Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press September 24, 2015 Volume 158, Number 1 - $1.00
Golf Results
Awareness
Primary Race
Polo and Forreston competed during the annual Sally Wessels Invitational. B1
An Oregon couple is raising awareness about a rare cancer. A4
Chief Deputy Clerk Laura Cook has announced she will run for county clerk. A7
Council allows taller garages By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Polo residents who want to build garages will have more options, thanks to action taken by the city council Monday. The council approved a recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to allow residents to request a variance on how tall garages can be. The current city ordinance limits residential garages to 14 feet. The action came in response to a request earlier this summer from Jim and Gina Cole, 403 W. Mason St. The couple asked to build a new garage with a height of 25 feet to match the pitch of the roof of their Queen Anne Victorian house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They presented the council with an architect’s drawings of a garage done in the style of a carriage house. The Coles can now submit a request to the ZBA for a variance for the garage.
The ZBA will then make a recommendation to the council. In another matter, Mayor Doug Knapp reported that the opening of a grocery store has been delayed because owner Ahmad Farraj, Rock Falls, is out of the country due to a death in his family. Farraj told the crowd at a public meeting July 23 that he expected to open his grocery store on Sept. 15 in the former Polo Super Valu building, 203 S. Division Ave. (Ill. 26). The city has been without a grocery store for almost eight years. Polo Super Valu was owned and operated by Paul and Terri Koenck for many years. They sold the store to Yong Shim in 2007, and it closed several months later. Farraj purchased the property and has been making repairs to the building. He said at the July 23 Vendor Ana Carreno, DeKalb, left, discusses a tote bag for sale with shopper Ellen Ebert, Polo, on Sept. 19 at the meeting that the store will Pinecrest Community Craft Fair held at the Pinecrest Grove Community Center. Photo by Vinde Wells be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and will employ Turn to A2
Community Craft Fair
Baby bison drew crowd to prairie
Caretaker accused of exploiting resident By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A Forreston woman has been accused of financially exploiting an elderly Polo resident for whom she was a caretaker. Leslie M. Brashaw, 37, was taken into custody last week by Ogle County Sheriff’s Police on a charge of financial exploitation of an elderly person, a Class 2 felony. According to a press release from Sheriff Brian VanVickle, his department began its investigation on July 23. Ogle County State’s Attorney Eric Morrow said Tuesday that his staff is
By Earleen Hinton ehinton@oglecounty news.com
Don Muggenborg and Mary Ellen Waterson both noticed something different at the Nachusa Grassland’s annual Autumn on the Prairie Saturday — a lot more people. The Lemont and Batavia residents had journeyed to the Grasslands’ event before...before the bison’s return that is. “I’ve been here before, but we’ve never seen such Leslie M. Brashaw a crowd,” said Waterson. reviewing police reports in “but they didn’t have bison preparation for filing formal charges at a court hearing on Friday. “The documents show that she took financial advantage of an older person she was providing care for,” he said. Brashaw posted $5,000 bond and was released from the Ogle County Jail.
before.” The bison herd arrived at the Grasslands last October and have since added brand new baby bison this year. That bison buzz brought more than 1,200 visitors by mid-afternoon to Saturday’s event. Visitors patiently waited in the bison tour line as organizers kept busy shuttling eager people back to the bison area with tractors and hay racks. “We’ve had a very good turnout today,” said Bill Kleiman, Grasslands Horsedrawn wagon rides into the prairie were offered manager. “We are trying to during Nachusa Grasslands’ Autumn on the Prairie on Turn to A3 Sept. 19. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Bids submitted for demolition By Chris Johnson cxjohnson@oglecounty news.com Demolition of the former Ogle County Sheriff’s Office will move forward, pending approval from the county. A Loves Park company submitted the low bid of $96,615 for the project. Long Range Committee Chairman Don Griffin and architect Guy Gehlhausen, Saavedra Gehlhausen Architects, Rockford, held a bid opening Sept. 17 to reveal the quoted prices to
have the building removed. The scope of work includes demolition and removal of the two-story structure at the corner of South Second Street and Jefferson Street in Oregon. The work also requires that foundations and demolition and removal of associated items and utilities. Asbestos abatement will need to be completed on the building before demolition and an underground fuel oil storage tank will need to be removed.
Don Muggenborg, Lemont, and Mary Ellen Waterson, Batavia, walk along one of the self-guided trails at the Nachusa
Turn to A2 Grasslands during the Autumn on the Prairie event on Sept. 19. Photo by Earleen Hinton
In This Week’s Edition...
Byron Police, B5 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 Entertainment, A6
Fines, B5 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A10 Property Transfers, B5
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Weather, A3
Deaths, B6 Anna M. Grace Mammen
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com