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DAILY CHRONICLE Sycamore faces another key game at Kaneland / B1
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3M breaks ground on $40M expansion By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – 3M held a groundbreaking ceremony for its $40 million expansion project Thursday in DeKalb’s Park 88, but has been moving dirt for more than a month. The Fortune 100 company plans to build a 987,500-squarefoot distribution center to create an interconnected campus for its existing facilities. The project has been in the works since May, when it was re-
ferred to only as “Project Black Bear.” The company sought tax breaks in the form of a tax abatement program, which had to be approved by numerous DeKalb County taxing bodies, such as the County Board, the DeKalb City Council, and area library and park districts. Officials approved incentives of up to $4 million, and 3M will lease the properties for at least 10 years. “This has been a really great team to work with,” said Hector Dalton, vice president of sup-
ply chain operations with 3M. “Everybody has really put it on a fast track, which is what we need.” Work started in August, after the DeKalb City Council approved its initial plat plan. “We’ve been hard at work on this for a number of months now, but it really all comes together when you can come down and see dirt being moved and everything in place,” Dalton said. “It’s good to be here breaking ground.” 3M currently operates three
warehouses in DeKalb, leasing properties at 2600 Wirsing Parkway, along with Park 88 properties at 1250 Macom Drive and 1211 Fairview Drive. 3M’s Wirsing Parkway facility will close, and its 250 employees will move to the new campus when the center is completed. Construction on the distribution center should be finished by August, Mark Goode, principal of Venture One Real Estate said.
See GROUNDBREAKING, page A6
Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
3M employees shovel dirt in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new facility Thursday between Macom and Fairview drives in DeKalb.
Gunman opens fire at Oregon college
PAYING RESPECT TO THE DESERVING
At least 9 people killed By JEFF BARNARD and GOSIA WOZNIACKA The Associated Press
Photos by Mary Beth Nolan – mnolan@shawmedia.com
Recipient Rick Olson snuggles with granddaughter Norah Olson, 5, on Thursday as she holds his DeKalb County Tribute to Heroes award. The event by Three Fires Council Boy Scouts of America honored recipients for their heroic actions or selfless community service.
Honoring local heroes
Boy Scouts celebrate 5 residents at DeKalb County Tribute to Heroes reception By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com MALTA – Decorated war veterans, city officials and business owners throughout DeKalb County were honored Thursday for their heroism and community service. The Three Fires Council Boy Scouts of America’s 13th Annual DeKalb County Tribute to Heroes reception and awards ceremony took place in the conference center of Kishwaukee College. It honored DeKalb County Community Gardens founder and director Dan Kenney, Bronze Star Medal recipient and area physical therapist Rob Larkins, Sandwich Mayor Rick Olson, and The Suter Co. President and CEO Tim Suter and his wife, Julie. “These are the leaders (of DeKalb
County),” Kishwaukee College Board of Trustees member and event emcee Ken Doubler told a group of young Scouts at the start of the ceremony, “and all of you Scouts, look to them as special people, because they are people that you want to emulate when you grow up and have the opportunity to be out there in the world and be our leaders.” Although the winners didn’t necessarily have to be involved with Scouting, they displayed characteristics admired and emulated by the Scouts: residents who go beyond the call of duty to engage, volunteer, lead and respond throughout the county. “It’s very humbling to sit and read your bios in the program and everything you do to change lives in our communities,” said Joe Wiltrout, Scout executive/CEO of Three
Fires Council. “That’s what the Boy Scouts is all about.” After finger foods in the conference center’s dining hall, the audience gathered in the adjacent auditorium. After a patriotic presentation of the flag and a slideshow of servicemen and servicewomen from DeKalb County, the five newest local heroes received shiny glass trophies and joined 58 other residents who similarly have been honored over the past 13 years. Larkins, of Sycamore, received the Bronze Star in November 2012 during his tour of duty from July 2009 to March 2010 in Afghanistan, where he served with a medical team. Here, he’s a physical therapist with Northern Rehab in DeKalb and
See HEROES, page A6
Recipient Rob Larkins laughs at some good-natured teasing from his friend and presenter Andrew Wells on Thursday at the DeKalb County Tribute to Heroes ceremony.
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Sycamore boys soccer defeats Morris, 2-0, on senior night / B1
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ROSEBURG, Ore. – A gunman opened fire inside a classroom at a rural Oregon community college Thursday, killing at least nine people before dying in a shootout with police, authorities said. One survivor said he demanded his victims state their religion before he started shooting. The attack shattered the first week of classes at Umpqua Community College in the small timber town of Roseburg, about 180 miles south of Portland. The killer was identified as 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer, according to a government official who was not authorized to speak publicly and provided the name on the condition of anonymity. Authorities shed no light on his motive and said they were investigating. Hannah Miles, a 19-year-old freshman, was in her writing class when her teacher got a call from security saying the school was in lockdown. She heard gunshots from a neighboring classroom. Huddled together in the locked classroom, the students and teacher heard footsteps outside and a man’s voice call out to them, “Come on out, come on out,” Miles said. They remained quiet and didn’t open the door. Police soon arrived, Miles said, and after students were convinced it was indeed officers, they opened the door. “It was like a huge burden had been lifted,” she said. “A huge sigh of relief that we were going to be OK.” Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said at least two officers acted heroically in the shootout, but it was not clear if the gunman was killed by authorities or whether he took his own life. At a news conference, a visibly angry Hanlin said he would not name the shooter. “I will not name the shooter. I will not give him the credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act,” he said.
See GUNMAN, page A6
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