10 minute read
Village Board
from Forreston Journal
by Shaw Media
OFFICE 113-115 Peoria Ave. Dixon, IL 61021 (815) 732-6166 ext. 2592 Fax: (815) 284-2078
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Forreston Journal, Ogle County News and oglecountynews.com are a division of Shaw Media. Ogle County Newspapers also prints the Mt.MorrisTimes , OregonRepublicanReporter, and Polo’s Tri-County Press .
The FORRESTON JOURNAL (USPS No. 205-520) is published weekly by B.F. Shaw Printing Co., Shaw Media. Periodical postage paid at Forreston, Illinois. POSTMASTER Send address changes to FORRESTON JOURNAL, P.O. Box 237, Forreston, IL 61030. Phone 815-732-6166, ext. 2516.
FORRESTON VILLAGE BOARD Board appoints T hiel as interim chief
BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@shawmedia.com
The Forreston Village Board unanimously appointed Chris Thiel as interim police chief at its Monday meeting, Village President Mark Metzger said.
Police Chief Mike Boomgarden is on medical leave and may be laid up “for a while,” Metzger said. Thiel has been a part-time officer in the department for 4-5 years.
“We wanted to have someone doing staffing and day-to-day stuff,” Metzger said. “I put Chris in temporarily when it happened and the board voted to keep him there.”
The past few weeks have been eventful for Thiel and the department. On Dec. 20, a multi-county police chase ended with a foot chase in Forreston and the arrest of a Rockford man.
On Dec. 2, two men were arrested after
MT. MORRIS VILLAGE BOARD
Farm to table butcher shop planned
BY JEFF HELFRICH
jhelfrich@shawmedia.com
The Mt. Morris Village Board unanimously approved the facilitation of a property development deal involving the former site of the Penner building and a nearby property that are slated to a deli and butcher shop at its Tuesday meeting.
Since the Penner building was demolished last year, the village has been working with purchase developers at 13 S. Wesley Ave. adjacent to the property for development, Village Attorney Rob LeSage said.
The village will purchase the adjacent property, which is owned by Tom Felker, for $40,000 cash. Immediately following that acquisition, the village will acquire the Penner property, after paying for half the cost of demolition, for $1.
Closing is set for Dec. 31 at 11:30 a.m., LeSage said. The village will then immediately turn around and sell those properties to a developer, Wesley 1895 Property LLC, for the purchase price it just
Following the purchase, Wesley 1895 a domestic violence call in Forreston, during which one of the suspects produced a weapon and was shot at by a police officer. Illinois State Police were contacted to investigate the shooting by the officer.
On the evening of Nov. 29, The Depot and BP Station in the village were broken into and robbed and an undisclosed amount of money was taken.
“It proves that sometimes people think small towns don’t need police, but it was good we were staffed,” Metzger said. “I guess in the grand scheme of things, the break ins and the chase weren’t residents, but we do need a police presence. We’re glad Chris has been able to take over and do an excellent job. We’ve kept him busy.”
The
New Trees
Morris on Oct. 16, 2019.
Property LLC will be developing the real estate into the restaurant and deli and butcher shop.
The city will be giving the developers TIF money to assist in the transaction. of $200,000 of TIF reimbursement for “There will be significant investment by the developer. The first $110,000 will be paid out during construction on a draw down basis. They will submit bills to the village. Upon completion and opening, village recently replaced trees lost in the Aug. 10 wind storm at Warnken Park. Forreston recently received an insurance check for $10,000 to cover some of the cost of the new trees and initial cleanup.
“It won’t cover everything, but it will help us out,” Metzger said.
Lead Service Lines
Forreston recently held a pre-bid construction meeting for vendors on its lead service line replacement project. Four vendors attended and 2-3 others got information online.
“Lead service is a $3.5-3.7 million project,” Metzger said. “It is 100 percent through the IEPA for forgiveness. We go from houses to the street and we’ll replace it free of charge. We’ll be contacting residents. Some we may have to
Mt. Morris is facilitating new land deal
become a farm to table restaurant and
paid, a total of $40,001.
Maddrell Excavating, of Monroe, Wisconsin, demolished the Penner building in downtown Mt.
“Under the TIF deal, it will be a total a project of $1.1 million,” LeSage said. go into homes to do replacements.” Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media the village will pay $50,000. Finally, six months into operation, the village will pay $40,000 for a TIF reimbursement total of $200,000.”
LeSage said the city is involved with the transaction so the developer will have to follow terms of a redevelopment deal. Work on the properties is expected to begin after the first of the year.
“I think they’re going to be moving pretty quickly and residents will see real action,” LeSage said. “Their hope is to be open by July or August.”
HELPING THOSE IN NEED Polo Christmas star project buys gifts for 72 kids
Volunteers did the shopping for others
BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@shawmedia.com
The Pine Creek Christian Church and the Polo community have come together to purchase Christmas gifts for hundreds of children over the years.
This year, however, was a little different due to COVID-19.
“The shopping changed this year as much as anything did,” Christmas Star Project organizer Sheryl Hopkins said. “More have done it for others that don’t want to go out. A lot did it online more. Families, the number has been similar.”
The project involves families anonymously listing their children’s age and what they want for Christmas and community members taking them and purchasing gifts. This year, 72 kids will get gifts.
