Tcp 2016 11 03

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Serving the Polo Area Since 1857

POLO

Tri-County Press November 3, 2016 Volume 159, Number 7 - $1.00

Season Ends

Fall Back

PCHS Presents

The Marcos football season ends with a 42-21 loss to Dakota in the first round of the playoffs. B1

Turn your clocks back one hour to Standard Time at 2 a.m. Sunday.

The Drama Club will perform “Cats...ish” on Nov. 11 and 12 in the high school gym. A8

Voters to decide on referendums By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com

Trick-or-Treat Marjorie Genandt gives a treat to trick-or-treater Grace Baley Monday evening at Polo Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center. Residents handed out candy at the annual Halloween event. Photo by Vinde Wells

After-school mentoring program offered to assist all Polo students By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@ oglecountynews.com

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With Polo Community High School students struggling with their studies, a local resident says it’s the community who can, and should, help them out. Margaret Tyne is spearheading an after-school mentoring program. The idea for the program in Polo began with Rev. Anthony DiMarco, thenpastor of the Polo Church of the Brethren. He saw the problem of families hitting the poverty level in town, and how it was affecting the grades of students, Tyne said. According to Tyne, around 40 percent of the students at Polo are on free or reduced lunches, and the individual

Government can’t improve everything; individuals need to put time into private programs.

poverty level per class has skyrocketed from 25 percent, to as high as 75 percent in some cases. After DiMarco retired and moved, Tyne continued the academic help program “Academic success tracks poverty rates,” said Tyne. “Poorer areas suffer more dramatically from poor performance.” Tyne herself grew up in Polo, graduating from PCHS in 1973. She said during that time,

Margaret Tyne helps eighth grader Gavin Alvarado with math. Photo by Zach Arbogast.

In This Week’s Edition...

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Margaret Tyne, Mentoring program

Polo schools were greatly above average in terms of grades, graduations rates, and students who continued on to further schooling or service. According to Tyne, people used to move to Polo for their school district alone. According to PCHS Principal Andy Faivre, currently about 20 percent of PCHS students are doing poorly enough to require assistance. Tyne believes a lot has changed in Polo since she graduated. She attributes much of the change to a decline in performances in the workplace and education - not just in Polo, but worldwide. So, what is to be done about the discrepancy between past performances and today? Tyne said she follows a strict creed: don’t complain if you don’t have a plan for improvement. “Government can’t improve everything;

Chamber Chatter, A8 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B10 Entertainment, A6 Library News, A9

individuals need to put time into private programs,” said Tyne. “Those of us who are able have a responsibility to bring up the standard.” Tyne’s program involves a hands-on after-school study program between adults in the community and students in need to help. Tyne had contacted Faivre at the beginning of October to discuss her idea for the program. By the time she had driven from her home a few miles east of town to the school for their meeting, Faivre had already researched her program and was a prepared to show fervent support for it. From Faivre’s perspective, this program is a great outlet for student-athletes struggling with eligibility issues. “It does no good to just have them stand on the side out of uniform, unable to practice,” said Faivre. “This way, instead of coaches figuring out what to do with them, they can be getting help with their studies to hopefully get back out on the field.” Volunteer mentors don’t need to be worried about whether or not they have retained a lot of their high school studies — Tyne said

Marriage Licenses, A4 Pine Creek News, A3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3

While national and state races on the Nov. 8 ballot may be hotly contested, all candidates for Ogle County posts are running unopposed. After voting for President, U.S. Senator, and State Comptroller, voters in the county will just have to decide on various referenda. Residents of the Forreston Fire Protection District have two referenda before them. The fire district board is asking voters to hike the taxes by a maximum of 10 cents, from 30 cents to 40 cents, per $100 of equalized assessed valuation (EAV) in both the fire service and the ambulance service. That means the annual real estate taxes on a $100,000 house would increase by approximately $33 for each levy or a total of $66 if both are approved. This is the first time the fire service has asked for an increase in its 68-year history. When the district was formed on Nov. 7, 1947, the tax rate was set at 30 cents per $100 EAV. The fire district took over the ambulance service in March of 1976 and the present tax rate of 30 cents per $100 EAV was set then. Currently the fire service taxes at 25.3 cents per $100

EAV and the ambulance at 24.7 cents. Fire officials say the increases are necessary to pay salaries of EMTs and for future purchases of both fire and ambulance equipment. Polo School District voters are being asked to change how they elect their school board members. A referendum on the ballot will ask if school board members should be elected at large and without restriction as to where they live. Currently no more than three members of the board can reside in the same congressional township. Back in 2007, the same question was on the ballot and was narrowly defeated 241-204. Superintendent Chris Rademacher is hoping for a different outcome this time around, especially since state laws have changed. “Last time it had to pass in every township, now it’s a two-thirds majority overall,” he said. Rademacher said he believes the change will result in a more democratic process. The three per township rule, he said has resulted increasingly in top the vote getters sometimes not being seated on the board because the quota for their township was already filled. Turn to A3

Heroin took young man to life of crime Editor’s note: This is the second of a four-part series on the growing use of heroin in Ogle county and how it is affecting governmental agencies, addicts, family members and the political process. By Andy Colbert acolbert@oglecounty news.com What does heroin make a user do? For James (not his real name), it was robbing a business at gunpoint, albeit with a toy gun. “I didn’t want to do it, but had to,” James said. “By the time I made it back home, I had the dry heaves. I couldn’t believe this is what my life had become. I’m not that type of person, but needed

money for heroin.” James’ indecision about robbing the business made him easy to catch. There were pace marks in snow in front of the store as he pondered whether or not to commit the crime. Police simply tracked his path from the store to his home and arrested him. On the surface, the goodlooking 27-year-old is polite, intelligent, and hard working. Why the need to sink into the darkness of drug addiction and risk losing it all? That certainly wasn’t his plan when he began dabbling in pot and alcohol in eighth grade. His descent into addiction continued after his mother Turn to A3

Hydrants will be flushed Nov. 8 & 9

The Polo Water Department will flush water mains throughout the city on Tuesday, Nov. 8 and on Wednesday, Nov. 9. All areas of the city may be affected by rusty water and low Turn to A3 pressure on both days.

Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Weather, A3 Zoning, B3

Deaths, B4 Marcelene Taylor Bentley, Neil E. Holland, Maxine Kriebel, Jerry D. Macklin

Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com


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