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POLO
Tri-County Press December 22, 2016 Volume 159, Number 14 - $1.00
It’s a Wrap
Dear Santa
4-H Awards
The Forreston boys and Polo girls holiday tournaments have wrapped up. B1
Read letters that students wrote to Santa. Inside
Local 4-Hers are recognized for their accomplishments in 2016. A7
Former sheriff Michael Harn pleads guilty Avoids jail on felony theft of county funds: sentenced to 48 months probation and $10,600 restitution By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Former Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn will not serve time in jail for the theft of county funds while he was in office. Harn, 55, pleaded guilty in Ogle County Court Monday afternoon to two counts of theft, both Class 2 felonies, reversing the not guilty pleas he entered during a Nov. 10 court appearance. In accordance with a plea agreement, Judge Val Gunnarsson sentenced him to 48 months probation and ordered him to immediately pay $10,600 in restitution to the Ogle County Treasurer. Special Prosecutor Dave Neal, of the Illinois Office of State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, told Gunnarsson that he and Harn’s attorney John Nocita, West Chicago, had reached a plea agreement. Gunnarsson, a Carroll County Judge appointed to preside over the case, went over the charges and the plea
“You were a public servant of this county, and I’m sure you recognize that you grossly violated that trust,” — Judge Val Gunnarsson agreement and asked Harn if he understood. Harn replied, “Yes, Sir.” When Gunnarsson asked how he pled, Harn quietly answered guilty to each count. “You were a public servant of this county, and I’m sure you recognize that you grossly violated that trust,” Gunnarsson told Harn before passing sentence. Gunnarsson also ordered Harn to perform 384 hours of public service work and to pay $2,312 in court costs immediately. The judge questioned why Harn had not yet reported to Michael Harn (right) sits at the defendant’s table with his attorney, John Nocita of West Chester Monday afternoon Turn to A3 in Ogle County Court. As part of a plea deal, Harn received 4 years probation.
Council accepts PD repair quote By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com The Polo City Council approved a quote Monday for renovations to the Police Department building. A quote from Mark Ebert of Ebert Engineers, gave the council got some good news: the projections came in under $20,000. The police department has needed some improvements to increase efficiency and bring the building up to snuff.
Ebert’s plans include replacing the evidence room door with a steel-framed solid wood core door, complete with lockset and deadbolt. The front office area will see existing walls, cabinets, and paneling removed. New, framed walls will be built, including a new vestibule area. A new, steel entrance door will include a glass ticket window and a counter passthru. Turn to A2
Resident asks board about jail’s location By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com An Oregon resident asked the Ogle County Board Tuesday to carefully consider where they locate the new county jail. Bryan Zobeck, who lives at 100 S. Seventh St., told the board that Oregon Together, a community organization working toward development, has identified the downtown and the riverfront as development and tourism areas. “The placement of the jail could interfere with that,” he said. The county board approved a design concept Nov. 15 that locates
the proposed jail in the 100 block of South Sixth Street across the street from the judicial center. The plan calls for a building that would house from 180 to 200 prisoners and cost an estimated $25 million. The design would mean South Sixth Street will be closed to traffic with a sally port across what is now the street connecting the new detention center to the judicial center. The drawing shows the front of the brick jail facing north, lining up with the north side of the judicial center. The building would be designed not to look like a jail.
In This Week’s Edition...
Jamie Harmon, Polo Community High School Art Teacher, and former PCHS Senior Kaleigh Powell stand beside the freshly repainted Nativity at Faith United Methodist Church. Powell, along with fellow senior Hope Stapleton, brought vibrant colors back to the scene as an act of community service. Stapleton now lives in Texas. Photo by Zach Arbogast.
Local teens bring color to Faith UMC By Zach Arbogast Zarbogast@oglecounty news.com The Nativity outside of Faith United Methodist Church sports a vibrant new paint job thanks to a pair of high school seniors looking to serve. People driving past the church have noticed the Nativity scene has been restored in colorful glory, but may not know how that came to be. Two Polo Community High School seniors -
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B5 Library News, A10
Kaleigh Powell and Hope Stapleton - were in need of around five more service hours in order to graduate. The end of the school year was days away, and Faith UMC member Ron Rackow had just the project in mind. The fiberglass Nativity set Faith United had used for years was looking faded and old, and was in dire need of a touch-up. With help from their art teacher, Jamie Harmon, the girls showed up and proceeded to repaint the
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B5
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B3
scene with spray paint cans. “I expected the girls to be at it for a couple days” said Rackow. “I left them alone for a few hours, and when I came back, they were gone.” Suspecting the girls may have taken a break, Rackow instead found the Nativity fully painted and drying. How did the shading, blending, and fine details come out so clearly with spray cans? Well, the girls employed an interesting technique for those parts.
“We sprayed our hands and basically went in and finger-painted small things like eyebrows,” said Powell, laughing. “I had layers of colors on my hands for days.” The girls have since graduated, and Stapleton now resides in Texas, but Powell and Harmon were on hand to visit together for a bit and talk about the project. The Nativity sits outside, facing the roadway from Faith UMC, 702 E Dixon St, Polo.
Deaths, B4 Dorothy M. Broege, Michael W. Hokanson, Michael A. Stocker, Lois E. Voss, Isabelle A. Wisner
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com