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January 10, 2015 • $1.50
DeKalb struggles against Kaneland in 4th quarter, loses 53-52 / B1 daily-chronicle.com
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Cold helps dairy farms
FIRE RIPS THROUGH WENDY’S IN SYCAMORE
Fewer crashes now compared to this time last year By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com
Photos by Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
Authorities shut down East State and East Exchange streets between Sabin and Walnut streets as firefighters battled a fire Friday at the Wendy’s restaurant, 439 E. State St., Sycamore. North Governor Street was closed to make room for fire apparatus. The fire was reported about 3:50 p.m. BELOW: Sycamore and DeKalb were among the fire departments responding to the scene of the fire. Manager Sanethra Currasco said she and four other employees were inside the restaurant when the fire started in the ceiling.
Firefighters battle cold, flames at eatery By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Sanethra Currasco was just finishing her shift as a manager at Wendy’s on Friday afternoon, but her day was just beginning. “I was trying to clock out when someone yelled there was smoke, and we all ran outside,” said Currasco, who was one of five employees in the chain restaurant at 439 E. State St., right before it was engulfed in fire and smoke, leaving the building charred and gutted. No injuries were reported. About 3:50 p.m., firefighters from the Sycamore Fire Department responded to a call of heavy smoke in the building, Sycamore
Fire Chief Peter Polarek said. “Initial crews reported light smoke coming from the roof, around the air conditioning unit,” he said. Polarek said an investigation by the fire department and the restaurant’s insurer would begin searching for the cause of the blaze and how much damage it caused. “We have no outward indication that it’s suspicious, but we haven’t started an investigation,” Polarek said. The fire spread horizontally, first to across the roof, and then into the dining area, Polarek said. Flames could be seen shooting through the rooftop.
See FIRE, page A4
On the Web: To view video and photos from the scene, visit Daily-Chronicle.com.
ESMOND – Otto Heisner has been struggling with the arctic cold and snow pummeling the area this week. But you might say it’s also been udderly profitable for the dairy farmer and his 400-acre farm, Heisner Dairy Farm, 26907 Esmond Road. Cold weather means cows are more likely to eat and drink, producing more milk and providing more moo-lah for the workers. Heisner’s cows – 89 of his 200 are milking cows – are currently pro- Voice your ducing about opinion 8½ gallons a day, a gallon What’s your m o r e t h a n favorite winter the warmer activity? Vote months. online at Dai“Heat will ly-Chronicle. keep them com. from eating,” said Heisner, 67, a lifelong dairy farmer. “If they have the feed and water and cold, then they do milk pretty good. More milk is produced by dairy farmers from October to May than summertime in the high heat.” It’s a trade-off, since labor and utility costs run higher in the winter, Heisner said. There are 1,020 cows across five herds in DeKalb County, with a market value of $2.7 million according to Mariam Wassmann, spokeswoman for DeKalb County Farm Bureau. Dairy farms in the county have declined over the years, and hogs and cattle are the larger livestock sector, but Wassmann said they still are viable for the area.
See COLD, page A6
French security forces kill gunmen, end terror rampage lieved to be armed. Al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen said it directed the attack against the publication Charlie Hebdo to avenge the honor of the Prophet Muhammad, a frequent target of the weekly’s satire. The brothers were not unknown to authorities: One had a terrorism-related conviction for ties to a network sending fighters to battle American forces in Iraq, and both were on the U.S. no-fly list, according to a U.S. official. President Francois Hollande urged his nation to remain united and vigilant, and the city shut down a famed Jewish neighborhood amid fears of more violence.
“The threats facing France are not finished,” Hollande said. “We are a free people who cave to no pressure.” The drama, which played out on live TV and social media, began with the brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi methodically massacring 12 people Wednesday at the Charlie Hebdo offices, stopping to shoot a wounded police officer in the head before escaping by car. On Thursday, a gunman police identified as Amedy Coulibaly shot a policewoman to death south of Paris, although authorities were not sure at first if it was related to the Charlie Hebdo shootings. It all ended at dusk Friday with near-simultaneous raids
in two locations: a printing plant in the town of Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, where the Kouachis were holed up, and the Paris supermarket where Coulibaly killed four hostages and threatened more violence unless the police let the Kouachis go. As scores of black-clad security forces surrounded both sites, booming explosions, heavy gunfire and dense smoke heralded the news that the twin sieges finally had ended. The three gunmen were dead – but the authorities also discovered four dead hostages at the market. Sixteen hostages were freed, one from the
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By LORI HINNANT and ELAINE GANLEY The Associated Press PARIS – With explosions and gunfire, security forces Friday ended three days of terror around Paris, killing the two al-Qaida-linked brothers who staged a murderous rampage at a satirical newspaper and an accomplice who seized hostages at a kosher supermarket to try to help the brothers escape. The worst terrorist violence France has seen in decades killed at least 20 people, including the three gunmen. A fourth suspect – the common law wife of the market attacker – was still at large and be-
See RAMPAGE, page A6
AP photo
A security officer directs released hostages after police stormed a kosher market Friday in Paris to end a hostage situation. Two sets of attackers seized hostages and were surrounded by hundreds of French security forces around the capital in a series of linked attacks that began with the newspaper terror attack Wednesday that left 12 people dead.
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