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10 years after title, ’04 Comets still a team
PLAYOFF TEAMS, FANS LOOK GOOD IN PICTURES COMMUNITY, C12
SPORTS SERIES, B1
HOLIDAYS SPOTLIGHT | LOCAL CHARITIES
’Tis the season to give Charitable agencies look for holiday donations BY CHRISTI WARREN AND JERMAINE PIGEE news@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5501
STERLING – Election season is over, and the holidays are just around the corner. Local charitable organizations hope that, during the holidays, Sauk Valley residents will be in the spirit of giving. United Way organizations in both Lee and Whiteside counties are already well
on their way to fall campaign goals. So far, Lee County has raised about 50 percent of a $400,000 goal, director Jenny Koch said, though she didn’t have an exact figure. Whiteside has raised $380,000, and director Russ Siefken said he hopes the fund drive will raise about $720,000 for partner agencies. Last year, the campaign raised $735,000. A final number won’t be
announced until March, Siefken said. Sterling and Coloma townships have been hard at work signing up families for their annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive. Thursday was the final day to apply for a basket in Coloma Township, and Friday was the final day to apply in Sterling Township. DONATIONS CONTINUED ON A3
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
The Salvation Army red kettles are out and about in the Sauk Valley after the holiday fundraising campaign began Friday. Money raised makes up just over 60 percent of the Salvation Army’s operating budget.
WEEKEND FEATURE | DRONES OVER DIXON?
WEATHER
Temps ready to take polar plunge January-like weather coming; snow possible BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5525
Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Steven Fassler talks about his hobby of flying quadcopters – what others might call drones – outside his home in Dixon. Fassler has been sending the 3-pound contraption called the Phantom up in the skies around Dixon to shoot videos of local scenes that he has been posting to YouTube and social media. Go to saukvalley.com for links to videos.
Dixon’s eye in the sky Hobbyist uses drone ... er, quadcopter to capture video BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5695
DIXON – Steven Fassler prefers you call it a quadcopter, not a drone. Whatever you call the 3-pound contraption that the 46-year-old Dixon man has been flying, the spectacular aerial views it has taken from around the city have been a hit on social media. Fassler makes flying – or rather, guiding – the contraption look easy. He owns sev-
eral battery-powered “flying cameras.” According to Federal Aviation Administration classifications, the gizmos that Fassler flies are technically recreational model aircraft. The star of his fleet is a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+. It retails for $1,300 with built-in Wi-Fi, a 14-megapixel camera, and self-stabilizing software that uses GPS coordinates that can pin the device surprisingly still as it hovers in the sky.
Partly cloudy
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 10 40 Pages
Today: 45/27 For the forecast, see Page A9
EYE CONTINUED ON A8
STERLING – Are you ready for wintry weather? You had better be, because it might arrive early next week. A blast of polar air is about to send temperatures plunging in the Sauk Valley, and there could be snowfall. Low temperatures for Monday night will be in the upper 20s, then dip into the teens the rest of the week, said Alex Gibbs, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities. The change in weather will bring temperatures more common in January than in November. “We are just making the transition into the start of winter,” Gibbs said. “This will be the first significant cold we will have this fall.” In addition to low temperatures, a slight chance of snow is forecast for Monday night and into Tuesday. However, Gibbs could not say how much snow the area could get. POLAR CONTINUED ON A5
The forecast
Fassler prepares his quadcopter for flight at his home in Dixon. He has been flying remote control aircraft for years, but purchased this quadcopter for $1,300 this summer at Hobby Lobby in Rockford.
Brainerd & Son
Dixon plastering business being handed down to third generation. See Page C1
Money makeovers Experts and everyday families talk about personal finances Also inside USA Weekend: Chicken salad with tomato and cucumber Carol Burnett, Anthony Bourdain
Today Mostly sunny; high 44; low around 30. Sunday Cloudy; high 52; low in mid30s. Monday Partly cloudy; high 50; low 30. Tuesday Snow showers possible; high 34; low 19. Source: National Weather Service
Index Births................ C5 Lottery .............. A2 Business........... C1 Markets ............ A9 Classified .......... D1 Obituaries ......... A4 Comics ............. B6 Opinion............. A6 Community ..... C12 Scoreboard ...... B7 Scrapbook ....... C3 Crossword Saturday ........... D7 Sports .............. B1 Support groups .. C5 Crossword Sunday ............. C8 Travel .............. C10 Dave Ramsey ... C1 Weather............ A9 Dear Abby ........ C6 Wheels ............. D8