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July 28, 2015 • $1.0 0
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3M gets OK to begin project
AFTER THE FIRE
Construction on new distribution center can start by Saturday By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Keith Elliott, a fifth-generation farmer from Sycamore, looks down and shrugs July 21 while reminiscing about the barn that burned to the ground on his farm July 5, standing in front of the charred remains and the foundation. Elliott estimates some portions of the barn were as old as 150 years, and his family lost hay for his bison, his tools and antiques in the blaze. His two miniature horses and four bison were not in the barn at the time.
Sycamore family ponders future after loss of 19th-century barn By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Keith Elliott used to look at his Old State Road farm property every morning and see the red barn that had been passed down for five generations. But when he was younger, he’d not only look at the barn – he played in it too, jumping in the hay and, if he was feeling extra gutsy, climbing to the top window. “We had two windows, one on the north, one on the south that were up probably 2∏ stories high, with a wooden ladder along the side of the barn,” Elliott said. “If you were brave enough, you climbed up to look out the windows.” That barn had weathered everything since 1835, but it was
gone in a flash July 5. A fire burned it to the ground while Elliott and his family were out of town, leaving behind only a muddy footprint on the family’s property. “For five generations, it’s been used for all kinds of storage and raising animals,” Elliott said. “My dad raised pigs and cattle in the early days.” Fire officials told Elliott that the blaze was most likely caused by spontaneous combustion of hay, unless a critter chewed on some electrical wires, Elliott said. “If new hay gets put in a barn and its wet, heat builds up inside the bale and it just actually spontaneously bursts into flames it’s so hot,” Elliott said. “There’s been barns that, in this county, that get Three of Keith Elliott’s four bison roam and eat July 21 on his 30-acre farm in
See BARN, page A5
DeKALB – 3M can move dirt and begin working toward its expansion project by Saturday, after City Council members unanimously approved the initial plat plan Monday and waived a second reading. The vote was made after a positive recommendation from the DeKalb Planning and Zoning Commission and allows for design details to be approved by city staff. Community Development Director Ellen Divita said 3M, which is based in St. Paul, Minnesota, is still working on its final design for the project. “There isn’t much room for variance,” Divita said. “It’s a big building on a big lot. The build- John Rey ing will be in substantial conformation to the existing building so we’d be looking at basic site design such as parking lot, landscaping and lighting.” The $40 million project, originally referred to as Project Black Bear, will create an interconnect- Anne Marie ed campus for 3M, maker of prod- Gaura ucts such as Post-its and ScotchTape, among other things. The expansion includes the construction of an about 987,500-square-foot distribution center in DeKalb’s Park 88. The company will receive tax breaks of up to $4 million in the form of property tax abatement. The company will lease the property but is paying the property tax on the land, officials have said.
Sycamore. Elliott lost his large storage barn to a fire July 5. As a fifth-generation farmer, the property has been in his family since 1835.
See 3M, page A5
Obama addresses Republican criticism of Iran nuke deal By JULIE PACE The Associated Press ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – President Barack Obama unleashed a blistering and belittling rebuke of Republican White House hopefuls Monday, calling their attack on his landmark nuclear deal with Iran “ridiculous if it weren’t so sad.” Standing before television cameras during a trip to Africa, Obama suggested the belli-
cose rhetoric from some GOP candidates was an attempt to divert attention from Donald Trump, the wealthy businessman-turned presidential contender whose popularity is confounding the Republican field. “Maybe it gets attention and maybe this is just an effort to push Mr. Trump out of the headlines, but it’s not the kind of leadership that is needed for America right now,” Obama said during a
news conference in Ethiopia. Obama’s comments marked his most direct engagement in the race to succeed him. Until now, he’s largely limited his comBarack mentary to polObama icy differences with Republicans, often sidestepping the names of specific candidates.
But the president’s unsparing criticism Monday – targeting candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz, as well as Trump – underscored his sensitivity to efforts to scuttle the Iran accord, which he hopes will be his signature foreign policy initiative. It also raised the prospect of an aggressive role for Obama in the 2016 presidential campaign. “In 18 months, I’m turning over the keys,” Obama said. “I
want to make sure I’m turning over the keys to somebody who is serious about the serious problems that the country faces and the world faces.” The president was asked specifically about Huckabee’s assertion that Obama had agreed to a nuclear deal that would “take the Israelis and basically march them to the door of the oven,” a reference to crematoria in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.
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Benefit for Special Olympics planned at Texas Roadhouse / A6
Cash reward offered for a lost turtle, or comparable mate / A2
NIU students deliver their thoughts at DeKalb forum / A3
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The Israeli government staunchly opposes the agreement and views an Iranian nuclear program as a threat to its existence. Obama said the comments from Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, were part of a broader pattern from Republicans. He also singled out Cruz, the Texas senator, for saying the nuclear deal makes Obama – not Iran – the leading state sponsor of terrorism.
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