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Local teams battle at holiday tournaments
NEWS EDITOR SITS DOWN WITH THE JOLLY ONE THE PEOPLE’S VOICE, A3
SPORTS, B1
OGLE COUNTY | SPENDING IN THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
Credit card bills altered Gouker: Changes removed personal purchases BY MATT MENCARINI mmencarini@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
OREGON – In at least three instances since 2011, credit card statements from the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department have been altered to change the month’s balance or to remove charges. Copies of the credit card statements were obtained this month by Sauk Valley Media through a Freedom of Information Act request. A review of the three original statements in the Ogle County clerk’s office
Personal expenses paid with credit cards BY DAVID GIULIANI AND MATT MENCARINI news@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 529
revealed white out and marker covering up items on the public documents. Ogle County Chairman Kim Gouker was aware of the changes to the bills, he said, but didn’t think it was done to cover up anything. He reviewed the bills with Ogle County Clerk Rebecca Huntley, he said, and didn’t believe there was anything fraudulent. Huntley also discussed the issue with Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock.
OREGON – Both the Ogle County sheriff and coroner have used county credit cards for personal purchases, but they reimbursed the county right away, Ogle County Board Chairman Kim Gouker says. On Dec. 31, 2011, Sheriff Michael Harn used his credit card
PURCHASES CONTINUED ON A5
to take his in-laws out for dinner at a restaurant in Peoria, where his inlaws live, Gouker said. He charged the card $267. “He didn’t have his [personal] card, so he used this one,” Gouker said.
Sheriff Michael Harn
EXPENSES CONTINUED ON A5
STERLING
OUTDOORS | WILDLIFE
Far fewer deer killed
Apartment complex ready to be occupied More than 60 applications in for remaining units at Country Lane Apartments BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 570
Illustration by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Cold weather, disease, smaller herds cited for change in 2013
Deer harvest down
BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
America is overpopulated with deer – or so the argument goes. In November, the city of Rock Island allowed bowhunting within its boundaries because, officials believe, the community has too many deer. But the state recently released preliminary numbers that show fewer deer were killed this year during the 7-day firearm deer season on Nov. 22-24 and Dec. 5-8. Statewide, the deer harvest
Other deer seasons
Deer harvest decrease from firearm hunting season: County 2012 2013 % change Bureau 1,402 983 -29.9% Carroll 1,151 827 -28.1% Lee 784 551 -29.7% Ogle 1,126 877 -22.1% Whiteside 869 639 -26.5% Source: Illinois Department of Natural Resources
dropped by a quarter – from 99,546 in 2012 to 74,191 this year, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. That trend applied to every county in Illinois where deer hunting is allowed, except Alexander County in southern Illinois, which saw a small increase. In the Sauk Valley, Lee and Bureau counties saw the biggest drops – about 30 percent. Ogle County fell 22 percent, while Whiteside and Carroll counties
decreased by about a quarter. Even Rock Island County, with the perceived overpopulation problem, saw its harvest plunge by more than 25 percent. Part of the reason for the drop, according to IDNR, was unusually cold weather during the second part of the firearm hunting season. Frigid temperatures lingered throughout that weekend, with single-digit lows. Outbreaks of disease also may have been a fac-
Archery deer season: through Jan. 19 Seven-day split late-winter firearm antlerless-only deer season and special chronic wasting disease deer season: Dec. 26-29 and Jan. 17-19 tor, officials say. “Clearly, this year’s preliminary firearm season harvest numbers are below previous seasons, and while bad weather conditions throughout the state played a role, it cannot be the only factor,” IDNR Director Marc Miller said in a statement. “Once all deer seasons are complete, our biologists will evaluate deer management goals on a county-by-county basis.” DEER CONTINUED ON A4
STERLING – After being thrown off schedule by the weather, a new affordable housing development is fully operational on the city’s west side. Country Lane Apartments, on West 11th Street between Avenue L and Woodburn Avenue, were originally expected to open for tenants in August, but some soggy spring weather intervened. “The spring rains set us back quite a bit,” said Jeremy Yost, vice president for Yost Management Co., the project’s Charleston-based developer. “It was just too muddy to get in there and work for a while.” When they did get back to work, the project provided between 90 and 100 construction jobs. Yost said some of the workers were local, but he didn’t have an exact number. “We took competitive bids for all the work,” Yost said. “It was a good mix of union and nonunion, and some were local.” Yost is still trying to fill the two permanent positions needed at Country Lane. One is for an on-site buildings manager, and the other is for a maintenance worker. Both jobs require 20 to 25 hours a week. “We hope to find a manager to live on site, but the maintenance person doesn’t have to live here,” Yost said. COMPLEX CONTINUED ON A5
Sunny
VOLUME 6 ISSUE 18 44 Pages
Today: 40/22 For the forecast, see Page A10
Picks from clicks
SVM Photo Chief Alex T. Paschal shares his favorite 2013 photos. See Page C12
Best of the best Experts select top 10 lists for travel, food, fun Also inside USA Weekend: Shrimp with bacon, polenta Four ways to keep resolutions Jennie Garth, actress and mom
Index Births................ C5 Markets .......... A11 Business........... C1 Nation ............ A10 Classified .......... D1 Obituaries ......... A4 Comics ............. B8 Opinion............. A6 Community ..... C12 Scoreboard .... B10 Scrapbook ....... C3 Crossword Saturday ........... D6 Sports .............. B1 Support groups .. C5 Crossword Sunday ............. C8 Travel .............. C10 Dear Abby ........ C6 Weather.......... A10 Lottery .............. A2 Wheels ............. D8