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A ‘long and arduous journey’ Genoa Public Library breaks ground on major expansion By STEPHEN HABERKORN news@daily-chronicle.com GENOA – Genoa Public Library Director Jen Barton got teary-eyed with emotion during her speech Friday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the library expansion a decade in the making. “Ever since the board approved moving forward with the construction project on Monday night, I have been thinking about the enormity of this moment and the long
and arduous journey that we have taken to get to this point,” said Barton. At the empty lot next to the existing library at 232 W. Main St. in downtown Genoa, Mayor Mark Vicary, representatives from Genoa Main Street and the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, library trustees, library patrons, and community members celebrated the expansion made possible by the $1.7 million endowment from the estate of former Genoa resident Robert Weiss who
died in 2009. Their generous patron has “so patiently waited for this day to come,” library board President Michele Dvorak said. Barton said that Weiss was not a library patron as far as anyone could tell. The only connection to the library they discovered was that Weiss’ sister-in-law was a volunteer there during the 1950s and ’60s. “I don’t know if I could really, fully express the depth of my gratitude for his gift,” said Barton. “We’re certainly gratified that he left the endowment to the library. It sort of defies logic in a way.”
See LIBRARY, page A6
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Library director Jen Barton speaks to the crowd Wednesday during the Genoa Public Library groundbreaking in Genoa.
A MARCHING GOOD TIME
U.S.: Russia is firing into the Ukraine By DAVID McHUGH The Associated Press
Photos by Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
ABOVE: Chase Ashley (right), 4, of DeKalb collects candy tossed out Friday by marchers in the Kishwaukee Fest parade. BELOW: Abraham Lincoln impersonator George Buss of Freeport checks his cellphone Friday before the Kishwaukee Fest parade in DeKalb.
Kishwaukee Fest parade features candy, Mini Abe By JESSI HAISH jhaish@shawmedia.com DeKALB – For William Zaver, the Kishwaukee Fest parade is all about the candy. “I like picking the candy up off the road and eating it,” he said. Zaver, 10, marched in the Kishwaukee Fest parade Friday evening with the rest of his Cub Scout Pack 131 of DeKalb. Cubmaster Matt Skeens said although the group tosses candy to the paradegoers every year, the boys end up eating half and
giving away the other half. “I enjoy the candy the most,” said Nathan Skeens, 10. “It’s yummy.” Pack 131 was one of 74 units that marched in the parade Friday. Other units including youth sports teams, bands, local businesses and more than 15 Illinois pageant queen winners. Kishwaukee Fest, a week of family-oriented events, celebrated its fifth year, and organizer Michael Embrey said he has been pleased with the turnout.
KIEV, Ukraine – Russia is launching artillery attacks from its soil against Ukrainian troops and preparing to move heavier weaponry across the border, the U.S. and Ukraine charged Friday in what appeared to be an ominous escalation of the crisis. Russia accused Washington of lying and charged Ukraine with firing across the border on a Russian village. It also toughened its economic measures against Ukraine by banning dairy imports. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said five salvos of heavy rockets were fired across the border near the town of Kolesnikov in the Luhansk region in the country’s east. A border crossing point near Marynovka was fired on twice with mortars, also from the Russian side, while Ukrainian forces shot down three Russian drones, Lysenko said. If true, the allegations mean Moscow is playing a more direct role in the fighting than it has been accused of up to now – a dangerous turn in what is already the gravest crisis between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. In addition, Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. has seen powerful rocket systems moving closer to the Ukraine border and that they could be put into the hands of the Russian-backed separatists as soon as Friday. It wasn’t clear what those developments mean for the international investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. U.S. authorities believe the separatists shot it down with a missile, perhaps in the mistaken belief it was a military plane. A small group of Dutch and Australian investigators combed the sprawling, unsecured field where the plane came down July 17, taking notes and photos as their governments prepared police detachments they hope can protect the crash site and help bring the last of the 298 victims home.
See PARADE, page A5
See UKRAINE, page A6
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