July

Wednesday, July 3

ROCHELLE — On Thursday, a ribbon cutting was held for Royal Scoop, Rochelle’s newest ice cream shop at 316 N. 6th St. 

The business is owned by Jon and Marcela Nuyen, who also own Zig Zag Antiques & More. The space Royal Scoop now occupies was formerly All Things New & Used Furniture. Royal Scoop is open noon to 8 p.m. Monday-Sunday and serves over 25 flavors of ice cream and more.

The ribbon cutting Thursday featured remarks from Rochelle Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tricia Herrera, Mayor John Bearrows and the Nuyens.

“This is a celebration for Rochelle and the downtown area,” Herrera said. “We met with the owners many months ago about the idea. They put a lot of hard work into it. What a transformation the space has undergone. Royal Scoop is a hit on social media. Everyone is following them and taking pictures and posting them. Thank you guys so much. We always say that when you open a business, we know you can put it anywhere and we're always very happy that you choose Rochelle. We wish you nothing but the best.”

 

Wednesday, July 17

ROCHELLE — The baseball diamond at Focus House in Rochelle has been restored to playing shape in recent weeks after years in disrepair thanks to the efforts of community organizations and Focus House students, staff and foundation board members, Focus House Community Projects/Marketing and Volunteer Coordinator Jeni Hardin said. 

The baseball field has been a longtime staple at Focus House, the Ogle County facility that provides a continuum of services for at-risk youth. In early 1994, the field was dedicated to Jane Roe. The field saw much use early on, but has been in disrepair for at least the past five years, Hardin said. 

“It was used a lot in the past and then it wasn't and it got overgrown,” Hardin said. “It wasn't useful since then and it didn't look good. Our Director Brenda Mason wanted to get it fixed up. I reached out to a handful of people with expertise on sports fields.”

The project lasted about a month. Eric at Ag View FS came out and sprayed the field to kill weeds. Clint of the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District came out to drag the field after the weeds died off. Macklin Incorporated donated a truck load of ag lime for the project. Kevin McNamee and John Seper of LJ Fabricators donated materials and time to build Focus House its own drag to maintain the field in the future. Kiwanis Golden K and Dennis Swinton donated two benches made from recycled bottle caps for the field to replace previous benches that were falling apart.

“The field looks beautiful now,” Hardin said. “We're super excited. We're pretty active outside here in the summers and we like to play sports. It's all completed now. The kids have already been out there playing.”

Sunday, July 21

ROCHELLE — Hub City Furniture at 429-433 Lincoln Highway in Rochelle will be closing its doors for the final time at the end of this month after 45 years in business as Owner Susan Andracke is retiring.

Andracke and her late husband, Earl, bought a furniture store in Hillcrest in 1979 and started the business before buying its current location downtown and moving everything there in 1984. After being a mainstay in the downtown across decades, a going out of business sale is ongoing and Andracke has sold the building to a new owner. 

“I have met so many people here,” Andracke said. “Some just in passing, and others that have become friends. That will be hard to leave. I will miss them. I've become good friends with the other business owners downtown. I kept doing this for so long and enjoyed it because it was a challenge. I liked seeing all the new styles that came in over the years. I loved trying to put people with stuff. That was fun.”

Andracke has seen the furniture business, the city, and the downtown change over her 45 years in business. A lot of online buying and comparison shopping is seen in the industry now. 

Over the years, Andracke believes that Hub City Furniture and other businesses like it locally have been able to service Rochelle-area customers to keep them from having to leave town for their needs.

“I think with the furniture stores that are in Rochelle, between all of us we give the customers a really good variety of merchandise,” Andracke said. “I've seen people travel to Rockford looking for a special piece of furniture and they come back to Rochelle and it'd be sitting right here. I loved that.”

ROCHELLE — Flagg Township Museum Historian Tom McDemott recently published a book containing 52 stories of Rochelle-area history.

"STORIES: Glimpses into the history of the Rochelle area and its residents" is now available for purchase for $20 at the museum. It can be purchased online and shipped for $25 by visiting flaggtownshipmuseumrochelle.org/home and using the DONATE button on the home page. All proceeds from the book will go towards the museum.

