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Fires up slightly in Sycamore Number of EMS incidents increases by 12 from previous year’s total By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Firefighters responded to more fires in the city this year, but requests for emergency service decreased slightly, according to the Fire Department’s annual report. “It was a very active year, both in emergency and non-emergency activity,” Sycamore Fire Chief Pete Polarek said. “On the emergency side, we’ve had four years of steadily increasing [activity].
This was the first year it’s decreased slightly.” From May 1, 2014, to April 30, 2015, Sycamore firefighters responded to 76 fire calls, including the Wendy’s fire in January, which is up 12 from the year-ago period, and 305 non-fire incidents, according to the department’s annual report. Over the past couple of years, at least since Sycamore Fire switched to a new reporting system in 2009, fires in the city have been relatively
consistent, with no dramatic changes. Fire responses between 2010 and 2015 ranged from 64 (in 2012 and 2014) to 79 (in 2011 and 2013). “We’re, in some regards, defying the nationwide trend,” Polarek said. Although having no fires is ideal, the fewer there are, the more attention crews can give to other matters, Mayor Ken Mundy said. “It just makes it better when we’re stable,” he said. “We have more time for train-
ing then. We’re not having to take care of equipment as much and [instead] looking at methods and training. It is important our troops have time to really study and learn a few techniques. That, in part, has a lot to do with the severity of fires and accident responses.” Fire loss totaled $607,860 in this time period. Although fire calls were up, total losses were down from the $704,950 incurred in fiscal 2014.
See FIRE, page A3
By the numbers Fiscal 2015 budget for Sycamore Fire Department: $2.8 million Requests for emergency services: FY2015: 1,991 FY2014: 2,021 Fire suppression response: FY2015: 76 FY2014: 64 Non-fire response: FY2015: 305
FY2014: 359 EMS response: FY2015: 1,610 FY2014: 1,598 Total fire dollar loss: FY2015: $607,860 FY2014: $704,950
Note: Fiscal year begin May 1 and ends April 30 the following year Source: Sycamore Fire Department
Rules for students’ boosters delayed
RIB FESTIVAL HAS SUCCESSFUL DAY IN SYCAMORE
New Illinois law won’t go into effect until Oct. 16 The ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photos by Katie Smith – ksmith@shawmedia.com
Sandy Konecny of Slow Smoke BBQ serves the last of her barbecue ribs Saturday during the Ribs, Rhythm and Brews Fest in downtown Sycamore. Konecny was out of food by 7:30 p.m., she said.
Barbecue bash
Ribs, Rhythm and Brews sees ‘overwhelming’ turnout By KATIE SMITH ksmith@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – The crowd at the Ribs, Rhythm & Brews Fest in Sycamore spilled into the nearby municipal parking lot and onto the sidewalks Saturday. The turnout was as much a surprise as it was a good sign, customers and vendors alike agreed. Sycamore’s Country Store and Catering, Tom and Jerry’s featuring Catering by Diann, Slow Smoke BBQ, and Sweet Dreams Desserts and Catering gathered downtown Saturday to provide food for what Slow Smoke BBQ’s Sandy Konecny described as an “overwhelming” crowd. “We were told a couple hundred people, maybe 500 at the most. We think 2,000 [attended],” Konecny said. “We weren’t prepared to feed that many people, but we brought a lot of stuff.” By the end of the evening, ribs ran out. The festival’s large crowd and the food selling out were signs of its suc-
Voice your opinion What are your favorite kind of ribs? Vote now at Daily-Chronicle.com. cess, and an indication the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce will be able to sustain the event in future years, Konecny said. The four rib vendors competed for the title of “Ribs Fest Champion,” which was awarded to Sycamore’s Tom and Jerry’s featuring Catering by Diann after a vote by a panel of judges. Just because other caterers didn’t win this year’s title, doesn’t mean they didn’t do well. “We sold out,” Konecny said. “We had a line from before 5 until a quarter after 7. Because it was the first time, who knew? The second time around, we will be more prepared. We love this Anaya Decleene, 6, has her face painted Saturday by Aliyaj Lopez, 8, during the first crowd. We love Sycamore.”
See RIBS, page A3
Ribs, Rhythm and Brews Fest on Somonauk Street in downtown Sycamore. The Sycamore Chamber of Commerce has said it plans to make the festival an annual event.
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STEM café in Oregon, Ill., to hold Breakfast with Bison event / A6
Community celebrates the life of VAC director Thomas Zucker / A3
NIU students have fun, eat food at annual President’s Picnic / A3
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois families who don’t want their children to be vaccinated will have to get a doctor’s note before claiming a religious exemption, but the new state law won’t affect students heading back to school in the coming weeks. Gov. Bruce Rauner recently signed a bill that aims to reduce the number of unvaccinated children in the state’s classrooms. Because the law was passed after many children already had received their routine checkups or started school, the requirements will be delayed until Oct. 16 – the day after a deadline for students to receive their vaccines or file objections. “This is a bit of a difficult situation. ... A lot of kids have already gone to get their physical and so forth. Some schools have already started. To send them back to the doctor would be costing the parents,” said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Public Health. Families seeking a religious exemption next year or transferring after next year’s deadline must complete a certificate explaining their objection with a doctor’s signature to prove he or she counseled the parents about the benefits of vaccines and the danger of opting out. The form only is required for children entering kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades, Arnold said. Students who transfer from another state will have to meet the requirement beginning in mid-October, she said. The Illinois State Board of Education was aware of more than 13,000 such exemptions in 2013, according to spokeswoman Megan Griffin. It’s unclear how effective the new law will be in reducing the amount of unvaccinated children, because the way schools define a religious objection also is ambiguous.
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