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Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Monday, October 21, 2013
NIU FOOTBALL
SYCAMORE PUMPKIN FEST
Jordan Lynch runs to record-setting day Sport, B1
Six tons of orange orbs given away Local, A3
GOP takes new tack on ‘Obamacare’
Running for their ‘lives’
By DONNA CASSATA and RICARDO ALONSO–ZALDIVAR The Associated Press
Photos by Erik Anderson for Shaw Media
Bess Kershisnik of DeKalb sprints during the final yards before crossing the finish line during the zombie chase Sunday in and surrounding Hopkins Park in DeKalb . Kershisnik was a live runner equipped with a “life flag.” That life flag could be pulled off by a zombie during the chase. The zombie with the most “life flags” and at end of the chase was the winner.
5K for Clinton Rosette has ‘zombies’ chasing runners By FELIX SARVER fsarver@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Runners of a three-mile race Sunday found one heart-pounding reason to sprint to the finish line: zombies. After the race began at 8 a.m. at Hopkins Park in DeKalb, the undead were unleashed on the runners, who had to run through several streets and bike paths and make it to the finish line with their lives intact. Participants were outfitted with life lines – or flags the zombies needed to collect to kill them. The idea for the race came from the Clinton Rosette Middle School Parent Teacher Association, which uses it to raise funds to provide technology,
Voice your opinion What’s your favorite type of monster for Halloween? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com. field trips and programming for students at Clinton Rosette Middle School. Jamie Vilet, president of the association, said they wanted to host a 5K race that stood out from other 5K races in the area. “Zombies seem to be all the rage right now, and we wanted to do something nobody else was doing around here,” she said. Last year when the race first began, the PTA raised more
See ZOMBIES, page A4
Zombies, live runners and medics run northeast Sunday on the DeKalb Nature Trail during the zombie chase in and surrounding Hopkins Park in DeKalb.
WASHINGTON – “Obamacare” escaped unharmed from the government shutdown Republicans hoped would stop it, but just as quickly they have opened a new line of attack – one handed to them by the administration itself. While Congress was arguing, President Barack Obama’s plan to expand coverage for the uninsured suffered a self-inflicted wound. A computer system seemingly designed by gremlins gummed up the first open enrollment season. After nearly three weeks, it’s still not fixed. Republicans hope to ride that and other defects they see in the law into the 2014 congressional elections. Four Democratic senators are facing re-election for the first time since they voted for the Affordable Care Act, and their defeat is critical to GOP aspirations for a Senate majority. President Democrats say that’s just Barack more wishful thinking, if not ob- Obama session. Although Obama’s law remains divisive, only 29 percent of the public favors its complete repeal, according to a recent Gallup poll. The business-oriented wing of the Republican House party wants to move on to other Speaker John issues. Americans may be grow- Boehner ing weary of the health care fight. “This is the law of the land at this point,” said Michael Weaver, a self-employed photographer from rural southern Illinois who’s been uninsured for about a year. “We need to stop the arguing and move forward to make it work.” It took him about a week and half, but Weaver kept going back to the healthcare.gov website until he was able to open an account and apply for a tax credit that will reduce his premiums. He’s not completely finished because he hasn’t selected an insurance plan, but he’s been able to browse options. It beats providing page after page of personal health information to insurance companies, Weaver said.
See HEALTH CARE, page A4
STEMfest puts ‘fun’ into science, math Event at NIU features laser show, robotics and more By ANDREA AZZO news@daily-chronicle.com DeKALB – There was a party Saturday at Northern Illinois University’s Convocation Center. A DJ played music from a mobile cart equipped with a sound system and bubble machine. Participants wore 3-D glasses near the neon lights and lasers. The festivities were all part of STEMfest, an event to make the fields of science, technology, engineering and math fun
for children. “Science can be fun,” 8-year-old Pilar Martinez said. “I learned that here and at school also.” The event featured a laser lab, robotics field, LEGO displays and a haunted physics lab. NIU physics professor Yasuo Ito was at a booth in which participants could take wandlike Van de Graaff generators and to levitate aluminum foil. “We’re showing them the basics of simple physics,” Ito said. “By doing this, they
can feel physics directly. It’s all about getting them to ask why. That’s the most important part.” When children ask why, it shows they are more interested in learning about physics, Ito said. Montgomery resident Douglas Hughes was at STEMfest with his wife, daughter and son. Hughes, a molecular biologist, said it was good to expose his kids to this type of thing. “I’d like to have him grow a passion with science and
learning things,” Hughes said of his son, Mason. “Even if you don’t go into science, it makes you think critically.” Mason was looking at a ball that could expand and contract by pulling on a rope. “When it’s bigger, it moves slower, and when you make it smaller, it’s faster,” he said. Rochelle resident Cayce Groves was at the haunted physics lab with her daughter, a member of Girl Scout Troop 1168 who could earn Girl Scout badges by being at STEMfest.
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
See SCIENCE, page A3
Kevin Sullivan, 6, looks at bacteria from dollar bills and coins through a microscope Saturday at this year’s STEMfest at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center. The event is an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering and math.
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NIU Career Fairs 2013
Oct. 22 Internship Fair
NIU Convocation Center, 10AM - 3 PM Cost: Free; no candidate entry fee
More than 90 employers will be in attendance seeking interns.
Oct. 23 Full-time Job Fair
NIU Convocation Center, 10AM - 3 PM Free for NIU students More than 210 $5 for NIU alumni $10 non-NIU candidates
www.careerfairs.niu.edu
companies will be in attendance recruiting talent for full-time positions.
High:
46
Low:
29
NIU Career Services helps
Huskies Get Hired! for Internships & Jobs