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Jan u ar y 4, 2016 • $1 .0 0
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DAILY CHRONICLE Cogs shoot 52 percent from three-point range in win over Sycamore / B1
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Gas prices likely to stay low By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Gas prices are trending down and drivers can expect to save more at the pump over the next two months. The average price of gas in Illinois is $2.02 a gallon, which is right around the national average, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. Low prices at the pump are caused by low barrel prices for crude oil. “Oil is consistently holding at near the
lowest level in 7 years,” DeHaan said. “We can expect oil prices will remain relatively low through mid-February, but I would expect a decoupling of oil prices and gas prices then.” The price of gas could rise as oil refineries complete routine, seasonal maintenance. Those prices will continue to rise as output is reduced because of that work. In the summer months, prices shouldn’t get too high, DeHaan said. “Barring refinery outages, I don’t think we’ll hit over $3 per gallon,” he said.
“We’re not talking about record prices. 2016 should look similarly to what we saw in 2015.” While drivers may look forward to banking the extra cash at the pump, cities and townships see little by way of savings when retail gas goes low. In DeKalb, the lowest prices are around the $1.83 per gallon mark, but prices are up to $1.99 in Genoa. Lower prices at the pump could add up
See GAS, page A4
Danielle Guerra - dguerra@shawmedia.com
Cars along Sycamore Road on Tuesday in DeKalb pass by the Road Ranger sign advertising gas for $1.84 a gallon.
Armed protesters occupy wildlife refuge
CRIMES IN THE HEADLINES
By REBECCA BOONE The Associated Press
gree murder after police said he shot and killed Matthew J. Clark, 23, who was originally from Bloomingdale but had been staying at a house at 817 Pleasant St. in DeKalb.
BURNS, Ore. – The remote high desert of eastern Oregon became the latest flashpoint for anti-government sentiment as armed protesters occupied a national wildlife refuge to object to a prison sentence for local ranchers for burning federal land. Ammon Bundy – the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights – is among the people at the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It was unclear exactly how many people were taking part in the protests. Ammon Bundy posted a video on his Facebook page asking for militia Ammon members to come help Bundy him. He said “this is not a time to stand down. It’s a time to stand up and come to Harney County,” where Burns is located. Bundy and other militia members came to Burns last month, a small town about 280 miles southeast of Portland, Oregon. They were upset over the looming prison sentences for local ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. They went to the wildlife refuge Saturday evening after a peaceful rally in Burns to support the ranchers. Dwight Hammond, 73, and Steven Hammond, 46, said they lit the fires on federal land in 2001 and 2006 to reduce the growth of invasive plants and protect their property from wildfires. The two were convicted of the arsons three years ago and served time – the father three months, the son one year. But a federal judge ruled in October that their terms were too short under U.S. minimum sentencing law and ordered them back to prison for about four years each. The decision generated controversy and is part of a decades-long dispute between some Westerners and the federal government over the use of public lands. The issue traces back to the 1970s and the “Sagebrush Rebellion,” a move by Western states like Nevada to increase local control over federal land. Critics of the push for more local control have said the federal government should administer the public lands for the widest possible uses, including environmental and recreation. In an interview with The Associated Press at the wildlife refuge Sunday, Ryan Bundy, Ammon Bundy’s brother, said the protesters’ ultimate goal is to turn the
See CRIMES, page A3
See PROTESTERS, page A4
Shaw Media file photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Gary and Ruth Bogenberger react while DeKalb County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack speaks to the media after court May, 8 in Sycamore. Their son, David Bogenberger, was found dead after a hazing party at Pi Kappa Alpha on the campus of Northern Illinois University on Nov. 2, 2012.
An active year
for law enforcement, prosecutors Looking back at 7 of the top crime stories of the year By KATIE SMITH ksmith@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – While the area’s most populous towns have watched crime rates drop to the lowest levels in years, there were a number of headlining crimes in 2015. Police from both DeKalb and Sycamore have reported drops in crime, with DeKalb’s violent crime hitting a 10-year low in 2014, while Sycamore officials have said crime in the city is at a 25-year-low. Despite these trends, local law enforcement and prosecutors had an active year. Some of DeKalb County’s most infamous cases resurfaced and a new one emerged. Here’s a look back at the crime news that dominated in 2015.
criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse charges. Andrew J. Arison, 36, of the 1700 block of Maness Court, Sycamore, remains at the DeKalb County Jail on a $6.5 Andrew million bond. Arison Arison was arrested in March after a Huntley Middle School employee reported that he touched two young students inappropriAndrew Arison A former substitute teacher ately. A police investigation led to accused of inappropriate contact allegations Arison abused 12 chilwith several preschool students dren in DeKalb School District 428. He is due back in court Jan. 12. has pleaded not guilty to predatory
Former DeKalb-Sycamore co-op swim coach Leah Eames walks out of Judge Robert Pilmer’s courtroom May 19 at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore.
Christopher Gerken
Charges were brought against two men after an October drug deal that ended in a fatal shooting. Christopher J. Gerken, 25, of the 700 block of South Main Street, Sycamore, has been charged with first-de-
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