Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press May 19, 2016 Volume 158, Number 35 - $1.00
Softball Victory
Baby Bison
Yard Sale
The Lady Cardinals defeat Winnebago 4-2 to advance to the regional final. B1
The bison herd is growing and thriving at Nachusa Grasslands. A6
The 14th annual Breast Yard Sale in Town offers all kinds of great stuff May 28-June 19. A4
Dog park request discussed by council Monday By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com Pups in Polo may soon have a new place to play, take walks, and make friends. The Polo City Council discussed a request Monday evening for a dog park. Alderman David Ackeberg said his mother brought the idea up to him some time ago, and since then several other residents have also
expressed an interest. He suggested putting the dog park on the city’s property just to the north of the new sewer plant on the east side of Galena Trail Road. “The only cost would be a fence and mowing,” he said. “For two or three grand we can have it done.” Mayor Doug Knapp said he has already asked alderman Cheryl Galor, who is the chairman of the Parks Committee, to look into it. Galor said she has called Granny
Rose Animal Shelter, Dixon, for information about how to start and operate a dog park. “It’s very doable,” she said. She said the project will take the help of volunteers and sponsors. Knapp said the council will discuss the dog park further at its June 6 meeting. The City of Oregon has two dog parks — one operated by the city and the other by the Oregon Park District.
In another matter, the council unanimously approved the purchase of property. The council agreed to buy the property on the southwest corner of South Green Avenue and East Colden Street from PNC for $15,000. Knapp said the council plans to erect a 40 by 80-foot storage building to house Street Department equipment. City officials have been searching
Statue may be repaired next year
Large crowd braves cold for AJs jamboree By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Hot chocolate was the favorite menu choice for the large crowd who turned out May 14 for the seventh annual AJ’s Garden Tractor Jamboree. Andy Hinrichs, who hosts the event with his wife Lisa and their son AJ, said at least 350 people braved the damp, chilly weather to attend the event at the family’s home west of Oregon on Columbian Road just off Pines Road. “By noon we had already sold 150 cups of hot chocolate — and they weren’t small cups, they were 15 ounces,” Hinrichs said with a chuckle. “We sold 100 more in the afternoon.” A brisk wind all day made the mid-40s seem even colder but garden tractor enthusiasts were undeterred. “We had 300 tractors here — that’s the most ever,” Hinrichs said. “Even though it had rained, the guys still got to plow and
disk.” The plowing exhibition — using garden tractors — is one of the most popular events at the jamboree, along with the poker run and the slow tractor race. Gary Lange, Dyersville, Iowa, was one of the brave souls who brought his tractor to show despite the cold. Lange spent the morning talking about his mid-70s Ecomony Power King. “I’ve been here every year,” he said. “It’s a fun day to come and visit with people.” Andy Spinelli and his family from Woodstock made the trip for the fun as well. “We’ve got over 100 tractors at home,” Spinelli said. “My kids each have their own, and I still have my first one.” He and his son David were checking out a hayrack full of old push mowers and other machinery and parts. David said his favorite part of the event is showing the tractors. Rick Beem, Monticello, Turn to A2
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com
Three and a half-year-old Cody Kitson, Harvard, wears a big grin as he drives a garden tractor under the watchful eye of his father Andrew May 14 at AJ’s Garden Tractor Jamboree. Photo by Vinde Wells
AJ Hinrichs, 11, plows a furrow with his own garden tractor May 14 at the 7th annual AJ’s Garden Tractor Jamboree, which he hosts with his parents Andy and Lisa Hinrichs. Photo by Vinde Wells
Forreston man plans to sue county board By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com The attorney for a Forreston man told the Ogle County Board Tuesday evening that his client will appeal a zoning decision made a few minutes earlier. “We will appeal the decision to the circuit court,” said Freeport attorney Dan Fishburn. He said he will file a lawsuit in the near future on behalf of Walter Paul, who owns a farm just across Ill. 72 from the property that has been the subject of the controversial zoning request for the last several weeks. After tabling the issue April 19, the board voted 15-8 with one abstention Tuesday to approve 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 Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) recommended approval of the request March 28. The property, at 11123 W. Ill. 72 just east of Forreston, is owned by Stukenberg and being purchased by STKE LLC, a company owned by the Morings. STKE LLC plans to store and wash semis and dumpsters on the property, which is less than a mile east of Forreston. Paul and other nearby property owners have objected because of environmental issues. Most were concerned about contamination from the garbage trucks and dumpsters stored on the property. 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,
In This Week’s Edition...
for land for the building for several months. Ackeberg said currently some equipment is stored outside and the rest is “crammed” inside the city garage that adjoins the police station. The site will allow space for future expansion if needed, he said. The council has previously discussed the police department’s need for more space, which could be gained by remodeling the city garage.
Church Bells, A5 College News, A4 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
could be contaminated by garbage as well as motor oil. County board member Pat Saunders, Polo, said she would vote no because of the dumpsters being stored on the property. She said she is concerned that rainwater will wash contamination from the dumpsters into the nearby stream. “If they took the dumpsters off the property I would vote yes,” she said. Board member Lee Meyers, Byron, said his concern is about wells being contaminated and increased truck traffic past Forreston High School at the east edge of town. He also questioned the ZBA’s approval of the request. “I don’t think the ZBA met all the standards,” he said. Board member Jerry Brooks, Oregon, said he would vote yes. He said he looked at the property and believes the Morings intend to
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
meet the nine conditions set by the ZBA. The dumpsters will be stored on a concrete pad and trucks will be washed inside a building with the used water going into a catch basin, he said. “It seems like everything is being taken care of that the people in that area are concerned about,” Brooks said. In another matter, the board voted to purchase a house at 507 Jefferson Street, Oregon, from Danny M. and Sarah M. Chisamore for $65,000. Board chairman Kim Gouker, Byron, said the property, which is across the street from the judicial center parking lot, is part of the 50-year plan approved by the board approximately two years ago. With an eye to future expansion, the 50-year plan designates certain properties that county officials will try to buy when they become available. Turn to A3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Zoning, B5
A state official said late last week that work to repair the worldrenowned Black Hawk statue may be completed in 2017. “Once the services of the new conservator are secured, the IDNR expects the restoration work on the Eternal Indian statue to proceed in hopes of completing the project next year,” Tim Schwiezer, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), said in an email sent May 13. According to some reports, sculptor Lorado Taft called his 50foot concrete statue The Eternal Indian. However, it is better known as Black Hawk after the Sauk medicine man whose people hunted and fished throughout the Rock River Valley before the arrival of settlers from the East Coast. Created by Taft in 1910 as a tribute to all Native Americans, the statue stands on a 125-foot bluff overlooking the Rock River at Lowden State Park near Oregon and draws thousands of visitors each year. It was unveiled and dedicated in 1911. The IDNR did not renew its contract this year with project conservator Dr. Andrzej Dajnowski from Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio, Forest Park. Dajnowski said last week he did not sign the new contract because he did not agree with the methods it stipulated for restoring the statue’s crumbling exterior. He said the new contract also gave him no compensation for the scaffolding which surrounds and protects the statue. 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 105-year-old statue, put a roof over it, and then enclosed it in the mesh. Dajnowski said he charges $75 per day for the scaffolding, and that cost has been paid so far by the Dillon Foundation, Sterling. Schweizer declined to specify in his email the reasons the contract Turn to A2
Deaths, B3 Raymond G. Appler, Charles W. Hayes, Dorothy A. Henry, Russell E. Scholl
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com