Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press November 16, 2017 Volume 159, Number 47 - $1.00
Cardinals Roll
Business Tour
Christmas Crafts
The Forreston Cardinals football team rolls by Princeville and into Saturday’s semifinals. B1
Japanese businessmen check out what Rochelle has to offer. A7
The Polo Senior Center is offering classes to make special Christmas crafts. A2
Tax appeals filed for nuclear plant and former printing plant
Veterans Day Lunch
By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
Above: Each year, Centennial Elementary School unites veterans and their families with something everyone can get behind: a tasty lunch together. Below: “This whole thing is touching; I didn’t think kids this age recognized us veterans.” U.S. Marine Corps veteran Tristan Strickler enjoys a hot lunch with his children, six-yearold Caylee-Jo and seven-year-old Blake. Photos by Zach Arbogast
Among the 56 property tax appeals recently filed in Ogle County are two companies that protest their assessments almost every year. Exelon Generation Co., LLC has filed an appeal of the assessment of its Byron Generating Station, and Mt. Morris Business Park LLC has objected to the assessed value set for the former Quad Graphics printing plant in Mt. Morris. Supervisor of Assessments Jim Harrison said the number of appeals filed is normal compared to other years. “A few others were filed earlier, primarily residential, but those have been resolved with the township assessors,” he said. “This is a typical
number, maybe on the low side in comparison to some years.” The assessments were published in local newspapers in late September and the deadline to file an appeal was Oct. 30. Exelon officials are asking that the current assessment of $546 million is reduced to $308.9 million. The plant’s value, set this fall by Harrison, is identical to the amount set a year ago, which was upheld by the Ogle County Board of Review last January. Attorneys for the utility company argued then that the plant’s assessment should decrease due to economic conditions and the plant’s age. The two reactors came Turn to A3
Forreston teen dies in crash A Forreston teenager died early Monday morning in a single vehicle crash in Carroll County. Drew Crase, 16, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash approximately a half mile north of the intersection of Ill. 72 and Ill. 73, about four miles north of Lanark. Carroll County Sheriff Jeff Doran said a car driven by Crase was southbound on Ill. 73 when it travelled off the east side of the road and into a ditch where it struck a driveway culvert causing it to become airborne.
The car came to rest upside down in a pond on the south side of the driveway. Crase was the car’s only occupant. The crash was reported at 12:40 a.m. The crash remains under investigation. Assisting the Carroll County Sheriff ’s Department at the scene were the Carroll County Coroner, Ogle County Sheriff ’s Department, Forreston Police Department, Shannon Fire Department, Lanark Fire Department, and the Byron Fire Department dive team.
Leaf River firefighter dies in house fire By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com At least 300 people turned out Sunday evening for to honor a young Leaf River firefighter who died when his family’s home was destroyed in a fire early Friday morning.
Greg Wood
Greg Wood, 19, was remembered at a candlelight vigil by the firefighters from
departments across northern Illinois, as well as family, friends, and local residents, who filled the front driveway at the Leaf River Fire Station. Wood was pronounced dead at the scene of the fire at 209 W. Second St., Leaf River, just a block from the fire station. Two members of his family remain hospitalized for treatment of serious injuries suffered in the fire. His father, Marcus Wood, 43, who is the deputy chief of the Leaf River Fire Department, was listed in fair condition Tuesday in the burn unit at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford, and his younger brother Travis, 16, a cadet firefighter, is in good condition at Mercyhealth Hospital, Rockford. His mother Nicole, an EMT on the department, was
In This Week’s Edition...
transported by ambulance to Mercyhealth, where she was treated and released. The family’s dog also perished in the blaze. Fire Chief Steve Shelton said Monday morning that the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigation, the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department are conducting the investigation. Investigators said the fire is not considered suspicious. Shelton, who lives across the street from the Wood home, said he was awakened at about 12:40 a.m. on Friday when members of the Wood family pounded on his door for help. At that point, he said, the entire front of the two-story frame house was in flames. He said he and his son
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
The crowd at a vigil Sunday evening holds their candles high in tribute to Greg Wood. Photo by Vinde Wells
Aaron, also a firefighter, immediately went to the fire station. When they arrived back on the scene with a firetruck, the house was totally engulfed.
Polo Police, A2 Pine Creek News A3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3
“Basically there were flames coming from every window of the house,” he said. Fifteen area fire departments responded with
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3-B4 Social News, A4 Sports, B1-B2 State’s Attorney, B4
mutual aid. This is the first time the Leaf River Fire Department has suffered the loss of Turn to A3
Deaths, B4 John A. Axelson, Elizabeth J. Deuth, Pete M. Dinsmoor, Ronald Erdman
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com