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POLO
Tri-County Press September 10, 2015 Volume 157, Number 51 - $1.00
Marcos Win
Remember 9/11
Sesquicentennial
The Polo football team shutout Durand 50-0 to pick up their second win of the season. B1
Remember those we lost on Sept. 11, 2001 A10-11
The Forreston Grove Church will celebrate 150 years of services this month. A8
Council scheduled to discuss repairs to sewer By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Polo City Council was expected to decide Tuesday evening which repairs to make to the city’s sewer system. Engineer Matt Hanson from Willett, Hofmann & Associates, Dixon, was scheduled to present the options and associated cost estimates. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has given its preliminary approval to the projects, which includes construction of additional sludge-drying beds at the wastewater treatment plant, upgrading the South
Congress Avenue lift station, and replacing and relining 67-year-old sanitary sewer mains on Maple Avenue, Oregon Street, and Division Avenue. The city is applying for a $1.97 million loan for the project. The loan would run for 40 years with an interest rate of 2.75 percent. The annual payment would be $84,513. If all is approved the construction could begin in May. A sewer rate increase is necessary to repay the loan, and the council was expected to approve that Tuesday as well. The proposed increase is 50 cents a year for each of the next 10 years.
If approved, the first increase would take effect Oct. 1, with subsequent increases going into effect each May 1. The city council held its regular meeting a day later than usual due to Labor Day. The council meets the first and third Mondays of each month at 7 p.m. at the city hall, except when the date falls on a holiday. The meetings are open to the public. Other items on the agenda were consideration of: • an ordinance amendment to allow variances for garage height, • the city opting into the Illinois Municipal League long term care insurance program.
Fun in the Sun Three-year-old Spencer Nelson swims Monday afternoon at the Polo Pool during the final day the pool was open for the season. Photo by Chris Johnson
Funeral services scheduled for two killed in crash By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Two victims of a Sept. 4 crash south of Davis Junction will be laid to rest later this week. A memorial service for Emily Fleming, 17, Stillman Valley, will be held on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. at Stillman Valley High School where she was a senior. Funeral services for Andy Conderman, 64, Amboy are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, Dixon. Both died as a result of a two-vehicle crash that occurred around 5 p.m. at the intersection Ill. 251 and Big Mound Road. According to a press release issued by Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle, Conderman was driving his pick-up truck Two crosses marking the traffic fatalities of Andy Conderman and Emily Fleming were placed near the scene of the south on Ill. 251 when it was Sept. 4 accident. Photo by Earleen Hinton struck by a car driven by Alison Seiler, 17, Stillman Valley. Seiler was westbound on Big Mound Road and failed
Leaf River man made two crosses Mike Morrison assisted at the crash scene By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
A rural Leaf River man was one of the first Good Samaritans who pitched in to help at a crash that claimed two lives Sept. 4 near Davis Junction. “Quite a few cars had already stopped when I got there,” Mike Morrison, 48, said. “I was one of the first people who tried to do something to help.” Morrison was on his way home from work when he saw the flames from the pick-up truck that was one of
“My condolences go to each and every one of those families,” — Mike Morrison the two vehicles that collided at the intersection of Ill. 251 and Big Mound Road around 5 p.m. The crash claimed the lives of Emily Fleming, 17, Stillman Valley, and Andy Conderman, 64, Amboy. Conderman was pronounced dead at the scene, and Fleming was pronounced dead at a Rockford hospital where she was airlifted. Conderman was the driver of the pick-up truck, and Fleming was one of three Stillman Valley High School students in the car. They
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were cheerleaders headed to Stillman Valley’s football game versus Richmond Burton. The truck was fully engulfed in flames when he got there, Morrison said, but he still approached it to try to get the driver out. “The fire was so intense I couldn’t get close,” he said. “At first, I thought the car was on fire, too, so I wanted to help whoever was inside to get them out.” Although the two vehicles were close together in a soybean field on the southwest corner of the
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5 Marriage Licenses, A4
intersection, the car did not catch fire. A pediatrician was also on the scene, Morrison said, and he assisted her. She turned her attention to Fleming, who was a passenger in the back seat, and Morrison went to help the front seat passenger, Carly Koenig, 17, who was also badly injured. Koenig was also airlifted to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford, where she remains in serious condition. “I held her hand and tried to keep her calm,” he said. Morrison made two crosses, one for each victim, and placed them at the crash site on Saturday. “My condolences go to each and every one of those Turn to A3
Oregon Police, A7 Public Voice, A9 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
to stop at the stop sign at the intersection with Ill. 251, the press release said. Fleming and Carly Koenig, also 17, Stillman Valley, were passengers in Seiler’s car. The vehicles came to rest in a soybean field at the southwest corner of the intersection, where Conderman’s truck burst into flames. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Ogle County Coroner Lou Finch said an autopsy done on Tuesday indicated he died of blunt force trauma. Fleming was pronounced dead at the Rockford hospital where she was airlifted. Winnebago County Deputy Coroner Bill Hintz said an autopsy showed the preliminary cause of her death to be blunt force trauma. Koenig was airlifted to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford, where she remains in serious condition. Seiler was transported by ambulance to a Rockford hospital, and has been released to recuperate at Turn to A3
County seeking demolition bids for old building By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com Plans to demolish the former Ogle County Sheriff’s Office are moving forward. County officials are accepting bids for demolition of old building at the corner of South Second Street and Jefferson Street in Oregon. The scope of work includes demolition and removal of the two-story structure and
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Weather, A9
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com
foundations, demolition and removal of associated items and utilities, permitting and removal of underground fuel oil storage tank, abatement of asbestos containing materials and provide and install engineered backfill. Ogle County used the building as the sheriff’s office for approximately 30 years before opening the new Ogle County Public Safety Complex in April. Turn to A3
Deaths, B5 Nora J. Mead, Earl B. Straley