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March 21-22, 2015 • $1.50
WEEKEND SERVING DEKALB COUNTY SINCE 1879
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Projects for Discussing traumatic events park district put on hold Frozen state grants, maintenance campus building woes tie up funds By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – DeKalb Park District leaders have a few projects on the horizon for their new budget year, but rebuilding or replacing Hopkins Pool is not one of them. Park officials had to budget $1.25 million for the agency’s maintenance campus because its main building was deemed structurally unsound. The emergent needs at the maintenance campus don’t mean leaders won’t continue toward a decision on Hopkins Pool, but they will result in less money for other capital projects, Park Board President Phil Young said. “Ultimately, we’re going to need a large building,” Young said. “It definitely puts it as the No. 1 thing we have to deal with.” Park board members approved an $8.5 million budget
“Ultimately, we’re going to need a large building. It definitely puts it as the No. 1 thing we have to deal with.” Phil Young DeKalb Park Board president Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Nicole Soltas, a sexual assault therapist at Safe Passage, explains Thursday how free play with different characters on the sand tray in the children’s therapy playroom at Safe Passage in DeKalb may help her key in on what is bothering a child. Soltas usually sees children after a disclosure of sexual abuse and, through play, helps the child come to terms with what happened to them. She said parents should not ask leading questions with younger children but rather observe play and be vigilant if the child has an aversion to a place or activity once enjoyed.
Experts offer advice to parents about talking to their children
Thursday for the fiscal year that started March 1. Overall, the district will bring in $7.5 million in revenue and spend $8.5 million, reducing the total fund balance from
By KATIE DAHLSTROM DeKALB – Caring for a child in the face of trauma is about support, not trying to solve the crime. That’s a sentiment shared by Safe Passage Executive Director Mary Ellen Schaid and advocates across DeKalb County who are helping parents and students reeling after the sex abuse and assault charges were filed recently against a local substitute teacher. “As terrible as this may have been for this to happen to their kids,” Schaid said, “their kids have [their parents]. So they’re going to be OK.” Although it’s understandable for parents to react with shock and anger, they should spend their time caring for the child rather than playing detective, experts said. Parents should leave the investigating to police and other officials. Parents need to be sure to avoid asking their children leading questions, Schaid said. So, as much as parents want to ask about specific people, inappropriate touches or places, they shouldn’t. A better question, said Children’s Advocacy Center Director Holly Peifer is, “has anyone ever touched you in a place that made you feel unsafe?” That means they shouldn’t ask if the child was hurt by Andrew Arison. Arison, a 36-year-old substitute teaching and teaching aide, faces multiple charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and predatory criminal sexual assault for crimes he allegedly committed against students in DeKalb School District 428’s early childhood program, as well as felony possession of child pornography in connection with images police said they found on his home computer.
See PARK BUDGET, page A5
U.S. opens criminal inquiry of Schock By JACK GILLUM and STEPHEN BRAUN The Associated Press WASHINGTON – The Justice Department is investigating the congressional expenses and business deals of Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock, and FBI agents have begun issuing subpoenas to witnesses, a person familiar with the case told Rep. Aaron The Associated Schock Press on Friday. Investigators were focusing on Schock’s House office expense account, expenditures by his re-election campaign and his personal investments with long-time political donors, the person said. Schock, 33, a young, media-savvy Republican, abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday after weeks of mounting media reports about questionable expenditures and personal finances. The government was convening a federal grand jury in Springfield, Illinois, according to the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss
Safe Passage recommends the book “An Exceptional Children’s Guide to Touch: Teaching Social and Physical Boundaries to Kids” by Hunter Manasco because it’s written for young and developmentally delayed children to easily distinguish between a good and bad touch.
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
the case. The person also said that FBI agents were visiting people close to the Republican congressman who were being compelled by subpoena to testify. The grand jury will hear testimony in early April, according to the subpoenas. A spokesman and lawyers for Schock did not respond to repeated phone calls and emails Friday from AP. Schock’s sudden resignation came after revelations over six weeks about his business deals and lavish spending on travel, personal mileage reimbursements and office redecorating in the style of “Downton Abbey.” Congressional ethics investigators had begun probing Schock’s conduct in the days before his announcement, but that probe was expected to shut down because of the federal investigation. Questions have included Associated Press investigations of Schock’s real estate transactions, air travel and entertainment expenses – including some events that Schock documented in photographs on his Instagram account.
Nicole Soltas, a sexual assault therapist at Safe Passage, leafs through the book “I Said No!” by Zack and Kimberly King, another book that the group uses during sessions in the children’s therapy playroom Thursday at Safe Passage in DeKalb.
or withdrawn, while others might become more aggressive, said Marj Askins, the sexual assault legal advocate for Safe Passage. The child might have nightmares or bathroom problems. They also might have an aversion Looking for signs of trauma If a child has experienced trauma, to an activity or person they normalhe or she might become more quiet ly enjoy. These signs don’t automat-
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ically signal abuse, however, Askins cautioned. “But it’s definitely a starting point for a conversation,” Askins said. If a child starts to disclose any abuse, parents should ask “what happened,” said Pat Cullen, the advocate
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