Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO Recycling Day The OCSWD will accept electronics during the monthly recycling day Feb. 26. B4
Tri-County Press February 25, 2016 Volume 158, Number 23 - $1.00
Third Place
Tax Preparation
Polo-Forreston’s Ethan Cain finished third in state. B1
Free tax preparation help is available at the Rock River Center in Oregon. A7
Fire district asking for tax hikes to cover services By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Polo Fire District will ask residents next month for more money to operate both the fire and ambulance services. Fire district board vice president Mark Bergstrom said Friday that two referenda will be on the March 15 primary ballot.
One asks for a property tax increase from 30 to 40 cents per $100 equalized assessed valuation (EAV) for fire department, and the other asks for the same amount for the ambulance service. That means for a house valued at $150,000, the real estate taxes will increase a total of approximately $100, excluding exemptions, if both measures get the nod from voters.
Fire district officials will hold a public meeting to answer questions on Monday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. at the fire station, 206 S. Franklin Ave. Bergstrom said the fire board decided to seek the referenda due to the increasing costs for both services. “Our operations every year from ATS are going up,” he said. The district contracts with
ATS Medical Services, Loves Park, to provide emergency medical technicians around the clock. The state budget crisis has made the situation more difficult, Bergstrom said, because Medicaid and Medicare payments to transport patients have stopped. “Sometimes it’s also hard to collect if the patient has no insurance,” he said “We
haven’t increased ambulance rates since ATS took over.” When the contract with ATS began in 2009, the annual cost to the district was $288,267. The cost for 2016 will be $327,000 with annual increases projected after that. The contract year begins May 1. The ambulance service averages at least 30 calls per month. Fire operations costs, such
Meeting Set
Fire district officials will hold a public meeting to answer questions on Monday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. at the fire station, 206 S. Franklin Ave. as insurance, are also going up, Bergstrom said. Although the district has no immediate equipment needs, he said the board is Turn to A2
Council mulls land purchases By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Polo city officials are considering purchasing property for two projects. City clerk Susie Corbitt said last Thursday that, at its Feb. 16 meeting, the city council discussed a site in the 100 block of North Franklin Avenue, formerly Olsen’s Feed & Elevator, as a possible location for the Polo Street Department. The property, now owned by Gary Bocker, consists of five lots between Franklin and Green Avenues, and does not include the former Olsen office building. The street department is currently housed in a building attached to the police station on Colden Street, but needs more storage space. A study done of the police department and its facilities last year suggested utilizing part of the current street department building for police needs. Previously, the council had considered buying a building across the street from the present street department location, but it was sold to someone else. The council is also searching for enough land for a new city hall sometime in the future. “We’ve outgrown our present building,” Corbitt said. The city hall is located
Action Above, Mary-Mary and Peter-Peter meet in “A Perennial Problem” Feb. 20 during the PCHS Drama Club’s performance of “ Fractured Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes.” Left to right are: Ally Rhodes (Mary-Mary), Lena Baumann, Lindsey Coleman, Chrystal Shuman, Jessica Conway, and William Hoak (Peter-Peter). At right, William Hoak (Jack Spratt) and Lauren Rhodes (Edith Spratt) fight over the remote Feb. 20 in “The Twilight Realm,” one segment of the production. Photos courtesy of Emily Joines
at 115 S. Franklin Ave. In another matter, the council authorized attorney Tom Suits to draw up a change to the city’s ordinance governing golf carts and utility task vehicles (UTVs), which took effect last June. Corbitt said the revision will reduce the minimum age of UTV operators from 21 to 18, and will be presented at the March 7 council meeting. The changes will bring the city’s ordinance in line with Illinois Department of Natural Resources rules that set the minimum age of UTV drivers at 18. A request earlier this month sparked the change. Mark Imfeld, Dixon, asked the council Feb. 1 to waive its permit fees for UTVs as part of a pilot program to develop a trail system throughout northern Illinois. Imfeld said the Dixon Park District Board recently approved a pilot program for golf carts and similar vehicles on the portion of the Joe Stengel Trail from Woosung to Judson Road just south of Polo. City ordinances currently require UTV and golf cart owners to purchase a $25 permit. Imfeld asked the council to waive the requirements for persons who ride into town on the Joe Stengel Trail. He said the riders will Turn to A2
New ACE hardware store in Oregon By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Despite a few last minute details, Oregon’s new hardware store is open. “We’re ready for business!” store manager Scott Fauster said Tuesday afternoon as crews did some final set-up at the Ace Hardware store connected to Oregon Snyder Pharmacy at 201 N. Fourth St. “We’re in operation except for some fine-tuning as far as pricing and displays,” he said. “We now have a fullservice hardware store, a full-fledged liquor store, and Employee Patrick Keaty, left, and store manager Scott a pharmacy and gift shop.” Fauster work in the paint department Tuesday at The hardware store Oregon’s new Ace Hardware. Photo by Vinde Wells features a full line of Stihl
In This Week’s Edition...
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
tools, Fauster said. A grand opening is planned for April 15-17. Kathy Heather was a long-time employee of Basler’s Ace Hardware on Pines Road, which closed in October of 2014, and is now working the aisles in the new store, owned by Tom Felker. She said she’s glad to see her former customers coming in. “It’s good to see the old familiar faces again,” Heather said. “It’s good to be home again.” Felker started work last year on a 75x130 foot addition on the north side of his pharmacy. The pharmacy and gift store moved into the addition Turn to A2
Oregon Police, B4 Pine Creek News. A3 Polo Library, A9 Public Voice, A4
Debris Clean Up A backhoe was at work Tuesday morning cleaning up the remains of the Stukenberg family’s barn, which was destroyed by a fire Dec. 28. The oldest part of the barn, at the corner of Main Street and Ill. 72 in Leaf River, was built in 1844. Photo by Vinde Wells
Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Sports, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B3
Deaths, B4 Guy J. “Bill” Lomax James T. “Doc” O’Connor
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com