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Sycamore senior looking at Division I schools
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PINCHED AT THE PUMP Acardo
leaving office
DeKalb County Clerk taking position at Kishwaukee College By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Matt Bowers of DeKalb pumps gas into his sister’s Chevy Blazer at the Road Ranger on Tuesday in DeKalb.
Gas prices fueled by stations’ purchases, crude oil prices By DAVID THOMAS dthomas@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Tim Smith remembers how cool it felt when he first started driving. That was before he thought much about gas costs. “When you first got your license, it was cool to drive somewhere when you were in high school,” said Smith, who is studying accountancy at Northern Illinois University. “Now that you’re older, you realize how expensive gas is and you try to pass off the obligation of driving to your friends. That’s one of the things that has definitely changed.” Smith was one of the many customers who came by Road Ranger, 125 N. Annie Glidden Road, DeKalb, to refuel Tuesday. After paying $10 for gas, Smith said he was driving home to Mendota. Customers who came to Road Ranger to fill up on regular unleaded gasoline paid $3.68 a gallon, on the lower end of gas prices in the area, according to AAA’s Fuel Price Finder. As of Wednesday, prices in DeKalb for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline ranged between $3.67 to $3.74. The AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report listed the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at $3.65 for the Rockford metro area Wednesday, and $3.67 Tuesday. The average price for the same grade of gas nationwide Wednesday was $3.62. “Gas prices are a commodity,” AAA spokesman Nick Jarmusz said. “Prices do go up, but
SYCAMORE – DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder John Acardo will leave his elected role next month to work for Kishwaukee College in Malta, Acardo announced Wednesday. Acardo, who recently announced plans to run for re-election, said he has accepted a job as the director of human resources at the community college in Malta. His last day as clerk and recorder will be Sept. 17; he will start his new job Aug. 5. Acardo’s annual salary as the John Acardo county clerk and recorder was $85,000; he’ll earn $87,500 annually in his new role at Kishwaukee College, he said. “It’s the next natural step of progression for me in public service,” Acardo said. Before winning the clerk election in 2010, Acardo said he had previously worked as the human resources director at Hanover Township. There, he oversaw 75 employees and five municipal departments. While he was there, he earned his Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in human resources from the Keller Graduate School of Management. Acardo, 30, said he used his background in human resources to help develop the staff in the clerk’s office. Acardo, a Rockford native, lives in DeKalb with his wife, Megan, and 18-month old son, Charlie.
See ACARDO, page A6
NSA obtains millions of phone records By MATT APUZZO AND PETE YOST The Associated Press
bought their current supply of fuel. “Depending on the price they paid when they bought it, they’re going to match the price to it,” Jarmusz said. Another major factor is the price of gas at other stations, he added. However, the biggest determinant is the price of oil, said Jim Watson, the executive director of the Illinois Petroleum Council.
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s national security team acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that, when investigating one suspected terrorist, it can read and store the phone records of millions of Americans. Since it was revealed recently that the National Security Agency puts the phone records of every American into a database, the Obama administration has assured the nation that such records are rarely searched and, when they are, officials target only suspected international terrorists. Meanwhile, at a hacker convention Wednesday in Las Vegas, the head of the NSA said government methods used to collect telephone and email data helped foil 54 terror plots – a figure that drew open skepticism from lawmakers back in Washington. “Not by any stretch can you get 54 terrorist plots,” said the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
See GAS PRICES, page A6
See NSA, page A6
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
The price of unleaded gas at the Road Ranger on Tuesday in DeKalb was $3.68 a gallon. they can come back regularly. The prices are dictated by a couple of different factors that are constantly changing.” Factors affecting gas prices include the price of crude oil, transportation issues and the refining process, Jarmusz said. For instance, the price of a barrel of crude oil could fall, but a refinery in the Midwest could be partially shutdown. “If there are disruptions in any part of the process, that can
More online To view the AAA’s Fuel Price Finder and the Daily Fuel Gauge Report, go online to www.aaa.com.
send prices up,” he said. When it comes to variations between gas prices at stations within the same area, Jarmusz said prices will vary depending on when the gas station owners
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