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Early talks underway on joint pool Sycamore, DeKalb park districts to weigh partnership to replace aging swimming facilities By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com DeKALB – As local public pools prepare to open for the summer, officials with DeKalb’s and Sycamore’s park districts are beginning discussions on partnering on a new pool. The most recent suggestion of a jointly operated pool came from DeKalb park commissioner Per Faivre, who joined the board May 9. The Sycamore and Genoa Township pools open Saturday, while DeKalb’s pool opens June 1. This would have been Hopkins Pool’s second-to-last summer before a $5 million overhaul, but Faivre’s suggestion pushed that plan to the back burner. “While it may or may not work out, it was at least worth bringing
up again to see if anything had changed,” Faivre said. On May 9, the DeKalb park commissioners agreed to reach out to their Sycamore counterparts to see if this kind of cooperation would be possible. So far, no date on a joint meeting has been set. Both park districts have similar problems: Because of the age of their respective swimming pools, both of them will be obsolete in a few years. Sycamore’s pool is 25 years old, while the DeKalb pool is closer to 40. But the DeKalb Park District is farther along in the pool replacement process than Sycamore. This could be a factor in whatever negotiations take place, said Daniel Gibble, the executive director of the Sycamore Park District.
For months, DeKalb commissioners have been inching toward approving a replacement pool that would fit within the existing Hopkins Park pool facility. Plans for the renovated pool would reduce the maximum number of people allowed in the pool from 1,400 to 1,100. Faivre said a pool should be able to fit 4 percent of the area’s population. “When you have demand that’s going to increase significantly when you get a new pool, that needs to be accounted for,” he said. Faivre and the other new commissioners – Don Irving and Keith Nyquist – campaigned on slowing down the pool replacement process, as they felt it was going too fast.
See POOL, page A9
Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Jadyn Thompson, 10, of DeKalb performs a backflip off a diving board on a June 2012 afternoon at Hopkins Park pool in DeKalb.
CELEBRATING A HALF-CENTURY Ill. House Sycamore Speedway marking 50th anniversary next weekend
approves gun plan
County’s 2 lawmakers vote to OK legislation By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com
Gary L. Gates for Shaw Media
Bob Adams, driving a midget car, loses control around turn four during qualifications May 18 at the Sycamore Speedway in Richardson. By ROSS JACOBSON rjacobson@shawmedia.com
R
oger Myers was sitting in the stands for the inaugural races when Sycamore Speedway first opened on May 30, 1963. The now-81-year-old DeKalb resident can’t recall many details about opening night, but 50 years later, there isn’t much that’s happened at the speedway for which Myers hasn’t been present.
bration. On Friday, the Speedway plans to bring back a 50-lap Spectator feature race, something that used to be popular in the 1980s and 1990s, and a demolition derby. “It’s definitely something that has been a lot of trial and error and a lot of, sometimes, anxiety,” said Tiffany Gerace, the Speedway’s general manager. “We’ve all stuck together and [kept] working.”
After an accident ended his racing career more than 30 years ago, Myers has been a regular at the track and a part of the safety team, riding in the ambulance that runs each weekend to help drivers with minor injuries. “I just love it. I enjoy the races,” Myers said. “I enjoy the people, the atmosphere and everything.” This summer Sycamore Speedway is honoring its 50th anniversary and next weekend will be its big cele-
See SPEEDWAY, page A9
Voice your opinion Do you plan to visit Sycamore Speedway this summer? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
More online Go to Daily-Chronicle.com to see video of Sycamore Speedway celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Gun owners in the only state still banning concealed weapons would win that right under a plan approved Friday by the Illinois House with support from DeKalb County’s two state representatives. The county’s local lawmakers – Reps. Robert Pritchard, R-Hinckley, and Tom Demmer, R-Dixon – were among the 85 lawmakers who voted for the proposal that was brokered by House Speaker Tom Demmer Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat. But the governor and other powerful Democrats oppose the plan because it would wipe out local gun ordinances Robert – including ChicaPritchard go’s ban on assault weapons. The proposal is meant to abide by a federal appeals court’s ruling that ordered the state to adopt a concealed-carry law by June 9. Pritchard said he was impressed by the fact that there’s no group in strong favor of it. “We have to do something, and this is probably the best compromise we can have,” Pritchard said. But the plan has drawn strong opposition, with Gov. Pat Quinn calling it a “massive overreach” because of the way it would curb local firearm regulations.
See GUN PLAN, page A9
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