NWH-9-5-2013

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2013

BEARS PREVIEW l Hub Arkush’s 5 keys to the 2013 season

l Dan Hampton says Bears can win division

l Week-by-week Bears predictions

l Hub presents his Week 1 NFL Power Rankings Special section inside

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

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Committee wants end to impasse Mental Health Board reaches out to client agency; seventh board member steps down By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – A McHenry County Mental Health Board committee wants to extend an olive branch to a client agency in hopes

of resolving an outstanding audit showing a number of funding irregularities. Its Ethics and Compliance Committee directed staff members Wednesday morning to approach The Advantage Group in the hopes

of working out differences that would resolve problems and ensure the agency’s continued survival on behalf of clients in need. The meeting comes a week after the full Mental Health Board, dominated by new members, agreed to

give the adolescent drug- and alcohol-abuse treatment center $49,000 to help keep it afloat – a decision that prompted the resignation of one of the board’s last remaining veterans. The Advantage Group unsuccessfully sued the Mental Health Board

last year after it cut off its funding in the wake of the audit, alleging the board was trying to wipe it out so it could allocate more funds to agencies it prefers.

See IMPASSE, page A4

Obama gets Senate panel support for Syria strike

TECHNOLOGY CAUSING DISCONNECT IN SOCIAL SITUATIONS

The ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo illustration by Lathan Goumas - lgoumas@shawmedia.com

Phubbing is the act of ignoring those whom you are socializing with to interact with people via a smartphone. It is a issue that has grown rapidly with the penetration of digital technologies into people’s lives.

‘STOP

By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com Imelda Sprenger has been a server for 12 years, but it’s only in the past few that she’s started circling her tables waiting for customers to ready their orders. It’s not always the engaged conversations of reunited friends that keeps diners from the menu – that, Sprenger welcomes. Instead, it’s the worldblocking tunnel vision brought by smartphones that too often puts a pause on pizza. “It’s very common,” said Sprenger, a server at Nick’s Pizza and Pub in Crystal Lake. “What I normally do is give them the, ‘I’ll be right back.’ ”

phubbing’ Movement asks smartphone users to re-evaluate habits

Sprenger, a mother of two who herself limits TV time at home to emphasize family, isn’t alone in her frustrations toward the disconnect brought on by the use of smartphones in social situations. The phenomenon recently sparked a movement in Australia that has gained some steam across the world. The act has been termed “phubbing” – phone snubbing – and the minds behind stopphubbing.com, while seemingly intent on curbing the act, remain willing to poke sarcastic fun at the uber-serious mission the website URL implies.

See PHUBBING, page A4

PREP FOOTBALL

TECHNOLOGY CHANGES FILM STUDY Thanks to hudl, an online subscription service almost every area high school team now uses, coaches can look at games already broken down, before they even leave their schools on game nights. Hudl makes it possible for fans to have postgame viewing parties simply by hooking up a computer to their TV. For more, see page C1.

Dakota Hamand (right) Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com

LOW

78 56 Complete forecast on A6

WOODSTOCK: Army sergeants teach team building at Woodstock North High School. Local&Region, B1

Where to find it Advice Business Classified Comics

How much time do you spend staring at your smartphone in a given day? Vote online at NWHerald. com.

See SYRIA, page A4

LOCALLY SPEAKING

HIGH

Voice your opinion

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s request for speedy congressional backing of a military strike in Syria advanced Wednesday toward a showdown Senate vote, while the commander in chief left open the possibility he would order retaliation for a deadly chemical weapons attack even if Congress withheld its approval. Legislation backing the use of force against President Bashar Assad’s government cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a 10-7 vote after it was stiffened at the last minute to include a pledge of support for “decisive changes to the present military balance of power” in Syria’s civil war. It also would rule out U.S. combat operations on the ground. The measure is expected to reach the Senate floor next week, although the timing for a vote is uncertain. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky conservative with strong tea party ties, has threatened a filibuster. The House also is reviewing Obama’s request, but its timetable is even less certain and the measure could face a rockier time there. The administration blames Assad for a chemical weapons attack that took place Aug. 21 and says more than 1,400 civilians died, including at least 400 children. Other casualty estimates are lower, and the Syrian government denies responsibility, contending rebels fighting to topple the government were to blame. The Senate panel’s vote marked the first formal response in Congress, four days after Obama unexpectedly put off an anticipated cruise missile strike against Syria last weekend and instead asked lawmakers to unite first behind such a plan. In Stockholm, Sweden, where Obama was traveling Wednesday,

C7 B4-5 E1-10 C8

Vol. 28, Issue 248 Local&Region B1-3, 6 Lottery A2 Obituaries B6 Opinion A5

Planit Play Puzzles Sports TV Grid

Inside E8 C1-6 E8


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