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Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Monday, October 28, 2013
PREPS • SPORTS, B1
NIU FOOTBALL • SPORTS, B1
NIU’s Tommylee Lewis
Lewis shines for the Huskies in latest win
Pairings released for high school football playoffs
SYCAMORE’S HOLIDAY
Health care fee left intact after talks By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER The Associated Press
eyes,” Connelly said. “You see things differently [with a young child]. He saw the duck before I saw it.” Local business, organizations and politicians had floats. The Aurora Area Shrine Club drove around in mini go-carts while waving to spectators. North Aurora resident Sheri Lundell was watching the festivities with her husband and daughter. The family was watching the parade to see their daughter, 15, play the mellophone, a marching French horn, with the West Aurora Blackhawks Marching Band. The band travels to various area parades, but this was their biggest parade so far this year, Lundell said.
WASHINGTON – Republicans in Congress don’t usually fight for tax increases, especially ones that are part of President Barack Obama’s health care law. But GOP senators balked when Democrats proposed delaying a new temporary fee on everyone covered by health insurance. So employers, insurance companies and other health plan sponsors are in line to pay $63 a person next year for everyone who has coverage. The temporary fee covers all workers, spouses Harry Reid, and dependents covered by health insur- D-Nev. ance. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., proposed delaying the fee in recent budget talks with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. McConnell and other Republican senators objected; the fee was left intact. GOP senators complained the delay was basically a favor for labor unions, traditional Democratic allies that oppose the new fee. “It’s beyond ironic that the mantra from the president and the Democrats has been, ‘There can’t be any changes to Obamacare. After all, it’s the law of the land,’ ” said Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. “And then big labor comes along and wants a change and, lo and behold, there’s got to be a change.” But also opposing the fee are large employers, traditional Republican allies, even though in many cases the fee probably will be passed on to workers. “It’s a sizable expense. For some of my employers it’s millions of dollars a year and we don’t get anything from it,” said Gretchen Young, senior vice president for health policy at the ERISA Industry Committee, a group that represents large employers on benefits issues. “It’s definitely not solely a union issue.” Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said the proposed delay was meant to balance Republican demands for other changes to the health law. Republicans in Congress have been attacking the law since it was passed in 2010, and earlier this month, they forced a partial government shutdown over Obama’s refusal to negotiate changes.
See FESTIVAL, page A4
See HEALTH CARE, page A4
Erik Anderson for Shaw Media
Pumpkin Festival grand marshal Brian Bickner waves to onlookers while heading East on West State Street during the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival on Sunday in downtown Sycamore.
Pumpkin Festival draws regulars and newcomers By ANDREA AZZO
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news@daily-chronicle.com The Sycamore Pumpkin Festival is so special to Jim Oczkowski’s family that they call it a noncalendar holiday. Oczkowski was camped out with family and friends at their “marked” spot for the festival’s hour and a half long parade Sunday, which traveled through downtown Sycamore. The family hosts a chili cook-off during Sycamore Pumpkin Festival weekend every year at their house, which is within walking distance of the parade. “It’s a Sycamore holiday,” Oczkowski said. “That’s why we started doing it.” Dozens of floats participated in the parade. Spectators saw everything from horse-drawn carriages and golf carts to dancers and marching bands. Oregon resident Linda Connelly was watching the parade with her 2½-year-old grandson, who she only gets to see twice a month.
What is your favorite part of Sycamore’s Pumpkin Festival? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
Erik Anderson for Shaw Media
Ilana Holtz, 5, and brother Timothy, 8, hold American flags Sunday while waiting for the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival to start while in downtown Sycamore. It was Connelly’s first time at the parade. Her grandson pointed out a man
dressed as a duck and a monster truck during the event. “I’m seeing things through his
Soldier home after 4 tours in Afghanistan By ANDREA AZZO news@daily-chronicle.com DeKALB – Sgt. Matthew Fletcher is finally home. After serving four tours in Afghanistan as a U.S. Army ranger, the DeKalb native was welcomed home Saturday by a parade of motorcycles, ambulances, fire trucks and police cars. “It really surprised me,” Fletcher said. “I thought we were going to my brother’s house.” The Warriors’ Watch Riders helped organize the surprise that led Fletcher from Algus Packaging, 1212 E. Taylor St., to Huntley Middle School, 1515 S. Fourth St., which is just across the street from the Fletchers’ home. The Warriors’ Watch Riders
awarded Fletcher its challenge coin and colored beads for his service. The military does not organize homecoming events for Army rangers since their jobs are both secretive and dangerous, said Fred Fletcher, Matthew Fletcher’s father. Fletcher was deployed for four months at a time because there was a higher risk for injury or death, said Pat Fletcher, Matthew Fletcher’s mother. Those circumstances made the homecoming that much sweeter for the parents. “When we got a call that he was in the U.S., it was like an elephant had stepped off my shoulders,” Pat Fletcher said. He was not allowed to disclose his locations in case phone calls are intercepted, so his parents never really
knew where he was. “He would call us on a secret line,” Pat Fletcher said. “It was very hard to wait for those phone calls, because you don’t know [when the phone would ring].” Fred Fletcher, who also served in the military, said his son’s deployments were among the hardest things he’s ever experienced. “I’d get up in the middle of the night for a glass of water, and I’d think about him,” Fred Fletcher said. “Then I’d go to work all day. You never get a break.” DeKalb resident Helen Muleya would agree. She was Matthew Fletcher’s girlfriend throughout most of his time in deployment.
See SOLDIER, page A4
Andrea Azzo for Shaw Media
Warriors’ Watch Riders road captain Rob Halvax (left) welcomes home Sgt. Matthew Fletcher on Saturday in DeKalb. Fletcher did four tours in Afghanistan.
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A2-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
Weather A2, A4-5 A9 B1-3, B6-7
Advice Comics Classified
B4 B8 B9-10
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39