Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press November 9, 2017 Volume 159, Number 46 - $1.00
Good Numbers
Honor Flight
Emergency Permits
Polo coach is pleased with the number of girls out for basketball. B2
Local veterans made an Honor Flight to Washington DC Nov. 1. A4
Rauner declares harvest emergency; grain trucks can haul extra weight. B3
No diving boards at public pool next summer By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Swimmers at the Polo City Pool will face at least one summer without diving boards. Park Board Chairman Larry Loomis told the city council Monday evening that the 50-year-old diving boards at the pool have been removed as a safety measure. He said the Park Board made the decision to take the boards and their supporting standards down on Oct. 25. “It came to your Park Board’s attention through the
Clearview Pool Company [of South Beloit] representative that the diving boards and their supporting standards, that these systems are dangerous in their current state,” Loomis told the board. He said the Park Board made its decision based on safety and liability concerns. Alderman Randy Schoon objected to the permanent removal of the boards. “I don’t see anything that can’t be fixed,” he said. Clearview owner and operator Mike Vonderheide said that the manufacturers won’t cover any liability in case of injury or death if the
boards and supports have been repaired. He said all repairs and installations must meet the stringent guidelines set by the Illinois Department of Public Health and be done by qualified professionals. Vonderheide explained that the problem is that the boards are not compatible with the pool’s “hopper” or deep end, making it dangerous for those diving in. “Without those boards you might as well fill that thing in,” Schoon said. “You got lucky once,” Vonderheide replied,
referring to an incident last summer when a swimmer dived in, struck the pool’s bottom, and broke teeth. He said the incident could have resulted in much more serious injuries to the swimmer. Park Board member Ben Katner told the council that he suffered injuries while diving into the pool a few years ago. “Those boards are too high, too long, and too close to the edges of the pool,” he said. Police Chief Kurt Cavanaugh said his son broke teeth on the pool’s bottom
after a dive approximately 10 years ago. Vonderheide recommended taking the diving boards out entirely and said he has not installed diving boards for 15 years due to the liability. “It’s not the liability, it’s a safety issue,” Loomis said. Katner suggested looking into getting just one properlysized board or a slide. Pool manager Kayla Bergstrom said a new board and stand could cost as much as $10,000, while a slide would be about $30,000. Park Board member Mark Scholl agreed that he would
like to see a new board installed but said not enough money is left in the parks budget this year. Alderman Justin Grobe, who is also the Chairman of the Parks Committee, said he would like to have a diving board installer take a look and make a recommendation before permanently removing the boards and stands. Grobe suggested budgeting for a portion of the cost of a new board and stand next year and holding fundraisers to make up the rest. The new fiscal new begins May 1.
Slain officer had local ties Cox lived in Mt. Morris while training By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Blackhawk Model Railroad Club president Bill Cummings, of DeKalb, grins as a train rolls out of a mountain tunnel and past the carnival on the main set-up at the club headquarters at Conover Square. Photo by Vinde Wells
Model railroaders still boys at heart By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecountynews.com Three members of a local model railroading club readily admit they’re still little boys at heart when it comes to trains. “The best toy a kid could get in the early 1950s was a Lionel train,” said Dick Byrd, 72, of Oregon. Clint Strouse, 78, of Oregon, and Bill Cummings, 68, of DeKalb, agreed, and the three reminisced about their first train sets as youngsters. Byrd maintains a large train layout in his basement and spends hours running it. “When I’m down there it’s 1950 again and everything is good,” he said with a grin. The three are members of Oregon’s Blackhawk Model Railroad Club, which is headquartered on the second floor at Conover Square. They’re hoping that other train enthusiasts will join their endeavors. Club membership has been as high as 20, and now numbers about 14. “New members would be very welcome,” Cummings said. “We’re always looking for interested members,” Strouse agreed. The club’s train room is dominated by a 40 by 22 feet HO gauge layout that features farms, villages, factories, grain elevators, a carnival, rivers, trestles, a tall mountain complete with skiers, and, of course, trains — lots of them. The 20 locomotives pull their cars around curves, through tunnels, across bridges, and on criss-crossing tracks. Railroad signals flash as the trains pass through a crossing in one small town where down the street a firetruck’s flashing lights signal a call.
