8 NEWS • Monday, June 23, 2014 • Section A • Northwest Herald / NWHerald.com
In Uganda, residents use drums to send alert of abducted kids The ASSOCIATED PRESS BUIKWE, Uganda – When a child goes missing in this central Ugandan district, villagers beat drums into a pulsing rhythm that sends rescuers scampering through bushes. Others, riding motorcycles, try to block exit routes. In response to the kidnappings and ritual killings of children here, the traumatized community has created a rudimentary but effective abduction alert system that has saved at least two children so far this year. Although the problem of children being killed as human sacrifices is reported in several parts of Uganda, Buikwe has gained notoriety recently as the country’s witchcraft capital. One in three households here keeps a shrine – a thatched hut in which so-called witchdoctors can be consulted – a frightening statistic that explains the prevalence of superstitious practices that threaten the lives of many children and even adults. Some traditional healers use body parts to make potions for success in business and love, or to cure people of ailments. The widespread fear of murder is why civic groups believe this fishing community on the shores of Lake Victoria can be mobilized for
change. Eight children have been abducted and ritualistically killed in Buikwe this year, their mutilated bodies dumped in bushes and sugarcane plantations, according to local officials. Across Uganda at least 729 children were abducted in 2013, according to a Ugandan police report that also cited a 39 percent increase in crimes against children over the previous year. The village alert system is the best model to stop the abduction of children without actively stigmatizing traditional healers, some of whom are not involved in the killings, said Obed Byamugisha, of the aid group World Vision, who is working with local officials to stop the killings. The alert system makes child sacrifice “a concern of all the citizens,” said Byamugisha. The group has distributed many drums and megaphones that are now mounted atop poles in shopping centers across Buikwe, and more are planned. A tearful mother, Juliet Nabirye, described to The Associated Press how one January evening a former boyfriend stole her four-yearold son and told her to “forget about the child because you will never see him again.” The man, an itinerant with no known home, had a history of criminal behavior and authorities believed the boy
was in serious danger. So they drummed alerts and mounted a public campaign to find the child until the man released the boy to strangers who then handed him over to the police. In another case, a boy was rescued just as his abductors had started to behead him. He has since had surgery to repair injured nerves around his neck, according to Byamugisha. Some families have not been so lucky. The decomposing remains of a six-year-old girl were found scattered in a cassava plantation earlier this month. The rescue team had arrived several days late, local leaders said, in part because the girl’s family did not immediately report her as missing. One recent afternoon, village chairman Samuel Bbosa pointed to the spot where the girl’s remains were discovered and said he regretted that she had not been found alive. Instead, he recalled, frustrated members of the search team turned violent, turning on a man some suspected of the killing, demolishing his home and trying to burn him alive, even though there was no evidence linking him to the crime. “This shows that the community needs to stay alert,” Bbosa said of mob justice. “Maybe this would not have happened if we had taken action quickly.”
CL official: Census data inaccurate • POPULATION Continued from page A1 some city officials to question the Census estimates. Michelle Rentzsch, the planning and economic development director for Crystal Lake, said her department sees “a trend of growth” based on recent residential developments,
including the 100-unit Gable Point Apartments and the 60unit Pedcor apartment project. “The Census estimates have never been accurate,” Rentzsch said. “We glance at them, but I don’t give them any worth.” In Huntley, the data reaffirms the concerted effort officials made to grow Huntley in the early 2000s, Business Re-
cruitment Coordinator Victor Narusis said. The result has put the village in the top five Chicago areas for residential housing growth in eight of the past 10 years, he said. “It’s intentional,” Narusis said. “We are working hard to grow on the residential side. It’s what we need to do to attract additional businesses and retail.”
Business group’s membership has doubled • PARKING Continued from page A1 information about new businesses, specials, events, business anniversaries and highlight the history of existing businesses, Chrisman said. The goal is to have events highlighting downtown busi-
nesses every six weeks, Miller-Konstantinow said, pointing to the Taste of Downtown and the summer concert it is sponsoring. It also plans on promoting events hosted by individual businesses. The increased push has come with higher membership in the Downtown Business Association, Miller-Konstan-
tinow said. Since she became the association’s president last year, membership has climbed to 62 businesses from 32. “We have a really good, strong group that is determined to make the downtown work, and we’re hoping to get people to realize that they should patronize us because we help this town flourish,” Chrisman said.
AP photo
Russian Vladimir Putin (second right) takes part in a wreath laying ceremony Sunday at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside Moscow’s Kremlin Wall in Moscow, Russia, to mark the 73rd anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.
