Woman chapter learn self-defense on Valentine’s Day A9
The Lady Cardinals season comes to an end with a regional loss to Dakota. B1
County engineer steps down after 24 years By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com An Ogle County official stepped down this week after more than two decades on the job. County engineer Curtis Cook announced his resignation, effective April 30, to the county board at its Tuesday evening meeting. Cook, 54, told the board that he has accepted a position as partner with engineering firm Chastain & Associates LLC and will do
consulting. The company has an office in Rockford. Cook has been in his present post for 24 years, starting as county engineer on Jan. 1, 1992. “While leaving Ogle County gives me a heavy heart, joining Chastain & Associates is an exciting opportunity,” Cook said. He said he and his wife Laura, who is chief deputy county clerk, plan to remain Oregon residents. Cook recounted how Laura agreed to move with their two
young children to Ogle County and Oregon, sight unseen, when he accepted the post. “We’ve never been sorry we came here,” he said. Cook recommended that the county board hire assistant county engineer Jeremy Ciesiel as his replacement. Ciesel has been in his current post for five years. Board chairman Kim Gouker called Cook a “mainstay” in the county and said he will be missed. The board is expected to accept
his resignation at its March 16 meeting. In another matter, the board appointed Jim Harrison to another four-year term as Ogle County Supervisor of Assessments. Harrison, 59, has served in that post for 28 years. He was first appointed in February of 1988. In other business, Gouker told the board that the lease for Rochelle Clinic has been extended for 60 days, allowing it to remain in the county’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) until
Previously, the county rented the basement of the building from the hospital.
Valentine’s Day storm brings 3-4 in. of snow
Chamber gets electronic sign By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com
A brand new, state-of-the-art electronic sign is now letting Polo residents and visitors know what’s going on in the community. Thanks to the generosity of local business owners William and Beverly Burkardt, the Polo Chamber of Commerce recently purchased the sign to replace an older version with letters than had to be placed manually. The sign was installed last week. “We’re so excited about having this sign,” said chamber treasurer Susie Corbitt, who is also the Polo City Clerk. The new sign, on Ill. 26 just south of Mason Street, has full color capabilities for the letters and background, and community events can be programmed into it from the city hall two blocks away. “It’s so easy to change the events,” Corbitt said. “I can do it from my desk.” The chamber hired members of Polo Masonic Lodge to change the letters on the old sign, a task that got increasingly difficult, especially in winter. The William and Beverly Burkardt Family Foundation donated more than $24,000 for the purchase of the sign, Corbitt said, something the chamber had been considering for several years.
the end of May. He said clinic officials requested the extension because the facility’s new location is not yet completed in the addition being built onto Rochelle Community Hospital. The county purchased the building at 510 Lincoln Highway, Rochelle, in October from the hospital to use as its EOC.
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com
The Polo Chamber of Commerce has a new digital sign on Ill. 26 for posting community events thanks to the generosity of Bill and Bev Burkardt and their family. Photo by Vinde Wells
“We started looking at electronic signs seven years ago, but they are so costly,” she said. “We’re so grateful to the Burkardts.” The Burkardts own and operate Burkardt’s
LP Gas and are Polo Chamber of Commerce members. A ribbon cutting for the sign will be held in the next few weeks.
A Valentine’s Day snowstorm turned out to be a fairly minor event in an unusually mild winter. The flakes started falling mid-morning Feb. 14 and continued until late evening with 25 mph gusts causing drifting on some rural roads in Ogle County. Lt. Greg Kunce, of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, said the weather conditions contributed to only six traffic accidents. “We got lucky. It was just typical winter driving conditions, nothing serious,” Kunce said. “It was well-predicted, and everyone seemed prepared for it.” Ogle County Engineer Curtis Cook estimated that three to four inches of snow fell throughout the day on Sunday. “It was hard to tell because there was so much drifting taking place,” he said. He said the snow plow drivers were on the job for about eight hours Sunday, and then returned to work around 4 a.m. Monday to clean up roads. “Then we had the freezing fog to deal with,” he said. “It was pretty slick.”
Congressman talks about leadership at Chamber luncheon By Andy Colbert acolbert@ogle countynews.com Adam Kinzinger for President? That was the first question posed to the U.S. Congressman from the 16th district at an Oregon Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Tuesday. Addressing nearly 50 local community leaders at the Rock River Senior Center, Kinzinger spoke a wide range of subjects – from an exploitative political climate, America’s role as a world leader, his distaste for the actions of Donald Trump, a productive 2015 for Congress, and what true leadership entails. Captivating the audience with a passionate message and chiseled good looks of a 37-year-old, the decorated U.S. Air Force pilot and 6-year U.S. representative had the diverse crowd of Chamber members attentive to his every word. “That’s why I asked him if I planned to run for President. He’s is such a positive change from everyone else,” said Mark True, who was one of
several people who queried Kinzinger afterwards. “My daughter is a liberal Democrat who would likely agree with most everything he said, which goes to show how unifying his message is,” Oregon City Council member Terry Schuster said. “It was about compromise, common understanding and the purpose of what the United States stands for.” Chamber President Debbie Dickson, who spent the past year trying to arrange a visit with Kinzinger’s office, was delighted with the ‘Lunchn-Learn’ event and the congressman’s message. “We need his type of compassion and honesty in government,” Dickson said. “With social media, there is so much false information and it does us a disservice. As a chamber, we find it’s important to provide as much factual and educational information as we can. Being able to hear directly from the source is the main reason we brought him here.” Kinzinger’s visit to Oregon came after spending the last three days in South Carolina, campaigning for Jeb Bush. “After being on the
In This Week’s Edition...
Congressman Adam Kinzinger was the featured speaker at the Oregon Chamber of Commerce’s Lunch ‘n Learn on Tuesday at the Rock River Center. Photo by Earleen Hinton
election trail, I am excited to come out here and represent you,” Kinzinger said. “I’m concerned about small rural towns. They have a problem with aging infrastructure and tax base. I’m really focused on their health.” Coming from a modest background in central Illinois, Kinzinger’s faith in
Chamber Chatter, A9 Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
this country is restored by the fact someone like himself without any special pedigree can be a U.S. representative. “What I am concerned with is the tone of our politics,” he said. “Many politicians exploit the issues, creating a culture of us versus them. We’ve gotten to a point where anger has
Library News, A8 Marriage Licenses, A4 Polo Police, A2 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4
permeated us. Look at the presidential debates.” Bashing Trump for questionable leadership qualities, Kinzinger boldly shared his own philosophies on the subject. “True leadership is about taking people’s anger and instead of reflecting it back in the mirror, we need to
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4
show you how to get out of it,” Kinzinger said. In his travels around the world to places like Ethiopia, Kenya, Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan, Kinzinger said people still look up to the United States. “We were put on earth, not to be provided a comfortable Turn to A3
Deaths, B4 Harlan Blake, Jean Blakeslee, Kathryn A. Giblin, Carol E. Hammer, Lynda G. Johnson, David W. O’Brien
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com