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A pri l 6 , 2015 • $ 1 .0 0
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Electronic threats disrupt schools Students, others turning to apps, social media to make anonymous reports of violence By KIMBERLY HEFLING The Associated Press
and BRETT ROWLAND browland@shawmedia DeKALB – Tech-savvy students and others are using smartphone apps, social media and Internet phone services to make anonymous reports of bombs and other threats of violence at schools. The result: school evacuations and police sweeps. In most cases, such a threat turns out to be a hoax. Still, the use of the modern technologies has made it that much harder
to determine if a threat is real and to find the culprit, compared to the past when they often were called in by pay phone or written on bathroom walls. Last Monday, a misinterpreted post on a social media app scared DeKalb County parents and caused two area school districts to go into lockdown mode as students returned from spring break. Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426 went into what administrators called a modified soft lockdown Monday morning after district
officials learned about a post on Yik Yak that raised safety concerns for students. Genoa-Kingston Community Unit School District 424 also was placed on lockdown after the post was tracked to a Genoa-Kingston High School student. The post read “for those about to die, we salute you,” police previously told the Daily Chronicle. Yik Yak offers users an anonymous “forum to interact with other Yik Yak users in the same area,” according to the company’s website. Users can post, share
comments and respond to comments posted by others. After interviewing the student, DeKalb County police determined students never were in danger and the post was not intended as a threat. The statement is a phrase often associated with gladiators in ancient Rome. Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426 is hosting an Internet safety presentation for parents from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium to educate parents on Internet safety and digital citizenship.
Hiawatha Superintendent Sarah Willey said the presentation was scheduled before last Monday’s incident. Earlier in the year, school officials had run into problems with students using social media apps such as Yik Yak to bully others, she said. “I’m hoping more parents will take an interest because of what happened,” Willey said. “I don’t think students understand the impact they can have using social media.” What happens online outside of school can distract students from learning in the
classroom, Willey said. “It takes students’ attention away,” she said. “It’s definitely a problem.” She added: “It’s a problem that we’re trying to deal with proactively by educating students.” And the problem is increasing across the country. Just this week, a 16-yearold from Gateway High School in Kissimmee, Florida, was arrested for posting about a bomb threat on Twitter because “she was angry and did
See THREATS, page A8
Right-to-work law to be tested in Kentucky By DAVID MERCER The Associated Press CHAMPAIGN – Since he took office, Gov. Bruce Rauner has said repeatedly he wants to let Illinois voters decide whether to set up their own local right-to-work zones, areas where union membership and dues would be voluntary. The Republican also has circulated a memo through the Illinois Municipal League encouraging towns to give the idea consideration, which at least two communities outside of Chicago – Oswego and East Dundee – have discussed in the last week. Rauner has pitched the right-to-work zones as part of a plan to build up the state’s economy, an angle union leaders say is misleading. Attorney General Lisa Madigan has said the zones would violate federal labor laws, as right-to-work can only be enacted on a statewide basis like in Wisconsin and Indiana, as well as state laws. Some counties in Kentucky have created the zones and now find themselves in a legal battle similar to what Madigan warns of, being driven in part by out-ofstate anti-union interests who say they’re keeping an eye on Illinois, too. A closer look at Kentucky’s Gov. Bruce newly found position on the front Rauner lines of right-to-work laws shows what might happen if Illinois, which has one of the country’s most heavily unionized workforces, follows suit. In south-central Kentucky, Warren County was the first to make the move after several years of failed state-level bids to enact right-towork laws, county Judge Executive Mike Buchanon said. At least nine have followed. The county’s biggest employer is a unionized General Motors plant, which has more than 800 employees and helps drive the economy for about a 15-county area, according to Buchanon, a Republican and one of the men behind the county’s new law. “We have a strong economic development initiative, and I think this is going to make it stronger,” he said, claiming outside companies planning to build or expand pass the area by because Kentucky lacks a right-to-work law. Eldon Renaud works at the GM plant, is president of the local United Auto Workers and was mayor Bowling Green from 1996-2001. He believes the local right-to-work zone is in part a product of changing Kentucky politics, as the state leans more Republican. But Renaud also points to the out-of-state influences at work. Buchanon said Warren County used a model ordinance drafted by the American City County Exchange, the local-government arm of the influential conservative group American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, that drafts model bills for state legislators around the country. Warren County hasn’t faced legal action yet, but Hardin County in central Kentucky, is being
See WORK, page A8
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Lynn Meyer, a Northern Illinois University graduate and professional handler, presents a 6-month-old pomeranian named Buttercup for the judge Saturday during the Kennel Club of Yorkville Dog Shows at the NIU Convocation Center.
‘It’s our life’ Dog owners showcase their pets at Kennel Club of Yorkville Dog Shows at NIU By DARIA SOKOLOVA dsokolova@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Lynn Meyer traveled from St. Louis area with eight pomeranians, a couple of briards and a Tibetan terrier to participate in the Kennel Club of Yorkville Dog Show at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center on Saturday and Sunday. Minutes before the contest, Meyer, a professional dog handler and a breeder, was prepping her 1-year-old pomeranian, Triple, for the contest, as she was hoping her dog would get a champion title. “We do a lot of the training and grooming at home, so really, since these dogs are born, they are prepped to be show dogs,” she said while combing her dog’s hair. “They are trained, they are groomed, their coats are kept in a certain trim. Really, since
Owner Gale Fitzsimmons of St. Paul, Minnesota, grooms her Old English sheepdog named Jackson, before he’s shown Saturday in the 9-to-12 month puppy group at the Kennel Club of Yorkville Dog Show at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center. Fitzsimmons estimates it takes about 2∏ hours to groom Jackson before she shows him. they are puppies, they are sort of prepped to be show dogs.” “My big secret I tell everyone is lots of soap and water,” she said.
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“I bathe them a lot and just put in lots of hours with the grooming because it pays off. You can’t show up at the show not having
groomed your dog or spend any time preparing them and think you are going to win.” Diane Corkey, a chair Kennel Club of Yorkville Dog Show and a treasurer of Kennel Club of Yorkville, said the show was a chance for dog owners to showcase their pets and provide information to those who wanted to become dog owners. “Basically, the reason for any of the [dog] shows, not just us, but every show, is to judge the purebred dogs, the quality, people are looking [for it] to be a champion. ... We do this so that the people do have the chance to show their dogs and to show off to people that come in. [If] they might want to want to purchse the dog, they are looking for a specific breed, so they want to meet good breeders.” While some of the participants
See DOGS, page A3
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