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The Polo-Forreston girls track team finished in first and in fourth during two meets. B1
Tri-County Press April 16, 2015 Volume 157, Number 30 - $1.00
Tornado Coverage
The new Ogle County Public Safety Complex has opened. A7
An EF4 tornado carved a path of destruction through Ogle and DeKalb Counties. A9-A11, B3
Grubsteakers is destroyed April 9 12 people rescued from storm cellar By Andy Colbert Reporter
Building owner Jim O’Connor, right, and Todd Curry, Civil Engineering, Freeport, discuss Monday morning how to proceed with the clean-up of two buildings that collapsed in downtown Polo Sunday. Photo by Vinde Wells
Building razed after collapse By Andy Colbert Reporter The advantage for Polo residents of having Police Chief Dennis Christen living only a few blocks from downtown was more than evident Sunday morning. It was Christen who first alerted the Polo Fire Department about the collapse of a vacant building in the 100 block of
East Mason Street. “I heard a crash, like the crashing of lumber,” said Christen. “I could see it from my house. There was debris falling and a dust cloud.” Christen called Polo Fire Chief Tony Karrow at 11:39 a.m. to report the collapse, and the fire department quickly left its annual fundraising breakfast at the station to respond. After determining no
one was inside and no one was injured from falling debris on the outside, the department secured the area and assessed the damage. “The rear portion of the building collapsed, and the north end looks ready to collapse,” Karrow said. “If the east wall comes down, it might. I don’t think were any utilities hooked up, so we don’t have to worry about anything like a
broken gas line. But, we’ll check to make completely sure.” The two-story commercial structure, vacant for at least 40 years, adjoined two other vacant buildings between Charley’s Pharmacy & Hardware and the Pinecricker Café on the east edge of the business district. Only a small empty lot Turn to A2
A large rack containing spices near the backside of what had been Grubsteakers Restaurant remained undisturbed. Fifty feet away, a semi trailer was on its side. That spice rack was one of the few things left standing, as a tornado demolished the landmark bar and restaurant at the intersection of Ill. 251 and 64, six miles north of Rochelle. Slot machines were tossed out of the bar area, alongside damaged vehicles and the semi truck. The driver of the truck, Tod Carlock, Mt. Morris, was one of 12 people that sought shelter in the basement of Grubsteakers. None were seriously injured, but each had to be helped out after part of the building fell over the exit from the basement. Grubsteakers was just one spot in Ogle County where area search and rescue teams from area fire departments were kept busy after a
tornado roared through on a northeasterly path from Ashton towards Fairdale. The estimated one-mile wide swath hit Grubsteakers at 7 p.m. “The whole thing was over in a minute and half,” Carlock said. “You didn’t hear a roar or anything like that. It was more like a heavy wind.” Carlock, a driver for Meyer Trucking in Mt. Morris, was on his way home after delivering a load in Minnesota. Unfortunately, he had a tire blowout on I-39, about four miles from Grubsteakers at 4:30 pm. “I limped in here and called a mechanic,” Carlock said. “He got it fixed and left. I waited another five minutes to do paperwork. I went to pull out and was staring into the eye of the storm.” Carlock immediately threw his semi in reverse and backed it up about 100 feet behind Grubsteakers. “I knew exactly what was going to happen,” Carlock. “I wanted to put the truck away from people and have the building Turn to A10
Home and antique car survived April 9 tornado By Andy Colbert Reporter In much the same way Ogle County is noted for the natural beauty of its state parks and the Rock River flowing through it, there is also a bucolic charm from an abundance of family farms. One of the most immaculate of those farmsteads was devastated by last Thursday’s tornado. Taking a direct hit was the 260-acre Schabacker family farm, located at Hemstock and White Rock roads, about two miles northwest of Skare Park. It is also one of the oldest, dating back to preCivil War. “It was a pristine farm,” said 51-year old Todd Schabacker, the fifth generation to farm at the This 1931 Ford received minor damage when the garage it was in was destroyed by a tornado. The tractors in the location. “Over the years, we garage, two Farmalls, and a John Deere, received damage. The tractors are owned by the Schabackers, Springdale had so many compliments on Farm on White rock and Hemstock. The farmhouse received relatively minor damage from the tornado. Photo by its appearance.” Chris Johnson
Schabacker was showing a visitor a large framed aerial photograph taken in 2013. In the perfectly manicured yard, there were two newer large Morton buildings, five other buildings and a pair of adjoining silos. The tornado, with winds speeds estimated at 200 mph, completely demolished those buildings and damaged all implements needed for planting. Inside were five tractors, two planters, grain and corn headers, sprayer, auger, grain wagon, and semi, among other farm equipment. “We were going to be in the field next week,” said a stunned Schabacker. “The timing could not have been worse.” Schabacker was coming home from Rochelle in the late afternoon April 9 when golf ball-sized hail began to Turn to A10
County will seek bids to remove several fuel tanks By Chris Johnson Reporter Two additional tank were discovered last week during an exploratory digging project at the county property in Oregon at Ill. 64 and Fifth Street. Ogle County Engineer Curtis Cook said he was out with an environmental engineer to determine what number and condition of several fuel tanks were under the former Jackass BBQ property.
“We helped check to see what tanks were there,” said Cook. “The county board asked my department to assist. We completed an exploratory excavation to prepare for removal.” Besides the two gasoline tanks previously known to be on the site, Cook said two other tanks were discovered. Cook said the tops of all the tanks or the vents were uncovered to check the status of the tanks. This was done so
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Cook could complete a comprehensive specification that would be used during the bid process for the tank removal. “The highway department will handle this process but the county board will handle the payments,” said Cook. “We will do the oversight and preparations for the project.” Cook said the Long Range Planning Committee and the county board will make decisions of the project but leave the details to the
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
highway department. “These projects are what we do at the highway department,” said Cook. The two small tanks were discovered on the west side of the building. “There was not anything major that was discovered,” said Cook. “It was as expected.” Long Range Planning Committee Chairman Don Griffin said soil samples were also taken during the excavation.
Polo Police, A2 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B6
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B6 Weather, A2
An Ogle County Highway Department crew digs April 8 beside the former Jackass BBQ building looking for underground fuel tanks and taking soil samples. Photo by Vinde Wells
Deaths, B5 Evelyn M. Forsyth, LaVonne Byrd Frey, Marsha F. Johnson, Tom Jordan, Donald G. Leary, Wilma J. Wolfley
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com