In 2021, McDermott began writing history-based stories for the Rochelle News-Leader's opinion page. After his amount of stories completed and published began to number in the dozens, he began to consider publishing a collection of them in a book after the urging of Museum Director Jan Devore.

Stories in the book include military heroes with connections to Rochelle, the first settlers of Rochelle, the history of employers like Del Monte and Caron Spinning, the evolution of Rochelle’s school system, and various stories on historic buildings in the city.

“Research went into all of these, but they're formatted as stories,” McDermott said. “If you sat down with your grandpa and he remembered World War II, we tried to tell it the way he would. We took the basis from old newspaper stories. For the military stories, we researched the battles and the ships. Some people like reading about the military history, some like reading the family names, and some like to read about the businesses.”

August

Sunday, Aug. 4

ROCHELLE — Rochelle Community Hospital recently added a new full-time nurse practitioner, Chenin Gongrave Rude, to its Convenient Care department, which treats patients of all ages for minor illnesses and injuries with no appointment necessary. 

Gongrave Rude has been an NP for several years and will offer care along with other part-time NPs and RCH Convenient Care staff. The department is open Monday-Friday 11-7 p.m. and Saturdays 9-5 p.m. and closed Sundays and holidays.

“When she came to us we were very excited to have her,” RCH Manager of Outpatient Services Tracey Busby said. “She fit right in with our organization and works really well with the team. She's been really well-received by patients. We had a need here in convenient care that she filled. We're always welcoming nurse practitioners but we wanted to try having one full-time NP so the community would have a familiar face when they came in. Chenin is here four days a week and that adds comfort to the community and people can come in and see the same person.”

RCH has run into some issues in the past with hours Convenient Care was able to be open due to staffing, but is now in “a good place”, Busby said, and conversations have been had about expanding hours during busier times like flu season. 

The need for RCH’s Convenient Care department has grown “exponentially” recently, Busby said, due to the community coming out of the pandemic, primary care physicians having less availability, and people not having primary care physicians. 

STEWARD — Family, friends, and members of Boy Scout Troop #64 gathered at the Steward United Methodist Church on July 14 for a National Court of Honor as Logan Frye was officially awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America.  Historically, only two percent of boys in Boy Scouts will ever attain the Eagle Scout rank.  Frye, a senior at Rochelle Township High School, is the 17^th member of his family that has earned the rank of Eagle Scout. 

Jason Johnson, scoutmaster, was master of ceremonies for the Court of Honor.  Senior Patrol Leader Nolan Johnson recited the rededication to the Scout Oath and Law while Eagle Scouts Caleb Johnson, Alex Frye, Eric Holden, James Holden, and Philip Hayes lit the ceremonial candles and assisted as Johnson led the Eagle Scout Challenge.

After reciting the Eagle Scout Charge, Frye was then presented with his Eagle Scout certificate.  His mother, Chris Cardott, pinned the award on her son.  He, in turn, honored her with the mother’s pin.

Frye’s Eagle Scout service project was one that honored his grandfather, Jack Connolly, who was one of the founders of the Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District and volunteer firefighter at the Steward Fire Station.  Frye created a memorial with bricks by the flagpole at the Steward Fire Station.  The bricks are engraved with firefighters’ names that served the department for 10 years or more. 

Wednesday, Aug. 14

ROCHELLE — On Wednesday, Aug. 7, a ribbon cutting was held for the new Rochelle satellite office of 4-C (Community Coordinated Child Care) at 1201 S. 7th St.

4-C is a nonprofit agency serving Carroll, DeKalb, Lee, McHenry, Ogle and Whiteside counties. The 4-C mission is to promote children’s wellbeing by advocating for quality, affordable, accessible childcare. 4-C offers a childcare assistance program, a family enrichment program, childcare resource and referral, professional development assistance for providers, a child and adult food program and provider support consultants.

“We have been so welcomed and so warmed by Rochelle,” 4-C Executive Director Susan Petersen said. “We're excited to have a satellite office here in this part of our service area. We make sure children are in safe places. We make sure the teachers that children are working with every day are professionally trained and that they have professional development, support, and a place to come and talk with us. We want to be where families are. We're now a step closer to families who have barriers like transportation. We're so excited to be embraced by this community.”

