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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
‘IT’S ALL GOOD’ • FOOD, C1
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Paltrow’s cookbook full of clean-eating recipes
Track benefits football players in offseason
DeKalb sophomore Dre Brown
DeKalb OKs $25K for events post Chamber of Commerce is asking for $45K to create coordinator position By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The future of events like Spooktacular and Breakfast with the Bunny is in question amid mixed signals from the DeKalb City Council on future funding for running them. The DeKalb Chamber
DeKalb school among Ill. best
of Commerce is requesting $45,000 from the city to create an event coordinator position to take over the events that Re:New DeKalb has run for years. The DeKalb City Council voted Monday 5-2 to allocate $25,000 to fund the position, but City Manager Mark Biernacki said the dollar amount
would not be finalized until the city passes its budget in May or June. The money would come from the city’s economic development fund, which is funded by the city’s hotel/ motel tax. Biernacki said the city expects to see a boost in this fund with the new Hampton Inn and Suites being built
at the corner of South Annie Glidden Road and Taylor Street. Many of the aldermen spoke in support of continuing the different events downtown at Monday’s City Council meeting, but they also had reservations about the city funding a new position at the chamber.
“I think we’re at a pivotal point, but I am not willing to give any money out of our general fund, which can be used to hire police officers,” 6th Ward Alderman Dave Baker said. Baker and 1st Ward Alderman David Jacobson voted
At a glance The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce wants $45,000 from the city of DeKalb’s economic development fund to hire an event coordinator, who would run downtown events. Some City Council members balked at the amount of the request.
See CHAMBER, page A6
Working the puzzle
For many, autism awareness a priority
By STEPHANIE HICKMAN shickman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – DeKalb High School ranks in the top 10 percent of high schools nationwide according to a list released recently by a national newsmagazine. U.S. News and World Report’s list 2013 Best High School rankings, released Tuesday, ranks DeKalb High as No. 64 in Illinois and Jim Briscoe No. 2,047 naDeKalb tionwide. The School school at 501 W. District 428 Dresser Road superintenearned a silver dent medal among more than 21,000 public high schools nationwide. DeKalb Superintendent Jim Briscoe was thrilled when he heard the news. “I think it speaks leaps and bounds about what our teachers and principals have done over the years,” he said. The rankings largely were based on student performance on state proficiency tests. The three-step process involved analyzing reading and math scores while factoring in the percentage of economically disadvantaged students who performed well in these categories. DeKalb was among the schools where the least-advantaged students – defined in the report as black, Hispanic and low-income – scored above the state average on these tests. The final step judged the schools nationally on test scores for college-level courses in the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs. All data for the 2013 report was collected during the 201011 school year. “I think it’s impressive the way the U.S. News analyzed the data,” Briscoe said. “It’s a real good indicator to show how good these schools are that deal with large populations of disadvantaged students.”
See RANKINGS, page A6
Photos by Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Christy Niemeyer (left), a direct support worker, and Danny Hedberg, who is autistic, enjoy the moment after Hedberg successfully finished a learning program on a tablet computer Friday at Opportunity House in Sycamore. The Opportunity House day program in Sycamore helps prepare individuals with disabilities to live independent lives by teaching life skills. Danny Hedberg, who is autistic, reacts to encouragement from Christy Niemeyer (not pictured).
By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Lauren Kruse has been working on the same puzzle for 7 years. Every time the 30-year-old Sycamore native thinks the pieces are about to fit together, they change. For Kruse, the variety makes the puzzle known as autism a challenge worth solving and a lifelong passion. “When you meet one child with autism, you meet one child with autism,” Kruse said. “Everyone is unique in their own way.”
Kruse, who works for Camelot School in DeKalb, is one of the thousands of teachers, therapists and counselors working to change misconceptions during Autism Awareness Month. According to The Autism Program of Illinois, autism spectrum disorders affect one out of every 88 children, including more than 30,000 statewide. Aside from her daily work with students with developmental delays at Camelot, Kruse is raising autism awareness through homemade
See AWARENESS, page A6
As Boston buries its dead, more evidence gathered By DAVID CRARY and DENISE LAVOIE The Associated Press BOSTON – The Boston area held funerals for two more of its dead Tuesday – including an 8-year-old boy – as evidence mounted that the older Tsarnaev brother had embraced a radical, an-
ti-American strain of Islam and was the driving force behind the Boston Marathon bombing. Younger brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s condition was upgraded from serious to fair as investigators continued building their case against the 19-year-old college student.
He could face the death penalty after being charged Monday with joining forces with his brother, now dead, in setting off the shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs that killed three people. In Washington, Senate Intelligence Committee member Richard Burr, R-N.C.,
said after his panel was briefed by federal law enforcement officials that there is “no question” that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was “the dominant force” behind the attacks, and that the brothers had apparently been radicalized by material on the Internet rather than by contact with militant groups over-
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See BOSTON, page A6
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seas. Martin Richard, a schoolboy from Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood who was the youngest of those killed in the April 15 blasts at the marathon finish line, was laid to rest after a family-only funeral Mass.
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