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More than a cold?
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LIFESTYLE, A7
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Tuesday, January 7, 2014
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
ROCK FALLS | SHOOTINGS OUTSIDE OF LAMB’S TAP
Gunman was custodian at RFHS Sterling mayor: ‘I just wish there was some kind of call for help’ BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 521
ROCK FALLS – Sterling Mayor Skip Lee found it hard to believe that Leonard “Frank” Harris Jr. had shot
three people outside Lamb’s Tap early Saturday. “My reaction was, ‘Holy cow, what happened?’” Lee said. “He was never the kind of individual who I thought was capable of that kind of thing. But something in his life obviously went really bad to cause this to happen.” Harris, 40, of Sterling killed one man and injured two others outside the Rock Falls tavern before
he fled to the garage at his Sterling home, where he killed himself. He was a custodian at Rock Falls High School, where Lee used to teach chemistry, which is how they knew each other. “I feel horribly for the family of the shooting victims,” Lee said Monday. “I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have something like that happen to someone in your family.”
The mayor said Harris was “an easygoing, smiley kind of guy.” After Lee was elected mayor, Harris stopped by his office with a couple of concerns. “He was a very personable kind of kid,” Lee said. “He never seemed to have a thing that bothered him. I just wish there was some kind of call for help that we could’ve heard from him.” GUNMAN CONTINUED ON A4
Leonard “Frank” Harris Jr.
WEATHER | EXTREME COLD
An arctic blast? Hardly Power outage in Dixon; 911 center out in the morning BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
DIXON – In 18-below-zero temperatures, Lee County’s 911 center was among more than 1,000 places in Dixon to lose power Inside about 7:30 a.m. Schools Monday. O f f i c i a l s stay closed t r u d g e d for second through deep day. More snow to start on A3. the center’s generator. After a few tries, they cranked it up. They walked through the basement of the center, which is next to the county courthouse, to check the systems. Dispatchers reported that things were working. Even after the system was revived, cellphone service for 911 calls still was down for a while. It was restored about 10:30 a.m. During the systemwide shutdown, all 911 calls in Lee County were routed through Carroll County’s center. After 911 service came up, Shelley Dallas, Lee County’s lead dispatcher, rushed
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Jenifer Johnson braves the bitter cold temperatures to feed the ducks and geese at Page Park in Dixon late Monday afternoon. Lee County’s 911 center was one of 1,000 places in Dixon to lose power at 7:30 a.m. Monday. through the building’s front door, asking a reporter to tell people to call only “if it’s absolutely a life-or-death emergency.” Calls were way up, she said, because of the extreme cold. ComEd reported that
1,305 customers lost power in Dixon after a line went down. Thousands of people were affected, ComEd said. About 10:30 a.m., ComEd said about 800 customers still were without power. By noon, all power had been
restored, Dixon police said. On First Street in downtown Dixon, few cars were on the road Monday morning. Most traffic lights were working, though the light at Everett Street and Galena Avenue was among
the few that were out. Near that light, a halfdozen cars lined up at the McDonald’s drive-thru, while customers used most of the pumps at Phillips 66. ARCTIC CONTINUED ON A2
Local businesses become ghost towns Inside
BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Cheyenne Lee, 9, of Rock Falls walks back to home after picking up snacks Monday afternoon.
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 174
INDEX
STERLING – Wendy’s in Sterling had plenty of employees on hand Monday morning – but nobody to serve for a while. Opening at 10 a.m., the restaurant didn’t get its first customer in the drive-thru or the dining room until nearly 25 minutes later. “Stay warm out there,” an employee told the first customer in the dining room. Many businesses saw a drop in business Monday. Even Walmart saw the effects
BUSINESS ......... A12 COMICS ...............B6 CROSSWORD....B11
DEAR ABBY ......... A8 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
Local homeless shelters report no boost in numbers during cold snap, A2. of below-zero weather. It had far fewer customers than usual in the morning, with people having to endure 7-mph bitter cold winds to get into the store. Most employees showed up, but a few were absent because of the weather. The store still had salt available, and two snowblowers were displayed at the entrance. With the extreme cold, few people were looking to buy
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 SPORTS ...............B1
clothes, even bulky coats. About 11 a.m., Kohl’s had a grand total of one customer. But employees were throughout the store. In Rock Falls, no one was at Super Wash at noon. Its automatic wash option was closed “due to inclement weather.” The same went for Octopus Car Wash in Sterling. Rock Falls Liquors also was a ghost town. “When I left for the store at 10 to 10, Dixon Avenue was empty,” said employee Sam Taher. “It’s really slow here. People will probably come after work.”
Today’s weather High 5. Low -3. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B7.
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