As Ogle County Poet Laureate, I consider it my mission to bring bits of local rural color into your otherwise already colorful lives. Now, before reading these bits, remember that rural taste follows national pop-culture by the respectful distance of a decade or more:

1. After a Palestinian man was convicted of attempting to murder his ex-wife, (which, of course, isn’t funny, but keep reading), he read a statement before his sentence that questioned whether Ogle County judges would not be biased against him because of his “race and religion,” the sentencing judge replied:

“Your comment on race and religion struck a cord with me,” the judge said. “For the record, I have some pretty good friends from Palestine[.] I don’t think any sentence I render here today would be based on race or religion. It is based on the facts and circumstances of the case.”

I’m just glad I don’t have to report on how we Ogle-inians treated criminals in the days before we befriended those who “ain’t from here.”

2. A story in last Sunday’s Rochelle News-Leader newspaper about heroin use in the county contained a quote by Ogle County Sheriff Michael Harn:

“It appears that the drug is cheaper and easier to get more than ever. We have people coming from out of town selling this within our county.”

Buy local, everybody. Beware the out-of-town junk dealer. But we also do have few friends from “out of town,” so when we nab these carpetbaggin’ H-sellers, we’ll continue to “render” justice “based on the facts and circumstances of the case.”

3. Also, this headline seemed out-of-character for the area:

New Rochelle strip center plans set

And it turned out to be misleading. Our local officials continue to have our best interests at heart.