Rochelle Township High School and the Forge Wrestling Club were well represented during the 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U National Championships at the FargoDome earlier this month. The annual freestyle and greco-roman wrestling tournaments bring together the most elite high school male and female wrestlers in the entire nation.

Three young swimmers from Rochelle made a splash at the YMCA Long Course State Championship held at the Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana from July 12-14. Clara Lofthouse, Josie Slattengren and Sydney Burke swim for the Dekalb County Swim Team at the Kishwaukee YMCA in Sycamore.

The Rochelle Hub football team welcomed the Forreston Cardinals in for a combined practice and scrimmage Tuesday morning, when the purple and white geared up for its second day of the team’s two-week padded camp for returning and incoming high-schoolers.

The Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District Board of Commissioners held its monthly meeting at the REC Center on Monday evening.

Junior defender Betty Flores was named an Interstate 8 All-Conference First Team honoree for the second consecutive season. Flores returned for her third season with the Rochelle Lady Hub varsity soccer team this spring, scoring two goals and adding one assist while anchoring the defensive line. Flores was also named a team captain this season.

On July 18 at approximately 2:53 p.m., deputies responded to a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Ridge Road and Oregon Trail Road. Upon an investigation it was determined that a blue Audi A4 being driven by Jon Taylor Peterson, 21, of Maple Valley, Washington was traveling west on Oregon Trail Road and failed to yield the right of way at the intersection to a black Toyota Venza traveling north on Ridge Road. The Toyota was being driven by Judith A. Tatlock, 70, of Oregon. No injuries were being reported by either party involved in the accident and both refused medical attention at the scene. Peterson was cited for failure to yield the right of way.

On July 18 at 4:52 p.m. Juan C. Solano, 56, of Rochelle was cited for changing lanes without signal. He was released on a notice to appear with an Aug. 16 Rochelle court date.

The Flagg Township Museum at 518 4th Ave. in Rochelle will be hosting a book signing event Sunday, Aug. 4 from 1-2 p.m. with Tom McDermott, Museum historian and author of "STORIES: Glimpses into the history of the Rochelle area and its residents".

Habitat for Humanity of Ogle County was this quarter’s donation recipient from 100 Women Who Care of Ogle County.

At its meeting Monday, the Rochelle City Council unanimously approved agreements with the Rochelle Township High School District and the Rochelle Elementary School District for the continuation of school resource officer programs through July 1, 2027.

The Union Pacific Railroad’s Big Boy No. 4014 train engine will return to Rochelle this fall for the weekend of Sept. 7-8, City of Rochelle Director of Community Engagement Jenny Thompson said. 

The following is a commentary on the editorial “Science, Democracy and Donald Trump” published in the Rochelle News-Leader Local Views on July 17, 2024.

Among the four different types of technology, production technology is the knowledge, tools, machines, and systems that we humans use to produce artifacts we need and want for living our lives.

David Norris of Rochelle served in the United States Army from 1981-1990 in a variety of capacities and reached the rank of sergeant. 

Former Rochelle track and field standout Zach Sanford launched his name into the record books during his sophomore season at the University of Dubuque. With an emphasis on improving his speed and technique, Sanford set several personal records in each of his four events and was close to qualifying for nationals during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Players from Fairways Golf Course went to Emerald Hill in Sterling to participate in the 102nd Annual Lincoln Highway Men’s Championship tournament. The Fairways team finished fourth with a final score of +43 in the 54-hole, best-against-bogey event.

Rochelle Little League’s 11U Baseball All-Stars headed to River Forest for the Illinois Little League State Championship tournament over the weekend. Rochelle played two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday, finishing 1-2 in the state tournament.

Rochelle Little League’s 10U Softball All-Stars traveled to Evergreen Park for the Illinois Little League State Championship tournament over the weekend.

Returning seniors Jack Tilton and Xavier Villalobos were players to watch on both sides of the ball on Thursday evening, when the Rochelle Hub varsity football team resumed its summer schedule with a series of 7-on-7 scrimmages at Sterling High School. 

Bryan John Campbell, 40, passed away from injuries sustained in a multi car accident on July 16, 2024  that also took the life of his beloved wife, Asheri.

Asheri Lynn Campbell, 40, passed away from injuries sustained in a multi car accident on July 16, 2024 that also took the life of her beloved husband, Bryan. 

Earlier in June, Rochelle Community Hospital held four separate sports physical clinics performed this season by Harrison Swalla, MPAS, PA-C; and Carter Gallick, PA-C, ATC of XCEL Orthopedics for student athletes ages high school and younger. In providing this service to the community, RCH charged a small fee for each individual athlete; and in turn donated 100 percent of those proceeds back to the respective program of which each athlete was affiliated.

On July 15 at 5:49 a.m. Jan P. Torres Lopez, 27, of Joliet was cited for speeding. He signed a promise to comply and was given an Aug. 16 Rochelle court date.

On July 16 at approximately 9:49 p.m. deputies responded to a one-vehicle accident at the intersection of Illinois Route 26 and Illinois Route 64. After investigation, deputies learned the driver, Jeffrey Decker, 53, of Lombard, was traveling westbound in his maroon Mazda SUV on Illinois Route 64.  Decker then traveled through the stop sign at the T-intersection of Illinois Route 26 and continued off the roadway before striking an embankment and going airborne before coming to rest. Decker was checked out on scene by Polo EMS and transported to KSB Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Decker was also issued citations for disobeying a traffic control device, seat belt violation, and operating an uninsured vehicle.  Polo officers and Mt. Morris officers assisted with the accident.

From the moment she took the court for her first Division III volleyball match at Cornell College, Rochelle Township High School alum Clare Green has been a consistent contributor at a high level. That trend continued into Green’s junior season, where the former Lady Hub standout eclipsed 1,000 assists for the third straight year to lead her team into the NCAA tournament.