Sunday, Aug. 25

HILLCREST — A miniature bull got loose on a neighborhood street in Hillcrest on Sunday afternoon, Dave and Brenda Wetzel of Hillcrest Avenue said.

The Wetzels were home when they saw a neighbor was being visited by a friend with a livestock trailer. The bull started to get upset in the trailer when something got stuck on his head. When the owner opened the small door to the trailer to help him, the bull pushed him out of the way and got out of the trailer and into the street and later into a neighbor's yard, Dave Wetzel said.

"There were three sides of fence there and a few of us got out there with the trailer and eventually got the bull calmed down and got him back into the trailer," Dave Wetzel said. "He charged me twice, but he didn’t get me. The first time he almost got me. It was close, probably a couple inches. We finally got him calmed down and eating grass and we talked to him and got a little rope around his neck. Three of us got him in the trailer and back home. It was pretty exciting have a big bull out there running around in a backyard."

Nobody was hurt in the incident, including the bull, a Belted Highland Cross mini bull named Bentley.

"He probably weighed close to 1,000 pounds," Dave Wetzel said. "The owner lives in Amboy. They sent us a picture when they got home and unloaded him. They were really happy we were there to help when he got out. It was kind of a freak thing. He got something on his head and the owner wanted to make sure he didn't hurt himself or the trailer. The bull saw the door open and thought he was home."

Wednesday, Aug. 28

1. MORRIS — Rochelle sculptors Mark and Danica Rogers again entered the U.S. National Straw Sculpting Competition in Mt. Morris, held Aug. 9-25 this year. 

The father-daughter sculpting duo have a history of competing locally in both straw and snow competitions. They’ve entered the Mt. Morris competition for a number of years and have entered snow sculpting competitions in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Rockford.

The Rogers’ entry to this year’s straw competition is named "Merry Summerweenmas", and is a summertime-themed Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas hanging a carved watermelon on a Christmas tree.

“This summer there was a trend on social media where people were celebrating Summerween, Halloween during the summertime, by watching Halloween movies outside or in the pool, carving watermelons instead of pumpkins, or making snacks that are Halloween themed,” Danica Rogers said. “Oregon had a downtown Summerween event with activities and trick or treating downtown. I loved the idea of it, but unfortunately didn't get around to celebrating it. So to tie in more summer elements we gave Jack shorts and flip flops and he's hanging a jack o' lantern watermelon on his tree.”

ROCHELLE — On Thursday, Aug. 22, a ribbon cutting and grant opening event was held for Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s new location in Rochelle at 234 May Mart Drive.

The location opened its doors on Aug. 5 and is led by Jonathan Staab, PT, DPT, BFR, TSAC-F. Staab will guide Rochelle after serving Rock Valley PT at its PCI clinic at Marion, Iowa. He recently moved to town with his wife and two children. His wife, Sumayya, will serve as the head coach for the Rochelle Township High School dance team and is an instructional coach at the high school.

“We've only been here and open for three weeks and I've already met 80-90 percent of this room,” Jonathan Staab said at the Aug. 22 event. “That's a testament to how great Rochelle has been to us. I'm very grateful for that and I plan to be here for decades to come. I've appreciated everyone's help. We look to be another provider within the area that can take care of the community as best as possible.”

September

Sunday, Sept. 1

ROCHELLE — On Tuesday morning, over 100 Chevrolet Corvettes stopped in Rochelle at the Petro Travel Plaza. 

The Corvettes made up the North Central Corvette Caravan, combining the states of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, as well as Central Canada. The journey continued the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday as Corvettes from all over the United States made their way to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The caravan also made stops in Rochelle in 2014 and 2019, Caravan Captain Ed Saari said. The journey is done every five years.

“Every five years the National Corvette Museum has an anniversary celebration and they ask 20 people from around the country to gather Corvettes and lead them to Bowling Green,” Saari said. “We start in Wisconsin. We make stops like this one along the way. Our next stop is Bloomington, Illinois where we'll be joined by Corvettes from Iowa, the Milwaukee area and Chicago. Then we go to Effingham, Illinois where we're joined by more Corvettes. We stay there overnight and the next morning we go to Bowling Green, where we'll be joined by 2,200 other Corvettes from all over. What we have here in Rochelle right now is small compared to what we'll have.”

