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Thursday, October 17, 2013
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Gun business permit denied County Board rejects home-based sales request in Sycamore Township By FELIX SARVER
Voice your opinion
fsarver@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – A permit allowing a Sycamore Township resident to run a business selling firearms out of his home was rejected Wednesday by DeKalb County Board members. With a 17-6 vote, board members denied an ordinance granting Ronald Budoff a special use permit to operate the proposed business from his home on the 12800 block of Williams Circle. The permit is typically needed for a home-based business in the county
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that may generate excessive traffic or otherwise negatively affect the surrounding area. Several board members voted against the permit because of opposition from Budoff’s neighbors. Budoff lives at his home with his parents.
A public hearing for Budoff’s permit application was held Aug. 29 and four members of the public at the hearing spoke out against it, citing safety issues with firearms being delivered and picked up near their homes. Board member Mark Pietrowski, a Cortland Democrat, said he agrees with residents of the area who have said it could negatively impact their homes should they want to sell it. They would have to notify buyers of Budoff’s business in the neighborhood. “I would encourage the individu-
al seeking this permit to look at the many empty commercial use spaces that are available in all our municipalities,” he said. Other board members supported granting Budoff the permit based on the public hearing where it was determined he was following the right steps to ensure his business would be safely operated and he wouldn’t be selling assault weapons. Board member Riley Oncken, a Sycamore Republican, said this
See GUN SALES, page A8
Deal avoids federal default Congress votes to raise debt ceiling, open government By DAVID ESPO
Upbeat about local harvests
Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Gene Miller climbs into his combine while harvesting a field of soybeans Oct. 10 near Old State and Larson roads in Sycamore. Miller is expecting a 10 percent to 15 percent higher soybean yield and a 10 percent higher corn yield compared with last year, when a drought had limited crop yields and drove up prices. By FELIX SARVER fsarver@shawmedia.com
G
ene Miller’s hopes for a productive harvest likely will be realized this year, as cooler and wetter weather have yielded better crops. Miller, a farmer from Sycamore, has been harvesting crops at several farms, including his own 246-acre farm on Lindgren Road. He’s expecting a higher number of bushels an acre from soybeans and corn than last year, when a drought had limited crop yields and drove up prices. Higher yields are leading to lower prices this year, but it’s not too troubling for
This year’s better weather means larger crop yields for county Miller, who’s trying to take things one year at a time. “I’m not as concerned this year as the next years coming up,” he said. Miller is one of hundreds of farmers in DeKalb County in the midst of harvesting their corn, soybean, wheat and other crops. Many have wrapped up the soybean harvest and are preparing to start bringing in corn, the No. 1
commodity crop in DeKalb County, according to the DeKalb County Farm Bureau. The pace of the harvest will depend on the weather, but another challenge farmers are facing this year is the government shutdown, which has stopped the flow of information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, such as the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. The report pro-
vides estimates on prices and other information on agricultural products, and without the information, farmers are in the dark, said Paul Taylor, a farmer from Esmond. “Farmers are without the marketing information they need to make good marketing decisions,” Taylor said. Crop and other agricultural production and related products are an important part of the local economy, creating jobs and revenue, said Mariam Wassmann, director of information for the farm bureau. The value of crop production in
See HARVEST, page A7
The Associated Press WASHINGTON – Up against a deadline, Congress passed and sent a waiting President Barack Obama legislation late Wednesday night to avoid a threatened national default and end the 16-day partial government shutdown, the culmination of an epic political drama that placed the U.S. economy at risk. The Senate voted first, a bipartisan 81-18 at midevening. That cleared the way for a final 285-144 vote in the Republican-controlled House about two hours later on the legislation, which hewed strictly to the terms Obama laid down when the twin crises erupted more than three weeks ago. The legislation would permit the Treasury to borrow normally through Feb. 7 or perhaps a month longer, and fund the government through Jan. 15. More than 2 million federal workers would be paid – those who had remained on the job and those who had been furloughed. After the Senate approved the measure, Obama hailed the vote and said he would sign it immediately after it reached his desk. “We’ll begin reopening our government immediately and we can begin to lift this cloud of uncertainty from our businesses and the American people.” Later, in the House, Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said, “After two long weeks, it is time to end this government shutdown. It’s time to take the threat of default off the table. It’s time to restore some sanity to this place.” The stock market surged higher at the prospect of an end to the crisis that also had threatened to shake confidence in the U.S. economy overseas.
See DEFAULT, page A7
Government online The Daily Chronicle Government Center is your one-stop website for all things government in DeKalb County, Springfield and Washington, D.C. Visit Daily-Chronicle. com/government.
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