Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press May 29, 2014 Volume 156, Number 36 - $1.00
Headed for State
Campfire Tips
Leaf River Daze
Polo-Forreston boys track team finishes strong at Oregon Sectional May 23. B1
State Fire Marshal offers safety tips for outdoor fires. B6
Festival will feature tractor pulls, parade, food, and much more May 30-June 1. A2
Graduates receive some life lessons from speaker By Chris Johnson Reporter Forty-six graduates received valuable life lessons Sunday afternoon. “What do you tell an 18 year old that knows everything? I don’t know,� said Chris Olson, Polo Class of 1984. “I am going to try and pass on a few things.� He said the diploma graduates receive should be the motivation needed to
succeed in life. “Life is going to throw you curveballs.It is not what happens to you it is how you react.� said Olson. “When you don’t get something people are going to remember how you act. They are going to remember your character.� Olson is an administrator at Joliet Township High School District. “I never imagined I would end up in Joliet,� he said. “The only thing I knew
Peyton Taylor and her uncle Chris Olson during the Polo Graduation Ceremony. Photo by Chris Johnson
about Joliet was the Blues Brothers.� Despite being in Joliet, Olson remembers Polo and asked the students to always remember their town. “When I see that water tower, it makes me feel real good,� he said. “We have a good town. They can not take that away from you.� He recalled a piece of advice a coach told him growing up. “Things might be bad, but they can’t take away your birthday,� said Olson. At Joliet Township, the district works to hold students to seven character traits. These traits are confidence, compassion, responsibility, tolerance, respect, integrity, and perseverance. “Sometimes I think the state board of education loses focus,� said Olson. “We are here to develop good people.� He said the foundation of those character traits are tolerance and compassion. “They are two of the most important things you can possess,� said Olson. “Tolerance in that you respect that people are different and your way is not always the best way. Compassion is having empathy for other people’s misfortune. If you Turn to A3
Kayakers completing full ride down the Rock River By Chris Johnson Reporter
Jon Gress, Pekin, 22, are kayaking the entire 320 mile length of the Rock River. “We kind of decided, me and Garrett live where it dumps into the Mississippi,� said Boucher. “We thought we could ride it all the way home.� Gress and Boucher are
Casi Kurschner, left, and Alli Reeder, right present the senior class remarks Sunday afternoon. Photo by Chris Johnson
Sheriff accepts second
job at Forrestville school By Matt Mencarini Sauk Valley Media Starting on June 2, Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn will be working two jobs. Harn’s term as sheriff ends in November. But for the next 6 months, he’ll also have a full-time responsibility to the Forrestville Valley School District. The school board unanimously hired him May 21 as the district’s maintenance coordinator. Harn is also the village president of Forreston. His current term expires in 2017. The job at the school district pays $17 an hour, and Harn will be expected to work 40 hours a week, said district Interim Superintendent Jane Eichman. Harn will be in charge of buildings and grounds maintenance for the district, which includes two elementary school buildings and a combined junior and senior high school, Eichman said, adding that he’ll also be supervisor of the district’s custodians. Harn was elected Ogle County sheriff in 2010. He lost a close primary election to Rochelle police officer Brian VanVickle in March.
Harn’s salary as sheriff is $87,000. If he works 40 hours a week for the school district from June 2 through November, he will make about $61,000 between the two jobs. Harn didn’t respond to requests for comment. In April, Sauk Valley Media reported that in the month after the election, Harn had been present at the department only three times, according to a longtime member of the department who spoke on the condition of anonymity, compared to “three or four� times a week in his first three years as sheriff. Harn had been calling in to the department and was available through email, the source said in April. During the interview process for the maintenance coordinator position, Eichman said Harn was asked about how he would be able to balance his time between June and the end of his term. Eichman said Harn assured the district it wouldn’t be a problem. Harn lives in Forreston, where two of the district’s schools are located. The other school is in German Valley, in Stephenson County.
Sheriff Michael Harn
On May 20, the Ogle County Board approved a “forensic examination� of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department’s tow fund. In December, Sauk Valley Media reported that the tow fund, which isn’t in he county budget, had been used to pay for vehicle repairs and purchases, in addition to flowers for Secretary’s Day, a tent at the Ogle County Fair, and a $4,000 fee for the department’s Facebook page to be managed, among other expenses. In February, the Ogle County Board restricted the tow fund’s uses and revenue sources and transferred it to the treasurer.
students at Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, Wis. Three college students The 320 mile journey will paddled into Oregon May help raise money for their 22 about halfway through school. their journey down the Rock They began paddling on River. May 13 in the marshes of Jake Boucher, Aledo, 20, Wisconsin. Garrett Feik, Aledo, 20, and When the trio arrived at Oregon Park East May 22, they were greeted by staff from the Oregon Park District. They were welcomed to town and were helped with their portage around the dam, by a pair of kayakers that joined them on their trip from Byron to Oregon. “Some dams are more difficult to get around then others,� said Feik. “This one is easy.� The park has a path from the river’s edge about the dam that winds down to below the dam. Having the path made for a quick portage. Throughout their journey the trio is camping along the river. “We have campsites marked out,� said Boucher. “We also asked the landowners along the Jake Boucher, Aledo, 20, Garrett Feik, Aledo, 20, and river and they have been Jon Gress, Pekin 22 have been kyaking the entire 300 Military veterans march in the Memorial Day parade Monday in downtown Polo. mile length of the Rock River. They passed through welcoming to us,� said Feik.
Memorial Day Parade
Oregon on May 22 and had to portage around the dam before continuing down river. Photo by Chris Johnson
In This Week’s Edition...
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B6 Marriage Licenses, A4
The parade started by Dad’s Bar & Grill and continued to Fairmount Cemetery for a
Turn to A3 ceremony. Photo by Vinde Wells
Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B7 Social News, A4
Sports, A11, A12, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5 Weather, A9
Deaths, B5 Gladys B. Ludewig, Emil M. Schaefer
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