Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO Touch-A-Truck Children of all ages will be able to see trucks of all sizes during this event on June 14. A10
Tri-County Press June 12, 2014 Volume 156, Number 38 - $1.00
Fair Entries
Memorial Walk Registration is now open for the 12th Annual Lois Nelson Memorial Walk on July 4. A7
Entries are being accepted for the junior and open shows at the Ogle County Fair. B6
Four-day festival begins with a bang Thursday By Vinde Wells Editor Polo will roll out the red carpet this weekend for its annual Town & Country Days festival with fireworks, carnival rides, games, and food. The four-day festival will start with a bang Thursday night with fireworks at dusk on the high school football field. Festival committee chairman Jon Miller said the festival is a great way to reconnect with old friends and for families to have fun together. “A lot of people who don’t live here come back every year just to see friends,� he said. “We get a lot of interaction from the community. The kids look forward to it all year.� Prior to the fireworks, React helicopter will be at Aplington
Middle School from 3 to 6 p.m. Other Thursday events include a 5K run and walk that begins at 6:15 p.m. at the football field with the proceeds going to the Polo Kidz Cafe, a Little Miss & Mr. Contest at 6 p.m., and the Family Feud game at 7 p.m. Kids Day will highlight Friday from 12 to 5 p.m. with armbands sold at the ticket booth at the carnival at a cost of $20 for unlimited rides. The armbands will also be available for Family Day on Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. The Amazing Race begins at 5:45 p.m. in the Bingo Tent with Twilight Bingo at 7 p.m. County Line Live will perform in the Beer Garden on Friday night starting at 8 p.m. Saturday activities begin with a pancake breakfast at the Polo Senior Center at 7 a.m. Kids water fights are
scheduled at the fire station at 10 a.m. The afternoon will feature Sunflower the Clown, face painting and a petting zoo for kids. A craft show will go on all day. Lyle Grobe & the Rhythm Ramblers will play from 5 to 7 on Saturday evening at the beer garden, and Dwyer & Micheals will keep the entertainment going starting at 8 p.m. Besides Family Day on Sunday, the Grand Parade begins at 12:30 p.m. A new event — Pedal Tractor Races for those 12 and younger — begins at 2 p.m. Miller said an old favorite event, Porta Potty Races, will return to the festival line-up this year on Sunday at 3 p.m. For a complete listing of Volunteers Adrian Gonzalez, Haley Cisketti, and Fabian Calderone put up the fence festival events can be found at Monday that will surround the beer garden at Town & Country Days this weekend. Photo by Vinde Wells www.polodays.org.
Statue has deteriorated more then originally thought By Vinde Wells Editor Repairs for Ogle County’s best-loved statue can’t begin soon enough. Frank Rausa, Sterling, who is heading up the effort to repair the 103-year-old world renowned icon, said Tuesday that testing last fall and this spring shows that the Black Hawk statue is in worse shape than was originally feared. “With all the testing that we did we found the damage is a lot worse than we thought,� he said. “We are hopeful that we will get started [with repair work] this summer.� Orange fence went up early this week around the base of the concrete statue that A fence has been put up around Blackhawk statue in overlooks the Rock River at preparation of restoration work that will hopefully be Lowden State Park. started this summer. Photo by Chris Johnson The fence, Rausa said, is
there partly to protect visitors in case pieces of the statue fall off. He said he is in the process of scheduling a press conference soon to outline the extent of the damage and the plan for repairing and restoring the statue. Over the years due to time and weather conditions, the statue has developed cracks, and large pieces of its concrete surface have dislodged. The folded arms of the 50-foot monolith have been especially affected. Large chunks have fallen out of the elbow of the right arm and from underneath the left arm. A team of experts spent nearly a week in October examining the damage to the statue and performing tests. Engineers used high-tech scanners which allowed them
to see inside the concrete to assess its condition and to determine the amount and location of steel reinforcing. The locations of the steel were then marked on tape placed on the statue’s hollow interior. Another crew scanned the statue with rotating lasers to create an exact 3-D model of the statue. The testing, which also included ground-penetrating radar work and ultrasonic tomography, was finished Oct. 11. The experts returned in April to take more samples. What they discovered was not good, Rausa said. Directly below the folded arms of the statue, the external finishing coat of concrete — its outer surface
Bear spotted Monday?
