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UNLEASH THE MADNESS
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DIXON HIGH SCHOOL, A8
COLLEGE BASKETBALL 34/29 " s "2!#+%4 "
dailyGAZETTE Monday, March 17, 2014
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
ELECTION 2014 | OGLE COUNTY SHERIFF’S RACE
Balancing budget big part of job All three candidates have experience – but it varies BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 535
Managing a budget might have nothing to do directly with catching bad guys, but it’s still a major part of a sheriff’s duties. Voters in Tuesday’s primary would do well to consider a candidate’s skill and experience managing money. Incumbent Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn, 52, has been in office 3 years; as sheriff, he supervises 84
employees and oversees three budgets: the Sheriff’s Department, Corrections, and Buildings & Grounds. This year, budgeted expenditures for the three total close to $7 million. “It’s extremely important that we’re fiscally responsible. I’m the person who can do that,” Harn said in October 2009, when announcing his candidacy. He took office Dec. 1, 2010. As chief of police of the Rock Valley College Police Department for the last 17 years, challenger Joe Drought, 50,
also has plenty of budgeting experience. “I’ve gained an awful lot of experience with running a police department at Rock Valley, with developing and managing budgets in an appropriate manner,” Drought said. The other GOP candidate, 37-yearold Rochelle Police officer Brian VanVickle, comes from a private sector business background; his family owns an auto dealership. BUDGET CONTINUED ON A4
Michael Harn
Joe Drought
Brian VanVickle
More on A5 s #ANDIDATES SHARE CRIME FIGHTING PHILOSOPHIES s 3EE A BREAKDOWN OF CRIMES ARRESTS IN /GLE #OUNTY OVER A YEAR SPAN
BLARNEY? HARDLY. EVERYONE’S IRISH FOR AN AFTERNOON!
MORRISON
Wheels turning on tow fee Chief to propose system similar to that of other area towns BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
ABOVE: Mike Lahey, 50, of Dixon, high-fives members of the crowd as the Lahey’s Irish Luck Dynasty float passes through downtown Dixon on Saturday during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. RIGHT: Duane Dickison, from Amboy, plays the bagpipes while lining up for the parade at Dixon High School. BELOW: Cookie the dog was one of many four-legged friends to strut their stuff through downtown Dixon. See more pictures of the festivities on A10.
MORRISON – Morrison is considering an administrative tow fee, which is levied to the owners of cars seized during arrests. Such a fee has been in the news lately in Ogle County, where the county board diminished the sheriff’s control over what is known there as the “administrative tow fund.” Tow fees, which are assessed in many towns, are separate from criminal penalties, including fines. The fee is assessed when police arrange to tow cars driven by people suspected of crimes such as DUI. It is levied even when the car owner isn’t the one being arrested, with some exceptions, such as when a car is stolen. Morrison Police Chief Brian Melton is proposing a fee of $200. As with other places, that would be on top of the tow company’s bill. “This is a user fee for those we arrest,” Melton said. Morrison’s proposal would be similar to those in other towns: Even if the driver is later found innocent, the tow fee would stand. In 2011, the Ogle County Board gave Sheriff Michael Harn wide discretion over how to spend the newly created administrative tow fund. He spent it on things such as flowers for Secretaries Day, a tent at the county fair and $4,000 for management of the Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook page. TOW CONTINUED ON A10
How much are the fees? !DMINISTRATIVE TOW FEES IN AREA towns: s $IXON s -ORRISON
s 2OCK &ALLS s 3TERLING * Proposed
$1.00
TODAY’S EDITION: 20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 160 ISSUE 70
INDEX
COMICS ............... A9 CROSSWORD......B9 DEAR ABBY ......... A7
LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2 OBITUARIES ........ A4
OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2 SPORTS ...............B1
Today’s weather High 40. Low 25. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B5.
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