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Tuesday, January 28, 2014
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Trial in fatal accident starts today Schmidt faces up to 5 years in prison in 2011 wreck that killed 2 By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – The families of Tim Getzelman and Alexis Weber try to honor the memories of the 21-year-olds who died in a car crash almost three years ago in positive ways. On the first anniversary, they hosted a blood drive. Last year, they encouraged friends and community members to do something nice for someone else through a Random Act of Kindness day.
Tim’s mother, said in a written statement. “It has been a long process that has now taken us to a trial … finally … it will be now three years on Feb. 21.” Patricia Schmidt, of the 28500 block of Brickville Road, will stand trial before DeKalb County Presiding Judge Robbin Stuckert on charges of reckless homicide and aggravated reckless driving. She asked that Stuckert, rather than jurors, decide her fate. Schmidt has been free since posting $50,000 bail April 6,
They plan to repeat the Random Act of Kindness Day – T-shirts for the event were sold to benefit Casey’s Safe Haven in Elburn, a rescue for dogs and horses – but first they have to sit through the first part of a criminal trial for the 48-year-old Sycamore woman who was driving the pickup truck that collided with Getzelman’s four-door sedan. “This is really going to be incredibly painful and difficult for both our families as well as for friends and community,” Tamara Getzelman,
2011. The trial, originally expected to start Monday, was pushed back to today because weather concerns closed the DeKalb County Courthouse on Monday. The trial will pick up again March 3 through 5. About 5:30 p.m. Feb. 21, 2011, Schmidt was driving south on North Main Street in Sycamore when she collided with Getzelman’s vehicle, which was traveling east on Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com Peace Road. Kamron Kroeger (right) presents Tamara Getzelman with a quilt made
See TRIAL, page A5
by her family July 15, 2012, during a ceremony honoring Tim Getzelman and Alexis Weber at Sycamore’s Fire Station No. 2.
Stocks fall worldwide By BERNARD CONDON and PAUL WISEMAN The Associated Press
Photos by Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
The sun is seen Monday from Perry Road in Pierce Township. By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
D
eKALB – Some DeKalb County residents can stay cozy in their homes and avoid the frigid temperatures, but Patrick Heisner is not that lucky. The Esmond resident had 200 cows depending on him for food and water Monday, forcing him to venture outside multiple times. “The main thing is not to stay outside for too long,” Heisner said. “You dress warmer, and if you have something that’s going to take you an hour, you break it up.” Although temperatures aren’t expected to be much warmer today, local authorities are relaxing their requests that DeKalb County residents stay indoors. DeKalb County buildings will be open today, although all local public schools had canceled class for today by Monday evening. “Travel can be resumed as long as people remain cautious and as long as people understand that drifting will occur, especially in the rural areas, and some areas may have icy patches,” said DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott, reminding drivers to slow down based on road conditions.
A fatal crash south of DeKalb The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has been busy with traffic calls since conditions started to deteriorate Sunday, including a crash on Route 23 north of Perry Road that killed 67-year-old Terry Gile, of DeKalb. Gile, of the 10400 block of Perry Road, was driving his Ford Expedition south on Route 23 about 5 p.m. when a northbound Dodge pickup spun on the ice in front of him. The pickup spun so it stopped in the southbound lane facing south, and Gile’s Expedition rear-ended it, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
DeKalb residents Chris Heinrich (right) and Kevin Montgomery clear snow from the sidewalk and driveway of an elderly neighbor Monday on East Garden Street. Gile and a passenger in the pickup, Lora Olson, 42, of DeKalb, were taken to Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb, where Gile died a short time later, police said. The pickup’s driver, Patricia Fisher, 45, of DeKalb, was not injured. Sherrif’s police also responded to an accident Sunday afternoon when a 16-year-old driver from DeKalb forced three cars into a ditch on Route 38 as she tried to pass a snow plow, according to a news release. After an accident, if vehicles are moveable, drivers should find a place off the road to pull over and then call local law enforcement, Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Gary Dumdie said. If no one is injured and the response time is lengthy, drivers do not have to stay at the scene.
See WEATHER, page A5
Local cancellations • Sycamore Child Care • Salvation Army Food Pantry in DeKalb • Once Upon A Time Child Care in Sycamore • The Kishwaukee Sunrise Rotary • The Center for Family Health in Malta • The Family Service Agency in DeKalb • Sycamore Park District offices, programs and community center • The Voluntary Action Center in DeKalb will be providing limited service today. The VAC will operate its Green Line, Blue Line and Para-transit transportation in DeKalb and Sycamore only until 6 p.m. Limited Med VAC service will be available, but the Meals on Wheels and Senior Luncheon programs are canceled. See Daily-Chronicle.com for a full list of local cancellations.
NEW YORK – Stock markets fell across the globe Monday, but at least it wasn’t another rout on Wall Street. Shaky economies and plunging currencies in the developing world fueled a worldwide sell-off as fearful investors pushed prices lower across Asia and Europe. In the U.S. and other rich countries with healthier economies, investors also retreated, although the selling was more modest. Major indexes in both Hong Kong and Tokyo fell more than 2 percent. The selling then spread to Europe and the U.S., as stocks slipped across the board, but the declines were much less than Friday, when the American market ended its worst week since 2012. Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, said he wasn’t surprised that the U.S. losses were limited. “We have an accelerating economy, low inflation and accommodative monetary policy,” he said. “The world isn’t falling apart.” The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 41.23 points, or 0.26 percent, to 15,837.88. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 8.73 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,781.56. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down the most in the U.S., falling 44.56 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4,083.61. The market turbulence was set off last week by a report from China on a downturn in its manufacturing, more evidence that the world’s second-largest economy is slowing. That’s a big problem for Brazil, South Africa and other developing countries that have come to depend on exports to that country. Adding to the troubles: The decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve last month to scale back its bond-buying stimulus for the American economy, which has helped keep interest rates low. Money that had flooded emerging markets looking for higher returns outside the U.S. has begun to come back now that rates may rise, battering those markets. Despite Monday’s widespread selling, experts say the troubles in China and elsewhere in the developing world are unlikely to derail a global economic recovery that appears to be gaining momentum. Growth in the world’s wealthy economies is expected to pick up the slack.
See WALL STREET, page A5
AP photo
A specialist Monday on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange checks a screen. Stocks are mostly higher on Wall Street as investors shrug off worries about emerging markets that tanked the market last week.
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
Weather A2, 5 A7 B1-4
Advice Comics Classified
B5 B6 B7-10
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