Fire destroys home near Leaf River By Vinde Wells Editor
home and possessions of a Leaf River family. Leaf River Assistant Fire No cause had yet been Chief Josh Lamping said determined Tuesday for a the Office of the State Fire fire June 8 that destroyed the Marshal is assisting with
four children were not at home when the fire started. The family had gone to a parade in nearby German Valley. Almost 100 firefighters from at least 11 area departments battled the fire, which was reported by a passing motorist at 1:50 p.m. “The house was completely engulfed in flames when we got there,� Lamping said. Tankers and firefighters were called to help from the Mt. Morris, Forreston, Polo, Oregon, German Valley, Byron, Stillman Valley, Pecatonica, Freeport Rural, and Lynn Scott Rock Fire Departments. One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat exhaustion but did not require hospitalization. Lamping said Sunday that the family’s dog had not yet been located. He said it was not certain whether the dog Firefighters from several area departments battle the blaze June 8 that destroyed perished in the fire or escaped the home of Steve and Jennifer Beltran on North Leaf River Road. In the foreground from the burning house. The Red Cross is assisting is Byron Assistant Chief Orin Snodgrass. Photo courtesy of the Mt. Morris Fire the Beltran family. Department
In This Week’s Edition...
the fire investigation at the home of Steve and Jennifer Beltran, 9458 N. Leaf River Rd., approximately two miles north of Leaf River. He said the couple and their
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B5
Polo Police, A2 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5
— has separated two inches from the inner surface. In fact, it was too fragile to do some of the planned tests, Rausa said. “The damage that has taken place in the past year is extensive,� he said. The cold and snow last winter took an additional toll. The experts saw significant changes in the statue’s condition just from October until April, he said. Created by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1911 as a tribute to all Native Americans and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the statue is situated on a 125-foot bluff. It draws thousands of visitors each year. The statue is under the Turn to A3
By Vinde Wells Editor Deputies were unable to find any sign of a black bear reported roaming in western Ogle County Monday evening. After a woman called 911 to report seeing a “good-sized� bear shortly after 8 p.m., Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn said he and deputies patrolled the area but could not confirm the sighting. “We checked the area and found nothing,� Harn said. “I’m not 100 percent sure it really was [a bear]. We haven’t had any other sightings.� He said the woman said she first saw the bear on the side of Ill. 64 west of Mt. Vernon Road, and then it ran into a nearby field. In recent months a black bear has been sighted in JoDaviess and Stephenson Counties. More recently one has been photographed in backyards in the Roscoe area. Harn said a bear was videotaped Tuesday still in the Roscoe area.
Social News, A4 Sports, A12, B1 State’s Attorney, B6
“So it couldn’t have been that one,� he said. The report of the bear sent campers at Rock River Christian Camp, 16486 Ill. 64, inside for the evening. Camp manager Dan Augustine said evening activities were moved indoors as a precaution after the woman reported seeing the bear about a quarter mile east of the camp. Augustine said about 100 people were at the camp when the sighting was reported. The campers, who range in age from 10 to 16, were more excited than frightened, he said. “My wife and I camp in Minnesota,� Augustine said. “There’s bears all over the place up there.� He said he also patrolled the area after the sighting and saw no sign of the bear. Harn advised residents in the area of the report to take precautions, such as closely supervising pets and small animals when they’re outside, taking down bird feeders, and not leaving any kind of food outside.
Deaths, B2 Adam Diddens, James J. Kaney, Clark M. Miller, Margaret A. Messenger
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