ROCHELLE — At the end of July, Rochelle Police Department Detective Sgt. John Kaltenbach retired after 21 years with RPD. Kaltenbach was recognized by the city council at its Aug. 12 meeting. 

After working patrol for his first 2.5 years with RPD, Kaltenbach spent the rest of his career in investigations. He also served the department as a firearms instructor, an OC instructor, a TASER instructor, and a use of force instructor. He also took youth of the community on boundary waters camping and canoeing trips, taught hunter safety courses, implemented the first citizens police academy RPD did, and served on the boards for Foundation for Focus House, Ogle County Drug Court, and Ogle-Lee Crime Stoppers. 

“I grew up in Ashton,” Kaltenbach said. “My mom was a nurse at Rochelle Community Hospital and worked nights and I'd stop in and see her. I got to meet Evan Ruggeberg, who was a sergeant here. Evan and I became friends and that got me involved in law enforcement when I was in high school. I graduated and went to Sauk Valley Community College and got my degree in law enforcement. Then I started working construction. I met my wife and she pushed me to pursue my passion of law enforcement. I tested with four agencies: Sterling, Beloit, Rockford and Rochelle. RPD offered me the first job and I've been here ever since.”

 

Wednesday, Sept. 11

ROCHELLE — Over 60,000 people attended an event in Rochelle at the Global III intermodal facility on Sunday that featured The Union Pacific Railroad’s Big Boy No. 4014 train engine, City Director of Community Engagement Jenny Thompson said. 

Sunday saw long traffic lines and local restaurants and shops full as visitors came to town for Big Boy No. 4014. The famous train engine drew rail fans to The Hub City for the entire weekend, which also featured a whistle stop at the city’s Railfan Park on Monday morning. The UP also hosted a viewing of the engine for its employees on Saturday. 

“We were excited and shocked to see that many people descend on our little town,” Thompson said. “It was great for our local businesses. I spent the whole weekend at Railfan Park and it was awesome to talk with all the visitors. There were people from all over the United States, along with the United Kingdom and Australia. I asked a few of the foreign visitors if they came here just to see the train, and they said that they had. The UP told us their expectation was 20,000-30,000 visitors. So we saw double that number.” 

Sunday, Sept. 15

MENDOTA — Derek and Chad Horner, co-owners of Unger-Horner Funeral Home in Rochelle, recently closed on the purchase of Merritt Funeral Home in Mendota. The business will now be known as Horner-Merritt Funeral Home. 

The sale came about due to a long-standing friendship between Merritt Funeral Home Owner Bob Merritt and Don Horner, Chad and Derek’s father and the former owner of Unger-Horner Funeral Home. 

Unger-Horner Funeral Home has been in business since 1861, spanning six generations of the Unger-Horner family. Merritt Funeral Home is another one of the longest-standing family businesses in the region, in business at its 800 Monroe St. location and in the Merritt family since 1938 and over four generations. 

“Bob and I have been friends and colleagues since 1966,” Don Horner said. “It's been a great relationship for both of us. When he decided he was going to sell his funeral home, I told my kids earlier on that this would be a good funeral home for them to think about. They're two long-standing family businesses, which is unique. It's going to be part of our family business and our heritage. It's been wonderful to see this happen.”\

Sunday, Sept. 29

ROCHELLE — On Tuesday, the City of Rochelle and Rochelle Municipal Utilities held a ribbon cutting for their new operations campus at 1030 S. 7th St. The facility houses RMU’s electric and water crews and the city’s engineering department.

The city purchased the building from Johnson Tractor in June 2021 and has been working to create a shared campus for its utility and engineering teams since. The facility combined departments to create synergies and increased collaboration in an effort to provide a better experience for residents and customers.

RMU Superintendent of Electric Operations Blake Toliver said the building has undergone two rounds of improvements to fit it to RMU’s needs. The city paid $1.3 million for the building in 2021. Engineering for the second phase cost $158,500. The total budgeted amount for the project was $900,000. The city council approved a $251,984 change order for the renovation work in March.

