COSTLY WIN
January 3-4, 2015 • $1.50
Huskies lose Bowie to injury in victory over UC-Riverside / B1 daily-chronicle.com
SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
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Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
RIGHT: Mike Newman, emergency coordinator at Hope Haven in DeKalb, pushes a new mattress onto a box spring during furniture delivery Tuesday for the new permanent housing wing for the mentally disabled. ABOVE: Meyers Furniture employee Eerrick Meyers unloads a new mattress Tuesday for the new permanent housing wing at Hope Haven in DeKalb. The new wing, has 12 rooms to be used as permanent housing for people with mental disorders. BELOW: Hope Haven day program participant Anthony “Wolf” Smith talks to Hope Haven therapist Lorre Murphy about goals and how he might achieve them during a class Tuesday at Hope Haven in DeKalb.
New help for homeless Hope Haven kicks off 2 new programs for displaced people By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Patricia Stephens began 2015 with things she hasn’t had in months: her own bed, room and keys. Stephens, 44, is one of 12 people who will live in a new section of DeKalb homeless shelter Hope Haven. This week she moved into a private room, where instead of climbing onto the top bunk, she laid down on a new mattress. “It’s really nice to have your own space,” Stephens said. “It’s nice to know I’m not tripping someone with my belongings.” Hope Haven launched two new programs Thursday. Officials hope one program will cut down the number of people who continue to struggle with homelessness, while the other is aimed at making sure families who suddenly become homeless don’t live in a homeless shelter for long. Through the first program, a dozen people can rent private, single-occupancy rooms, which include access to a shared
Iran moves closer to nuke talks deal By GEORGE JAHN The Associated Press VIENNA – Iran and the United States have tentatively agreed on a formula that Washington hopes will reduce Tehran’s ability to make nuclear arms by committing it to ship to Russia much of the material needed for such weapons, diplomats said. In a sign of progress, the two diplomats told The Associated Press that negotiators at the December round of nuclear talks drew up for the first time a catalog outlining areas of potential accord and differing approaches to remaining disputes. The diplomats said differences still dominate ahead of the next round of Iran-six power talks Jan. 15 in Geneva. But they suggested that
even agreement to create a to-do list would have been difficult previously because of wide gaps between the sides. Iran denies it wants nuclear arms, but it is negotiating with the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany on cuts to its atomic program in hope of ending crippling sanctions. The talks have been extended twice because of stubborn disagreements. The main conflict is over uranium enrichment, which can create both reactor fuel and the fissile core of nuclear arms. In seeking to reduce Iran’s bomb-making ability, the U.S. has proposed that Tehran export much of its stockpile of enriched uranium – something the Islamic Republic has long said it
See IRAN, page A6
bathroom, living room and kitchen. Residents get their own keys to the section of the building and to their rooms. Unlike the emergency shelter portion of the building, residents may come and go as they please, although they continue to meet with case managers, Housing First Coordinator Jenny Swanson said. The rooms are meant for people who face barriers to find permanent housing, such as a mental illness. Tenants sign leases and pay rent, which is offset by subsidies through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Swanson said. Stephens, for instance, pays $216 monthly using money she receives from Social Security because she has bipolar disorder, she said. She lived in the emergency shelter at Hope Haven for seven months before moving into her room. She was displaced in May when the city of DeKalb shut down the Travel Inn, where she had lived since 2012. She’s started to look for jobs and plans
See HOPE, page A3
Local gas prices dip below $2 By KATIE DAHLSTROM
How long will it last?
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The $1.99 cost for a gallon of unleaded gasoline wasn’t the only reason Bob Hagaman filled up his car’s fuel tank today, but it was a nice surprise. Hagaman was among a bevy of drivers rolling in and out of the Road Ranger at 1734 Sycamore Road in DeKalb to take advantage of gas prices that had dipped to their lowest levels in years. Experts aren’t sure where prices will go for the rest of 2015, although Hagaman has some of his own ideas. “This is simply supply and demand,” said Hagaman, 50, of DeKalb. “It’s basic capitalism. This is just temporary; it’s a temporary respite.” Customers at Road Ranger paid $1.99 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, which was on the cheaper end of gas prices in the area, according to AAA’s
Gas prices will stay below $2 for a gallon of regular unleaded for the next week, climbing into the $2.50 range into summer, experts from gasbuddy.com report.
Katie Dahlstrom – kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Bob Hagaman, 50, of DeKalb, fills his car’s fuel tank Friday at the Road Ranger, 1734 Sycamore Road, DeKalb. Gas prices at the station have been about $1.99 a gallon. Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Gas prices in the DeKalb area ranged from $1.97 for a gallon of regular unleaded to $2.07. The AAA report listed the average price of regular gas in the Rockford metro area a $2.13
Friday. The price is down about $1.25 – more than 35 percent – from the same time last year when the average price was $3.35. The national average Friday was $2.23, the lowest national
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average since May 2009, AAA reported. AAA spokesperson Beth Mosher said the price of gas has been dropping for the past three months, a record streak for declining prices. Illinois saw the 10th largest decline in gas prices in the past two weeks, with prices dropping by 33 cents, according to AAA. “There’s so much that goes into these prices,” Mosher said. “People can at least expect to see these prices in the short term.” Sub-$2 prices could stick
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See GAS, page A6