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September 14 , 201 5 • $1 .0 0
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DAILY CHRONICLE
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KishHealth deal to be considered Public to weigh in on the proposed acquisition during 3 hearings Sept. 24 By BRETT ROWLAND browland@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The community will get a chance to weigh in on Northwestern Memorial HealthCare’s proposed acquisition of KishHealth System at a public hearing Sept. 24. DeKalb County Citizens for Better Mental Health Care, an ad hoc advocacy group, requested a public hearing with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board
earlier this month. The proposed merger requires approval from the review board. Staff of the state regulatory board will hold three public hearings starting at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 24 in the City Council chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 S. Fourth St., DeKalb. Sign-in will be from 10 to 10:30 a.m. The public hearing regarding the 98bed Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb will start at 10:30. Sign-in for the public hear-
ing regarding the 25-bed Valley West Hospital in Sandwich will be from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m., with the hearing starting at 12:45 p.m. Sign-in for the hearing regarding Midland Surgical Center in Sycamore will be from 1:45 to 2 p.m., with the hearing starting at 2 p.m. “The hearing is open to the public and will afford an opportunity for parties with interest to present written and/ or verbal comment relevant to the project,” according to
the review board’s website. “All allegations or assertions should be relevant to the need for the proposed project and be supported with two copies of documentation or materials that are printed or typed on paper, size 8∏-by-11.” In a letter to the review board, DeKalb County Citizens for Better Mental Health Care member Barry Schrader said the group wants “to express our concerns with this proposed merger to gain
Wildfires in Calif. destroy more than 180 homes
assurance Northwestern will improve mental health care as well as other medical services for the citizenry of our county.” Schrader said the group previously had opposed KishHealth’s decision to close its six-bed acute mental illness unit in 2009. The review board ultimately gave KishHealth permission to shutter the unit. Northwestern Memorial HealthCare is set to take ownership of KishHealth System,
which includes Kishwaukee Hospital, Valley West Hospital and more than a dozen other area clinics and health facilities, by the end of the year. According to the merger application submitted to the nine-member Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, KishHealth System is valued at as much as $362 million, but the acquisition price will be zero.
See KISHHEALTH, page A8
GENOA’S NEWEST CELEBRATION
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ The Associated Press MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Two of California’s fastest-burning wildfires in decades overtook several Northern California towns, destroying more than 180 homes and sending residents fleeing Sunday on highways lined with buildings, guardrails and cars still in flames. At least 100 homes were destroyed by a wildfire north of San Francisco in Lake County that raced through dry brush and exploded in size within hours, officials said. The devastation comes after a separate wildfire to the southeast destroyed at least 81 homes. Residents fled from Middletown, dodging smoldering telephone poles, downed power lines and fallen trees as they drove through billowing smoke. Whole blocks of houses were burned in parts of the town of more than 1,000 residents that lies about 20 miles north of the famed Napa Valley. On the west side of town, house after house was burned to its foundation, with only charred appliances and twisted metal garage doors still recognizable. Firefighters on Sunday afternoon could be seen driving around flaming utility poles to put out spot fires. Homeowner Justin Galvin, 33, himself a firefighter, stood alone at his house, poking its shin-high, smoking ruins with a piece of scrap metal. “This is my home. Or it was,” said Galvin, who spent all night fighting another fire in Amador County. Wind gusts that reached up to 30 miles an hour sent embers raining down on homes and made it hard for firefighters to stop the Lake County blaze from advancing, California Department of Forest Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said. Four firefighters who are members of a helicopter crew were injured Saturday while battling the flames. They remained hospitalized in stable condition Sunday, Berlant said. There’s no official tally of the destruction yet because firefighters are focused on new evacuation orders and on residents’ safety, he said.
See WILDFIRES, page A8
AP photo
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmates stand guard as flames from the Butte Fire approach a containment line Saturday near San Andreas, Calif.
Photos by Nick Brooks for Shaw Media
Stewart Hepker, who works at Prairie State Winery, pours wine Saturday for a visitor at Genoa’s first Volks Fest in Genoa.
Exceeding expectations Volks Fest sees success in its inaugural year On the Web
By KATIE SMITH ksmith@shawmedia.com GENOA – Kelly Taylor and her friends mean business. The four women showed up to Genoa’s Craft Beverage Festival on Saturday sporting garland-like arrangements of pretzels, Slim Jims and cheese sticks around their necks like jewelery to “cleanse their palettes,” and to snack on throughout the afternoon. The grounds buzzed with the sound of live music and clinking glasses while people drank the flavors of breweries and wineries housed within 60 miles of Genoa. “People are kind of walking around and serving and making sure everything’s going smoothly, and it’s a real chamber effort, I think,” Taylor said. The festival was part of Genoa’s first Volks Fest, a community-based festival its organizers hope to host annually, said Carolyn Tobinson, founder of the Kishwaukee Wanderers. “Everything’s sliding one event into another, and it’s becoming a whole thing,” she said. “I’m excited. I’m excited to see
To see a video from Volks Fest, visit Daily-Chronicle.com.
Glasses sit on display Saturday at Genoa’s first Volks Fest. how the numbers are going to play out, but in the last couple of days it’s just blossomed.” The festival’s organizers wanted to showcase Genoa’s uniqueness, but also all of its great beer, Volks Fest volunteer Brian Wallace said. “I’ve wanted to do a craft beer fest forever. I just believe that it’s something that a lot of people like. We did it in a very limited capacity,” he said. “We have 27 beers, and we have a winery. I felt that the winery should be involved
just because some people don’t like beer and other people don’t like wine, but if you have both, then you’ve got it covered.” Kingston resident Judi Stauber spent most of her time ogling Prairie State Winery’s display at the festival, since it’s her go-to place for birthday gifts and quality downtime, she said. “This has been tremendous,” Stauber said. “We signed up with the Kishwaukee Valley Wanderers, and that’s why we came out. This has been really wonderful,
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Community fun
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Sandwich Fest draws large crowds this weekend / A3
10th annual Kite Fest a big success for DeKalb County residents / A4
Show Garden tour, craft scheduled in Sandwich / A6
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and I love Prairie Winery. I actually really do.” But Stauber also appreciated that she could sample drinks from Cademon Brewing and Forge Brew House under the same tent, with a crowd of people who she said have welcomed her with open arms since moving to the area. Next year, she hopes to return the favor. “We’re from Plainfield. We live here now, and we have a lot of friends in the Joliet area who love microbreweries and things, so hopefully we can get more people here.” Although there were fewer people than expected, it didn’t distract from the good time and the guarantee that the festival will gain popularity, DeKalb resident Paul Bruckner said.
See VOLKS FEST, page A8
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