Toliver said the second phase of improvements included the addition of locker room and break room areas, an office expansion, drainage improvements, the addition of water services, and changing door configurations for easier access to equipment. 

“There's been quite a bit that's gone into this second round of improvements to the building,” Toliver said. “We're collectively proud of how far this building has come since we purchased it. For anyone that was in it when it was Johnson Tractor, you'd know there's been some major changes in this building since we took ownership.”

October

Wednesday, Oct. 9

ROCHELLE — City of Rochelle Economic Development Director Jason Anderson will retire at the end of 2024 after 20 years in his position. 

Anderson’s 20 years has included working with prospective and current businesses, working with legislators, working on improving infrastructure to attract development, and overseeing the city’s railroad and airport. 

The City of Rochelle has seen over $125 million in infrastructure funding over the past two decades including bridges, railroad, water and sewer in efforts to bring economic growth. Anderson credited that number to Rochelle’s city managers and city council members, the Greater Rochelle Economic Development Corporation (GREDCO) and state organizations. 

Over 2,200 jobs in Rochelle have been created since 2005 and there has been $1.3 billion in capital investment made by businesses in land, buildings and equipment. The city’s equalized assessed value (EAV) in 2004 was $100 million. It is now $325 million. Anderson said 70 percent of that tax base growth is from industrial development. 

“I'm really proud of the effort that all of these people and leaders have been willing to make,” Anderson said. “And it's risky, because you have to build the infrastructure first. The philosophy here in Rochelle is, 'If you build it, they will come.' And that's what's happened. The greatest accomplishment for economic development is that we have really helped to fund the taxing bodies like the schools, park district, library district, the township and city services. The development has boosted the tax base and created jobs.”

Wednesday, Oct. 16

ROCHELLE — Rochelle Municipal Utilities recently welcomed home three members of its electric department that worked on storm recovery efforts in Georgia following Hurricane Helene. 

Linemen Jimmy Turcato, Todd Johnson and Casey Howard traveled to Georgia on Sept. 25 and returned Oct. 7. They spent time in Jackson, Elberton and Douglas, Georgia, working to restore power for residents. On Wednesday, Oct. 9, RMU sent another crew of four on a similar trip to Lakeland, Florida to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.  

Turcato, Johnson and Howard spoke with the News-Leader Oct. 9 to describe their experience in storm recovery efforts. RMU Superintendent of Electric Operations Blake Toliver said that RMU is part of a list through the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA) of utilities willing to send linemen to communities in need. 

RMU was contacted by Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG), an organization that helps care for all of the municipalities in Georgia, and sent a crew to Jackson before Turcato, Johnson and Howard were redeployed twice after that. RMU linemen volunteer for the storm recovery work and are paid for their mutual aid efforts. 

“At the end of the day it's a feel-good effort,” Toliver said. “Because you're getting people's power turned back on and a lot of these people are very thankful to the linemen out there doing the job.”

Wednesday, Oct. 23

ESMOND — No structures or standing corn was damaged after a 100-acre field fire was seen in Esmond late Friday morning, Rochelle Fire Department Firefighter/Paramedic Curt Helgren said. 

The Rochelle Fire Department was dispatched to the area of Illinois Route 64 and Chamberlain Road for the report of a field fire at approximately 11:20 a.m. Friday. RFD responded as mutual aid to Lynn-Scott-Rock Fire’s district. One firefighter was transported to Rochelle Community Hospital with an injury due to the fire and smoke but was checked out and was “fine,” Helgren said. 

“The fire started near Illinois Route 64 and was wind driven and all corn stubble,” Helgren said. “We got it stopped before it got to any standing corn. It probably burned up 100 acres of corn stubble. How fast the fire spreads all depends on the wind. It can spread really quickly with high winds.”

Along with RFD, responding departments included the Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District stations of Creston, Steward, Hillcrest and Flagg Center, Stillman Fire, Monroe Fire, Malta Fire, and Oregon Fire. Fire officials were also assisted by the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office and local farmers. 

