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Tri-County Press June 11, 2015 Volume 157, Number 38 - $1.00
Volleyball Action
Property Taxes
KB Tough Run
A two-day tournament will be held in Oregon to raise money for scholarships. A6
Ogle County Property Taxes need to be paid by Friday, June 12. A10
Don’t delay any longer and sign up for the annual June 26 KB Tough Run. A7
Man hurt in crash June 5
Relay for Life raises $56,000
Flown to Rockford Memorial Hospital
By Sarah Zuniga Correspondent Cancer survivors, caregivers, and those helping to find a cure came together Friday night to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Relay For Life of Ogle County was held June 5 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Oregon High School track. The event included a cancer survivor dinner, silent auction, bags tournament, and a luminaria ceremony, as well as themed laps for walking around the track at Landers-Loomis Field. The event raised $56,000, and money will continue to come in until Aug. 31. Forreston native Renee Ludwig gave a survivor presentation during the opening ceremony. Ludwig, a three and a half year breast cancer survivor, told the audience her story of battling the disease. “I have so much to be thankful for,” said Ludwig, as she thanked her family and friends during her speech.
Survivors of cancer walked the opening lap of the Relay For Life Event together, and met with their caregivers halfway through the first lap. Photo by Sarah Zuniga
Burkardt’s LP Gas was recognized during the opening ceremony for their contribution to the American Cancer Society. Burkardt’s general manager Mike Faivre, Polo, came up with the idea of painting one of the propane trucks pink and donating one cent for every gallon of fuel the pink truck delivered to the American Cancer Society. The pink truck delivered more than 800,000 gallons, which brought the amount raised to $8,106.13. The money was presented to American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Carroll, Lee, and Ogle Counties back in May. Sean Hosseini, Byron, was a member of the event
leadership team. “It’s awesome to see the support for these survivors,” said Hosseini. This was Hosseini’s third year participating with Relay for Life. “I originally got started because I had a friend who was a part of it and he asked me to join,” said Hosseini. “Since then, my mom was actually diagnosed with lung cancer, so that kind of made my connection to the event even stronger.” Hosseini’s mother-in-law and aunt-in-law have also battled with cancer. “At this point, I’m here for my mom, for my mother-in-law, my auntEd and Dotty McCollough embrace each other during in-law, and anybody else the first lap of the Relay For Life. Ed, an 8 year cancer
Turn to A3 survivor, met with his wife Dotty halfway during the first lap. Photo by Sarah Zuniga
A Polo man was injured June 5 when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a pick-up truck south of Mt. Morris. Stanley Webster, 63, was airlifted by React helicopter to Rockford Memorial Hospital after the crash on Lowell Park Road approximately three miles south of Mt. Morris. He has been released from the hospital. Ogle County Sheriff’s Police said Webster was northbound behind a pickup truck driven by Edward Collins, 57, Mt. Morris, which was also northbound. The truck made a legal left turn into a field entrance at the same time the motorcycle attempted to pass in a no passing zone. The motorcycle struck the side of the pickup truck. The crash occurred at 7 a.m. It remains under investigation. Mt. Morris Fire Department and ambulance and Polo Fire Department and ambulance assisted at the scene.
Summer Daze began with two days of perfect weather By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com A variety of new and returning favorite games and competitions were some of the highlights during the annual Summer Daze festival. A perfect evening with clear skies and pleasant temperatures June 5 kicked things off in Leaf River for the FFA Tractor Rodeo. Competitors tried their hands at controlling their tractors in a variety of
competitions. Up first was the keg race. This required a keg be pushed by a tractor down a course then around a barrel before returning to the finish line. “It is not to bad to push the keg,” said Josh Bolen, German Valley. “This year they added a turn. It used to be a straight shot.” The turn proved to be the wrench in the competition that made the event difficult. “Having to turn made it so you loose sight of the keg,” said Bolen. “Luckily we had
people help keep the kegs on line.” The turns were also difficult for Lee Miller, German Valley. “The keg did not want to cooperate,” he said. One competitor, Karl Meyer, Stillman Valley, was fortunate to not tip his tractor during the race. He had his 1926 F12 on three wheels when he drove over the keg. “I was going good but I lost it when I went over the keg,” Meyer said. “I have a narrow front end. I think this
is more work than this tractor has done in 40 years.” The F12 has been in Meyer’s family since it was purchased new by his greatgrandfather who was from Baileyville. “The FFA helped restore this tractor in 2007 so it is fun to show it off at FFA events,” he said. Times in the keg race went from a quick 47 seconds posted by Miller to 108 seconds. In the keg race the quickest time was desired, however in the second event of the night,
competitors wanted to be the slowest tractor. The slowest tractor race pitted three tractors and their drivers against each other to finish a short course in the longest time possible while still keeping the tractor moving forward. Miller joked that he left his championship tractor at home this year. “Last year I had a creeper gear on my tractor,” he said. “It went really, really slow. It had a trencher on it. Now that was a slow race.” He said this year he just had a regular tractor. The races were slow, the first heat between Bolen, Meyer, and Dan Cox, Leaf River, lasted 50 seconds. Competitors also competed in a trailer hitch competition where they tried to back the tractor up to a
hitch without knocking a ball off that was balanced on the hitch. The evening ended with the traditional fireworks show. Saturday was another perfect day weather-wise for a festival. Downtown was filled with people viewing the car show and playing games in the park. The Leaf River Fire Department set up a new game this year for people to try. Fire hose bowling is an event where people try and unroll a fire hose to knock down pins. “I saw it on Facebook,” said firefighter Dave Borgmann. “Some other firefighters did it and I thought it looked
The City of Polo has opened a drop off site for branches, sticks and brush. This is strictly for residential use only, no hauling for commercial landscapers will be allowed. No construction materials, furniture, leaves, grass clippings or garden waste and no burning are allowed. This site is located on South Galena Trail Road at
the old sewer plant. The gates will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. This is a new service being provided to the citizen of Polo on a trial bases. The city expects citizens to abide by the rules so we can continue to provide this service in years to come. Any illegal dumping will be reported to the Polo Police Department.
Turn to A3
Brush site opens for Polo residents
Car Show Curiosity Kendall Erdmann, Forreston, looks over the engine of a vintage Pontiac June 5 at the Chandler Classic Car Cruise at Haldane Custom Paint & Body in Polo. Kendall was at the show with his father Eric. Photo by Vinde Wells
In This Week’s Edition...
Byron Police, B4 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Polo Police, A2 Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, A11, A12 State’s Attorney, B4 Weather Forecast, A2 Zoning Permits, B5
Deaths, B6 William “Ole” Hiteman, Ev McGee
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com