Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press December 25, 2014 Volume 157, Number 14 - $1.00
Tournament Results
Candidates File
The annual Polo and Forreston holiday tournaments have been completed. B1
Several candidates have filed to run for the April 7 consolidated election. A11
$15,700 donation for Black Hawk By Vinde Wells Editor
“We fully understand people’s reluctance to get involved,” Trimble said. “It takes a lot of work and time to put on a festival of this nature and when people realize that this is strictly a volunteer situation it becomes an even larger sacrifice.” The committee, which consisted of Beth Henderson, Donna Mann, Merlin and Cindy Hagemann, and Ken and Chris Williams, were all very happy with their final contribution and their involvement in the statue restoration, Trimble said. “We feel like we’ve made a great contribution to Oregon by helping raise funds for Black Hawk but most importantly by creating media hype about this historical structure. Over the past several years we were able to bring several newspapers, magazines and TV outlets to Oregon to share Black Hawk’s story with people all across Illinois and the Midwest,” Henderson said. “In some respects that was more important than the money that we raised. Mann urged the public to continue to make donations to the restoration project. “We strongly encourage people to continue supporting the fundraising efforts for the statue,” she said. “As we understand it, the initial estimates for the restoration
were a bit low and there is still about $75,000 needed to complete the project.” Recent estimates place the cost at $900,000. Created by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1910 as a tribute to all Native Americans, the statue draws thousands of visitors each year. It was unveiled and dedicated in 1911. Testing and evaluations done in the last year and a half showed that three areas of the statue are in dire need of repairs. The critical areas are the folded arms of the statue, especially the elbows and underneath the arms; the middle of the robe; and the vertical fold in the robe from armpit to toe. The areas are spalled, meaning chunks of concrete have already fallen out, and delineated, meaning areas of concrete are loose and ready to fall. Time and weather are responsible for the damage to the statue. A repair plan was approved by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency last August. Project conservator Dr. Andrzej Dajnowski and his crew built scaffold completely around the 50foot concrete landmark in late November, then put a
wooden roof over the top, and finally enclosed it all with the protective mesh early this month. The mesh will protect the statue from further damage until work can begin next spring. Once the restoration is completed, a re-dedication ceremony will be held. The Friends of the Black Hawk Statue, headed up by Frank and Cherron Rausa, Sterling, began working more than five years ago to secure a plan and the funds to have the statue repaired. Nearly half the money already raised for the project came from the $350,000 state grant. The rest came from donations, including the help from the Oregon Trails Days festival. A large contributor was the Jeffris Family Foundation, Janesville, Wis., which gave a $150,000 matching grant. The Chicago Black Hawks hockey team got on board a sizable donation. To donate to the project, checks can be made out to the Illinois Conservation Foundation and marked in the memo line for the Black Hawk Statue. Donations can be mailed to Illinois Conservation Foundation, 1 Natural Resources Way, Springfield IL 62702.
First Place Tree
The fund to make repairs on the Black Hawk Statue was enriched by more than $15,000 recently, thanks to a local festival. Amy Trimble, creator of the Oregon Trail Days Festival, said the festival committee sent away all their money to the Illinois Conservation Foundation last week for the restoration of the Black Hawk Statue, which stands on a high bluff overlooking the Rock River at Lowden State Park near Oregon.. “The check for $15,718.93 consisted of funds generated during the July event as well as from sales of merchandise throughout the year,” Trimble said. The Oregon Trail Days Festival was started in July of 2010 as fundraiser for the century-old landmark, and had its final event in July of 2014. Trimble said a total of more than $50,000 was raised for the project by the five festivals. The committee, who committed five years to the event, was hoping that new individuals would step forward to continue the twoday festival but so far no one has expressed interest, she said.
The Polo Pioneers 4-H Club took first place Kids Division in the Festival of Trees at the Polo Senior Center. Photo by Vinde Wells
Christmas letter found after 51 years By Jermaine Pigee Sauk Valley Media
Some dreams came true for area kids By Vinde Wells Editor Christmas dreams came true for 30 children Dec. 13 when local law enforcement officers took them on a shopping trip. The Forreston Police Department, with the help of officers from other area agencies and other volunteers, took the youngsters to the Freeport Farm & Fleet Dec. 13 to buy clothes and toys for the annual Shop with a Cop. As much as possible, each child is paired with his or her own adult shopper to make for a personal experience. “Each child is outfitted with the essentials first such as socks, jeans, gloves, boots,” said Forreston Police Chief Mike Boomgarden. “Then after that is accomplished, the fun begins while the kids and their new-found friends head for the fun stuff like the toys and sporting goods areas.” Helping with this year’s event were law enforcement representatives from Forreston Police Department, Polo Police Department, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois State Police, and other law enforcement personnel from Ogle and Stephenson County, along with their
family and other friends of law enforcement. “This year one young man said that he would skip the toys if he could get a bike because someone stole his. His wish was granted,” Boomgarden said. “I also was told by one of the ‘cops’ that the boy that shopped with him became very excited about having his own socks that no one else had ever worn.” He said the event is held at the Freeport Farm & Fleet because Forreston resident Greg Genandt is the manager there. “He and his staff really roll out the red carpet to the kids and all of our shoppers,” Boomgarden said. Names of participants for the event come from teachers, counselors, law enforcement, relatives, neighbors, and others, he said. “We then speak directly with the parents and it is up to them if they wish to participate,” Boomgarden said. “There are no pre-qualifiers and circumstances might range from unemployment to medical issues in the home, to domestic violence, to employment layoffs, and shutdowns.The only rule we
Above, Carolyn Hackbarth laughs as she holds on to a lost Christmas card she mailed in 1963. The card was delivered to Kelly Denton of Mount Morris last week. At left, Carolyn Hackbarth holds on to a piece of mail she sent Dec. 15, 1963. Photos by Philip Marruffo, Sauk Valley Media
Kelly Denton spent the past few days trying to figure out how a long-lost Christmas card appeared in her mailbox. “I’d really like to know where it came from,” said Denton, 52, Mt. Morris. Last Tuesday, Denton received a card postmarked Dec. 15, 1963, from Dixon. That same letter had another postmark from Seattle, Wash., dated Dec. 11 of this year. In 1963, Carolyn Hackbarth, Mt. Morris, sent the card to William and Debbie Kiddell, her former neighbors. Both WIlliam and Debbie have since passed away. Hackbarth, 76, lived in Dixon when she mailed the card. Hackbarth slowly opened the 51-year-old envelope and re-discovered the card Saturday afternoon as a group of people looked on at Pinecrest Community. “I know there is no money in here, because I don’t remember putting any in the card,” Hackbarth said with a laugh. The front of the card has three Christmas trees – two green and one red – along with the word “Greetings”. The inside of the white card reads “Merry Christmas Happy New Year.” Turn to A2
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In This Week’s Edition...
Agriculture, A7 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B8-B12 College News, A4
Entertainment, A6 Fines, B3 Marriage License, A4 Property Transfers, B7
Service News, A4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2
Deaths, B5 Scott D. Beatty, Diane J. Schmidt, Leonard W. Thweatt, Carolyn K. White
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