Wednesday, Oct. 30

ROCHELLE — Whenever she speaks publicly, Ruth Carter makes a point to tell survivors of domestic abuse that they’re not alone. Even when she doesn’t know whether or not there’s someone within earshot of her voice that needs to hear it. 

“I always take the opportunity to tell people,” Carter said. “That many people are impacted by domestic abuse. That it is not your fault. That you're never the cause of someone else's abusive behavior. That's a message we need to keep on repeating. It's not a relationship problem. It's an issue of the person who wants power and control of the relationship.”

Carter serves as HOPE of Ogle County’s executive director and will be retiring this year. She’s been with the non-profit organization that helps survivors of domestic abuse since 1991. She started as a counselor before becoming executive director in 2009. 

HOPE of Ogle County provides safety planning, support, shelter and referrals while empowering survivors to build a safe and peaceful future. It offers counseling, assistance and resources to those who are contending with the effects of abusive relationships. The nonprofit is available 24/7 to listen and provide support and court advocacy services are available as well. HOPE has offices in Rochelle, Oregon and Polo.

In her time at the organization, HOPE has grown in size and saw the addition of HOPE Chest, a thrift store which benefits the nonprofit and helped it through the state funding crisis, COVID-19, and the recent federal VOCA funding crisis it’s faced. Carter said the HOPE Chest funds allowed the organization to keep up services and staffing to help survivors. 

November

Sunday, Nov. 3

DAVIS JUNCTION — On Saturday, Oct. 26, Habitat for Humanity of Ogle County hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its next new home build at 117 Prairie Moon Drive in Davis Junction. 

The home will be Habitat’s 15th in the county since 2002, and will be its first build in Davis Junction. The home will be built primarily by Habitat construction volunteers and board members, and will help a partner family achieve the dream of homeownership. The plans, on display on Oct. 26, call for an 1,100 square foot three-bedroom ranch home.

“The lot was generously donated by the Village of Davis Junction and we're really fortunate on that,” Habitat Executive Director Sheri Anspaugh said. “We have chosen our family. The mother is a woman named Kimberly and she has two daughters, one is a freshman and one is in eighth grade. They're over the moon with excitement about the opportunity to be homeowners. They'll help build the house with sweat equity and they'll carry a mortgage and it'll be affordable. We had a great turnout for the groundbreaking.”

Wednesday, Nov. 6

ASHTON — On Saturday, a grand opening and ribbon cutting were held for CheeseKake Ko. at its new storefront location at 906 Main St. in Ashton.

The business makes homemade cheesecakes and is owned by Katelyn Glavac, Tina Adams and Keri Creason. CheeseKake Ko. has grown from a shared space at Flight Deck Bar & Grill to its own location in Ashton. The business works with a number of local restaurants and stores that carry their products. The new location’s hours will be Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Speakers at the ribbon cutting included Rochelle Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tricia Herrera, Rochelle Mayor John Bearrows and Village of Ashton Clerk Katie Koks. 

Herrera thanked those that attended the ribbon cutting and grand opening and said she was happy to celebrate the growth of a long time chamber member in CheeseKake Ko.

“We have been very fortunate to be in the know with these ladies for quite some time,” Herrera said. “They've been members of the chamber since they started out when they were using a shared space at Flight Deck Bar & Grill and then they started the process of looking for their very own spot. We're always really excited to celebrate with businesses like that because that's such a great day. There's nothing better than that, when you find that location and you know it's your own space and you can set it up your own way. They are our reigning Chamber Business of the Year. We're very excited to celebrate that with them. We're very proud of you girls for the amount of work and determination it takes to do something like this and become a household name in the area.”

Wednesday, Nov. 13

ROCHELLE — Small Business Bingo held its first event of the fall on Thursday, Nov. 7 at the hangar at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle and raised $5,555 that will be split between HOPE of Ogle County and Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center, Event Organizer and AP Massage Therapy Owner Ashley Patrick said.

“It was the biggest event we’ve had so far,” Patrick said. “We did our best to keep track of the attendance, but it became too much to follow. Our attendance was more than what we’ve had in the past. The Flight Deck Bar & Grill staff was amazing at accommodating us and making sure we had space and chairs and tables.”

