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Wednesday, July 9, 2014
RIB RECIPES • FOOD, C1
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Ribs can be quicker, easier than you think
Barbs coach aims to change culture, instill work ethic Al Biancalana
DeKalb firm says review was libelous
Search continues for missing DeKalb man
Online post leads to $50K-plus suit By ASHLEY SLOBODA asloboda@shawmedia.com St. CHARLES – The owner of a DeKalb petting zoo business is suing a St. Charles woman for damages in excess of $50,000, alleging that her online review of the business was defamatory, according to a lawsuit filed in Kane County. The lawsuit was filed by Steve Vidmar and his company, Friendly Farms, 15534 Somonauk Road, southwest of DeKalb. The suit claims that a review written by Erika Gannon Hughes in July 2013 was libelous and damaged his business’ reputation. According to the lawsuit, Erika Gannon Hughes published a statement July 14, 2013, about Friendly Farms on Yelp.com that harmed the business’ reputation and ability to attract and retain customers. “[Hughes] knew the publication was false or she lacked reasonable grounds to believe the statement was true,” the complaint states. Friendly Farms has furnished farm animals for petting zoos and pony rides for parties hosted by organizations and private citizens since 1978, according to the company’s website. In her review, which was posted on the website Yelp.com, the complaint states Hughes made several false claims against Friendly Farms. According to Vidmar’s suit, she wrote that Friendly Farms’ animals were severely abused, underfed, had lice and parasites, and were overdue for hoof trimming. The review since has been removed from the website. The complaint states she also makes claims against the ownership, who she described as “cruel, heartless and shady.” She also reportedly asked that people don’t support the business. “They are in it for the [money] and nothing else,” Hughes is accused of writing. A case management conference is set for 9 a.m. Sept. 11.
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
DeKalb County Sheriff’s detective Sgt. Brad Carls (right) turns the boat around to head upstream to the Glidden Road bridge Tuesday on the north branch of the Kishwaukee River with a team from the Illinois-Wisconsin Search & Rescue Dogs. A sheriff’s deputy on patrol found the abandoned pickup truck of Steven Schulz, 23, Monday morning in the area near Route 72 and Glidden Road in Kingston. Schulz was reported missing by his family late Monday, DeKalb police said. He was last seen Sunday in DeKalb. Police said he has not spoken with family members or friends.
Steven Schulz was last seen Sunday morning fore he disappeared Sunday. “We don’t know what happened,” DeKalb police detective Lt. Bob Redel said. “Until we get something more, we are investigating all the way from suicide to homicide and everything in between.” Redel said there was no indication Schulz was suicidal, nor were there any signs of foul play at the scene. He said other possibilities were that Schulz went swimming or was picked up by a friend. A DeKalb County sheriff’s deputy on patrol found Schulz’s Ford pickup truck about 2:40 a.m. Monday. Schulz was reported missing Monday night to DeKalb
By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com
and KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
Steven E. Schulz Age: 23 Height: 5-foot-11 Weight: 140 pounds Hair: Brown Eyes: Green Tattoo on chest
Source: Police missing person bulletin
KINGSTON – The disappearance of a DeKalb man whose vehicle was found abandoned near Route 72 and Glidden Road in rural Kingston remained a mystery Tuesday despite an exhaustive daylong search. Authorities deployed dogs, a boat and enlisted the help of a crop helicopter in a search that began about 1 a.m. Tuesday and lasted into the evening, looking for any trace of Steven Schulz, 23, of DeKalb, who friends said had planned to exchange guns with a man near Genoa be-
See MISSING MAN, page A6
DeKalb police detective Keith Ehrke (left) walks north Tuesday morning on Glidden Road with a crew from the Illinois-Wisconsin Search & Rescue Dogs. Schulz was reported missing by his family late Monday night, DeKalb police said. He was last seen Sunday in DeKalb.
Obama urgently asks Congress for $3.7 billion to aid in border crisis By ERICA WERNER and JIM KUHNHENN The Associated Press WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama appealed to Congress on Tuesday for $3.7 billion in emergency spending to deal with the immigration crisis on the nation’s southern border, where unaccompanied children have been showing up by the thousands in a human drama that’s causing a political storm in Washington and beyond. Obama himself was flying to Texas today, a trip designed mostly for political fundraising for Democrats but now including a meeting on immigration with religious and lo-
cal leaders in Dallas. He rejected pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Perry to visit the border for a firsthand look. In Washington, Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill seemed open to approving the emergency money, which would go toward hiring more immigration judges and asylum officers, building more detention facilities, boosting deterrence and enforcement and increasing surveillance along the border with Mexico. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate would act on it this month. Obama said in a formal letter of request that the money was needed to “address this urgent humanitarian situation.”
But Senate Democrats voiced skepticism about other changes the White House has said it wants that would send the minors back to Central America more quickly, partly by limiting their existing rights to court hearings. Those proposals, which are not part of Tuesday’s request, have infuriated immigrant advocates who say they would result in harsher treatment of kids and eliminate their legal protections. “Everybody’s very concerned. I’m one of them,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. “I just want to make sure that at the end of the day we’re being fair, humane and doing this in an orderly way.”
At the same time Republicans criticized Obama for stepping back from asking for those legal changes, which the White House initially had said would come in concert with the emergency spending request. The White House now says those proposals will come later. “He just decided not to do that because of the pushback he got from some in his own political base,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “We need to solve the problem, but you don’t need to just ignore the cause of the current crisis. And that requires more than just appropriating $3.7 billion
See BORDER CRISIS, page A6
AP file photo
A group of immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally are stopped June 25 in Granjeno, Texas.
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