Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press October 2, 2014 Volume 157, Number 2 - $1.00
Emotional Defeat
A Fresh Start
Assessments
Freeport Aquin visited Polo Friday night and left with an emotional 63-40 win. B1
With a new 4-H year beginning, clubs are seeking new members. A7
Several properties in Ogle County have had changes to the assessments. B6-B8
Festival offers a fall atmosphere By Vinde Wells Editor If you’ve got a hankering for a funnel cake, need to do some early Christmas shopping, or just want to get out to enjoy perfect fall weather, the Autumn on Parade festival in Oregon this weekend has it all. The Farmers’ Market and Craft Show, situated around the scenic Ogle County Courthouse square and adjoining streets, will feature 150 vendors selling their wares at 170 booths. “We have a little something for everybody,” said AOP Committee Member Laury Edlund and chairman of the Farmers’ Market. True to its roots in 1970, the Farmers’ Market and Craft The Lannen Family was hard at work Sept. 27 cooking up their special chili for the annual Chili Cook-off sponsored Show remains the heart of by the Polo Chamber of Commerce. Pictured are: Theresa Lannen, second from left, and her children, Tom Lannen, the festival which celebrates its 44th year this weekend, Glen Ellyn; Kathy Bickford, Forreston; and Pat Lannen, Hoffman Estates. Photo by Vinde Wells Saturday, Oct. 4 and Sunday, Oct. 5. So far, the weatherman is
Secret Recipe
Memorial held for Civil War veteran By Andy Colbert Reporter On Memorial Day of 2013, John and Sandy O’Rorke attended the annual Oregon services at Riverside
Cemetery. It was there that they learned about civil war veteran James Butterfield of Rochelle, who died when the SS Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River. The O’Rorkes had a civil
war relative from Rochelle that also died in a sinking of ship during the civil war. Could it be the same ship, they wondered? After much research and assistance from local historian Otto Dick, it was determined
promising sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s. The Farmers’ Market’s booths offer a diverse array of items, Edlund said. “This year we have quite a few more vendors selling produce and food items,” she said. “It runs the gamut from honey and maple syrup products to peanut brittle and dip mixes.” Jeff Warren, who owns BerryView Orchard, Mt. Morris, will offer homegrown aronia berry treats for the first time this year. Maple syrup and sweets made from maple syrup will be available at the Maple Lane Farm booth from Rob and Lynnette Hough, Mt. Morris. Seasonal favorites apple cider and caramel apple wedges are the bill-of-fare at Oregon resident April Roos’ booth. As they have every year of Turn to A8
that the O’Rorke’s relative was on a different ship, one that went down off Cape Hatteras by North Carolina. That relative was James O’Rorke, who served in the Turn to A2
Bison are ready for Nachusa Grasslands Months, years of planning to prepare for herd By Earleen Hinton General Manager Cody Considine couldn’t help but smile as he stood on a high hill overlooking the old Holland Farm Site at the Nachusa Grasslands on a clear sunny day last week. “Right there, where you see that fencing is where we will be directing the bison into the corral when we have our round ups,” said Considine, the restoration ecologist at the Grasslands. That’s right he said bison. And yep, right here in Lee
County, just a few miles from Dixon and Oregon. Casual visitors to the 3,000 acre Grasslands, owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy, probably haven’t noticed all the extra activity going on at the scenic preserve these last few months. Volunteers, staff, and contractors have been working side-by-side putting up fence and constructing a state-of-the-art bison corral for the preserve’s newest addition, the first of which are slated to arrive later this week. And that’s just the past few months. The real foundation for getting a conservation herd of bison at the Grasslands started years ago and has been accomplished through
hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours that helped reshape the farmland back into a habitat that could again support bison. “I’m anxious, concerned, there’s a lot of tasks yet to be done,” said Bill Kleiman, preserve manager. “We started thinking about this in the early 1990s, but then we decided we had too much restoration work to do so we put the dream off for another 15 years.” That dream begins later this week when the first bison arrive at their new home. “We will start out with 15 to 20 and hope to have around 50 when it’s all said and done,” said Considine who is headed to Iowa this week to help bring the first bison back.
The bison destined for the Grasslands come from TNC preserves like Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. The Nature Conservancy currently has 13 preserves with approximately 5,500 bison. Wind Cave bison are unique because they have not been bred with cattle. “The Wind Cave herd has been closed since the 1900s,” said Considine. “It’s pure and has had no cattle integration. We don’t have anything against cattle, but bison have a much more hands off approach.” The Grasslands bison will be transported to the preserve in livestock trailers. They will be unloaded into the Autumn on Parade volunteer Ray Farrey ties cornstalks
to a light pole as part of the preparations for the town’s
Turn to A8 annual festival Autumn on Parade. The event will be held
Oct. 4 and 5 and includes a craft fair, parade, car and tractor show in addition to other activities. Photo by Chris Johnson
Residents should lock their vehicles
Polo Police Chief Dennis Christen reminded residents Monday to make sure their vehicles are locked. The Polo Police Department has investigated four cases of theft from vehicles in September. “None of the vehicles involved in the thefts were locked,” Christen said. “We would like to remind citizens about protecting their valuables in their vehicles. Cody Considine explains how bison will be funneled into the state-of-the-art facility bison corral during annual Citizens should keep their vehicles locked when not in round ups at The Nachusa Grasslands. The first bison are expected to arrive this week. Photo by Earleen Hinton
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B9-B14 College & Service, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B5 Public Voice, A11 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Weather, A3
use. All valuables should be removed.” Valuables left in a vehicle should be locked in the glove box or trunk or placed under a seat to prevent them from being seen, he said. Christen also advised parking the vehicle in a welllighted area if possible. Anyone having information about the recent thefts in Polo is asked to call the Polo Police Department at 815946-3412 or Crimestoppers at 888-228-4488.
Deaths, B3 Diane R. Berthiaume, Joan M. Carr, Janice E. Snapp, Suzanne C. Sumell, Gary L. Webb
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com