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At least 1 dead, several hurt after tornadoes strike county
Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
The Kettleson Custom Iron business in Kirkland sits with an entire side ripped away by the tornado that went through the area about 7:15 p.m. Thursday. By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia com KIRKLAND – Pamela Metcalf was watching Thursday’s tornado from the kitchen of her home on Wheeler Road with her husband, Howard, when things took a turn for the worse. “We literally heard that train sound, and I got my three dogs into my bedroom, closed them in there, and my husband and I ran into the food pantry underneath the stairwell, and that’s where we sat and watched and waited,” Metcalf said. “The house shook like Dorothy in ‘Wizard of Oz,’ and when it got quiet we peeked out the door and there was nothing there.” The tornado that tore through the
thorities said. It was part of a spate of tornado activity that left a trail of destruction in northern Illinois comText the word DCNEWS to 74574 to submunities. scribe to Daily Chronicle breaking news text When the tornado passed, the coualerts. Message and data rates apply. ple’s house was gutted and stripped of its attic. Trees, some of which they More online estimated were 100 years old, were uprooted. See video of storm chasing and a Metcalf’s barn was leveled, as were tornado that touched down near Rochelle, all the other outbuildings on the propas well as a photo gallery, online at erty, except for a chicken coop. Her Daily-Chronicle.com. home was destroyed. “[It] was an incredible mess,” Metcalf said. “Glass, debris everywhere. Metcalfs’ home touched down about All the windows were blown out. The 7:15 p.m., destroying the west side of Weber grill – the lid to that is laying in Fairdale, a small rural community of the dining room.” about 500 to 600 people. One person was killed and seven were injured, auSee TORNADOES, page A5
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Photo of the tornado taken near Pearl Street in Kirkland looking west on Thursday.
Two marijuana dispensary permits sought Sycamore Planning Commission to weigh requests next week By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Two separate proposals to operate medical marijuana dispensaries will be up for review next week by the Sycamore Planning Commission. Lincolnshire-based Healthway Services of Illinois is requesting a special-use permit to sell marijuana from the former Lions International building at 2814 DeKalb Ave. Meanwhile, The Dispensary LLC of Davenport, Iowa, wants a special-use permit for a space at 1985 Gateway
Drive. The two requests will be reviewed by the city’s Planning Commission in a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Sycamore Center, 308 W. State St. Commission members will make a recommendation to the City Council on the proposals, and the council will have the final say. “The only position we have is that we can consider the zoning and make sure it’s an appropriate fit for the area,” City Manager Brian Gregory said. Illinois legislators approved a pilot medical marijuana program in 2013, although the drug has yet to be sold legally in the state. The program allows for one marijuana cultivation center in each of 21 state police districts, and 60 dispensary permits in areas around the state. Although the City Council could,
Voice your opinion Should there be a medical marijuana dispensary in DeKalb County? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com.
in theory, approve both special-use permits, the state would approve only one in the area, and it might not be in Sycamore, Gregory said. However, the dispensary applications are the first known in DeKalb County, where the state’s medical marijuana program has been slow to launch. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which administers medical marijuana licensing, announced in February that a plan for a marijuana cultivation center in the state police district
that includes the county was on hold for further review. At the same time, state regulators awarded 52 of 60 available marijuana dispensary licenses – none within the county. Sycamore council members changed their zoning rules in September to include definitions for marijuana dispensaries and cultivation centers. The rules prohibit a dispensary in homes, apartments, condominiums, or any area zoned for residential use. “We can’t prohibit a dispensary or a cultivation center,” Gregory said. “What we can do is add zoning regulations ... as part of a special use [permit].” Medical marijuana is prescribed to patients who suffer from a list of 37 serious medical conditions, such as cancer, AIDS, Crohn’s disease and
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multiple sclerosis. Some, including war veterans, recently have lobbied for adding conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, migraines and insomnia to that list. The use of medical marijuana is not without its regulations. Patients are limited to 2½ ounces of marijuana every two weeks, it cannot be used in homes also used for child care or day care services, and cannot be carried in a vehicle unless it is in a sealed container not accessible while the vehicle is moving. Mayor Ken Mundy said he doesn’t have much opinion on the dispensary coming to his city, “as long as the local and state regulations are followed.” “I would prefer the whole program be run through our medical facility,” Mundy said, “but apparently that’s not going to happen.”
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