Your source for community news and sports 7 days a week.
Water safe to drink after shutdown ROCK FALLS, A2
JUST ONE STEP AWAY FROM STATE WRESTLING SECTIONALS, B1
dailyGAZETTE
Monday, February 17, 2014
SERVING ROCK FALLS, STERLING AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1854
WINTER WEATHER WALNUT
Unlocking PANDAS
Heavy snow to fall today Up to 4 inches of fresh white flakes in forecast; sleet could be in mix BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 535
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Kloey, 5, Jaclyn, 28, Thomas, 35, and Gabi Trujillo, 3, are show in there home in Walnut. Kloey was diagnosed with a rare disease called PANDAS. It usually occurs in young children from a strep infection that is thought to trigger OCD, tics, and other neuropsychiatric disorders. It isn’t caused by the infection directly, but by the body’s response to strep. PANDAS experts believe it is an autoimmune disease that continually interferes with the basal ganglia, the part of the brain that controls movement and behavior.
Disease poses unique challenges amid medical skeptics BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 570
Benefit for Kloey
WALNUT – Jaclyn and Thomas Trujillo’s daughter, Kloey, loved school, playing with other children, and participating in a variety of activities. Then, for no apparent reason, everything in the extremely intelligent 5-year-old’s once-safe world suddenly changed. “Last year around Halloween, we noticed she had problems with any changes in her routine,” Jaclyn, 28, said. “When she didn’t want to go to a Halloween party, I started to sense something was wrong.” The normally sociable little girl went to the party, but gripped her mother’s hand the entire time. The unusual behaviors and the Walnut family’s struggles were just beginning.
What: Vendor and craft sale featuring fisherman Matt “Cat Matt” Jones When: 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 23 Where: Cochran’s Pub, 13464 Galt Road, Sterling More info: Email Jaclyn Trujillo at jaclyn_grace85@hotmail.com or call her at 815-973-6851 PANDAS details: www.pppas. org; www.pandasresourcenetwork. org; www.pandasnetwork.org “Kloey dropped out of dance. She woke up screaming because she didn’t want to go on an outing with her Scouts troop,” Jaclyn said. “She would become terrified over any small changes.”
Then Kloey started exhibiting severe obsessive-compulsive disorder traits. Getting her dressed became a nightmare. “She couldn’t stand the way her pants touched her ankles, the way her shoes fit her, or the presence of a line on her shirt – she would have a total meltdown over everything,” Jaclyn said. For a month straight, the only thing she would wear was a dance leotard – and it had to be black. Jaclyn washed the same leotard and pair of capri pants every night and was forced to send her daughter to school in ballet shoes. Communication became difficult amid some of the autism-like behaviors, and sometimes drawing pictures became the only option. PANDAS CONTINUED ON A10
Prepare yourself: This morning’s commute could be yucky. In anticipation of up to 4 more inches of snow on the ground before day’s end, Rock Falls declared a snow emergency Sunday that takes effect at noon today and lasts until 6 a.m. Wednesday. Other cities likely will follow suit. In a snow emergency, drivers are not to park on designated snow routes until both sides of the street have been plowed. On the rest of the roads, drivers are to park on the odd-numbered side of the street on an odd-numbered day of the month - like today and on the even-numbered side on an even-numbered day, to make it easier for the plows to do their jobs. Failure to comply could mean a ticket, a tow or both. The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory, warning of a hazardous storm system that could bring a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain to the Sauk Valley. It was to have started early this morning. Winds will be from the south/ southeast, 10 to 15 mph, gusting up to 20 mph and sending snow drifting. The high will be around 30, the low around 17. The precipitation is expected to turn to snow only by mid morning; it will be heavy at times, causing low visibility and fast accumulations, the service says. It should stop falling by about 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday will be mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 30s, but there’s a 70 percent chance snow, possibly mixed with freezing rain, before midnight Wednesday. And get this: Thursday’s forecast calls for rain – and possibly a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm. The high should be near 41. Then there’s a chance of snow every night through Saturday, the weather service says.
COLETA
Cleanup upsets 2011 fire survivor Man’s mother lost life in blaze; father died weeks later BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
COLETA – A fire that destroyed a two-story house in Coleta nearly 3 years ago was a tragedy. Doris Kvinge, 85, lost her life in the blaze, while her husband, Milton, 87, was taken to the hospital. He died 3 weeks later. One of their five children, son Marc Kvinge, now 59, lived with them. He was on a respirator for a few days after the fire, but he recovered.
$1.00
TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 160 ISSUE 50
Today, he’s involved in a dispute – and a lawsuit – with village officials over the property. They say the site was an eyesore and a problem for months after the fire. He disagrees with the way the village cleaned up the property – and he wonders what happened to a car his parents owned. After the fire, Marc moved to an apartment in Rock Falls and then later to Newport Beach, Calif. Coleta, a tiny village northwest
INDEX
ABBY ................... A8 NATION/WORLD A11 COMICS ............... A9
of Sterling, was left to deal with the property at 204 N. Main St., said its president, Sally Douglas. “It was a big pile of rubble. It looked really bad,” she said in a recent interview. “The weeds were 3 feet high, and the lawn wasn’t mowed. The well water would run into the basement, contaminating others’ wells and making their well water taste bad. Everyone taps out of the same aquifer.” SURVIVOR CONTINUED ON A4
CROSSWORD....B11 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
Submitted
Authorities take down the house at 204 N. Main St. in Coleta shortly after a fire destroyed the structure Feb. 21, 2011. Doris Kvinge, 85, died in the blaze. Her husband, Milton, was sent to the hospital. He died 3 weeks later.
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 SPORTS ...............B1
Today’s weather High 31. Low 22. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B6.
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PAPER, CALL 815-625-3600 OR 800-798-4085