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Friday, October 25, 2013
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Sycamore microbrewery in works City Council OKs updates to ordinance; business still needs 2 permits By FELIX SARVER fsarver@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Andrew Nordman thinks his hometown is the ideal spot to open his microbrewery. Nordman, a lifelong Sycamore resident and co-founder of the Cademon
Brewing Co., said his neighbors seem receptive to the craft-beer scene. “I’m super excited, and we have gotten a positive response from the community,” he said. Nordman and his partner, Brian Matejka, want to establish a small craft brewery at 2155 Oakland Drive.
Locals get educated on health care plans
Two-thirds of their 2,400-square-foot building would be devoted to brewing, and one-third to a tasting room. The company’s website, Cademon. com, shows that they brew three varieties of beer: A honey ale, a red ale and a chocolate coffee stout. Nordman estimated they could be open by
What’s Next Cademon Brewing Co. owners must apply for special-use permits. Co-founder Andrew Nordman said they plan to do so at the next Sycamore Plan Commission meeting on Nov. 11 at the Sycamore City Center, 308 W. State St.
February if the permitting process goes smoothly. Before they can move forward with plans to run a brewery in Sycamore, two special-use permits are required; one to run the brewery
See MICROBREWERY, page A6
COMMUNITY TOASTS BUSINESSWOMAN
Investigation into website underway By ERIC R. OLSON eolson@shawmedia.com with Associated Press reports DeKALB – DeKalb County health officials so far have had more success in educating local people about the Affordable Care Act than they have had in getting them to enroll on the federal health insurance online marketplace. The health department, which received federal funds to inform DeKalb County residents about the new health care law, has met with at least 60 people and has or will meet with several groups in the coming weeks, Public Health Administrator Jane Lux said Thursday. “We’re still doing a lot of meeting with people individually and in groups because it’s fairly complex to learn about,” Lux said, “and people are very interested in learning and there’s a lot to do before you actually get to Jane Lux enrollment.” While lawmakers Public health administrator Thursday in Washington were seeking answers about the botched rollout of the federal health insurance marketplace, www.healthcare.gov, Lux said many local people are seeking answers on how the law will affect them and what assistance they could qualify for when buying health insurance. For those who are uninsured, there’s a lot to learn about the different tiers of plans available, the different providers and the different costs. Also, depending on a person’s income level, they can be eligible for subsidies or tax credits. Those whose earnings are 133 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for expanded Medicaid coverage through the state of Illinois, and can enroll through the state’s website, Lux said. “We have been enrolling people through the Medicaid expansion,” Lux said. “… A lot of what we’re doing is talking through those kinds of things with people, looking at their income, looking at the variables and looking at the choices they’ll have to consider and that kind of thing.” In Washington, contractors who built the Web portal for the Obama administration’s health insurance marketplace said the site’s crippling problems trace back to insufficient testing and changes that government officials made just before going live.
See HEALTH CARE, page A6
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Ann Lehan, of Lehan Drugs, receives a standing ovation Thursday as she is recognized as this year’s Athena Award recipient at the 24th Annual Athena Reception at the Hopkins Park Terrace Room. The Athena Award recognizes a person for business and professional accomplishments, community service and for serving as a role model to encourage women to reach their full leadership potential.
Thrilled, honored, overwhelmed Ann Lehan receives 2013 Athena Award By CURTIS CLEGG cclegg@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Ann Lehan was quick to share credit for the accomplishments that earned her the 2013 Athena Award on Thursday. “I’m thrilled, I’m honored, I’m overwhelmed,” Lehan told the crowd in the packed Terrace Room at the Hopkins Park Community Center. “Thank you goes out to a lot of people, but number one is my husband, Tim. We are a team. When we received our [Illinois] Retail Merchants award, it was as a team, and I feel like he should be up here.” Ann Lehan has been a pharmacist for more than 37 years, and over those years she and her husband have expanded Lehan Drugs
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Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Lehan accepts the Athena Award from Mike Haigler, of DeKalb Sycamore Chevrolet Cadillac GMC, at the reception. to include three retail locations in DeKalb and Rockford. The Athena Award, sponsored by the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, recognizes individuals that demonstrate excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession; provide valuable service to business, profession and community; and serve as a mentor or role model for help-
ing women reach their full leadership potential. Lehan has met those criteria by serving as director of the Kishwaukee College Foundation, as a member of the stewardship committee at St. Mary’s of DeKalb, as a director with Kishwaukee Hospital, as a member of the United Way board and as a volunteer with the DeKalb High School Aca-
demic Boosters. She also mentors her pharmacy staff and college interns. Of all the awards Lehan Drugs has won, Ann Lehan feels particularly honored to receive the Athena Award because it is specifically for women and because of its local focus. “For me personally, it ranks very high [among the awards I have received] because it is in our community, being honored for what you have done for the community itself,” she said. Women of Accomplishment awards were also presented to retired Sycamore teacher Yvonne Johnson, retired Northern Illinois University teacher Laura Smart and retired DeKalb school teacher Jackie Winfield. The awards recognize those who meet Athena criteria but who are retired or no longer working in DeKalb County. ATHENA International was founded in 1982 by Martha Mayhood Mertz, who was serving on the board of directors of the Lansing, Mich., Regional Chamber of Commerce at the time. As the only woman on the board, she felt
See AWARD, page A6
For me personally, it ranks very high [among the awards I have received] because it is in our community, being honored for what you have done for the community itself.” – Ann Lehan of LeHan Drugs Weather
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
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