W eekend SV
Saukvalley.com
Your source for news and sports 7 days a week
Serving Lee, Whiteside, Carroll, Ogle and Bureau counties Saturday&Sunday, July 18-19, 2015 $2.00
Taking his final swings at LHT
YOUTH GROUP CARRIES ON ADULT TASK LOCAL, A5
SPORTS, B1
WEEKEND FEATURE | MAJID JABBER
From near death to freedom INSIDE STORY
Businessman lives American dream after working for Army in Iraq BY BRENDEN WEST bwest@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5529 @BWest_SVM
DIXON – “I have pictures of my car riddled with bullets,” said Majid Jabber, now 36, reflecting on his life a decade ago. “I got my car blown up. My house was burnt down. My father was killed. “They told him that he’d have to pay the price for me working with the U.S. Army.” “They” were terrorists, Iraqi citizens angered by Iraqi citizens like Jabber. For 4 years, Jabber was a translator for the U.S. military during Operation Iraqi
Freedom, which made him their enemy and meant having a price to pay. “The locals considered people like me to be traitors,” Jabber said. “There are narrow-minded people – radicals and all that. It Majid Jabber was a hazard working for the U.S. Army, but I never tried to quit just for the fact of I really believed that the U.S. was there to help the Iraqi people. “There were a lot of issues,” he added. “It was an occupational hazard, being hunted down. I survived so many assas-
sination attempts just by working with the U.S. Army.” Jabber’s decision put his life and that of his family’s at risk and forced him into a daily cycle of fear. But it was worth it to him. “I never quit because I believed.” And so today, Jabber lives the archetype of the American promise: someone who immigrated to start; the opportunity to put his degree to work; a constitutional right to express himself; Midwest comfort with a home in Toulon. FREEDOM CONTINUED ON A9
Vape, and chill in Dixon
Majid Jabber’s new business in Dixon, SinBad Vapors, boasts a relaxing environment. Story in Business, Page C1
WEEKEND FEATURE | STERLING STOP DURING CROSS COUNTRY WALK
Heading ‘Left’
THE PEOPLE’S VOICE christopher HEIMERMAN Heimerman is the Night News Editor at Sauk Valley Media. He can be reached at cheimerman@ saukvalley.com or 800-798-4085, ext. 5523.
Dixon woman has 2030 vision
I
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Shane Nelson pushes his equipment stroller Thursday along U.S. Route 30 near Cimco Recycling west of Sterling after spending 5 days in the Sauk Valley. Nelson, 23, of Savannah, Georgia, is filming a documentary of his walk from coastal Georgia to San Francisco. He hopes to submit the film, which he will call “Left,” to Sundance Film Festival in 2017.
Georgia man aims for Sundance with film about his travels BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra
STERLING – Shane Nelson, a visual storyteller on a trek across the country to capture and document life, made a few friends in town this week when he detoured through northwestern Illinois. With little more than a day’s notice, Deb Lewis, 64, of Sterling, opened her home to the scruffy-faced 23-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, who is walking his
way to San Francisco. Lewis made the connection through couchsurfing.com, a website that helps travelers to mingle with locals and find a place to crash for the night at no cost. But it’s not like booking a hotel. Guests often like to spend time visiting with the host, sometimes cooking or bringing gifts in exchange for the hospitality; Nelson shared tales of his travels. LEFT CONTINUED ON A2
Watch online Go to saukvalley.com to watch Shane Nelson talk about his cross country walk and his time spent in the Sauk Valley.
Nelson scans his phone for camping spots near Prophetstown, after getting news that his plans for spending Thursday night at a home in Davenport, Iowa, had been canceled.
’m here to discuss a couple of things I don’t like. I don’t like talking politics. The subject is often divisive and tends to bring out people’s ugly sides. Rather than productive debate, unhealthy arguments ensue. It’s a problem. But I’m also here to discuss solutions, and I found one in Stephanie Wiggins. The 28-yearold Dixon resident is a decorated former Air Force senior airman who also collected a flurry of accolades while earning a law degree at Northern Illinois University. She was a student senator at NIU and is an officeholder in the American Constitution Society at NIU College of Law. She won a closing argument competition in January. An aspiring attorney, Wiggins is bracing for the final round of the Latino Law School Association national competition in October in Chicago. She hopes another victory there, the completion of her summer internship with Pignatelli & Associates, and about a dozen years of grinding in the courthouse will parlay nicely into a run for political office. “It’s a nice little planning period,” Wiggins said, “and anyone who knows me knows that I’m almost painstakingly a planner.” HEIMERMAN CONTINUED ON A9
Mostly sunny
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 46 44 Pages
Today: 91/72 For the forecast, see Page A11
Community
SVM’s Alex T. Paschal takes you to summer camp through the lens. See Page C12
DIY Home Had enough of dealing with mosquitoes this summer? Ashley Poskin has a do-ityourself solution in this week’s DIY Home feature. See Page A3
Index Births................ C5
Lottery .............. A2
Business........... C1
Markets .......... A11
Classified .......... D1
Obituaries ......... A4
Comics ............. B8
Opinion............. A6
Community ..... C12
Scoreboard ...... B5
Crossword Saturday ........... D5
Scrapbook ....... C3
Crossword Sunday ............. C8
Support groups .. C5
Dave Ramsey ... C8
Weather.......... A11
Dear Abby ........ C6
Wheels ............. D8
Sports .............. B1 Travel .............. C10