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Serving DeKalb County since 1879
*Friday, July 4, 2014
ST. MARY’S ON A MISSION
SYCAMORE BOYS BASKETBALL • SPORTS, B1
Sycamore teens travel to help kids in Ohio Faith, C1
Spartans look to maintain success during summer
Brett Bemis
Fireworks to light up DeKalb sky Prepare to battle traffic, roadblocks and crowds in order to find a good seat for the show By JESSI HAISH jhaish@shawmedia.com DeKALB – It’s taken Jackie Suwanski years to perfect the art of finding a spot to watch the fireworks show in DeKalb. “It was trial and error the first couple of years to find a spot,” said Suwanski, of Sycamore. “But we go every single year.” Suwanski and her family are just one of thousands who gather in and around Hopkins Park to watch the July 4 fireworks show every year. They battle traffic, roadblocks and crowds in order to find a good seat for the show. Suwanski, who has gone to watch the show for the past 10 years with her husband and
four children, said her top tip for beating the crowds is to show up as early as possible. Some local businesses, such as China House at 1900 Sycamore Road are accommodating of onlookers. “We are a community business, so we serve the community,” said China House manager Justin Chen. Chen regularly watches the fireworks from the windows of China House while he’s working. He said most people clean up after themselves before they leave the restaurant’s parking lot. Those who want access to parking lots along Sycamore Road should be warned, though: The DeKalb Police Department will be-
gin blocking off parts of the road at 7 p.m. DeKalb police Lt. James McDougall said the easiest way to access Hopkins Park will be from the north, not the south. He said it’s sometimes difficult to turn left into the park with the added traffic and roadblocks. Additional help will be provided by the Northern Illinois University police department. “We suggest if you don’t need to be on Sycamore Road, don’t be on Sycamore Road,” McDougall said. The fireworks show is co-sponsored by the City of DeKalb and the DeKalb Park District. Food vendors will be available at the park throughout the day, and the DeKalb Municipal Band will per-
form at the park band shell during the fireworks show. Suwanski said families with young children will be glad to have a spot for children to play. Program supervisor Colleen Belmont said people arrive at various times throughout the day, to spend time with family or hold picnics. “Some people start setting up as early as 8 in the morning to hold a spot,” Belmont said. “Sometimes, just blankets and chairs show up.” However, Belmont said they expect the biggest rush of visitors after 5 p.m., when Hopkins Park pool closes. “I think I see more and more people out every year,” Suwanski said. “Get there well ahead of time.”
DEKALB OPEN MIC NIGHTS STILL VIBRANT AFTER HOUSE CAFE REOPENS
Seeking the spotlight
If you go n Vendors open at 2 p.m. at Hopkins Park, 1403 Sycamore Road. Fireworks start and the DeKalb Municipal Band will play at dusk.
Voice your opinion Where do you plan to watch fireworks this weekend? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle. com.
More inside n DeKalb County communities mark the Fourth of July. Page A4 n Kirkland kicks off three-day holiday celebration. Page A3
Report: Economy picking up steam Unemployment rate lowest since 2008 By JOSH BOAK The Associated Press
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Ron Kollman of DeKalb sings Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” and plays acoustic guitar while on stage during open mic night June 30 at The House Cafe in DeKalb. Kollman has played at the House’s open mic nights for about three years.
The House Cafe, Fatty’s offer local talent a bigger stage By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Monday night in DeKalb for Michael Simon means musicians, comedians and others like him with a mixture of talent and nerve descending on The House Café for open mic night. “It gives me an outlet to play,” Simon said. “I like that, for the most part, people are humble. We’re all on the same playing field.” The House Cafe hosted its first open mic night in June since reopening under new ownership a few weeks before. Although dozens of performers converge on the House, business owners agree the reappearance of its open mic night has done little to diminish the popularity of open mic night at Fatty’s Pub and Grille. The latter started holding its own come-as-you-are
On the Web For video of Ron Kollman’s acoustic performance, visit Daily-Chronicle.com or scan this QR code.
performance time when the music scene in DeKalb came to a standstill while the House Cafe and Otto’s were shuttered. Instead of seeing their dueling open-mic events as competing for local musicians, operators of the
venues say they have expanded the field for performers to showcase their craft in DeKalb. Simon, a Sycamore resident better known by his nickname, Paco, brought an electric guitar and his voice Monday night to The House Cafe, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, which is the only open mic night in DeKalb on the mind of the 26-year-old musician who sports long hair and a nose ring. All open mic performances at the House start with an introduction from emcee Matthew “Jolly Baba” Clark. Clark, who had been involved with the House for years, came back to help new owners Brian and Alex Fausett, a couple from Cortland. For Clark, hosting open mic is as much of a performance as signing up to sing a song or tell a joke. Before introducing Simon, Clark bounced around on stage in his
WASHINGTON – A surprisingly robust job market is energizing the 5-year-old U.S. recovery and driving the economy closer to full health. Employers added 288,000 jobs in June and helped cut the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent, the lowest since 2008. It was the fifth straight gain above 200,000 – the best such stretch since the late 1990s tech boom. The stock market signaled its approval. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 92 points to top 17,000 for the first time. The breadth and consistency of the job growth are striking in part because of how poorly the year began. The economy shrank at a steep 2.9 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter as a harsh winter contributed to the sharpest contraction since the depths of the recession. Yet employers have shrugged off that setback. They’ve kept hiring. The unemployment rate dipped from 6.3 percent in May to its lowest level since the financial crisis struck with full force in the fall of 2008, when the Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. “This has now become a
overalls, rain boots and a large hat he wears on his job as a farmer. “It’s an opportunity for us to exercise our freedom of speech,” Clark said. “We get to share our minds and hearts. I keep the vibe alive.” The vibe at the House during open mic night is informal. People mill about and chat while performers use their 12 minutes on stage. Seeing people putting themselves on display for a group of strangers gives co-owner Alex Fausett a sense of the business she revived. “Now I feel like we’re really starting to come back,” she said. Open mic night also is about the vibe at Fatty’s, owner Jeff Dobie said. “It’s never been a packed thing,” Dobie said. “It’s been an ambiance thing.”
See OPEN MIC, page A7
See ECONOMY, page A7
AP photo
People wait in line Thursday at the Cleveland Career Fair in Independence, Ohio.
Inside today’s Daily Chronicle Lottery Local news Obituaries
A2 A3-5 A4
National and world news Opinions Sports
Weather A2, 5 A9 B1-4
Advice Comics Classified
C4 C5 C7-8
High:
75
Low:
55