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POLO
Tri-County Press October 16, 2014 Volume 157, Number 4 - $1.00
Dominating Play
Crop Walk
Wellness Fair
The Polo Marcos offense and defense dominated Orangeville 55-0. A11
More than 100 walkers took to the streets to raise money Oct. 12. A10
An annual event to promote healthy living will be held on Friday, Oct. 17 in Oregon. A6
Beekeeping equipment may be banned in Polo By Vinde Wells Editor The Polo Ordinance Committee agreed last week to recommend that the city council amend its livestock ordinance to prohibit beekeeping equipment, as well as beekeeping, within the city limits. Committee chairman Louise Hall, who is also an alderman, said the city needs to tighten up its laws concerning bees after an incident in late September on North Barber Avenue. “We’re going to draw up something to further delineate bees in the city,” she said at a
committee meeting held Oct. 8. The current ordinance makes it unlawful “to keep or maintain” bees, as well as certain other animals within the city limits. Hall said the law needs to be changed because a large number of bees congregated on beekeeping equipment owned by Mike Scholl near a garage on a vacant lot he owns at 109 N. Barber Ave. Scholl lives across the street at 110 N. Barber Ave. The incident occurred during Polo’s garage sale days when the neighbors on either side, Connie Simonnet and Laurie Church, were
holding garage sales. Both neighbors complained to the city council Oct. 6, accusing Scholl of violating the city ordinance prohibiting beekeeping. Both also have called the police about the bees. However, Police Chief Dennis Christen said that when he has responded to the calls about the bees, he has not found Scholl to be violating the ordinance. Scholl said he was finishing the honey extraction process and preparing the empty frames from his hives for winter that weekend. The Turn to A2
Tow fund audit findings to be discussed Oct. 20 By Matt Mencarini Sauk Valley Media Ogle County Chairman Kim Gouker got a draft report of the administrative tow fund’s forensic audit Tuesday. The final report likely will be presented during a special meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20 either at 2 or 3 p.m., Gouker said, adding that the exact time will be set during the county’s Executive Committee meeting, which was this Tuesday. Gouker declined to discuss details of the draft report, but said it was comprehensive. Any changes to the report between now and the final one will be done to add context for residents and board members. Nothing will be removed from the draft, he said. Sikich, the Napervillebased company that did the forensic audit, will present it and the findings during the special meeting and then again
during the county board’s regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. that night. The forensic audit started in July, after it was approved by the board in April. The initial agreement paid Sikich up to $7,500; the work was expected to take a few weeks, depending on what was found. In August, the auditors requested more time and money – up to an additional $7,500 – because the fund was “disorganized,” Gouker said the auditors told him. Last month, during the county board meeting, Gouker told members he and vice chairman John Finfrock met with a representative from Sikich, who said the fund’s records were “very sloppy” and as a result there are “more questions than there are answers,” according to the meeting’s minutes. Gouker also said at the meeting that he put together
a list of things Sikich needed to prepare its final report and passed it along to Sheriff Michael Harn. The fund was established by county ordinance in 2011 as a way to supplement the sheriff’s department’s diminishing budgets and help with vehicle repairs and purchases. At the time, the sheriff was given discretion to spend the funds, collected from a $350 tow fee, for any purpose. In the tow fund’s first three years, Harn used the fund to pay for a tent for the county fair, flowers for Secretary’s Day, and a $4,000 management fee for the department’s Facebook page, in addition to vehicle purchases and repairs. The county board later restricted what the fund could be used for, its sources of revenue, and transferred its control to the Ogle County Treasurer’s Office.
Hog Roast Above, Four-year-old Maddox Karrow crawls through a tunnel at the Fire Prevention Week kids activities Oct. 11 at the annual Polo Fire Department hog roast. At left, Polo firefighters show how they use specialized equipment to pop open car doors during an extrication demonstration. Photos by Vinde Wells
Masonry completed on new administration center By Chris Johnson Reporter With the masonry work completed, the exterior of the Ogle County Sheriff and Coroner Administration Center has taken shape. While there is still exterior work to be completed including doors, windows, and lighting, it is the inside of the building that is seeing the most changes each day. “The whole team has been working together,” said project site superintendent Greg Suthers, Rockford Structures Oct. 10. “We are water tight and the masonry is 100 percent complete.” Suthers did a walkthrough of the construction site and pointed out features within the building. “There will be two separate public entrances,” Suthers said. “One for the coroner
and another for the sheriff.” The sheriff’s department will use the north entrance and the coroner will use the south entrance. There is also a garage door in the south side of the building for the morgue. Every day something new is being completed with at the building. Suthers said electricity was hooked up last week and the gas line was being hooked up within a day or two. “You are at the mercy of the utilities with their schedules for being hooked up,” said Suthers. “We got creative with the electricity and will be able to reduce the number of utility poles from three to one.” Organizing the different trades to ensure the project runs smooth has been a challenge, but Suthers said teamwork has helped keep
In This Week’s Edition...
Project site superintendent Greg Suthers, Rockford Structures, and Ogle County Board Member Don Griffin, Long Rang Planning Commission chairman, look over blueprints Aug. 17 at the new Ogle County Sheriff and Coroner Administration Center. Photo by Chris Johnson
the project on track. “We need all the time we can get to finish the building,” said Suthers. “I am pleased with how we are all working together with the same goals. We have a busy schedule and are making progress every
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 Delinquent Tax List, B7 Entertainment, A6
day.” One contractor arrived a few days early and Suthers turned workers away to make sure no two trades were getting in each others way. “Each step needs to be completed in a certain order
Fines, B5 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A9 Property Transfers, B6
so everything will work without a hitch,” he said. “We are trying to schedule consistently throughout the project and avoid delays with the trades.” If one contractor installs a pipe or a wire in the wrong spot, it could have a ripple effect with all future trades that come in throughout the project. Preliminary work has proved to be vital with parts of the project. “We ran a lot of the electrical conduit under the floors,” said Suthers. “When roughing in the walls they were where they needed to be.” Workers were framing the interior rooms of the building last week with metal stud walls. They had the majority of the walls on the north half of the building framed and were working to the south.
Sheriff’s Arrests, B6 Social News, A4 Sports, A11, B1, B2 Weather, A3
In the south portion of the building another crew was installing hangers for the ceiling and getting prepared for the walls. Suthers said having crews following each other reduces delays. The exterior of the building was completed the same way, with the bricklayers following the fiber board insulation crew. The bricklayers finished a couple days after the last fiber board was installed. “I am like the head coach,” said Suthers. “I have good players around me. The county knew what they needed. They are interested in the project and are visiting the site to see the progress.” Ogle County Board Member Don Griffin, the Long Rang Planning Turn to A2
Deaths, B5 Thomas K. DeArvil, Josephine D. Harshbarger, James O. Nelson Sr., Corrine J. Pannkuk
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com