Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press May 12, 2016 Volume 158, Number 34 - $1.00
Tourney Time
Eden Honored
Spring sports will begin their postseasons next week. B2
Stan Eden gets Illinois’ Lifetime Volunteer Award for his work with Ogle 4-H clubs. A4
Special Insert!
Legion post will move downtown By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com
Hardy Plants Polo FFA member Matyson Williams helps Noralee Gray pick out tomatoes at the plant sale May 7. The high school greenhouse is open after school until 6 p.m. and on Saturday, May 14 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Photo by Vinde Wells
Without new revenues, Polo’s American Legion Post could lose its charter. Dwindling finances have taken a toll on Patrick Fegan American Legion Post 83 but a member has come up with a solution. Marine Corps veteran Joe Wilson offered the building he owns on the northeast corner of Mason Street and Franklin Avenue as the new post headquarters. Wilson told the Polo City Council May 2 that the building where Second Hand Rose was formerly located will offer space for the legion to hold its meetings, as well as fundraising events, such as bingo, Vegas nights, and card games. The building is next door to Chesty P’s Pub, which Wilson also owns. He said he plans to put a doorway between the two buildings to allow those attending Legion events to access the bar.
Legion member Richard Jacks said the post dates back to 1919 and 1920 and was one of the first 100 chartered in Illinois. He said the post has 70 members. They pay $35 each in annual dues but $31 of that goes to the federal organization, leaving the post $280 per year for other fees and costs. The council gave verbal approval to Wilson’s plan. In another matter, Mayor Doug Knapp recognized Tom Suits, who is also the city’s attorney, for serving on the Park Board for 37 years. Suits recently stepped down, and the council appointed Kyle Carlock to fill his position. Knapp read a proclamation in appreciation of Suit’s service. Suits, in turn, praised the city’s parks. “Polo has some of the finest parks in northern Illinois,” he said. “Very few other communities have an outdoor swimming pool.” He pointed out that Polo maintains its parks and services without having a park district.
Repairs to Black Hawk are indefinitely on hold By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com Efforts to preserve Ogle County’s most well-known landmark are indefinitely on hold due to a conflict over artistic integrity. Repair work on the Black Hawk Statue has been halted while the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) looks for a new general contractor for the project to replace Dr. Andrzej Dajnowski from Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio, Forest Park. “The contract with the project’s general contractor has not been renewed, so repairs have halted temporarily while the Illinois Department of Natural Resources seeks a new general contractor. No timeline has been established yet for when work might be restarted,” IDNR Communications Director Chris Young said in an email sent
May 4. The IDNR has jurisdiction over the statue because it’s situated in Lowden State Park near Oregon. Dajnowski, who was under contract last year with the IDNR to work on the 105-year-old statue, said he declined to sign the contract the IDNR sent him for this year because it stipulated that the repairs be done in a way he could not agree to. “They hired an engineer who wanted to remove more of the surface of the statue than necessary,” he said. “Ethically that’s not acceptable. I’m a conservator, she’s an engineer.” He confirmed that the engineer is Amy Lamb Woods from Simpson Gumperta & Heger, a Chicago-based engineering firm that designs, investigates, and rehabilitates structures and building enclosures.
Lamb Woods referred questions about the project to Young. “It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever walked away from a contract,” Dajnowski said. “It took seven years to get to this point.” Dajnowski said the new contract also gave him no compensation for the scaffolding which surrounds and protects the statue. “I could not work for one more year with no additional money for the scaffolding,” he said. Most of the scaffolding, which completely surrounds Black Hawk, belongs to Dajnowski, but he rents some portions of it. Green plastic mesh is wrapped around it to protect the statue from the elements, particularly winter weather, and prevent further damage. The scaffolding has been in place since December of 2014 when Dajnowski and his crew built it
around the 50-foot concrete statue, put a roof over it, and then enclosed it in dark green plastic mesh. Dajnowski said he charges $75 per day for the scaffolding, and that cost is being paid by the Dillon Foundation, Sterling. “It’s not about the cost — it’s about protecting the sculpture,” Dajnowski said. “I can’t take it down and walk away. Without protection it will be exposed to the elements.” Created by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1910 as a tribute to all Native Americans, the statue stands on a 125-foot bluff overlooking the Rock River and draws thousands of visitors each year. It was unveiled and dedicated in 1911. The effects of time and weather have caused parts of the statue to crumble and fall off. Dajnowski had high praise for
the Dillon Foundation and for Frank Rausa, who spearheaded the effort to have the state repaired. “I have nothing but good things to say about the Dillon Foundation and Frank Rausa,” he said. “I wish I could have done more, but it’s not up to me.” Rausa, along with his wife Cherron, heads up the Friends of the Black Hawk Statue, an organization formed approximately seven years ago to develop a plan and raise the funds to have the statue repaired. Most of the estimated $900,000 had been raised, but Rausa said Tuesday that much of the money has been used up due to the state’s lack of a budget. A large portion of the money for the project came from a $350,000 grant the IDNR received from the Turn to A2
Linscott served in Polo during 42 year career By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A Mt. Morris man who really never intended to become a police officer ended up working for five area departments and devoting 42 years of his life to public service. Margie Linscott said her late husband Duane came from a family devoted to law enforcement but didn’t want that for himself. “He said he never wanted to be a cop because his dad was a cop,” Margie said. “He knew the demands of the job.” Duane’s father was a Lee
National Police Week is May 15-21 County deputy, and his mother was a police matron. By the time of his death from a blood disorder last December, Duane had worked part-time as an Ogle County deputy and as a reserve officer for the Oregon, Mt. Morris, Polo, and Byron Police Departments. Besides that, he had worked on ambulance crews and was the Ogle County Chief Deputy Coroner for 18 years. “He loved people ,” Margie said. “Everyone kept asking him ‘will you help us
out here, will you help us out there.’ He never said no. He was just glad to help.” After graduating from Ashton High School in 1970, Duane went to work for the DeKalb Ogle Telephone Company as a lineman. He worked for the same company for 30 years, through changes of ownership and name, retiring from Verizon in 2000. Duane and Margie were married in 1973, and not long after he and a friend applied for deputy positions with the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department. Both were hired. That started Duane’s career Turn to A4
Duane Linscott shows a Polo kindergartner his squad car. Photo supplied
In This Week’s Edition...
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B6
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Library, A6 Oregon Police, A8 Public Voice, A7
Property Transfers, B3 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, A7
Deaths, B4-B5 Steven G. Benesh, Jan L. Feary, Dorothy Henry, Carol A. Mackey, Harold “Andy” Martin, Mark E. Moring, Walter G. Price, Marian L. Ratmeyer, Jenny Sikula, Patty A. White
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com