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Tri-County Press January 25, 2018 Volume 159, Number 39 - $1.00
Marcos Win
Tires Dumped
Dress-Up Ball
Marcos prevail in Jan. 18 shoot-out to beat Cardinals 68-51. B1
A Polo man is arrested for dumping tires on the river. A2
The fourth annual Masquerade Ball is Saturday night at the Polo Town Hall. A8
Siblings are competitive down to the letter By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com The regional bee spells competition in a Polo home as brother and sister compete against one another. Rebekah and Gage Zeigler, 12 and 11 respectively, will go on to compete against each other at the regional spelling bee held in Dixon on Feb. 22. The Zeiglers won their respective schools’ 25th annual Scripps Spelling Bees at Aplington Middle School on Dec. 17 and Centennial Elementary on Jan. 5. Gage won in 14 rounds by spelling “Atoll,” and Rebekah won in round 11 with “Expatiated.” For Gage, he hadn’t entered a bee until this year, but did so when his interest was piqued over a unique situation: this would be the only year he and his sister could potentially simultaneously compete at regionals. “My dad encouraged me, but I also wanted to try it for myself - to go to the regional bee and compete against Bekah,” said Gage. “This is the only year that could happen, so I had to give it a shot.” The shot was successful, clearly, as Gage won Centennial’s bee on Jan. 5 It’s worth noting that if competition was Gage’s
mission, he certainly found it. Unlike Gage, Rebekah is no stranger to the spelling bee world, having won every school bee she has entered since the third grade in 2013. That year, she placed sixth at regionals. She won the next year - and the next year, and the next year… Rebekah has competed at the National Bee at National Harbor, Maryland, three times now. She’s even spelled on the ESPNU broadcast. Despite that, she said above anything, she loves seeing old friends there. “I’ve met lots of friends at nationals, and since we can go back more than once, we’ve been able to catch up,” said Rebekah. “It’s nice to see people you haven’t seen in a long time, from all over the country.” There is a bit of a different dynamic between the two, with Rebekah being a veteran of spelling bees, and Gage being a fresh face. “I feel like there’s some pressure on me, doing well for so many years,” said Rebekah. Gage’s tune was a bit more relaxed: “I’m just going to try my best, and see what happens.” What is most impressive about the pair of spellers is finding the time to study. Aside from the homeworkfilled school lives children face every day, they’re each
Rebekah and Gage Zeigler hold a couple of Rebekah’s Lee/Ogle Regional Spelling Bee trophies, from 2014 and 2015. Brother and sister are both competing against one another at the 2018 regional bee in Dixon on Feb. 22. Photo by Zach Arbogast.
heavily involved in other activities. Rebekah reads, plays clarinet, is involved in student council, plays basketball, volleyball,
participated in the cub scout Arrow of Light den, Pack 337, and has an avid appreciation for video games.
gymnastics, softball, track and field, soccer, and cheerleading. Gage also plays clarinet, along with soccer, basketball, and baseball,
By next year, Gage and Rebekah will both be Aplington students, so the competition will remain, but only one will make it to regionals.
Airplane crashes onto frozen Rock River Only minor injuries suffered y Earleen Hinton B ehinton@oglecounty news.com
A small plane sits on the ice after hitting a power line and crashing on the Saturday afternoon. Photo by Earleen Hinton
Crash almost on Ogle line Which investigating agency should take charge in an emergency situation can be a little confusing sometimes.
Especially when a plane crashes onto the ice-covered Rock River as happened on Saturday afternoon. Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle, who was on the scene, said the crash took place very close to the dividing line between Ogle and Lee Counties. That line runs down the middle of
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B6-B8 Entertainment, A6 Library News, A3
A handful of local residents were outdoors taking advantage of the springlike weather Saturday afternoon when their chores were interrupted by a plane crash. Illinois State Police responded to a call at about 12:50 p.m. that a small plane had landed or crashed in the Rock River near Grand Detour. The pilot, David R. Manske, and his passenger, Jamie K. Nadowski, 60, both of Machesney Park, were taken to a hospital, but luckily escaped serious injury. No information on their flight plan was Rock River just west of Grand Detour available. Jim Ross was working in his garage just north of the crash site when he heard the river. “Where it happened there are two the plane fly over his home islands, one of them is in Lee County around 12:40 p.m. “I was in the garage and I and one is in Ogle,” he said. heard a plane flying by. Then Lee County 911 got the first call and there was a big noise – and that sheriff’s department took charge. silence,” Ross said. “Then a “It was closer to their island, and they neighbor came by and said a called the state police,” VanVickle said. plane was on the ice and to
Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A6 Property Transfers, B4 Sheriff’s Arrests, B5
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5
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call 911. He had heard it too and drove over and saw it on the ice.” Ross walked south a few yards where he saw the pilot exit the plane and walk around a bit. Kelley Snyder, who lives just a house down from Ross, and almost directly across from where the plane came to rest, also heard a loud bang, but thought it was just a vehicle backfiring. “I heard a pop, pop and I thought it was just a Jeep or truck backfiring. I went outside a few minutes later and started playing with our dogs and tossing them balls down the hill,” Snyder said. “When I walked down our hill to get one of the balls I saw the plane and at first I was, ‘Oh no, a plane crashed,’ and my first thought was that if it started to sink it was pretty shallow there. Snyder said she then saw the pilot. “I yelled and asked if he was all right and he waved his arms,” she said. Snyder’s son Dax, 12, was inside his family’s house and also heard a “snapping” noise. “I think that was when they hit the Turn to B3
Deaths, B4 George L. Martens