2
March 6, 2014 Volume 151, Number 45 - $1.00 FORRESTON Serving the Forreston area since 1865 Journal In This Week’s Edition... 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. Lincoln Program Second graders Sydni Badertscher and Andrew Wells recite their parts at a program about Abraham Lincoln Feb. 27 at German Valley Grade School. In the background are Miles Gordon, Hailey Haefner, and Rees Zipse. Photo by Vinde Wells 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 people spend a day with friends and families as well as provide funds to 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 [email protected], call Rick Garnhart for the Toy Show at 815-238-3044, or Cathy Kohlbauer for the Craft Fair at 815-275-6710. Turn to B3 Turn to B3 Turn to B3 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 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. 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. All three candidates favor the construction of a new sheriff’s administration building as soon as possible. Michael Harn Brian VanVickle By Vinde Wells Editor 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 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 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. 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 By Vinde Wells Editor 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 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 Joe Drought 2014 Primary Election Deaths, A10 Jerome P. Beck, Lois E. Myers, Edmund S. Sowa Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B10 College News, A4 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B6 Marriage Licenses, A4 Public Voice, A7-A8 Property Transfers, B6 Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5 Zoning Permits, B4 Season Concludes Despite a rally in the third quarter, the Polo Marcos season ended last week. B1 Budget Cuts Byron and Meridian Schools announce large cuts to balance the budget. A3 Spring Ahead Set your clocks one hour ahead at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 9.
