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Breaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com Emillea Conklin
Serving DeKalb County since 1879
T y, January 21, 2014 Tuesday,
MARKETPLACE, A6
GIRLS BASKETBALL • SPORTS, B1
Lavish Thrift reopens in downtown DeKalb
DeKalb girls finish as runner-up in tourney Hailey Schoneman (left) and Madelyn Johnson
Landfill worries arise after school opens If you go
n What: DeKalb School District 428 board meeting n When: 7 p.m. today n Where: Forum room at DeKalb High School, 501 W. Dresser Road
Online See the parents’ petition online: shawurl.com/yka See readings from the Cortland Elementary School hydrogen sulfide monitor: shawurl. com/ykb
Cortland Elementary parents asking questions, circulate petition By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com CORTLAND – Years ago, when DeKalb School District 428 leaders were planning the new Cortland Elementary School, then-board president Mike Verbic heard from several residents. They weren’t talking about the Waste Management landfill about a half-mile away, though. “I heard more from people about the costs than the proximity to the landfill,” Verbic said. When Cortland Elementary was being built, officials said they didn’t encounter the same level of concern raised in the
week since students and staff were sickened by a foul odor from the nearby landfill that entered the school’s ventilation system. School district officials have said they might spend weeks developing an action plan in response to last week’s incident, with some parents urging them to close the school until more equipment can be installed and others questioning the wisdom of having a school so close to a landfill set to dramatically expand. Verbic said he stands by the former school board’s choice of a school site, with the condition that Waste Management take care to manage the dump in a
way that won’t disturb those that surround it. “I believe the school’s great there, but if Waste Management is not a responsible neighbor, if Waste Management does not have the enforcement on site, I believe they should pay to relocate the school,” Verbic said.
The quest for new facilities Verbic served as the District 428’s board president as the plans for the elementary school at 370 E. Lexington Ave. were coming together in 2005. He continued to serve on the school board until last year, when he made an unsuccessful run for mayor of DeKalb.
Although some parents were worried about their children attending the school, they were consoled, he said. The move to open an elementary school across Interstate 88 from a landfill was done with the consent of voters, he added, after extensive tests were performed to determine the site was safe. “We were all reassured that site would be safe forever, or we would never have built the school there,” Verbic said. Voters in February 2008 approved a $110 million construction referendum, giving the district the authority to build a new elementary school and high school. Oakbrook Ter-
race-based developer Montalbano Homes donated 13 acres of land to the district to construct the school in the Chestnut Grove subdivision. Without the donation, Verbic estimated the land for the new school would have cost more than $700,000. Cortland Elementary was built for $15 million and opened in August 2009. More concern arose when it was announced that Waste Management wanted to expand by almost 350 acres to accept as much as 1,800 tons of trash a day, Verbic said.
See CORTLAND, page A5
Speeches, marches honor MLK By PHILLIP LUCAS The Associated Press
Photos by Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
Roger Smith (left) of Sandwich listens to Dave Butts as he explains the benefits of fish oil Monday at his store, Family Health Center, in Sycamore.
Health professionals say supplements can have benefits By ANDREA AZZO
What it means
aazzo@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in February, DeKalb resident Mary Rehak has depended on her vitamins. Rehak, who is six months in remission, said she takes Vitamins B, E, D, calcium, potassium and glucosamine regularly. A doctor ordered Rehak to start taking these vitamins after her cancer treatment. “When I take my Vitamin B, I feel 100 percent better all the time,” Rehak said. Rehak is skeptical of recent studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal, which said multivitamins don’t provide as much protection for aging brains in men or help heart attack survivors. The recent studies also showed people who took vitamins fared no better on memory or other cognitive tests, and vitamins had no effect on the risk for heart disease.
Although recent studies have raised some questions about the effectiveness of multivitamins, health experts say supplements can be effective in some cases. They are not considered a substitute for a balanced, healthy diet, however.
Voice your opinion Do you take a multivitamin daily? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
Linda DeLap (right) stocks bottles of vitamins while working in the store. Local pharmacists and doctors say people need to look more into the issue of multivitamins and the recent study and consider all the factors. Sycamore’s Family Health Center, 1170 DeKalb Ave., has been getting plenty of customers asking about the study and whether they should be taking multivitamins. Dave Butts and Susan Wallner are co-owners of the store.
In a statement, they said customers need to realize “most supplements sold in mass-market chains are vitamins that are manufactured with synthetic ingredients.” “These studies don’t focus on quality [of multivitamins], which hurts businesses like us,” Butts said. Butts and Walner recommend food-based supplements with all-natural ingredients to
their customers. Tim Lehan, pharmacist at Lehan Drugs, 1407 S. 4th St., DeKalb, said he usually doesn’t recommend people take multivitamins if they regularly eat well-balanced meals, but sometimes, people want a shortcut. “A lot of times, I tell them to just diet and exercise, but they say they want something in pill form that’s going to work,” Lehan said.
See VITAMINS, page A5
ATLANTA – As the nation remembered and reflected Monday on the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., leaders and everyday Americans talked about how far the country has come in the past 50 years and how much more is to be done. At Ebenezer Baptist Church in King’s hometown of Atlanta, civil rights leaders and members of King’s own family spoke about poverty, violence, health care and voting rights, all themes from the civil rights struggle that still resonate to this day. “There is much work that we must do,” King’s daughter Bernice King said. “Are we afraid, or are we truly committed to the work that must be done?” The event in Atlanta featured music, songs and choirs and was one of many celebrations, marches, parades and community service projects held Monday across the nation to honor the slain civil rights leader. It was about 50 years ago today that King had just appeared on the cover of Time magazine as its Man of the Year, and the nation was on the cusp of passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. King would win the Nobel Peace Prize later that year. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said not many states could boast a native son who merited a national holiday. “But we Georgians can,” he told the audience. Deal said this year he would work with state legislators to find a way to honor King at the Georgia Capitol, which drew a standing ovation. He did not give any specifics, but civil rights leaders have suggested a statue. The only current tribute to King at the state Capitol is a portrait inside the Statehouse. “I think that more than just saying kind thoughts about him we ought to take action ourselves,” said Deal, a Republican. “That’s how we embed truth into our words. I think it’s time for Georgia’s leaders to follow in Dr. King’s footsteps and take action, too.”
See MLK, page A5
AP photo
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
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