$1.00
Breaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com
Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
LOCAL DESSERTS
CLASS 3A HAMPSHIRE REGIONAL
Latsis Bakery moves to Genoa Marketplace, A6
Genoa-Kingston advances behind Huffman Sports, B1 Brady Huffman
City may switch building inspectors Considering outsourcing as DeKalb councilmen debate department’s future By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The city of DeKalb will consider a stopgap measure for building services as officials debate the future of the city’s building department. During their meeting tonight, DeKalb aldermen could enter into a temporary contract with SAFEbuilt Illinois to provide permit and building inspection services for the
If you go What: DeKalb City Council meeting When: 6 p.m. Tuesday Where: DeKalb City Hall, 200 S. Fourth St. city while the city employees who perform those duties are on administrative leave. Late last month, city leaders placed its building supervisor and two building
inspectors on administrative leave as part of a review of the building department that could end in services being permanently outsourced. Under the proposed contract, the city would pay SAFEbuilt 75 percent of plumbing and building permit fees as well as a one-time $1,000 payment for new permitting software. According to the contract, a SAFEbuilt inspector would hold office hours at DeKalb City Hall for
two hours a day, three days a week. Based on projected permitting activity for next fiscal year, city officials expect the contract will cost the city $202,000, which is 56 percent less than the $460,000 to maintain the building department employees and outside electric inspections, according to a memo from city staff. Public Works Director TJ Moore said he believed building department customers
would see improved service, noting the contract places specific timelines on various types of projects. “Right now, they have the ability to scale based on demand,” Moore said. “[SAFEbuilt] can provide people depending on how it ebbs and flows.” SAFEbuilt proposed a one year contract, although the contract can be terminated with 30 days notice. Officials would keep the contract in
place until a final decision was made about outsourcing. Steve Irving, the president of DeKalb-based Irving Construction, said his main concern with any changes in the building department are time related. “My biggest concern is getting timely inspections, regardless of who’s doing it,” Irving said. “We got tremendous service from the
See DeKALB, page A4
‘LET US HONOR THEM ALWAYS AND NOT JUST ON MEMORIAL DAY’
Communities pause to honor fallen heroes Obama pays tribute, says troops are coming home
DeKalb County marks day with parade, solemn ceremonies By KATIE DAHLSTROM
By PETE YOST
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
The Associated Press
For Matthew ‘Fritz’ Mihelcic, Monday was not about dwelling on the sorrow caused by the men and women who died while serving in the military, but for honoring their sacrifices while moving forward. Mihelcic, commander with the Illinois Veterans of Foreign Wars, spoke to a crowd gathered on the lawn of Elwood House on Monday as part of DeKalb’s Memorial Day services. “There should be no regrets about the people we are honoring, those who have gone before us,” Mihelcic said. Similar scenes played out across the country, as communities marked Memorial Day by paying tribute to service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. In DeKalb, Sycamore and places throughout DeKalb County, residents listened to messages of patriotism and respecting those who gave their lives for America’s freedom. Paulette Lindgren nearly started to cry on the lawn of Elwood house while looking at pictures of military members who died during service. Lindgren, of Cortland, said looking at the faces of those men and women brought back memories of when her former husband served in the army in Vietnam for 13 months. “Everyday I was afraid to laugh,” Lindgren said. “You were always afraid if you were enjoying something, you would get a telegraph.” Lt. Col. Christopher Clay, speaking at a special service Monday morning at Joiner Cemetery west of Sycamore, reminded people not to forget the burden that service members’ families bear. Clay served from 2002 to 2003 in Kosovo, 2003 to 2004 in Iraq and 2006 to 2007 in
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama led the nation in commemorating Memorial Day, declaring the United States has reached “a pivotal moment” in Afghanistan with the end of war approaching. Obama, who returned just hours earlier from a surprise visit with U.S. troops at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, paid tribute to those lost in battle there and elsewhere over history. He called them “patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice” for their country. “Early this morning, I returned from Afghanistan,” Obama told the audience of several thousand people. “Yesterday, I visited with some of our men and women serving there – 7,000 miles from home. For more than 12 years, men and women like those I met with have borne the burden of our nation’s security. Now, because of their profound sacrifice, because of the progress they have made, we’re at a pivotal moment.” “Our troops are coming home. By the end of this year, our war in Afghanistan will finally come to end,” the president said to applause. “And yesterday at Bagram, and here today at Arlington, we pay tribute to the nearly 2,200 American patriots who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan. We will honor them, always.” Obama has said it was likely that a small contingent of U.S. forces would stay behind for counterterrorism missions, as well as to train Afghan security forces. The president made a fleeting reference to the widening scandal involving reports of poor performance by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is facing allegations of delayed treatments, and even deaths in Arizona.
See MEMORIAL DAY, page A4
ABOVE: Featured guest Lt. Col. Christopher Clay, with his son Colton, 9, wave to the crowd Monday during the Memorial Day parade in downtown DeKalb. Clay spoke after the parade and in Sycamore earlier Monday morning. LEFT: Kim Timmer, president of Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary of Sycamore Post 5768, places red, white and blue carnations on a memorial representing a soldier’s gravesite at Elmwood Cemetery in Sycamore. Timmer was one of many who participated in the ritualistic ceremony by commanders of area veteran organizations on Memorial Day. Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
“
There should be no regrets about the people we are honoring, those who have gone before us.” Matthew ‘Fritz’ Mihelcic Commander with the Illinois Veterans of Foreign War
For more local Memorial Day photos, visit Daily-Chronicle.com.
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A2-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
Weather A2 A7 B1-4
Advice Comics Classified
B5 B6 B7-10
High:
81
Low:
59