TRCP 071318

Page 1

Serving the Polo Area Since 1857

POLO

Tri-County Press July 13, 2018 Volume 160, Number 11 - $1.00

Softball Victory

Freedom Rings

Ag Summit

Polo walks away with a 15-12 victory over Dixon in girls softball action. B2

Mt. Morris’ annual patriotic festival ends, with lots of good memories. B1

Forreston State Bank hosts its second annual Ag Summit at Barnacopia Aug. 15. A7

Farmer discovers fawn in 12-foot hole in cornfield By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com A routine task held some big surprises for a Polo farmer over the weekend. Phil Fossler, who is also a realtor, was mowing the grass in a waterway through a cornfield southwest of Polo Saturday afternoon when the front tire of his tractor lurched into what turned out to be a 12-foot hole. “All of a sudden the tractor stopped,” Fossler said. “It threw me against the steering wheel. I was going slow probably only about two miles per hour — because I was up next to the corn.” When he shut the tractor down and got off to survey the situation, he saw something brown at the bottom of the hole and assumed it was a field tile — until it moved. “Then I saw it was a fawn,” Fossler said. “He was alive and healthy. He was running around down there, trying to get out.” He called his wife and asked her to bring an end

loader from his nearby farm. Then he noticed the hole was wider as it got deeper and decided to call Ed Dyer, of Polo, for a tow truck. “I didn’t want an end loader anywhere around it,” he said. Dyer soon arrived, took a look at the hole, started back to his truck — and totally disappeared. Fossler said he had fallen into a second 12-foot hole. Dyer told Fossler he had dislocated his shoulder and needed the ambulance. Besides calling the ambulance, Fossler called Greg Wagner, who knew how to operate Dyer’s tow truck, and the Conservation Police. Using equipment from Dyer’s truck, they hoisted him out of the hole and took him to the waiting ambulance for a trip to the hospital. That done, they pulled the tractor out of the hole and rescued the rambunctious fawn using a lasso. Conservation officer Steve Beltran said the fawn’s mother was spotted nearby, and the two were soon reunited.

Dyer’s shoulder was put back in place at the hospital, and he is recuperating. The mystery that remains is what caused the two holes. “Right now there’s no explanation,” Fossler said. “I’ve been cutting this waterway for 10 years and nothing like this has ever happened.”

The field, which Fossler recently sold, is farmed by David and Keith Poole. Fossler said they told him they have not seen the holes there previously either. Experts from the Ogle County Soil & Water Conservation Department were scheduled to take a look Tuesday morning.

Phil Fossler, of Polo, was mowing a waterway Saturday afternoon when his tractor got stuck in a very large hole. He soon discovered a fawn had fallen into the hole and was trying to escape. Here, Dyer’s Tow Truck from Polo works on getting the tractor out of the hole. Photos courtesy of Steven Beltran

Gold medalist receives champion’s escort back home By Zach Arbogast zarbogast@oglecounty news.com

A crowd of friends and family waited Scott DeWall as he rolled into Mason Street in a police and fire escort. DeWall just arrived back in Illinois Saturday evening after winning a gold medal in the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, Washington. Photo by Zach Arbogast

A Polo man left for the Special Olympics as a competitor and came home as a champion. You may have noticed a pack of emergency response vehicles coming down Division Avenue last Saturday, lights flashing and sirens blaring, but there was no emergency; it was an entourage celebrating Scott DeWall, 47, of Polo - a Special Olympics gold medalist. DeWall left for Seattle, Washington, on June 29 to compete in the 2018 Special Olympics USA games, in the bocce event, where he took first place in the singles division. DeWall also competed in the Unified Team division, where Illinois took third, and Unified Doubles, where he and partner John Fayhee took fifth. Was DeWall nervous, traveling so far to compete? “No, I was focused,” he said. “I was too busy focusing on where to throw, and where to hit. It felt amazing when I threw that game-winning shot.”

DeWall’s cousin, Kris Bardell, gave him a shoutout on Facebook, and when Polo Firefighter and Public Education Officer Ken Yingling saw it, the two collaborated a celebration together. DeWall was scheduled to arrive back in Illinois on July 7 — and when he reached the intersection of Lowell Park Road and Pines Road, fire and police vehicles were waiting to escort him into the downtown area, where a crowd had gathered to welcome him home. “It’s always fun to do something special when someone does something amazing like that,” said Yingling. DeWall was blown away by the escort, and even more shocked at the crowd that awaited him on Mason Street. “I was not expecting this, this is awesome,” said DeWall, after the gathering. “I am so appreciative of Polo. I’m always going to remember this as a great day, and a great night.” DeWall’s parents, Elaine Guyer and Jim DeWall, were on later flights, and unable to join him for the escort.

E.D. Etnyre to give $100,000 toward statue repairs By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The fundraising efforts for the Black Hawk statue’s repairs got significant boost last week when a local manufacturer announced its plans to make a large donation. E.D. Etnyre & Co. will

contribute $100,000 toward the cost of restoring the 107-yearold landmark that overlooks the Rock River from a high bluff at Lowden State Park, just east of Oregon. “As two of the community’s oldest residents, both the Eternal Indian and E. D. Etnyre & Co. have called the community of Oregon home

In This Week’s Edition...

for over 100 years; without either the community would just not be the same,” said Robin Etnyre, Corporate Communication Specialist. “For this reason, E. D. Etnyre & Co. is pleased to support the Oregon Together Black Hawk Team in the preservation of this historical landmark.” Jan Stilson, chairman of the

Church News, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B4

Black Hawk Restoration Team expressed her committee’s appreciation. “Thank you very much for supporting us,” she said. “I think it’s wonderful. It shows the connection E.D. Etnyre has to the community of Oregon and to the Black Hawk statue. They were present when it was constructed in 1910. They were

Marriage Licenses, A4 Pine Creek News, A3 Public Voice, A7 Property Transfers, B3

very supportive then and are very supportive now. It sets an example for other businesses and corporations.” Team members said last week that they need to raise approximately $300,000 as the private portion for a matching state grant. The total cost of the repairs is estimated at $600,000.

Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B2 State’s Attorney, B3

Created by sculptor Lorado Taft in December of 1910 and dedicated the following summer, the concrete statue needs the repairs due to the ravages of weather and time. Taft called the statue the Eternal Indian and intended Turn To B2

Deaths, B4 Ronald J. Davis, Michael H. McNett, Diane M. Welenc

Published every Friday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
TRCP 071318 by Shaw Media - Issuu