Small Business Bingo held a spring event on April 4 and raised $4,105 for the Rochelle Area Community Foundation and The Kitchen Table. The fundraiser raised $18,853 for area nonprofits in 2023 with its inaugural four events. Patrick came up with the idea of bingo nights in the community with prizes donated by local businesses to raise money for area nonprofits last year. The four events in fall 2023 raised money for Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center, HOPE of Ogle County, Foundation for Focus House, and The Kitchen Table.

Sunday, Nov. 24

ROCHELLE — In September, Ogle County attorney Russell Crull of Rochelle law firm Tess, Crull & Arnquist was appointed as an associate judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. He will preside in Ogle County in courtroom 304 starting on Dec. 2.

Crull received his undergraduate degree in 2009 from Western Illinois University in Macomb and his Juris Doctor in 2013 from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. After college, he worked for Sycamore law firm Klein, Stoddard, Buck & Lewis. He joined Tess, Crull & Arnquist on July 1, 2014 and was named as a partner April 1, 2016.

“The practice of law has its ups and downs, but the biggest up is always being able to help people,” Crull said of his recent appointment. “I thought it would be a position where I could help both sides and be fair and accurate in application of the law to both sides. I think it's a good step for me to help more people and to help our community.”

Wednesday, Nov. 27

ROCHELLE — Connie Avery loved gnomes, frogs, reading, St. Bernard dogs, University of Illinois sports, growing pumpkins, reading, and the color green. 

All of those things adorned a memorial mural that was dedicated to Avery, affectionately known as Miss Connie, on Thursday, Nov. 21 in the children’s department at the Flagg-Rochelle Public Library during Family Reading Night. 

Avery was the assistant library director and the youth services director at the library for 25 years. She retired at the end of 2021. She passed away on Feb. 2, 2023 at age 71. She worked in libraries for 47 years. Flagg-Rochelle Public Library Director Sarah Flanagan spoke at the dedication on Thursday. 

“After her funeral, I began thinking about what I'd like to do for a memorial to Miss Connie,” Flanagan said. “I wanted something that would have a lasting impression in our building. Something in our children's department where she worked for so many years.” 

December

Sunday, Dec. 1

ROCHELLE — When asked about what it will be like for her to hand over the keys to the building that houses The Kitchen Table upon the closing of its coming sale, Carolyn Brown, the Rochelle nonprofit’s founder, got tears in her eyes. 

“It's going to be hard,” Brown said. “But I can't back out now. I already committed. The buyers came about, and we looked at our numbers and made the decision. And we’ve dealt with the aggravation and lots of different factors.”

The donation and volunteer-based eatery/community pay-what-you-can café will not operate this winter after Nov. 21. The building will soon be sold to a for-profit restaurant in need of a location. The non-profit proceeds from the sale will be donated to a local charity. The Kitchen Table will remain as an organization, and plans to host community dinners at the soon-to-be-sold 7034 S. Klondike Road location on occasion and possibly at other venues likely starting next May. 

Brown and Kitchen Table Board Member Bob Alder said the organization came to the decision to sell due to a shortage of resources and volunteers, and overwhelming need. The nonprofit can no longer pay its bills and get the food it needs. Volunteers have dwindled to a group of six people, who are often performing multiple duties at once. 

Wednesday, Dec. 11

ROCHELLE — On Thursday, Dec. 5, a ribbon cutting was held for Destiny Studios at its new location at 148 May Mart Drive in Rochelle. Destiny Studios is owned by Erin Bacon and offers family, newborns, weddings, events and professional photography.

The event was hosted by the Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and speakers on Dec. 5 included Chamber Executive Director Tricia Herrera, Rochelle Mayor John Bearrows, and Bacon. Herrera said the chamber is excited to have the photography studio in Rochelle. 

“When we spoke a few weeks ago, you told me how you got into photography and how you got here and that the things that are important to you are that you're local and that you wanted to work within your community,” Herrera said. “Those are things that are important to us at the chamber as well. We love to have business owners that are local people raising families in our community. We thank you for that. We know you work all around Northern Illinois and we're very happy and excited that you chose Rochelle.”