$1.00
Breaking news at Daily-Chronicle.com
Serving DeKalb County since 1879
Thursday, June 19, 2014
KISHWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Concert in the park will please listeners A&E, C1
Spartans’ Haacker not just a power hitter Sports, B1
Excitement
Iraq leader seeks allies
surrounds
Camp Power
By HAMZA HENDAWI The Associated Press BAGHDAD – Iraqi forces and Sunni militants battled fiercely for control of the nation’s largest oil refinery Wednesday as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went on a diplomatic offensive, reaching out in a televised address to try to regain support from the nation’s disaffected Sunnis and Kurds. Meanwhile, the government asserted that it had retaken partial control of a strategic city near the border with Syria. Al-Maliki’s conciliatory words, coupled with a vow to teach the militants a “lesson,” came as almost all Iraq’s main communities have been drawn into a spasm of violence not seen since the dark days of sectarian killings nearly a decade ago. The U.S. has been pressing al-Maliki to adopt political inclusion and undermine the insurgency by making overtures to Iraq’s once-dominant Sunni minority, which has long complained of discrimination by his government and abuses by his Shiite-led security forces. In Washington, President Barack Obama briefed leaders of Congress on options for quelling the al-Qaida-inspired insurgency, although White House officials said the president had made no decisions about how to respond to the crumbling security situation in Iraq. While Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent, officials said, in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground. Al-Maliki, a Shiite, has rejected charges of bias against Iraq’s Sunnis and Kurds and has in recent days been stressing that the threat posed by the militant Islamic State of Iraq and the
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Raniya Wright (right), 8, dances with Camp Power mentor Claudia Naykene (center) during the Camp Power kickoff block party June 12 at University Village in DeKalb. TOP: DeKalb Fire Chief Eric Hicks jumps double Dutch while a group of kids from University Village in DeKalb watch during the block party. About 100 kids from University Village signed up for the camp.
$20K grant brings free program to University Village be part of “Camp Power,” a free summer camp launching next week. DeKALB – For the first He’s excited to have a time in his life, 12-year-old summer packed with activRasheed Griffin is going to ities in his own backyard, summer camp. which he hopes will unite The DeKalb resident will people in the neighborhood. be one of about 100 children “I think people will know living in the University Vil- each other and they’ll be lage apartment complex to friendly instead of fighting,”
By KATIE DAHLSTROM
kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
“
Griffin said. Spurred by the DeKalb Police Department’s Youth in Need Task Force, the inaugural Camp Power will give children at University Village an opportunity to continue learning, have a nutritious lunch at camp and stay active during the summer.
The complex’s demographics made it a prime location to launch a youth summer camp, said co-coordinator Mary Hess, an asset specialist with the Ben Gordon Center. About 617 children live at the multibuilding housing complex where many people receive some federal hous-
ing assistance, according to data from the complex’s management. Of the families that live there, 92 percent are headed by women. A study by NIU’s Center for Governmental Studies showed 83 percent of children at University Village
See CAMP, page A6
We want to make sure these kids have opportunities like any other children. I hope the children have fun and the families feel supported and connected to the community.” – Mary Hess, an asset specialist with the Ben Gordon Center
See IRAQ, page A6
Black bear treed as onlookers gawk IDNR says leave it alone By KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@shawmedia.com MOUNT MORRIS – The black bear that’s been wandering around northern Illinois the past few weeks was 20 feet up an oak tree Wednesday afternoon southwest of Mount Morris off Lowell Park Road. He was being ogled, photographed and filmed by 20 or so people until police sent the
crowd on its way. By evening, he managed to make it down the tree and wander off. An audience, experts say, is the last thing he needs. The bear’s best chance of survival is for people to keep their distance, so he can find his way back to his natural habitat and not become accustomed to humans, said Chris Young, a spokesman with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “We have been counseling people to leave him alone,” Young said. “So far, it’s been going really well, so we’re going to keep reiterating that message.”
The bear, which was spotted near Genoa last week before making his way west and crossing the Ogle County line, has become a source of widespread curiosity. Not only are crowds putting stress on the bear, but they’re also irritating the people on whose property they’re trampling. “People need to be aware that you can’t go on private property without permission. Landowners are getting testy,” said Acting Capt. Laura Petreikis, with the Illinois Conservation Police. “We want to protect the bear, but we’re also going to protect the property
that the bear goes onto.” That means anyone caught trespassing on private property, blocking a roadway or creating any other kind of hazard will be ticketed, by conservation police or other law enforcement agencies involved, she said. “It’s fine to view the bear from a distance, but we want to leave it alone so it doesn’t become aggressive,” she said. “Give it its space. “It’s like any other wild animal, and you should never corner or chase any wild animal.”
Earleen Hinton – ehinton@shawmedia.com
See BEAR, page A6
A black bear that’s been sighted in Ogle and DeKalb counties in the past week was found in a tree Wednesday morning southwest of Mount Morris off Lowell Park Road.
Advice Comics Classified
C4 C5 C6-8
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3-4 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
Weather A2, A6 A7 B1-4
High:
84
Low:
69