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Dece m be r 8, 2014 • $1 . 0 0
STILL FIGHTING Huskies accept invitation to Boca Raton Bowl / B1 HIGH
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Warmth provided to needy children By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI and STEPHEN HABERKORN jduchnowski@shawmedia.com and news@daily-chronicle.com DeKALB – DeKalb police Community Relations Officer Chad McNett watched a girl about 10 years old pick out gifts for her sister as police officers shopped with needy children Sunday. “I talked her into getting a few things for herself,” McNett said, after the event. Heroes and Helpers allowed about 60 children to choose between $50 and $100 in items at Target, 2555 Sycamore Road in DeKalb. Each child, identified by a family or community member or by DeKalb School District 428 personnel, was paired with a DeKalb police officer to pick out items around the store. They read stories, colored and made cards while wait- How to help ing for their turn. DeKalb police You can still donate have hosted the to Operation Warm event for years, DeKalb through the b u t i t g r e w s o website www.operamuch they had to tionwarm.org/dekalb. ask the children They also have an and their parents Operation-Warm-DeKalb to arrive in two Facebook page with shifts: one in the morning and one updates and links for donating funds. in the afternoon. It’s not the only event this month in which firefighters and police will give back: DeKalb firefighters and educators distributed coats for needy children Saturday through Operation Warm – DeKalb. The Sycamore Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 133 members will take three families shopping Sunday for holiday presents through their Cops and Kids program. For DeKalb police, it’s an opportunity not just to give back to the community, but to allow children and their parents to see police doing something positive, McNett said. This year’s effort was supported by
Internet hide-and-seek Shaw Media photo illustration
A 2012 study by Internet security company McAfee has many parents on high alert. It shows 70 percent of teenagers hide what they’re doing online and highlights the top 10 ways they are doing it.
Parents urged to talk with teens about online safety By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com DeKALB – At Susan Holder’s DeKalb home, her teenage daughter has to use the family computer in the kitchen and cannot access websites that are marked as inappropriate. Holder said she uses Internet settings to limit access to sites containing violence and sexual content, as well as limiting the amount of time her 18-year-old daughter can spend on the Internet. Holder also has 24-year-old and 21-year-old sons who have moved out of the home. “I think I did the best that I knew what to do,” she said. “Kids need to be taught, and they need to talk.” A study has shown that teenagers are often not communicating to their parents about their online behavior. The 2012 study by McAfee, a computer security
company, found 70 percent of teens hide what they’re doing online from their parents. The most popular ways they do this are by clearing their browser history and minimizing windows when parents walk in. Meanwhile, 77.2 percent of parents said they were not very or not at all worried about their teens cheating online, according to the study. Other key findings in the study show teens spend about five hours a day online, with 60 percent checking their social network accounts daily and 41 percent checking their accounts constantly. Some parents, on the other hand, feel overwhelmed by their teen’s online behavior, according to the study. One in three parents believe their teen to be much more tech-savvy than the parent is, the study found.
10 ways teens mask Internet use 1. Clearing the browser history 2. Close/minimize browser when parent walked in 3. Hide or delete IMs or videos 4. Lie or omit details about online activities 5. Use a computer parents don’t check 6. Use an internet-enabled mobile device 7. Use privacy settings to make certain content viewable only by friends 8. Use private browsing modes 9. Create private email address unknown to parents 10. Create duplicate/fake social network profiles
Source: McAfee 2012 study
See INTERNET, page A8
See COATS, page A8
Chlorine gas sickens 19 at annual furries convention By DON BABWIN The Associated Press ROSEMONT – Chlorine gas sickened several people and forced the evacuation of thousands of guests from a suburban Chicago hotel Sunday, including many dressed in cartoonish animal costumes for an annual furries convention who were ushered across the street to a convention center hosting a dog show. Nineteen people who became nauseous or dizzy were treated at local hospitals, and at least 18 were released shortly thereafter. Within hours, emergency workers decon-
taminated the Hyatt Regency O’Hare and allowed people back inside. Six-foot-tall rabbits, foxes and dragons poured into the lobby, chatting and giving each other high paws. “I think we’ll recover from this,” said Kit McCreedy, a 28-year-old from Madison, Wisconsin, his fox tail swinging behind him as he headed back inside for the last day of the Midwest FurFest. “People are tired but they’re still full of energy.” The source of the gas was apparently chlorine powder left in a ninth-floor stairwell at the hotel, according to the Rosemont Public Safety De-
would not overshadow the convention. But attendees seemed to think the evacuation was part of the fun – particularly those who recalled being herded into the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center as it was hosting a dog show. “In walk all these people dressed like dogs and foxes,” said Pieter Van Hiel, a 40-yearold technical writer from Hamilton, Canada, chuckling as he thought back to the scene. Others said they did not AP photo have a clue as to why anyone would intentionally disrupt Frederic Cesbron (right) and Maxim Durand walk on the street Sunday
partment. Investigators believe the gas was created intentionally and are treating it as a criminal matter. McCreedy was one of a few thousand attendees for the Furfest, also called “Anthrocon,” in which attendees celebrate animals that are anthropomorphic – meaning they’ve been given human characteristics – through art, literature and performance. Many of the attendees, who refer to themselves as “furries,” wore cartoonish animal outfits. While authorities conducted their investigation, organizers tried to assure the participants that the evacuation
outside the Hyatt Regency O’Hare hotel in Rosemont. Thousands were evacuated after chlorine gas was released at the hotel.
See EVACUATION, page A8
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Sycamore’s Brett Weaver is Defensive Player of the Year / B1
‘Nutcracker’ production brings annual tradition to DeKalb / A3
Sycamore assistant principal receives state award / A2
Advice ................................ B4 Classified....................... B6-8 Comics ............................... B5 Local News.................... A2-4 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World...................A8
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A9 Puzzles ............................... B4 Sports..............................B1-3 State ...................................A4 Weather ........................... A10
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