Farther up the line the train enters a tunnel through the mountain and comes out around the carnival with its bright lights and whirling rides. The snow-capped mountain boasts miniature sculptures — Sauk medicine man Black Hawk and also Mt. Rushmore. “Our layout runs very well,” Strouse said. Cummings explained that the trains are run wirelessly with a digital command control, and each locomotive has chip. The main layout and three more smaller ones are all the work of club members who share a passion for trains. Strouse is one of the charter member of the club, which got its start in 1999 in a church basement at the south end of Oregon. “It got started by a couple of guys putting an ad in the newspaper about starting a model train club,” he said. “My wife read it and said that’s what you should do.” A group of 10 formed the club, Strouse said, and moved to the main floor at Conover Square a few weeks later. “We didn’t have much of a layout so we started building,” he said with a chuckle. When the club moved upstairs in 2003, the layout had to be cut in pieces — wiring and all — an reassembled. Club members pitched in to accomplish the task in record time. “We had a deadline,” Byrd recalled. “We had to be ready for an open house.” The layout isn’t meant to replicate any time period or place, but rather is a mix of eras and features. Cummings, who is club president, said they run trains that have run
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B3 Library News, A8
through Ogle County, and don’t restrict their trains as far as brand or gauge. “Our members all have personal preferences and that great,” he said. “We’re not specific. We’re open.” The club doesn’t buy or sell trains or train equipment, and is totally funded through donations and club dues. They encourage visits from the public. “Our mission is to educate people about model railroading,” Cummings said. Those people have come from all over the U.S. and world. The train room is open to the public every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The public can also come in at other times if club members are there working on the layout and running trains. Groups tours are available by appointment, and the club has welcomed school children, church groups, car club groups, and bus tours. The layout will also be open as usual for Oregon’s Candlelight Walk on Saturday, Nov. 24. “That’s our biggest event of the year,” Byrd said. “We get more than 1,000 people.” The club holds an annual Christmas giveaway for an HO train set. The winner is announced the Saturday before Christmas. Members are encouraged to take an active role in club activities and are asked to work one three-hour weekend shift once a month. Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. For more information call 815-9052762.
Marriage Licenses, A4 Pine Creek News, A3 Polo Police. A2 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports,B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B4
The 30-year-old Rockford police officer who died early Sunday after a scuffle with another man during a traffic stop had ties to Mt. Morris. Jaimie Cox’s grandparents, the late Don and Joyce Cox, were Mt. Morris residents, and his father Jim grew up in town and graduated from Mt. Morris High School in 1977. Mt. Morris Police Chief Jason White said Jaimie also lived in town for a few months while attending training for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police, where he worked before joining the Rockford Police Department in 2016. “He was a very nice young man,” White said. “It’s an unfortunate incident all the way around.” According to the Rockford Register Star, Rockford police said Cox made a traffic stop on a pickup truck near East State Street and Dawn Avenue shortly after 1 a.m. on Nov. 5. Police believe that during the traffic stop, Cox scuffled with the driver Eddie Patterson, 49, became entangled with the truck and opened fire with his sidearm. The truck struck a tree approximately two blocks from where Cox made the traffic stop. Cox radioed for assistance during the incident.
Jaimie Cox
Cox was transported by ambulance to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Patterson also died. After an autopsy on Monday, the Winnebago County Coroner said Cox died from blunt force trauma and ruled his death a homicide. An autopsy also revealed that Patterson suffered a gunshot wound which is listed as his cause of death. He also suffered blunt force trauma in the incident. Authorities say the plates on Patterson’s truck did not match the truck, which may have been the reason Cox pulled Patterson over. An investigation is ongoing by Rockford Police and the WinnebagoBoone County Integrity Task Force. Cox graduated from Hononegah High School and had served in the U.S. Army National Guard. Visitation for Cox will be held on Friday, Nov. 10 from 3 to 9 p.m. at First Free Evangelical Church, 2223 N. Mulford Road, Rockford, with the law enforcement walk-through scheduled for 6 p.m. The police funeral service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. at the church. A procession will follow immediately after the service.
Deaths, B4 Judy S. Kitzmiller, Russell J. Statler
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com