Anthony Ucci Jr., 80, of Waterloo, IL, died December 6, 2023, in St. Louis, MO.

Nancy Marie (Schreiber) Heisner, age 74, of Lindenwood, peacefully passed away on December 8, 2023, in Oregon, Illinois.

On Dec. 8 at approximately 9:10 a.m. deputies conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 88 at mile marker 76 on a blue Honda Pilot. After a brief investigation, deputies arrested Marlon Exequiel Matute-Martinez, 24, of Mason City, Iowa for no driver’s license. Matute-Martinez was taken into custody without incident and released on a notice to appear. Matute-Martinez was additionally cited for improper turn signal.

On Dec. 9 at 9 a.m. Anmarie Kuntz, 33, of Rochelle was arrested for disorderly conduct and two counts of assault. She was released on a notice to appear with a Jan. 5 Ogle County court date.

In my last article, I talked about aches and pains, what they may be telling us, what they were telling me, and what we could do to help the inevitability of the journey, relieving some of the pressure that comes from it. All very important things for our families. Now that I have had my surgery, it’s time to give you an update on my event. I’m still here and writing to you so I made it. Although, I did not plan on anything else.

The library is a busy place throughout the month of December. We had a wonderful time at our “Whoville” Christmas Walk Open House and will continue with the fun at our Family Movie Night on Dec. 15 from 5-7 p.m.

On Dec. 9, the Rochelle Township High School Speech team hosted the Rochelle Invitational. Rochelle placed fifth out of the 22 teams competing.

At its meeting Monday, the Rochelle City Council unanimously approved an engineering/surveying services agreement with Peralte Clark Engineering for $36,201 for Rochelle Municipal Utilities subsurface utility investigation and potential conflicts along Illinois Route 251 as the state looks at a future reconstruction project on the road on the north side of town

On Thursday, the Community Action Network (CAN) hosted its annual Shopping Trip event for area families in need at the First Presbyterian Church.

On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the Rochelle Municipal Utilities Customer Service and Finance Departments hosted an open house highlighting recent renovations at the RMU building at 333 Lincoln Highway.

The Rochelle Wrestling Club sent 15 athletes to the 2023 Xtreme Challenge at Byron High School on Dec. 3. Four Rochelle athletes brought home first-place finishes in the tournament, while four more secured second-place finishes and two others took third.

The Rochelle Hub and Lady Hub varsity bowling teams competed at the annual Cavalier Classic on Saturday afternoon. The Hubs finished sixth out of 12 schools with a final score of 5,500, while the Lady Hubs took fifth out of 11 schools with a final score of 4,326.

The Rochelle Lady Hubs and Morris Redskins each saw their standout players take over during the second half of their Interstate 8 Conference matchup on Friday evening.

Friday evening saw two teams in the Rochelle Hubs and the Morris Redskins that were desperate for an Interstate 8 Conference win. With players diving all over the floor and both teams exchanging momentum, late-game execution would ultimately decide the victor.

The Rochelle Hub varsity basketball team struggled to jump start its offense Monday evening, when the purple and white hosted unbeaten Dixon in nonconference play.

A 30-0 shutout in the first quarter was enough for Sycamore to hand the Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball team a loss in its first Interstate 8 Conference matchup of the season. Senior Alivia Henkel finished with eight points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Lady Hubs, who fell to the Spartans 64-34 to start the Interstate 8 schedule. Rochelle (3-7, 0-1 Interstate 8) will host Morris on Friday.

The Rochelle Hub varsity wrestling team conquered the Interstate 8 last season, winning both the regular season and tournament titles. If Thursday’s conference meet against Ottawa and LaSalle-Peru was any indication, Rochelle will be the team to beat once again.

Ruth Ann (Kingsbury) Fell, 91, formerly of Rochelle, passed away peacefully at her home in Rockford, Illinois on Wednesday, December 6, 2023.

On Dec. 5 at approximately 12:26 p.m. deputies conducted a traffic stop in the 7,000 block of North Illinois Route 251. After an investigation, deputies placed Rolando Cruz, 60, of Hillcrest under arrest for driving while license revoked. Cruz was transported to the Ogle County Jail where he was issued his citations for driving while license revoked, no insurance and suspended registration. Cruz was booked in the jail and released on a notice to appear with a future court date.

On Dec. 5 at 12:24 p.m. Lisa A. Kopplin, 54, of Rochelle was arrested for an outstanding Ogle County warrant and for violation of bond conditions and transferred.

The City of Rochelle Wastewater Treatment Plant produces a waste material called secondary sludge. Since 1993, the sludge, which consists of 80 percent water and therefore is very heavy, has been transported to and disposed of in the city landfill. Over the past couple of years, Rochelle Municipal Utilities Water & Water Reclamation Superintendent Adam Lanning has been researching an alternative to dispose of the sludge: Using it as farm fertilizer. And so, the experiment began.

Rochelle Community Hospital is hosting a holiday drive-thru dinner for anyone in need on Wednesday, Dec. 20. The dinner is free for the first 200 dinners reserved.

It was Dec. 17, 1903, when Orville and Wilbur Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. This was the first powered flight recorded. Until this time flying was accomplished through gliders and balloons. World War I brought about many improvements to the field of aviation, but flying was still more of an oddity than a mainstream event. The first airplane to land in Rochelle was on July 3, 1918. Fred Gardner flew a plane from Rantoul, Illinois to Rochelle, spotted a fairly level field and landed safely.

As I gaze across the countryside, I see the fields barren from harvest to be renewed in vigorous growth next spring. But spring will have to be a distant thought now that the cold winds of winter fall upon us.

On Thursday afternoon at the First Presbyterian Church, the Hub City Cruisers car club made a donation of toys to the Community Action Network for its Shopping Trip program.