The presents were distributed to families last Friday and Saturday at the church. Hopkins said organizers were happy to go out and do some shopping for people who weren’t comfortable with it.
“There were only a few of us,” Hopkins said. “We didn’t have a problem with going out and doing it. We know there’s a lot of children in
BUSINESS BY DENNIS ANDERSON
danderson@shawmedia.com
The Shaw Local News Network has launched new websites to provide news to Northern Illinois readers with increased immediacy. The ShawLocal.com network also is available on app stores and includes all of Shaw Media’s local news coverage from its 53 Illinois newspapers and magazines.
Coverage on ShawLocal. Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media
Pine Creek Christian Church and the Polo community came together again this year to purchase Christmas gifts for children through the Christmas Star Project. Here, volunteers pose by some of the presents. Pictured, left to right, are: Charlotte Hoppe, Judy Riffle, Sandra Ford, Sheryl Hopkins, Judy Nettz, and Vicki Hey.
need. Everyone is more than willing to help out.”
Hopkins estimates the church has been doing the Christmas Star projcom includes a w a r d - w i n n i n g publications, such as the Northwest Herald, Dixon Telegraph, Kane County Chronicle, Joliet Herald-News, and Ogle County Newspapers.
Also included in the Shaw Local app are Friday Night Drive, which covers prep football across the ect for 15-20 years. This year, each Polo Police officer picked up a name and supported the process. About 30 families will get gifts this Christregion, and Starved Rock Country, which promotes tourism in the greater La Salle County area. “We launched Shaw Local with new technology that improves the reader experience, and allows our reporters to get news up on the site faster,” said J. Tom Shaw, Shaw Media VP and mas.
“The families are always appreciative. More than happy to thank
Shaw Local News Network launches new website network
us.” chief product officer.
For a limited time, all content is available free on the Shaw Local app. Existing subscribers can now also access all content across the Shaw Local News Network.
Shaw Media was founded in 1851 and is the third-oldest, continuously owned and operated family newspaper in the U.S.
For information, visit www.ShawLocal.com.
POLO CHAMBER CHATTER
Merry Christmas From All of Us to You!
Help spread holiday joy by decorating your store or business front. Send your decoration photos to PoloChristmasFestival@gmail.com to be featured on our Facebook page.
The Christmas Cupboard is open. Stop in and see Carol Garkey. The shop is located at 116 N. Franklin, next to Scholl Insurance. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Business After Hours
If you are interested and would like to host a Business after Hours or Breakfast before Business call the Chamber at 815-946-3131.
Certificates of Recognition
The Polo Chamber of Commerce would like to issue Certificates of Recognition to any Polo Chamber of Commerce business members who are celebrating five years of being in business, or those with five-year increments of being in business in Polo.
Contact us so that we can announce your special business celebration during our Annual Dinner.
LOCAL NEWS Man rescued from truck after driving into river
Water was up to the windows when divers reached the driver
BY JEFF HELFRICH’ jhelfrich@shawmedia.com
A Rockford man was listed in stable condition Tuesday after being rescued from his pickup truck after driving into the Rock River.
At 11:40 a.m. deputies and the Byron Fire Department were called to the 10,900 block of North Illinois 2 for a report of a truck in the river.
Roger Durham, 65, of Rockford was helped from his truck and taken to Swedish American Hospital for treatment. Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said Durham had a medical issue which caused the accident.
“The vehicle was 30 yards into the river when Byron Fire got there,” Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said. “The subject was still in it and unconscious. The water was about 4.5 feet high when they got to him, up to the windows.”
VanVickle said Byron Fire used special equipment such as a dry suit to rescue Durham safely. Additional help was also en route as operations took place. First responders in the area are trained for situations like Tuesday’s due to the proximity of the river to Illinois 2.
“There’s a number of spots where that can happen,” VanVickle said. “It has happened in the past. Especially this time of year when the water is so cold, getting on scene genuinely saves lives and it’s an example of that. It goes back to training. Today was a result of that.”
Winnebago County Sheriff’s deputies and Byron Police assisted with traffic control. Maggio’s Towing removed the vehicle from the river.
An investigation into the accident is still underway, VanVickle said. Photos courtesy of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department
A truck went into the Rock River in the 10,900 block of North Illinois 2 on Tuesday morning. The driver was rescued from his truck and later taken to Swedish American Hospital for treatment.
COVID-19 UPDATE
Five deaths, 271 cases in a week
BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@shawmedia.com
The Ogle County Health Department reported 45 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, Dec. 22, for a total of 3,758.
Eighty eight cases were reported over the weekend. Two hundred and 71 new cases have come in the past week. Ages and locations of the individuals that test positive are not being released to protect their privacy.
The OCHD has reported five new deaths in the past week. The county has seen a total of 54 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Recoveries of documented cases stand at 3,077, with 35 new ones reported Tuesday.
The Illinois Department of Public Health site said Tuesday that there are 1,193 cases in the zip code that includes Rochelle, Creston and White Rock.
Stillman Valley has 207 cases, Byron has 704 cases and Davis Junction has 240 cases.
Oregon and Mt. Morris have 486 See COVID-19 UPDATE, Page 5
