COUNTY

Health department stressing need for personal hygiene items

The DeKalb County Health Department will stock DeKalb County food pantries with personal hygiene necessities as part of the department’s emergency preparedness drill next month.

Collections will take place until Feb. 15 at the DeKalb County Health Department, 2550 N. Annie Glidden Road, DeKalb; DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St., DeKalb; Genoa Public Library, 240 W. Main St., Genoa; Kishwaukee Family YMCA, 2500 Bethany Road, Sycamore; Fox Valley Family YMCA, 707 S. Main St., Sandwich; and the Sycamore Public Library, 103 E. State St., Sycamore.

County health officials are looking for regular-sized items for the collection but will accept travel-sized items. Businesses and organizations are encouraged to run their own collections and deliver the items to any of the listed locations, The health department will also arrange to pick up the donations.

For more information, contact emergency preparedness director Cindy Graves at 815-748-2447 or coordinator Melissa Edwards at 815-758-6673.

DeKALB

Residents who pay by credit card will pay fee, too

City officials will pass on credit charge fees to residents who pay utility bills with a credit card next month.

The city has been absorbing the costs of credit card processing fees for years, but says now that the practice is no longer economically feasible. The new fees are $3.25 a transaction for online utility billing credit card payments with a cap of $450 total amount due; 2.95 percent for all other online credit card payments; $1.95 a transaction for one-time online debit card payments, and 2.3 percent for all payment types at the counter. The fees will be levied on all online charges and payments charged in person at the Municipal Building.

The new fees come after the city adopted a resolution in 2016 to pass all credit card fees onto the end user for online and over-the-counter transactions payable to the city of DeKalb. For information about credit card fees, call the city’s finance department at 815-748-2000.

Full-moon outing slated for Jan. 21

The DeKalb Park District invites the public to explore the outdoors, guided only by moonlight at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at Buena Vista Golf Course, 131 Buena Vista Drive, DeKalb. If there is snow, cross-country skiing will be added as an activity for the whole family. The outing is free and no registration is required.

Police to hold free hunter safety course

A 10-hour Hunter Safety Education Training course, sponsored by the DeKalb Police Department and Illinois Department of Natural Resources, will be held on the second floor of the police department, 700 W. Lincoln Hwy. 

There is no registration fee for the Hunter Safety Education Training course. Classes will be held from 6-10 p.m. March 5, March 7 and March 12. Attendance is mandatory at all three sessions for all 10 hours. Seats are limited to 25 students on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Course instruction includes firearms safety, hunter ethics, wildlife management, first aid, survival techniques, state regulations, basic archery, muzzle loading and game identification, with an overall emphasis on gun safety. State law mandates that any person born on or after Jan. 1, 1980 successfully complete the hunter education course before receiving his or her first hunting license.

To register for the course, contact the police department at 815-748-8400 then dial option No. 1; or email Geoffrey.guzinski@cityofdeKalb.com. If you have any questions, email Officer Guzinski.

Archery skills to be taught  in new park district course

The DeKalb Park District is offering for the first time an USA Olympic-style archery class. Licensed instructors using compound bows will teach the course. They also will teach safety tips and how students can repair their own arrows. Each class time will be spent half on target practice and half on archery game. Students as young as 7 years old up to adults may register for the classes which will be taught at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays from Jan. 23-Feb. 20 at Haish Gymnasium, 303 S. 9^th St., DeKalb. Fee is $150 for DeKalb residents and $155 for non-residents. Register online at dekalbparkdistrict.com. The classes will be repeated in March and April.

Lil’ Sam Joy

SYCAMORE

New fund to help those with special needs

The memory of a DeKalb teen with special needs is being kept alive with the establishment of a new fund, which is now part of the DeKalb County Community Foundation.

The goal of the Lil’ Sam Joy Fund, founded by his parents, Samuel and Karen Baker, is to inspire and help others with special needs. It was created in memory of their son, Samuel P. Baker II, who was born June 12, 2001, and was diagnosed with Down syndrome two years later. He died unexpectedly in May 2016.

Donations to any fund at the foundation, including the Lil’ Sam Joy Fund, can be made online at dekalbccf.org/donate or by mail to the DeKalb County Community Foundation, 475 DeKalb Avenue, Sycamore 60178. For information, call Executive Director Dan Templin at 815-748-5383 or email dan@dekalbccf.org.

–DeKalb County News Briefs–