Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal March 6, 2014 Volume 151, Number 45 - $1.00
Season Concludes
Spring Ahead
Budget Cuts
Despite a rally in the third quarter, the Polo Marcos season ended last week. B1
Set your clocks one hour ahead at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 9.
Byron and Meridian Schools announce large cuts to balance the budget. A3
Board approves electrical aggregation contract Rate higher but still lower than ComEd’s rate By Chris Johnson Reporter
Forreston residents who signed up for electrical aggregation nearly two years ago have saved $170,000. Mike Mudge from Rock River Energy was at the Forreston Village Board meeting Monday night to
discuss the program and begin the process of entering another multiple year contract. Mudge said the average residential user in Forreston consumes 800 kWh per month in electricity. Over the first 11 months of the program the savings was 42 percent over the ComEd rate during these months, he said. The price of electricity became more competitive over the past 9 months and
residents dropped to a 20 percent savings over ComEd. Mudge said of the 572 accounts in the village that originally started with the aggregation, 455 are active accounts currently. “Aggregation has been a good savings for your residents,� said Mudge. “The prices have gone up, but we can still save money over the ComEd rate if we enter into another contract.� Mudge said their were four companies bidding on the
electricity. First Energy, who the village approved two years ago at a rate of 4.82 cents per kWh, is now offering a contract rate of 6.58 cents per kWh for the next three years. This new rate is close to what ComEd is selling power for, but First Energy’s rates are still lower, Mudge said. The board unanimously approved the contract with First Energy. Trustee Mark Metzger abstained because he was absent during the
discussion. The next step in the process is to approved opt out letters and mail them to customers in Forreston. These letters would go to the 118 accounts currently on ComEd and are not participating in the aggregation. The new electrical rate will be effective with the July 14 meter reading and will be reflected on the electric bill. Trustee Gary Buss asked if a better rate could be negotiated if other
municipalities worked together for aggregation. “There are advantages and disadvantages,� Mudge said. “We would like to stay with average usage to get the best rate.� He said some municipalities with different usage rates are offered higher rates, but in the future this could change. “We are always thinking about working together, but sometimes bigger is not always better when bidding the contract,� Mudge said.
Annual FFA Alumni Toy Show will be on Saturday The Forreston FFA Alumni will hold its 26th annual Toy Show and Craft Fair on Saturday, March 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Forreston Junior and Senior High School. The Toy Show will be held in the Forreston High School gym and the Craft Fair will be held in the Forreston Junior High School gym and cafeteria. A wide variety of items will be available from vendors at this event. The Toy Show and Craft Fair were created to help Second graders Sydni Badertscher and Andrew Wells recite their parts at a program people spend a day with about Abraham Lincoln Feb. 27 at German Valley Grade School. In the background friends and families as are Miles Gordon, Hailey Haefner, and Rees Zipse. Photo by Vinde Wells well as provide funds to
Lincoln Program
support the Forreston High School Agriculture and FFA programs. This is the 26th year of the Forreston FFA Alumni Toy Show. The Toy Show will feature toy tractors, farm equipment, memorabilia, and collectibles. The event features more than 100 tables of vendors that come from all over the Midwest. The Forreston FFA Alumni will also have Oliver 1950 toy tractors for sale. In addition to the show, a non-sanctioned kiddie tractor pull will begin at 1 p.m. The Craft Fair will have
a large number of vendors offering crafts, food, candles, and other items. On the day of the event the Forreston FFA Alumni will raffle off $200 and $100 gift certificates to Eickman’s Processing, Seward. Lunch will be available from the FFA Alumni as well. For more specific information about the show, go to www. forrestonffaalumni.org, email FFA Advisor Robert Nelson at rnelson@fvdistrict221.org, call Rick Garnhart for the Toy Show at 815-238-3044, or Cathy Kohlbauer for the Craft Fair at 815-275-6710.
2014 Primary Election
Three candidates are running for sheriff’s post Ogle County voters have three candidates to choose from for sheriff in the March 18 Republican primary election. Sheriff Michael Harn, Forreston, is being challenged by two other law enforcement officers in his bid for his party’s nomination for another term. Also seeking the Republican Party nomination are Joe Drought and Brian
VanVickle, both of Rochelle. All three are long-time residents of Ogle County, and all three are currently working as police officers. The successful candidate will likely run unopposed for sheriff in the Nov. 4 general election as no Democrats have filed for the seat. The duties of the sheriff in Ogle County are
By Vinde Wells Editor
got there and I am proud of each and every person who has helped us achieve so much in such a short period of time,� he said. The department has faced operating on a budget rolled back to 2007 levels and Harn said he has cut spending even further, spending $1.3 million less than budgeted over the last three years. “When I became sheriff, the office needed to be Turn to B3
In This Week’s Edition...
Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B6
All three candidates favor the construction of a new sheriff’s administration building as soon as possible.
By Vinde Wells Editor
By Vinde Wells Editor Brian VanVickle, 37, is currently the K-9 officer for the Rochelle Police Department. He has been an officer there since 2009. VanVickle also has 13 years of management experience in the private sector where his responsibilities included budgeting, inventory controls, scheduling, personnel, and training. He holds a degree in business and will complete a second degree in public administration with a minor in emergency management this spring. As an employee with the City of Rochelle he was tasked with the bidding process for vehicle purchases as well as bidding contracts for vehicle maintenance.
The sheriff supervises 84 employees and oversees three budgets: the Sheriff’s Department, Corrections, and Buildings & Grounds. In 2014, budgeted expenditures for the three total close to $7 million.
Joe Drought
Brian VanVickle
Michael Harn Michael Harn, 52, has 29 years of service in the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, including the last three as sheriff. Harn was elected in 2010, defeating incumbent Greg Beitel in the March primary election for the Republican Party nomination and running without opposition in the November general election. Harn said his major accomplishments during his term have been more arrests and cutting costs. The major issue Harn said he has faced as sheriff is improving department performance with a vastly reduced budget. “This has not been easy and not all employees have been happy with me, but we
numerous and varied. Besides the law enforcement responsibilities that go with the job, the sheriff is in charge of the jail and, in Ogle County, manages the buildings and property owned by the county, including the judicial center, courthouse, sheriff’s office, jail, Pines Road Annex, all in Oregon, and Focus House, just outside of Rochelle.
In addition, as an elected member of the Rochelle High School Board he is involved with overseeing a budget of $14 million. VanVickle said he believes his experience makes him well-equipped to manage the budgets and personnel as sheriff. “My experience is what sets me apart from the other candidates,� he said. “I am the only candidate with the Turn to B3
Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A7-A8 Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3
Joe Drought, 50, is currently the Chief of Police at Rock Valley College, Rockford, a position he has held for 17 years. He has been in law enforcement for the past 32 years, first in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps, where he served for nine years. Seven and a half of those years were on active duty, and a year and a half was in the Reserves. Drought served in a variety of duty assignments, including patrolman, patrol supervisor, squad leader, investigator, intelligence section sergeant, and explosive detector dog handler. “I am the only candidate who has enforced laws on three continents, as I served
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5 Zoning Permits, B4
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as an MP here in the United States, as well as in South Korea and Germany,� he said. After leaving the Army, Drought was hired by the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department where he served for more than three years as a deputy, detective, and K-9 handler (drug detection) under the leadership of then Sheriff Mel Messer. He left the Sheriff’s Turn to B3
Deaths, A10 Jerome P. Beck, Lois E. Myers, Edmund S. Sowa
Forreston Beat
www.oglecountynews.com
Forreston Journal, Thursday, March 6, 2014, Page A2
Students to take ISATs Forreston Junior High students will take Illinois Standard Achievement Tests (ISATs) next week. Junior and senior high principal Michael Mandzen said students in grades 6-8 will take the tests on Tuesday, March 11 through Friday, March 14. Two tests will be completed each day in the areas of math, reading, science, or writing. Students taking the tests will not have homework
during the testing period. The test results are aimed at measuring how well the school is doing in meeting Illinois State Learning Standards. School officials use information from the results, as well as other criteria, to improve the school program. Parents can help their children to do their best by: s MAKING SURE THE CHILD attends school on the days of testing,
s MAKING SURE THE CHILD GETS a good night’s sleep before testing, s PROVIDING A BALANCE breakfast on testing days, s REMINDING THE CHILD TO ASK questions if he or she does not understand test directions, s LETTING THE CHILD KNOW YOU have confidence in his or her ability to do his or her best, and s ADVISING THE CHILD NOT TO worry about the tests — just do the best he or she can.
