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SVM ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Lesson in making specialty flatbread
SPORTS, B3
FOOD, A8
TELEGRAPH
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
STERLING
Sentence a ‘slap on the wrist’? Baby sitter gets probation for brain injuries to baby BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 521
STERLING – A plea agreement Friday led to a baby sitter getting 30 months’ probation for seriously injuring an infant by shaking her – a penalty the judge acknowledged could be seen as a “slap on the wrist.”
Karyn McCallister, 42, of Sterling, pleaded guilty to reckless conduct in the 5-year-old case. That charge was one of two counts that had been filed against her by the state. “I have this feeling that the public thinks that probation is, for lack of a better term, a slap on the wrist, that a more appropriate sentence is a sentence to the department of corrections,” Judge John Hauptman said. In accepting the proposed plea deal negotiated by the state’s attorney and the defendant, Judge Hauptman said that the sentence
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Her walking away with just the 30 months, the judge even said it, it seems like a slap on the wrist.
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Ann Brandt, the now 5-year-old victim’s mother
should serve as a wake-up call. Before handing down the sentence, the judge allowed Ann and Jacob Brandt, the parents of the now 5-year-old victim, to explain to the court just how McCallister’s actions had affected their family.
“Her walking away with just the 30 months, the judge even said it, it seems like a slap on the wrist,” Ann said after the hearing. “But knowing that she won’t ever be able to watch kids again, and that she has the felony conviction, it helps.”
The Brandts were told about the plea deal in advance of Monday’s hearing, and were joined by a large support group of friends and family. Their church congregation entirely filled the hard, wooden benches behind them. As part of the terms of her sentence, McCallister may no longer provide child care to any juvenile who is not in her immediate family, and she is to have no contact with any member of the Brandt family. SENTENCE CONTINUED ON A2
DIXON
TAKING A RIDE AT THE PARK IN DIXON
DNR’s solution called ‘sad’ Injured deer shot near business, church BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
ABOVE: Mark Youngren, 4, slides down the hill at E.C. Smith Park in Dixon on Monday afternoon with his aunt, Kai Serrano. RIGHT: Jeff Lance pushes his niece, Kennedy Lance, 10, down the hill at E.C. Smith Park on Monday afternoon.
DIXON – Don Knight, a rural Dixon resident, says he tried to help an apparently injured deer avoid a collision with a car. When the Illinois Department of Natural Resources was called, it had another solution: kill the animal. Late Friday morning, Knight, a Vietnam veteran who owns an electrical contracting business, said he was driving on the state Route 2 access road near Schmitt Plumbing & Heating when the small buck walked up within 10 feet of his truck. The deer’s left antler was broken off, and his left eye was damaged. “After standing there for about 10 minutes and talking to the deer, he started to walk up to me,” Knight wrote in a letter to Sauk Valley Media. “I could tell he had been hit by a car and didn’t know where he was.” He was able to get ahold of the animal. “I wanted to keep him from crossing the main highway and getting killed by a car,” he said. “I worked with the deer for about 1 1/2 hours.” A DNR employee told Knight that the deer was sick and needed to be killed, Knight said. A conservation officer later shot the deer, state police said. It happened near Schmitt Plumbing and Sauk Valley Baptist Church. Tim Schweizer, a DNR spokesman, said he didn’t know about the local incident, but he said the agency often kills seriously injured deer. DNR CONTINUED ON A2
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TODAY’S EDITION: 24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 166
INDEX
BUSINESS ......... A11 COMICS ...... A10, B6 CROSSWORD......B8
DEAR ABBY ......... A7 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 SPORTS ...............B1
Today’s weather High 16. Low 11. More on A3.
Need work? Check out your classifieds, B7.
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