Russia’s Putin calls for compromise in Ukraine The ASSOCIATED PRESS MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly expressed support Sunday for Ukraine’s declaration of a cease-fire in its battle against pro-Russian separatists and called on both sides to negotiate a compromise. Putin said such a compromise must guarantee the rights of the Russian-speaking residents of eastern Ukraine, who must feel like they are “an integral part” of their own country. Putin’s statement appeared to signal that he sees their future in Ukraine. Separatists in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions have declared independence and asked to join Russia. Moscow has rebuffed their appeals, but is seen by Ukraine and the West as actively supporting the insurgency. Putin’s conciliatory words came
as Russia began large-scale military exercises and after NATO accused Russia of moving troops back toward the Ukrainian border. Putin appears determined to keep up the pressure to force the Kiev government to give the eastern industrial regions more powers and to prevent Ukraine from moving too close to the European Union or NATO. But he also wants to avoid more punishing sanctions from the U.S. and particularly from the European Union, whose leaders will meet Friday in Brussels, and therefore needs to be seen as cooperating with efforts to de-escalate the conflict. The Kremlin initially dismissed the peace plan that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko laid out on Friday. But in a statement issued late Saturday, Putin said he welcomed the cease-fire and Po-
roshenko’s “intention to take other concrete steps to reach a peaceful settlement.” As part of his plan, Poroshenko suggested a decentralization of power to give the regions more political authority. He also proposed new local and parliamentary elections, and measures to protect the language rights of Russian speakers in the east. Putin was more specific on Sunday, when he spoke publicly following ceremonies commemorating the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. “That President Poroshenko announced a truce is without a doubt an important part of a final settlement, without which no agreement can be reached, and there is no doubt that Russia will support this intention, but in the end the most important thing is a political process,” Putin said.
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‘Those were ambitious goals we set for ourselves’ Continued from page A1 Holland just days before Northstar took over in July 2011 showed irregularities in the decision-making process to select the corporation. In one case, a panel member submitted his evaluations of proposed business plans for the $2 billion state lottery after Northstar won the bid. Yet, company CEO Tim Simonson says it has done well despite factors working against it. “Those were ambitious goals we set for ourselves, and we have fallen short of those goals. But the full perspective, we believe is important,” Simonson said, arguing that his company has run the lottery better than the state. In some cases, that’s true. Northstar boosted lottery profits by almost 10 percent in 2012 and improved income is expected – even if marginally – this year. Plus, Illinois has accumulated millions of dollars in penalty payments from the company when lottery profits don’t reach expectations. Lottery customer service has improved dramatically, said Todd Jenney, the CEO for Huck’s Convenience Stores. But his lottery sales haven’t noticeably improved, which Jenney partly attributes to a cigarette tax increase and high fuel prices. When Northstar took over the 40-year-old program, it promised contributions of $1 billion to the state in the fifth year of its contract. But it has
been about $400 million short since in its first three years – money that is supposed to go toward schools, charitable organizations and a $31 billion capital construction program launched in 2009. When Northstar fails to deliver, the state gets penalty payments that make up for part of the shortfall. State lottery officials and the company can also raise or lower the amount owed based on market changes. The company has requested about $900 million in “downward adjustments” to reduce what it owes the state – including a quarter-billion dollars just months after the takeGov. Pat over. “If we turn Quinn down anything, their habit has been to immediately give us a downward adjustment as to what they owe us,” Illinois Lottery Director Michael Jones said. “We have always been available or attempted to work with them and give them the benefit of our experience and advice. Sometimes it’s taken, most times it’s not.” Northstar’s requests are based on a wide range of issues that company officials say are “completely appropriate” within the contract. However, the lottery board also has requested more than $500 million in “upward adjustments,” seeking more money after the addition of on-
line games, a new phone app and the delayed rollout of video poker. Even with the hundreds of millions of dollars in contract disputes, a mediator has only ruled to knock about $30 million off of what Northstar owes Illinois during the 10-year contract. Other state officials are taking notice. Senate President John Cullerton has said he’s “extremely disappointed” in the company. “The whole idea here was that a private manager would be able to deliver substantially better performance for the state,” the Chicago Democrat said two weeks ago. “As the numbers increasingly show that State Rep. Northstar is Jack Franks unable to live up to its commitments, I would encourage the governor to hold the firm accountable and take whatever steps are necessary.” Marengo Democratic Rep. Jack Franks has repeatedly called on Gov. Pat Quinn to fire Northstar, and warns that “people lose elections on incompetence and mismanagement, and this is something the governor ought to take more seriously.” But the Quinn administration has been mostly silent. “As we have in the past, we will evaluate all options available under the contract if Northstar misses its targets again,” Quinn spokeswoman Katie Hickey said.
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