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Friday, February 28, 2014
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CHRISTINA SUTCLIFFE’S 2ND YEAR
Local churches prepare for 40 days of Lent
NIU softball establishing winning culture Sports, B1 Shelby Miller
Big snow doubtful this weekend NIU weather official says latest snow hunches inflated, worst will stay in central Illinois By DEBBIE BEHRENDS dbehrends@shawmedia.com
and JIM DALLKE jdallke@shawmedia.com DeKALB – With an undetermined amount of snow expected to fall in DeKalb County this weekend, many residents likely are wondering if this winter will ever
Lottery seeks winner of $550K
end. And according to AccuWeather and a Northern Illinois University meteorologist, signs of spring aren’t coming any time soon. AccuWeather predicts that the area may see mid-winter style cold last until the third week of March. And after a brief warm up, temperatures
are expected to dip again. “I think in the middle part of March, around the 16th to the 23rd, days will be at or above average,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Mark Paquette said. “I could see you guys reaching [50 degrees] or exceeding that. But then around the 24th temperatures may go back below normal.”
The average high for this time of year is 39 degrees with a low of 24. At the end of March the average high is 53 degrees, a mark that we are not likely to hit, Paquette said. “The overall trend through [March] will be far more cold days than normal days,” he said. “Never mind mild.”
NIU meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste said a couple of factors have contributed to the colder temperatures this winter. “We had snow cover that started early in the season. By mid-November or early December, a good chunk of the country had snow cover,” Sebenste said. “History tells us
that an early and widespread snow cover will mean colder temperatures.” The second factor he cited was that the cold air in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, coupled with warm waters in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, forced the jet stream
See SNOW, page A6
Libraries’ electronic evolutions
Unclaimed ticket sold in Shabbona By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com SHABBONA – Four months have passed since a $550,000 lottery ticket was sold at a Shabbona gas station. No one has claimed the prize. A winning Lucky Day Lotto ticket was sold Oct. 22 at Express Lane, a BP station at 515 E. Comanche Ave. The winning numbers were 6-1016-19-28, according to lottery officials, who added it was a quick pick ticket. By Illinois Lottery rules, Voice winners have your one year from opinion the date of the original drawWhat’s the ing to claim the most you’ve prize. If the winner ever won in redeems the the lottery? ticket, he or she Vote online would receive at Daia lump sum of ly-Chroni$385,000. cle.com. “I would have expected someone to claim it by now,” Illinois Lottery Spokesman Mike Lang said, adding prizes are usually claimed in a couple weeks. “This is a substantial prize and most of the time when you get to that amount people claim them.” Every year $28 million in winning lottery tickets are not claimed, with most of that amount composed of tickets for $1, $2 or $5, Lang said. After the year redemption period expires, the money goes into the state’s Common School Fund to support Illinois public schools or into the Capital Project Fund, which
Photos by Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Jodi Sapita (left) instructs Beverly Smith on how to borrow e-books on a Kindle on Wednesday at the DeKalb Public Library. Smith has borrowed one of the library’s Kindles to see if she wants to purchase her own in the future. BELOW: The library has Kindles and Nooks that patrons can check out to read e-books.
Borrowing of e-books gaining popularity in recent years By DEBBIE BEHRENDS dbehrends@shawmedia.com Although borrowing e-books from the library is gaining popularity, DeKalb County librarians aren’t concerned that physical libraries will go the way of the dodo anytime soon. Edith Craig, DeKalb Public Library’s programming and public
relations manager, said during the fiscal year that ended June 30, only 2 percent of the items circulated were electronic. Personally, she said she has an e-book reader, but also prefers printed books. “Libraries are evolving,” Craig said, “but the majority of our readers still prefer print material.”
See E-BOOKS, page A6
See TICKET, page A6
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