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Fire destroys Genoa firefighter’s home Daniel Guardi, one of Joey’s friends, drove to the home after he received a text message about the fire. “I wanted to take him to my house and give him something to eat,” Guardi said. “It’s Thanksgiving.” Those who want to help should call the Genoa Fire Department at 815-784-3412. Genoa-Kingston Fire Chief Bruce Kozlowski said the fire started in the garage, but he didn’t know what caused it. Investigators with the Illinois Fire Marshal’s office will be at the scene Monday, Kozlowski said. Firefighters from Genoa-Kingston arrived at 1:45 p.m. and left the scene around 6 p.m. Hampshire, Sycamore, Kirkland and DeKalb also helped squelch the blaze.
them. The most important thing is they are all safe.” The family, as well as Andrew Miller, a friend of the boys who was visiting at the time, escaped from the home at 31061 Daniels Drive in Genoa without injuries, officials said. Nancy Maynard said they were cooking Thanksgiving dinner and waiting for company when the fire started. “I saw black smoke,” Nancy Maynard said. “Someone opened the garage door, and flames just shot in.” An American Red Cross volunteer was there to help assist the family with housing, food and other needs. Neighbors and friends came to the home shortly after they noticed black smoke billowing from the one-story home.
By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com GENOA – Nancy Maynard’s neighbors slipped shoes on her feet as Maynard stood in the street watching the fire that destroyed her home. Neighbors, friends and Genoa residents are reaching out to help after a Thanksgiving fire ravaged the home where Nancy lives with her husband, James Maynard – a 10-year firefighter with the Genoa-Kingston Fire Department – and their two sons, Joey and Tim. “Whatever we can give them, we will,” said neighbor Gina Probeck, who brought socks and shoes for Nancy Maynard to wear. “They can stay at our house. We will feed
Many of those firefighters, including Kozlowski, put their arms around fellow firefighter James Maynard. “It’s sad to see anyone lose all this,” Kozlowski said. “But it’s harder when it’s one of your own.” Casey Fellows, a Genoa-Kingston firefighter who lives across the street from the Maynards, also took a moment to comfort James Maynard, placing his arm around him while firefighters on an aerial ladder sprayed pieces of the home still smoldering. They have been neighbors for about three years, he said. “We pretty much know everyone,” Fellows said. “It’s a close community. I’m sure the fire department and the community will come together.”
Katie Dahlstrom – kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Genoa-Kingston firefighter Casey Fellows comforts homeowner and fellow firefighter James Maynard (right) on Thursday while crews put out the fire at 31061 Daniels Drive in Genoa. Fellows and Maynard have been neighbors for three years.
Taliban attack rocks upscale Kabul district
Black Friday frenzy
By LYNNE O’DONNELL The Associated Press
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Gerry Lewis (right), of Fort Knox, Kentucky, takes a shift standing first in line at Best Buy in DeKalb from her daughter Tiffany Rogers, who was warming up in the car about a half hour before the store opened its doors Thursday. Lewis and Rogers started the line at 4:30 a.m. and planned to buy a Surface tablet among other items.
Holiday shoppers flood stores on Thanksgiving for retail discounts By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Tiffany Rogers loves Thanksgiving tradition. For her, tradition means huddling in a tent outside Best Buy for 12 hours. Rogers, 42, drove nearly 450 miles from her home in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, to Best Buy in DeKalb, where some of her family lives. Rogers, her mother and her aunts arrived at 4:30 a.m. Thursday, setting up a tent outside the store to be the first ones inside at 5 p.m. “I hate it in a sense,” Rogers said. “But the reality of it is, it’s crazy to be an American. You want what you want. It’s the thirst for the deal.” Holiday shoppers flooded the
National expectations People planning to shop this weekend: 61 percent Number of expected shoppers: 140.1 million Expected sales: $50 billion
Source: National Retail Federation
DeKalb area Thursday night to kick off Black Friday, which has crept year-after-year further into the day traditionally set aside for eating with family. Bargain hunters in DeKalb braved frigid temperatures searching for deep discounts and bonus deals on Thanksgiving and into the weekend. More than $50 billion in sales stand to be made this weekend,
according to the National Retail Federation. Rogers and her family were hunting for a 50-inch TV reduced from $600 to $199, as well as a Microsoft Surface on sale for $299 compared to its regular cost of $449. It was the group’s sixth Thanksgiving outing, which likely won’t end until she returns to Kentucky on Monday. “We have strategies and places to go,” Rogers said. “I’ll rest when I get back.” Almost 45 million people shopped on Thanksgiving Day last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Some 61 percent of people who responded to a study by the group said they would shop Thursday, today, Saturday or Sunday.
That means about 140 million shoppers will – or already have – hit stores this weekend, according to the survey. The organization expects 95.5 million people to shop today. Zack Heyob, 27, planned to be asleep by the time the second wave of shoppers replenished the Black Friday frenzy. He came out for the sole purpose of buying a laptop slashed from $599 to $399. Heyob said waiting outside so he could snatch a good deal was something he had to do because stores decided to open early. “I feel bad for the people who have to be out here instead of with their families,” Heyob said. “But it’s materialistic day.”
See SHOPPING, page A9
KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban fighters staged an attack Thursday evening in an upscale district in the Afghan capital Kabul. Witnesses described multiple explosions and bursts of gunfire in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, which contains numerous foreign embassies and compounds housing international agencies and companies – as well as the homes of some senior Afghan government officials. The attack came hours after a suicide car-bomber struck a British embassy vehicle, killing five people including a British citizen. Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Zahir said there were three explosions followed by extended gunfire. A Taliban spokesman said the intended target was a guesthouse in the district occupied by foreigners. The spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to give further details, adding only that the target of the attack was, “enemies.” Afghan police flooded into the area and locked down the surrounding streets. Footage from area security cameras showed heavily armed security forces and armored vehicles deploying in large numbers. The attack took place near the compound of the development agency International Relief and Development. The agency’s head of security, Tony Haslem, told The Associated Press the attack lasted about 45 minutes and he heard rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons being fired. Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi confirmed that the target of the attack was a guesthouse in the diplomatic area. He said no foreigners had been killed. “One Nepalese guard was wounded, but all the foreigners are fine,” Salangi said. Three attackers had been killed, two by Nepalese guards at the guesthouse, he said. “One of the attackers blew himself up,” he added. Kabul has come under regular attack in recent weeks. Earlier Thursday, a suicide bomber targeted a British embassy vehicle, killing at least five people, including a British security guard, officials said. An Afghan national who was driving the vehicle was also killed, and a second British security guard was wounded, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement. Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry
See AFGHANISTAN, page A9
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Nonprofit serves Thanksgiving dinner to those in need / A3
Local fourth-grader wins prize for growing largest cabbage in Illinois / A3
NIU football takes on Western Michigan for MAC title / B1
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