At a public hearing Thursday, Jan. 9 at Oregon City Hall, three amendments to the Lee-Ogle Enterprise Zone that would see it increase in size were detailed, including one that would see the addition of Constellation’s Byron Nuclear Plant as the facility plans for capacity upgrades in coming years.
The Rochelle Fire Department responded to 3,057 calls in 2024, RFD Chief Dave Sawlsville said Jan. 7. RFD responded to 3,129 calls in 2023 and that total number dropped by 72 calls in the year that followed.
Longtime variety comedian and actor Philip Earl “MooNiE” Johnson will be performing his new stand-up routine, ‘Get Me a Viking!’, on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Arts Center at 108 S. Main St. in Rochelle. The event is one night only. Tickets are $25 and are available at VCCTrochelle.org or at the door until it’s sold out.
At its monthly meeting Wednesday, the Hillcrest Village Board unanimously approved the appointment of Patricia Garcia to a vacant trustee seat. Garcia was then sworn in by Village Clerk Dawn Bearrows.
At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Creston Village Board of Trustees heard a report from Village Building Inspector Aaron Moore on the building of new homes that has been taking place in the Creston Commons subdivision.
Three people were transported via ambulance with “serious, but not life-threatening” burn injuries early Tuesday morning suffered from an incident with a propane heater outside of Silgan Containers at 400 N. 15th St. in Rochelle, Rochelle Fire Department Chief Dave Sawlsville said.
Frank Schermerhorn was on the Rochelle High School track team in 1936. After graduation he was employed in the plastering trade with his father. F.W. Schermerhorn. Dec. 7, 1941 changed Frank’s life. On Dec. 8, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Frank enlisted in the Army Air Corps. How his experiences changed him is difficult to tell, “he never talked about the war.” Fortunately, there are records which give us a glimpse into a small part of the price he paid in the service of his country.
Small Business Bingo raised $3,540 to be split between nonprofits Habitat for Humanity of Ogle County and the Hub City Senior Center at its final event of this season on Thursday, Jan. 2 at the Chicagoland Skydiving Center hangar in Rochelle, Event Organizer and AP Massage Therapy Owner Ashley Patrick said.
The City of Rochelle hopes to see a data center development within the city limits in coming years, City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said Dec. 18.
The City of Rochelle’s planned 2025 work includes a downtown improvement project, work on the intersection of Flagg Road and 20th Street, other infrastructure projects and work to attract new businesses.
A look back at some of the top Rochelle News-Leader stories of the past year
The grants were awarded at RACF’s Granting Futures event, hosted April 24 at Luna.