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POLO
Tri-County Press April 17, 2014 Volume 156, Number 30- $1.00
Softball Action
Performing
Taft Book
The Forreston-Polo Lady Cardinals are 6-3 on the season after 4 games last week. B1
Members of PACT are preparing for their spring show. A10
A new book about sculptor Lorado Taft will be published this fall. A9
Trial date set for ex-minister By Chris Johnson Reporter
Fire Art The art work of fight graders at Centennial Elementary School was on display April 13 at the Polo Fire Department’s Spring Breakfast. Photo by Vinde Wells
County board approves building By Vinde Wells Editor Despite opposition to the location, the Ogle County Board went ahead Tuesday with plans to build a new sheriff’s administration building. The board accepted a $4.1 million bid from Rockford Structures for the project. Plans call for the building to be located at 103 Jefferson Street, Oregon, where the current sheriff’s office is situated. However, that site has
“I do not support the location. I support the project,� — Skip Kenney, Rochelle brought opposition from board members and citizens. Beth Henderson, owner of the Eagles Nest, located a block north from the sheriff’s building, urged the board to reconsider because that area, which is next to the Rock River, has been earmarked for a riverfront district. “Oregon has all the
components to promote tourism,� she said. One of the main components for tourism and recreation is the river and the area surrounding it, she said. As a nearby landowner, Henderson said she was never contacted about the plans for the new sheriff’s building. Not developing the area for
This is a rendering of what the new sheriff’s administration building will look like.
tourism will reduce the value of her property, she said. Henderson also said the taxes on her property are high because of its location next to the river. A better location for the sheriff’s building, she said, would be on the property the county owns on South Sixth Street west of the judicial center. Henderson asked the board to delay the project at least long enough to do an economic impact study of the area and determine the effect the sheriff’s building would have on it, in contrast to tourism development. She said Western Illinois University has been contacted and would do the study at no cost to the county. WIU did an economic impact study before the judicial center was built. Oregon City Commissioner Ken Williams also asked for a 30-day moratorium on the project to allow time for the study. Turn to A2
Large grass fire consumes 130 acres By Vinde Wells Editor
40 miles per hour drove the flames almost faster than firefighters could put them out, Stillman Valley Fire Chief Chad Hoefle said. “It was difficult to catch up to because of the wind,� he said. The very smoky fire made conditions dangerous for firefighters.
When chasing a fire in the poor visibility, Hoefle said, it can be very easy for a grass Well over a dozen fire rig to end up in the flames departments turned out Friday without the driver even afternoon to fight a grass fire realizing it. that burned 130 acres east of The fire swept though areas the intersection of Ill. 72 and of timber, as well as brush Meridian Road just outside of piles, Hoefle said. Stillman Valley. Despite less than ideal Wind gusts of more than conditions, the fire crews, who remained on the job for four hours, were able to save the buildings of an old farmstead from the flames. “The main thing is we all went home safely and no homes were damaged,� Hoefle said. “We had a lot of help and they stayed to the end.� The fire was reported at 1:45 p.m., he said, and started Mt. Morris firefighters were one of several fire from a homeowner who was departments that responded to a field fire just south of burning off a prairie plot. Ill. 72 and east of Meridian Road. This photo was taken The wind-driven flames on Armour Road. Photo by Earleen Hinton jumped Ill. 72 and began
In This Week’s Edition...
Business Briefs, B6 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6
burning corn stubble between the highway and railroad tracks. “We had to shut off traffic completely because of the wind and the intensity of the heat,� Hoefle said. That meant also rerouting school buses delivering students home from classes for the day. Firefighters contained the flames before they spread across the railroad tracks into a large field on the other side. Although it was the biggest, it was hardly the only grass or brush fire April 11. Hoefle said several of the departments called for mutual aid could not respond because they were already on other calls. At least five other grass or brush fires were reported in
Fines, B2 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B5 Polo Police, A2 Public Voice, A9
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A jury trial has been scheduled in a case against a former minister accused of sexually molesting an 11-year-old child. Charles Babler, 65, Mt. Morris, appeared in court Monday morning with his attorney David Tess. Babler, formerly the campus pastor at Crossroads Community Church, Polo, was arrested June 21, 2013, on a charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony. The arrest stemmed from an investigation into a single incident that took place in early 2011. “We have come to an impasse to negotiations,� said Tess. “We have talked.� Ogle County Judge Robert Hanson asked how long the trial would take. “Two days,� said Assistant State’s Attorney Joshua Versluys. Hanson set the two day trial for June 17 at 9 a.m. A final pretrial conference was set for June 5 at 1:30 p.m. “All motions should be on file at that time,� said Hanson. Tess asked for his client
Charles Babler
to be excused from the June 5 pretrial for his granddaughter’s wedding. Versluys had concerns that during the wedding Babler would have contact with persons under age 18 which his bond does not allow. “He needs to be supervised,� said Versluys. Hanson was prepared to grant a motion to allow Babler to attend the wedding but Versluys asked for a hearing on the matter. “Okay, we will set this for a hearing,� said Hanson. A hearing on the motion to amend the bond conditions was set for April 28 at 10 a.m. The maximum penalty for conviction of a Class 2 felony is 3 to 7 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Chairman asks for the forensic audit By Vinde Wells Editor In an apparent reversal of its stand three months ago, the Ogle County Board authorized Chairman Kim Gouker Tuesday to proceed with getting a forensic audit of the sheriff’s Tow Fund. “I would like to see a full audit of the Tow Fund from beginning to end,� Gouker said. He said the audit will determine whether or not Sheriff Michael Harn has misused money from the Tow Fund, and lay to rest the questions brought up over the last several months. Gouker said Harn is also eager to have the matter resolved. “I spoke to the sheriff on my way here and told him what I was going to propose,� Gouker said. “He thinks it’s a great idea. He’s fully cooperative.� Harn has come under fire in the last few months over expenditures from the Tow Fund, which included purchasing a new vehicle, flowers for Secretaries Day, a tent at the county fair, and $4,000 for the department’s Facebook page to be managed. Gouker said he has an estimate for the forensic audit of $7,500 from Sikich, the firm that does the county’s
Property Transfers, B3 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5 Social News, A4 Sports, A12, B1 State’s Attorney, B7
regular annual audits. Because it was not on the agenda, the board will have to wait until its May meeting to vote to hire Sikich for the forensic audit. Board member Richard Petrizzo, Davis Junction, made a motion for a forensic audit of the Tow Fund as well as the sheriff’s credit card expenditures at the board’s Jan. 21 meeting. However, Gouker said the matter could not be voted on then because it was not on the agenda. Petrizzo’s subsequent efforts to have the matter placed on the agenda were unsuccessful. In February, the board diminished the sheriff’s control over the Tow Fund by limiting how monies could be spent and requiring the approval of expenditures by the county committee that oversees the sheriff’s budget. At Tuesday’s meeting the board approved a resolution establishing the Tow Fund. Gouker said that although the board approved implementing administrative tow fees in 2011, the ordinance governing that did not actually establish the Tow Fund. The new resolution also mandates that Tow Fund deposits are limited to only
Deaths, B2 Iris Cashman Anderson, Virginia R. Masters, Kathleen R. Mongan, Marvin K. Terviel
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