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POLO
Tri-County Press April 28, 2016 Volume 158, Number 32 - $1.00
Hawk Classic
Recycle Friday
Man Charged
Competition is the operative word at this annual track meet. B1
Ogle County residents can recycle their electronic items April 29. B3
A Byron man has been charged with reckless homicide following a 2014 accident. B3
Officials await word on state’s repayment plan By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Local officials are awaiting direction about how taxing bodies will be expected to repay money they received due to a state error over the past two years. An error by the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) means hundreds of taxing districts across the state that received disbursements from a personal property tax replacement fund in 2014 and 2015 must repay an estimated $168 million to the state. Like other county officials, Oregon School Superintendent Tom Mahoney has heard nothing from the state about how the repayments will be accomplished. “We don’t know the true impact to our finances because we don’t know how much or how long the repayment schedule will be,” he said Tuesday. Ogle County taxing bodies must repay a total of $582,777.07. That includes the county, school
Water mains flushed
districts, cities and villages, townships, fire districts, and park districts. The Oregon School District was the hardest hit in the county with $93,621.17 to pay back. Mahoney said personal property tax replacement reimbursement (PPRT) is a factor in determining how much general state aid school districts receive. “Higher PPRT decreases general state aid,” he said. “So in the last three years our general state aid should have been higher.” The district is already feeling the pinch, Mahoney said with a smaller than anticipated PPRT payment in April. “The last PPRT payment was short, and that will impact this year’s budget,” he said. The school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, the same as the state’s. The personal property tax replacement was instituted in 1976 to replace money that was lost by local governments when their powers to impose personal property taxes on Turn to A2
The Polo Water Department will flush water mains throughout the city on Tuesday, May 3 and on Wednesday, May 4. All areas of the city may be affected by rusty water and low pressure on both days.
Chorus Performs One-hundred people turned out to hear the Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus Saturday night at the Polo Senior Center. Above, the Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus performed a selection of classic barbershop songs. At left, Ken Toms, Forreston, performs. Photo by Chris Johnson
Citizens speak out against rail line By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Two women voiced vehement opposition to the Ogle County Board last week to building a railroad line through the east side of the county. Miriah Ranken, Rochelle, and Cindy Brown, Lindenwood, both urged the board April 19 to get involved and oppose the proposed Great Lakes Basin Railroad. Building the rail line would cost an estimated $8 billion. The rail system would be entirely funded by private investors led by Frank Patton,
Crete, a former software developer. Ranken advised board members to attend an April 20 informational meeting held in Rochelle to become familiar with the project. “We implore you to get involved now rather than later because this is when you’ll have the most say,” she said. The Surface Transportation Board, an agency that works independently within the U.S. Department of Transportation, organized 10 public meetings, including the one in Rochelle, to gather input on a proposed 278mile rail line project that would extend from southern
Wisconsin to northern Indiana. Ranken urged the board to pass a resolution opposing it because of what she called its adverse effect on the watershed, endangered species, and wildlife. “We will leave you with this thought,” she said. “Is this in the best interests of Ogle County citizens?” Brown said the rail line will have an adverse effect on agriculture. It could also mean some roads will dead end, making it difficult for emergency vehicles to get where they need to go, she said. “This is a private investor that wants to use eminent
domain for his own gain,” Brown said. The system would extend from La Porte, Indiana, to Milton, Wisconsin, requiring overpasses for several interstates and four rivers, including the Rock River in Ogle County. The route would run through sparsely populated areas, bypassing the congested Chicago rail system. The new rail lines would connect with existing Class I railroads. Plans call for one of the branches to connect with Rochelle’s rail system on the city’s southeast side before continuing to an Interstate 39 overpass.
Chana, said Steve Moring contacted him earlier that day with changes in the layout of the proposed facility. Welty asked for the request to be reconsidered by the Assessments and Planning & Zoning Committee at its May 10 meeting. Steve Moring told the board that he is willing to relocate dumpsters on the property to make them less visible to the public. The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) recommended approval of the request March 28. Some nearby property owners have voiced opposition to the request at the ZBA hearing, citing environmental concerns.
Most were concerned about contamination from the garbage trucks and dumpsters that will be stored on the property. Walter Paul, who owns a farm just across Ill. 72, said the groundwater is just below the surface in that area and a creek is nearby. The creek feeds into the
Leaf River, a tributary of the Rock River. Paul and several other neighbors voiced concern that wells and aquifers, as well as the streams, could be contaminated by garbage as well as motor oil. The county board is expected to reconsider the request on Tuesday, May 17.
Zoning request sent back to committee By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
A controversial zoning request was tabled by the Ogle County Board April 19 and sent back to committee. The board tabled a request from Mike Stukenberg, Forreston, and Steve and Kevin Moring, also of Forreston, for a special use permit to allow a Class 2 Motor Carrier Facility on property zoned for agricultural use. The property, at 11123 W. Ill. 72 just east of Forreston, is owned by Stukenberg and being purchased by STKE A crew from Morgan Tree Service trims up a large tree LLC, a company owned by April 22 in front of the Polo Church of the Open Bible. the Morings. Photo by Vinde Wells Board member Bill Welty,
Tree Trimming
In This Week’s Edition...
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
Marriage Licenses, A4 Pine Creek News, A3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4
All-Town Rummage Sales this weekend Clean out the closets and get ready for the Polo All Town Rummage Sales on Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30. Second Hand Rose will hold a special $5 per bag sale on Thursday, April 28, Friday,
April 29 and Saturday, April 30. The Polo Woman’s Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, April 30 from 8 to 10 a.m. in the alley behind 105 S. Division Ave.
Deaths, B4 Charles C. Beard, John W. Camplain, Howard E. Detra Sr., Dolores Patterson
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com