Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO Fair Ornaments Limited edition ornaments will help sponsor the Ogle County Fair Queen pageant. A7
Kids Contest
Tri-County Press July 9, 2015 Volume 157, Number 42 - $1.00
Rate Hike
Some laughs were shared during the Little Miss Mister contest. B1
Moring Disposal asked the city to raise garbage rates for residents beginning Aug. 1. A3
Minor injuries in wreck
Public opinion sought
An Iowa man suffered only minor injuries last week when the semi tractor-trailer he was driving overturned approximately three miles northwest of Polo. Vernon S. Boyd, 61, Charles City, Iowa, was eastbound on U.S. 52 at 1:30 p.m. on July 2 when he drove off the roadway on the right side and overturned in the south ditch near Galena Trail Road and Robin Road. The Ogle County Sheriff’s Department and Polo Fire Department responded to an overturned semi-tractor and Boyd suffered minor trailer on U.S. 52, west of Polo on July 2. Sand was brought in to help contain the spill. Photo by Earleen Hinton injuries and refused treatment at the scene, according to a news release from the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, The trailer was hauling a heated liquid asphalt emulsion, some of which spilled into the roadside ditch, and was contained there. Also responding to the scene were the Mt. Morris Fire Department, Polo Police Department, Illinois Department of Transportation, Ogle County Highway Department, Ogle County Emergency Management, and a representative of E.D. Etnyre & Company, Oregon, who provided information on the construction of the tank trailer and how to unload the remaining emulsion.
Experts try repairs on Black Hawk Statue By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Experts will know in about two weeks whether or not they concocted the right mixture last week to repair Oregon’s most well-known landmark. Black Hawk statue restoration team members Andrzej Dajnowski, from Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio, Inc., Forest Park, and Amy Lamb Woods, professional engineer from Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger, Inc., Chicago, were at Lowden State Park July 1 to inject four different mixtures of repair materials into the cracks in the 104-year-old concrete monolith. “We have to let them set and then look at the surface and see how they performed,” Woods said. “We’ll know in about two weeks.” Dajnowski, the project conservator, made four different mixtures of cement and lime in plastic containers and then climbed the scaffolding surrounding the 50-foot statue to inject each into the cracks using a large needle and syringe. Woods said two mixtures were injected in the morning and two others would be done in the afternoon.
“It’s a very delicate process,” she said. The team is trying materials with different chemistries bought from different companies to find which will be the most effective in repairing the damaged areas of the statue, Woods said. The team also removed calcium deposits and loose material from Black Hawk’s surface. Designed by Chicago sculptor Lorado Taft, the statue was poured in December of 1910 and unveiled and dedicated in 1911 as a tribute to all Native Americans. It stands on a high bluff overlooking the Rock River and draws thousands of visitors each year. Time and weather have damaged the statue to the point that portions of it have crumbled and fallen off. The folded arms of the Amy Lamb Woods removes crumbling materials from the head of the Black Hawk statue, especially the elbows statue. Photo supplied by Amy Lamb Woods, Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger, Inc. has been left in place, Because it is located in a through donations, grants, and underneath the arms; the Dajnowski said, because it is state park, the statue is under and fundraisers. middle of the robe; and the also rain-proof. the jurisdiction of the Illinois Checks for the restoration vertical fold in the robe from Placed on the National Department of Natural project can be made out to armpit to toe are the critical Register of Historic Places in Resources. the Illinois Conservation areas. 2009, the statue was named The cost of the restoration Foundation and marked for The statue was encased in to a less desirable list earlier is estimated at $825,000, of the Black Hawk Statue. plastic mesh for the winter this year. which nearly $750,000 has Donations can be mailed to protect it from further Landmarks Illinois been raised by the Friends to Illinois Conservation damage from cold, ice, and placed it on its list of Most of the Black Hawk Statue, Foundation, One Natural snow. Endangered Historic Places headed up by Frank and Resources Way, Springfield The protective covering in April. Cherron Rausa, Rock Falls, IL 62702.
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B3
Marriage Licenses, A4 Polo Police, A2 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B2 State’s Attorney, B3 Zoning Permits, B5
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Polo residents will get a chance to air their views and get their questions answered about two topics later this month. Alderman Troy Boothe told the city council Monday night that a town meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. at the Polo Fire Station to seek public opinion about hiring a fifth full-time police officer and the need for a grocery store. The council has been discussing adding another officer since a review of the department recommended it to free up Police Chief Dennis Christen for administrative duties. The review was done by Kurt Cavanaugh, Polo, a retired Illinois State Police Lieutenant, who did not charge the city for his services. Currently Christen spends most of his time on patrol. The police department employs four full-time officers, including Christen, and 11 part-time. On the other topic, Rock Falls resident Ahmad Farraj, who has purchased the former Polo Super Valu building at 203 S. Division Ave. (Ill. 26), has asked for public input on whether or not residents want a grocery store. Farraj also asked the city council for financial help.
Pilot recalls 9/11 By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Mt. Morris native Mike Ballard was high in the sky over the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 11, 2001 when he got the word that all was not well in the U.S. He was piloting a United Airlines jumbo jet carrying 200 passengers and the crew from Heathrow Airport in London to Chicago. “I’d just started my break when the first flight attendant told me I was wanted back in the cockpit,” he told the crowd at the July 4 Let Freedom Ring Patriotic Program. Soon he received a note that gave only sketchy details, but said both towers at the World Trade Center had been hit, that it was a hijacking, and “others may be in progress.” He locked the cockpit door and posted the plane’s third pilot beside it, armed with a crash axe. Turn to A2
Deaths, B5 Ruth I. Balluff, Donald E. Blumeyer, Wayne L. Hinrichs, Lynn A. Manis, Wayne E. McBride, Mary J. Moser, Martha Ruthe
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com