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Crime drops in most categories DeKalb police to present annual safety report at today’s City Council meeting By ERIC R. OLSON eolson@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Violent crime hit a 10-year low in the city of DeKalb in 2014, according to data released this week by DeKalb police. The numbers show drops in certain types of crimes, such as robberies, which saw a 52 percent year-over-year decline, and motor vehicle theft, which fell 38 percent. DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery said the numbers showed initiatives the department launched in 2012 were having a positive effect. Lowery also credited enhanced cooperation with Northern Illinois University
police in bringing more resources to bear. “The partnerships that we’ve engaged in, whether they be community-based partnerships or with other law enforcement agencies, along with the strategies we’ve employed, and the support from our community has made it possible for these numbers to start coming down,” Lowery said. “And our goal is to keep bringing them down as low as we can get them. We want our quality of life in this community to be the best it can be.” The crime statistics are included in the DeKalb police’s annual report, which shows that public safety con-
ditions are improving in a number of different areas in DeKalb. The report will be presented at today’s DeKalb City Council meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. DeKalb Mayor John Rey said police using “hot spot” policing tactics, where they focus their efforts in areas where there have been past crime problems, has been effective. Rey also said measures such as administrative tow fines, which allow police to tow a vehicle connected to illegal activity ranging from driving without a license to using the vehicle while committing a felony, also have
helped cut down on crime problems. “I think the word gets out on the street that DeKalb is not the place to do crime,” Rey said. “People start getting the word out there, and it spreads quickly. One year is not necessarily a trend, but for [our] strategies, I think it speaks positively.” In addition to declines in almost every category of crime, there also was a 9 percent year-over-year decline in traffic crashes, with 1,296 crashes reported in 2014. The city’s population is estimated to have declined slightly in recent years, and
Crime statistics Crime Homicide Rape Agg. battery/ assault Burglary Auto theft Controlled Substance Sex offenses Battery Liquor control violations Disorderly conduct
2012 0 34 134
2013 2 47 146
2014 1 36 129
209 24 72
185 26 120
156 16 173
54 605 327
41 622 253
43 595 175
833
748
651
See CRIME, page A2
Source: DeKalb Police
UP AND RUNNING
Death toll in Nepal quake rises to more than 3,200 By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA and KATY DAIGLE The Associated Press
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
After ceasing publication for a year, students are back to work in The Kaleidoscope student newspaper office Thursday at Kishwaukee College. The Kaleidoscope now is an online-only publication produced by students in Susan Carlson’s publications productions class.
Kishwaukee student newspaper returns in digital form By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com MALTA – Kishwaukee College’s student newspaper, The Kaleidoscope, is up and running again – which allowed reporter and firstyear student Megan Schwaller to cover the men’s basketball team road trip to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament last month and do some research into the world of athletics. “It gave me the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone. I know sports, but I don’t, like, know it know it,” said the first-year student
at Kishwaukee College. “Being able to interview the players was really cool. Just to write a piece that really represented Kish was really interesting.” After a yearlong hiatus because of a lack of student interest and the former adviser leaving, The Kaleidoscope resumed publication in March in a different way – it’s exclusively an online publication, utilizing digital components coveted by modern-day journalist’s such as social media. “I think it’s definitely getting people excited about the news,” Schwaller said. “I think it’s cool we’re online and that people are more
aware of it. They’re going online and seeing the importance of knowing about what’s going on.” Susan Carlson, the publication’s adviser, joined the Kishwaukee College staff as an adjunct last fall, and with a handful of students who previously had been involved with The Kaleidoscope’s print version, got the website, kscopeonline.com, up and running. “Last semester was a lot of grassroots, building up momentum, doing a temperature check to see what the student body needed and wanted,” Carlson said. “There was no agenda
See NEWSPAPER, page A2
SPORTS
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WHERE IT’S AT
Standing tall
Champions
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Local kids shine in national wrestling competition / B1
DeKalb takes BarbFest with Natalie Vaughn-Low named MVP / B1
Kiwanis celebrates 100th anniversary of the organization / A3
Advice ................................ B4 Classified....................... B6-8 Comics ............................... B5 Local News.................... A3-4 Lottery................................ A2 Nation&World.............. A2, 8
KATHMANDU, Nepal – The death toll from Nepal’s earthquake rose to 3,218 today, two days after the massive quake ripped across this Himalayan nation, leaving tens of thousands shell-shocked and sleeping in streets. Aid groups received the first word from remote mountain villages – reports that suggested many communities perched on mountainsides were devastated or struggling to cope. Landslides hindered rescue teams that tried to use mountain trails to reach those in need, said Prakash Subedi, chief district official in the Gorkha region, where the quake was centered. “Villages like this are routinely affected by landslides, and it’s not uncommon for entire villages of 200, 300, up to 1,000 people to be completely buried by rock falls,” said Matt Darvas, a member of the aid group World Vision. “It will likely be helicopter access only.” Saturday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake spread horror from Kathmandu to small villages and to the slopes of Mount Everest, triggering an avalanche that buried part of the base camp packed with foreign climbers preparing to make their summit attempts. At least 18 people died there and 61 were injured. Deputy Inspector General of Police Komal Singh Bam said Monday that the death toll had risen to 3,218 people but he gave no further details. So far 18 people also have been confirmed dead in an avalanche that swept through the Mount Everest base camp in the wake of the earthquake. Another 61 people were killed in neighboring India. China reported that 20 people had died in Tibet. Kathmandu district chief administrator Ek Narayan Aryal said tents and water were being handed out today at 10 locations in Kathmandu, but that aftershocks were leaving everyone jittery.
Obituaries .........................A4 Opinion...............................A9 Puzzles ............................... B4 Scene.............................. A6-7 Sports..............................B1-3 Weather ........................... A10
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