Help keep ice off the sidewalks Ron Kuntzelman, Leaf River, stands next to the military display at the Bertolet Memorial Library. Photo supplied
Historic display at Bertolet The Bertolet Memorial Library, Leaf River, is hosting a display from the Leaf River Historical Society and Museum. The display features a U.S. Navy Korean War Seabees uniform donated by Francis Haselton USNR (retired)
and other items from their collection. The annual spring open house will be held on Sunday, April 6 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Leaf River Museum. Refreshments will be served. Stop by the Bertolet
Memorial Library to view the display and pick up other information about the happenings at the museum. Library hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Library offering e-Books The Bertolet Memorial Library announces e-Books. Stop by to get the details. Some of the most popular tax forms and instruction booklets are currently available for anyone who
needs them. Patrons are reminded they can purchase a book of stamps from the Village Post Office. Also incoming and outgoing fax services, copies,
and printing are available for a reasonable fee. Library hours: Monday Thursday 10 a.m. to 7p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
By Trisha Oppold Forreston Postmaster With the winter season coming to a close and only weeks before spring arrives, there is a still the possibility for severe storms during the month of March. That’s why the Postal Service reminds customers to keep snow and ice clear from sidewalks, stairs and mailboxes to ensure timely and safe delivery of their mail. “The weather may be improving, but conditions outside still are not ideal for delivering the mail,� said Forreston Postmaster Trisha Oppold.
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delivery only after careful consideration, and only as a last resort,� said Oppold. “Any curtailed mail is attempted the next delivery day.� Blue collection boxes also need to be kept clear for our customers to deposit their mail and for the Postal Service to collect the mail for delivery. Residents and businesses with collection boxes near their property are asked to keep them clear of snow and ice. “We want our letter carriers to be safe,� Oppold said. “We can only do this with the help of our customers.�
Soup supper is March 13 The Baileyville Reformed Church will hold its annual soup supper on Thursday, March 13. Serving will begin at 5 p.m.
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“Maintaining a clear path to the mail box will help letter carriers maintain consistent delivery service during winter months.� Customers receiving door delivery should make sure their sidewalks, steps and porches are clear. Customers receiving curbside delivery should remove snow piles left by snow plows to keep access to their mailboxes clear for letter carriers. Delivery service may be delayed or curtailed whenever streets or walkways present hazardous conditions for letter carriers or when snow is plowed against mailboxes. “The Postal Service curtails
The menu consists of chili, vegetable beef soup, chicken noodle soup, ham and cheese sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, homemade pies,
other desserts, and drinks The cost will be $6 for adults and $3 for children ages 3 to 12. The basement is handicapped accessible.
Library signs up for program Bertolet Memorial Library is participating in the eRead Illinois Program, designed to increase access to e-books across Illinois. Illinois Heartland Library System and Reaching Across Illinois Library System have partnered with the Illinois State Library and Baker and Taylor to provide this access. The two-year statewide program is designed to increase access to e-books for Illinois residents and grow e-book expertise among library staff, library
system staff, and Illinois residents. Initial funding for eRead Illinois was provided by a grant from Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White through the Illinois State Library. Axis 360 is a digital media platform, providing libraries and their patrons with a state-of-the-art system for circulating digital e-books from the eRead Illinois shared collection for Illinois libraries.
Patrons at libraries participating in eRead Illinois will use the cloudbased delivery across a number of devices including iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows, NOOKŽ and Sony ReaderTM devices, and many more. The eRead Illinois’s Axis 360 collection was publicly launched on December 16. Additional information on how to access the eRead Illinois shared collection available at bertoletmemoriallibrary.org
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Serving the Forreston area since 1865 The Forreston Journal is published weekly by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of the B.F. Shaw Printing Co. The Forreston Journal was founded in 1865 by C.E. Slocum as the Forreston Herald. He later changed the name to Forreston Journal.
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The newspaper was purchased by Wesley W. Buckley in 1910. He died in December 1917, and the newspaper was taken over by his wife, Susan.
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In 1927, John J. Wagner and G.C. Terry, co-owners of the Tri-County Press, Polo, purchased the Forreston Journal. Terry bought out Wagner's interest in 1930, and the newspaper stayed in the Terry family until 1977, when Danny C. Terry sold out to B.F. Shaw Printing of Dixon, publisher of the Dixon Telegraph. Ogle County Newspapers also prints the Oregon Republican Reporter, Mt. Morris Times and Tri-County Press.
Northern Illinois Newspaper Association
The Forreston Journal is produced every week by: General Manager: Earleen Hinton Senior Editor: Vinde Wells Advertising Sales: Lori Walker Reporters: Jason Hickman Chris Johnson
The Forreston Journal (USPS No. 205-520) is published weekly by B.F. Shaw Printing Co. Subscription rates are $39.00 in Ogle County and $52.00 a year elsewhere in U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at Forreston, Illinois. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Forreston Journal, P.O. Box 237, Forreston, IL 61030. Phone: 815-938-3320