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POLO
Tri-County Press February 2, 2017 Volume 159, Number 20 - $1.00
Girls Regional
First Fridays
Chana School
The IHSA Girls Basketball Regionals are set to begin on Monday, Feb. 6. B1
The monthly music show will honor the memory of Ray Rose. A6
A historic school museum is in need of donations to pay for a new roof. A4
Exelon’s Byron Station is valued at $546M BOR upheld the “We want to let people know that we assessment set remain committed to paying our fair last fall by Jim share of taxes,” — Paul Dempsey, Harrison Byron Station Communications Manager By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
A Byron school official voiced approval for a decision last week by the Ogle County Board of Review (BOR) to uphold the assessment set last fall for the Exelon’s Byron Generating Station. “We’re very satisfied with that,” said Byron School Superintendent James Hammack after the hearing on Jan. 26. The BOR voted to value the nuclear power station at $546 million, the amount set last fall by Ogle County Supervisor of Assessments Jim Harrison.
That assessment affects the amount of real estate taxes paid in 2017. In its appeal of the assessment, Exelon Generation officials set the value of Byron Station at $295 million, slightly more than half of Harrison’s number. The Byron School District filed as an intervenor in the appeal. “We believe our legal firm does a fair assessment of the nuclear plant,” Hammack said. “We believe the $546 million is accurate.” Byron Station Communications Manager Paul Dempsey said that
Exelon is willing to pay its share of real estate taxes, although operating nuclear power stations has become more difficult. “We want to let people know that we remain committed to paying our fair share of taxes,” he said. “It continues to be a tough environment for nuclear plants as we’ve seen closures. We’ll continue to operate safely and efficiently and provide carbon-free power for northern Illinois and beyond.” Dempsey said that Exelon has made more than $20 million in philanthropic contributions and its
Exelon’s Byron Generating Station is located on German Church Road between Oregon and Byron. File photo
employees volunteer their time to local projects. During arguments at the hearing, Exelon’s attorney Roger Lewis from Goldberg Kohn Ltd., Chicago,
Exelon side were very shocked by the $68 million increase in the assessment of Byron Station,” he said. The value of the plant has Turn to A7
Conover work is back on track
Bench raffle at PCHS
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com What could be a better benchmark for giving back to the community than making an actual bench by hand and donating it to raise funds for scholarships? Polo School Superintendent Chris L. Rademacher and his son Christopher P. Rademacher have built a buck-board bench to be raffled off by the Polo Education Association, an organization that awards annual scholarships in May with funds raised from silent auctions, raffles, and events during sports games year-round. Chris and his son have been making these benches for around 12 years, giving them to youth charities,
expressed surprise that Harrison had increased the value of the plant from the $482.4 million set by the BOR a year ago. “Those of us on the
Polo School Superintendent Chris L. Rademacher and his son Christopher P. Rademacher have built this buck-board bench which is being raffled off to benefit the Polo Education Association Scholarship. Photo by Chris Johnson
organizations in town, sports boosters, and various churches. “One of the nice things is that over the last 10 years, we’ve had students from
the art classes paint scenes on them, which makes them that much more valuable,” Rademacher said. The buck-board bench is currently on display during
the basketball games, where raffle tickets can be bought by the public. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. The drawing will be held on March 3.
A relatively simple solution has been found to get the Conover Square repair project back on track. Hands On Oregon (HOO) member Rick Ryland said Monday that repositioning the lift to make the repairs to the south wall of the building will satisfy safety regulations and save the $15,773 for a work agreement with ComEd to have the power turned off and on each day. Work will resume Feb. 6. “ComEd’s Milan Krpan gave the go ahead to proceed next Monday,” Ryland said. Due to a recent anonymous donation of $25,000, HOO had hired Tip Top Roofing, DeKalb, to repair the upper portion of the bowed-out south wall. The crew began the project Jan. 19, but the halted the following day when Ryland learned from ComEd representatives that they were
too close to electric lines and must stop work while that was remedied. Workers on the lift were too close to overhead wires, which violated Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. By placing the lift parallel to the building instead of perpendicular and hugging the building as they progress along it, the crew will be far enough away from the wires to meet the regulations, Ryland said. “Milan has agreed to our new plan for the lift, and ComEd will now move the wires and insulate them [for the scaffolding]. This new plan will not be in violation of OSHA regulations,” he said. ”Hands On Oregon thanks the Lord for answering our prayers. We thank the mayor [Ken Williams] for standing with us on this project.,” Ryland said. “We thank especially Milan Krpan of Turn to A2
Oregon Library renovations bring in more patrons By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The renovations at the Oregon Public Library are already proving popular with patrons. Library Director Andrew Dettman said the changes are already bringing in more people at every level. “People are coming in to read the papers and kids come in to do homework,” he said. “We’re getting more kids at Story Time.” One of the draws is a spacious elevator that stops
at all three floors. “One mother had a double stroller, and there was plenty of room for it in the elevator,” he said. The addition of the elevator means the library is now complaint with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, something the board and staff had dealt with for a long time. The elevator entrance was added to the north side of the building, strategically located near four new parking places, one of which is handicapped, and accessible by new sidewalks
In This Week’s Edition...
that now run completely around the structure. Two new handicapped accessible restrooms are in the totally revamped basement. Only a few finishing touches remain to be completed, Dettman said, and after that — hopefully in late February or early March — a grand reopening is in the works. “It took longer than expected but now it’s done,” he said with a smile. As with any renovation, some unexpected projects had to be done. In this case,
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
the electrical throughout the building had to be replaced. “It was completely outdated,” Dettman said. One of the focal points is the fireplace room, that formerly housed computers, media, and books, and now has comfy chairs for relaxing and reading — and a fireplace restored to look like the original, which was removed in the 1920s or 30s. Built in 1908 with money donated by Pittsburg businessman and philanthropist Andrew
Oregon Police, B3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3
Library director Andy Dettman said the large new
Turn to A2 children’s space in the basement is drawing more youngsters. Photo by Vinde Wells
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2
Deaths, B4 Allen L. Gale, Edna H. Groenewold, Sharon V. Huttunen, G. Gordon Landry, Lois H. Miller, Rita Mae Prentice, David E. Proud
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com