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Friday, April 18, 2014
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Hint of hope for South Fourth Street Bowling alley and laundromat planned for former food store in DeKalb By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – A bowling alley, laundromat and a restaurant could come to DeKalb’s South Fourth Street area under plans from DeKalb area businessman Jim Mason. Mason wants to bring a family fun center to the former Sullivan’s Foods on South Fourth Street, part of which has been vacant for almost five years. Part of the building is occupied by Dollar General,
1401 S. Fourth St., which would not be affected. Although his plans are tentative and would require approval from the DeKalb City Council, he would like to open part of the building as a laundromat and another part as a restaurant and bowling alley. Altogether the facility will be called Lapalooza Family Fun Center DeKalb. Mason said he’s had the plans in mind since he purchased the building at 1401 S. Fourth St. in January.
“It’s everything people like to do,” Mason said. “It’s not expensive, and it’s fun.” He said about 6,000 square feet in the southern portion of the building would become a laundromat with about 120 dryers and 100 washing machines. He envisions the facility as completely walled off from the rest of the building and open 24 hours. Mason also wants to open a 12,000-square-foot bowling alley in the another portion of the building. It would con-
tain 13 lanes and likely be open from 6 a.m. to midnight. He also plans to add a restaurant, meeting rooms, five to 10 video gambling machines and a drive-through lane. Food and beverage offerings will include pizza, sandwiches, beer and coffee. “The atmosphere will be a cross between South Beach and Las Vegas,” Mason said. “This will be done with so much class.” Mason said he doesn’t know when his plans could become
reality because he hasn’t applied for any permits or submitted any plans to the city, although he is in talks with city officials. Mason said he does not plan to receive any financial incentives from the city to redevelop the property. Roger Hopkins, the city of DeKalb’s economic development consultant, applauded Mason for pursuing the project without financial assistance. He said the property was No. 1 on the city’s list of buildings to be redeveloped in the area
Homesick for prison, felon gets 3½ years
CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH
Short-circuiting mistreatment
By MICHAEL TARM The Associated Press
To help The Children’s Advocacy Center will host the Walk to End Child Abuse at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 26 starting at the Sycamore High School Field House. The walk costs $15 for participants ages 12 and older and $7 for children ages 4 to 11.
To report Abuse or neglect can be reported by calling the DCFS hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE
Photos by Danielle Guerra - dguerra@shawmedia
Valarie Redmond, of Dekalb, picks up her daughter, Alexandria Geiger, 3, after a running start in their apartment Tuesday before going to work at Northern Illinois University.
Agencies, programs work to stem rising incidence of abuse By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – When Valarie Redmond’s 3-year-old daughter Alexandria frustrates her, she sings. Redmond might not earn any accolades for her vocals, but some say a gold star for parenting patience might be in order. Redmond is part of the Healthy Families Illinois program, a voluntary program run by Children’s Home + Aid aimed at preventing child abuse by working with first-time mothers. “Before, I think my first inclination would have been to spank,” Redmond said. “Now, I’m not there. I’m telling her to use her words so I have to use my words. The whole way I think about discipline is different.” Unlike Alexandria, some children in DeKalb County aren’t disciplined with songs, dancing, or a timeout. Substantiated cases of child abuse and
Child abuse increases DeKalb County Statewide
2012
2013
145 26,682
177 27, 888
Percent increase 22 4.5
Source: Illinois Kids Count survey neglect have increased in DeKalb County and statewide, according to reports from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, prompting local agencies to speak out during April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month.
RESPONSE TO THE GROWING NUMBERS Documented cases of child abuse and neglect in DeKalb County increased 22 per- Alexandria Geiger, 3, breaks out in dance while she and mother, cent year-over-year in 2013, to 177 from 145, Valarie Redmond, eat breakfast Tuesday morning in their DeKalb according to the Illinois Kids Count survey apartment. Alexandria loves to sing and dance and when the pair
See ABUSE, page A6
since Sullivan’s closed in summer 2009. “Most important of all is it will rejuvenate the whole area of South Fourth Street,” Hopkins said. “We really wanted to see something in there that would appeal to a wide audience.” Hopkins added the Mason development gives city leaders hope for other development on South Fourth Street such as the abandoned Protano Auto Parts property and the former Kentucky Fried Chicken.
CHICAGO – A felon who spent most of his adult life behind bars on Thursday got what he said he wanted for robbing a suburban Chicago bank. The 74-year-old gets to go back to the place he called home – prison. Telling Walter Unbehaun he frightened a teller by showing her a revolver tucked in his waistband during the 2013 heist, a federal judge imposed a 3 ½ year prison sentence, citing a rap sheet that includes crimes from home invasion to kidnapping. “This is not the first time you’ve inspired fear,” Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman said, scolding the high-school dropout and part-time bathtub repairman. As he had on the day he robbed the bank, Unbehaun gripped a cane as he hobbled to a podium to make a brief statement. He didn’t withdraw his wish to go to prison, though he said, “I don’t want to die in prison.” “My crime is bad, there ain’t no doubt,” he said calmly. “I just wanna be like everybody else.” Boredom and loneliness, defense filings said, had partly led Unbehaun to conclude that a life on the inside was preferable to life outside. Listening to the proceedings, he fidgeted and rubbed his forearms, both of which sported tattoos. He occasionally nodded as his lawyer spoke. Last year, he walked into the bank with a cane but no disguise, displayed the loaded gun and told the teller, “I don’t want to hurt you.” With $4,178 in loot, he drove to a nearby motel and waited for police to arrive. When they did, the bald, portly Unbehaun dropped his cane, raised his hands and startled police by his apparent joy at getting nabbed. At his initial court appearance, he also confounded his lawyer. “His first words were, ‘I just want to go home,” that same attorney, Richard
have a disagreement or get frustrated, they sing out their problems.
See PRISON, page A6
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