Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press October 12, 2017 Volume 159, Number 44 - $1.00
Sectional golf
$75,000 Given!
Deficit Budget
Local golfers wrap up the season with sectional and regional golf tournaments. B1
An anonymous donor gives $75,000 to HOO. A4
The Ogle County Board is working to solve a $850,000 deficit budget. B3
Lodge at the Pines gets addition and new name By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A long-awaited expansion is close to becoming a reality at the White Pines State Park. Local and state officials attended a ground-breaking at the park’s lodge Oct. 6 that they say will usher new tourism dollars into the area economy. Lodge concessionaire Beth Henderson said the construction project, which is slated for completion Dec. 18, means the lodge, now known as the White Pines Resort, will have a brand new stage with state-ofthe art lighting and sound, seating for 40 more guests in the dining room, and more storage. The goal, she said, is have a retreat center to attract corporate groups to the facility. “We have tourists and weddings on the weekend, but all we have mid-week is the dinner theater. Now we have space for corporate retreats mid-week as well,” she said. Henderson declined to give the cost of the expansion, but said the project is a partnership between the resort and
the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which has authority over the park. “The state [IDNR] paid for the design and I’m paying for everything else,” she said. Henderson told the crowd at the ground-breaking that the expansion has been a long time coming. “I’ve been here 29 years and this has been in the making for 20 years,” she said. “It is really a symbol of growth as we transform from the White Pines Lodge to the White Pines Resort. We want to be a showplace for the state.” Keynote speaker Cory Jobe, director of the Illinois Office of Tourism, said the cooperation between Henderson and the IDNR is noteworthy. “This is the first time I’ve been at a ground-breaking for a public-private partnership,” he said. “It’s refreshing to see that happening at one of our state parks.” State Sen. Tim Bivins (R-Dixon) recounted coming to the White Pines since his childhood. He said when he came the first time with his parents he was fascinated with the park’s fords. “How cool is that to drive
Ground was officially broken Oct. 6 for an expansion of the lodge at the White Pines State Park. Pictured left to right in the back row are: Evan Talbert and Rebecca Anderson, Highland Community College; Von Bandy, Illinois Department of Natural Resouces; Robert Bell, IDNR; Michael Bauling, IDNR; Bill Taft, IDNR; Sandy Stahler, White Pines Resort; Ray Gilden, Hickory Ridge. Front row: Oregon Mayor Ken Williams; Diane Bausman, Blackhawk Waterways Convention & Visitors Bureau; State Sen. Tim Bivins; Beth Henderson, White Pines Resort; Jolyn Wise, Park Site Superintendent, Cory Jobe, director of the Illinois Office of Tourism; and Jerry Campagna, White Pines Resort. Photo by Zach Arbogast
through the water?” he said with a smile. “This is a jewel,” Bivins continued. “This place has special meaning for those of us who live around here and grew up here.” Jerry Campagna, vice
president of operations at the White Pines Resort, credited Henderson with securing IDNR approval of the expansion. “It’s all due to her energy and commitment,” he said. He also introduced the
resort’s new logo, the focus of which is a lantern. “A lantern is a light that brightens the path,” he said. “We inspire others.” The resort’s tagline will be “Stop the dash, connect the dots.”
Campagna also announced a partnership with Highland Community College, Freeport, for its hospitality program. Workshops for the program will be held at the resort.
47th Autumn on Parade draws large crowd By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Although the final numbers aren’t yet tallied, Oregon’s 47th Autumn on Parade festival may have drawn its largest crowd ever on Sunday. “Several people told me they had never seen so many people there before,” said AOP Committee President Marseyne Snow. After intermittent drizzle all day Saturday, Sunday dawned bright and beautiful with temperatures topping off in the mid-70s — picture perfect for browsing craft booths, shopping for mums and pumpkins, and best of all, watching a parade. “Even with the rain on Saturday, we still had a good crowd, and yesterday was just beautiful,” Snow said on Monday. As always, the Harvest Time Parade was a crowd-pleaser. “The South Shore Drill Team is always a favorite, and the Jesse White Tumblers got the crowd involved. People really liked that,” Snow said. The tumblers invited members of the audience to stand tall while their high-flying acrobats, one after another, did flips over top of them. The crowd started coming into town early Sunday morning. “We had nearly 500 runners in the 5K,” Snow said. The festival’s second 60/40 cash raffle also topped last year’s total. This year’s winner, Jeff Donaldson, of Polo, won $13,140. The cash total of tickets sold was $21,900. By noon, virtually every one of the 180-plus booths in the Farmers Market had a line of shoppers, and the blocklong Food Court was elbow-to-elbow. Amanda Wielgus, of Rochelle, was involved in what she laughingly called “the endless debate,” as she contemplated a handmade wooden bench at a booth just in front of the courthouse. “Just buy it,” encouraged her friend Kristin Cech, also of Rochelle. The two are veterans of the festival. “We come to AOP every year,” Wielgus said. “It’s the ultimate girls day.” Around the corner, vendor Lynnette Hough, of Mt. Sarah Bliss, 22, of Polo, plays piano for visitors during the Chana School Tours, next to the Car and Tractor Show Morris, was pleased with business at her booth offering at Oregon Park East during Autumn On Parade on Saturday, Oct. 7. Photo by Zach Arbogast homemade maple syrup and other maple treats. Turn to A3
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B10 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4 Guest Column, A7
Marriage Licenses, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4 Zoning, B4
Deaths, B5 Lawrence L. Acker, Robert H. Cavanaugh, Freda J. Engelkes, Charles E. Kump Jr.
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com