Dinner with Dimitri

Visiting China Chef in Bradley C1

Married to Midewin
Couple bringing prairie back B1
Connie and Jerry Heinrich, of Wilmington

February 3, 2012

Briefs
KANKAKEE

Police looking for attempted credit union robber

Inside
NEWS

New centers find ways to feed the hungry. A3

OUTDOORS

Mike Nelson

An attempted robbery was thwarted around 8 a.m. this morning at the Kankakee Terminal Belt Credit Union, 1370 W. Court St., according to Kankakee police. Details were not available at press time, but officials on the scene said there were no injuries. Squad cars were immediately seen prowling the foggy streets and alleys of the neighborhood surrounding the credit union. Meanwhile, other officers were on foot, walking through some of the soggy backyards and gardens southeast of the building, seeking a lone suspect, described only as a man in a dark coat. The Terminal Belt facility was robbed in May 2010, and again in January 2011.

BREAKING NEWS

Momence farmer Conservationist of the Year. B1

OUR WORLD

The Daily Journal/Nicholas Holstein

Jaime Zavala moves nonferrous scrap metal from a pile Thursday afternoon at Belson Steel Center Scrap Inc. in Bourbonnais.

Authorities reveal past complaint about teacher. B3

LIFE

Coppers calling
Prices lure thieves, create nuisance for cops
By Rob Laird
rlaird@daily-journal.com 815-929-5408

The Daily Journal/Mike Voss

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SPORTS

KCC defeats Daley. D1

Classied
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Stealing copper has become big business. But for law enforcement and victims, its become a big nuisance. Dozens of thefts involving copper were reported to local law enforcement agencies in the last six months of 2011, resulting in more than $100,000 in losses for those affected. Weve definitely noticed an uptick in it, Kankakee County sheriff s police Chief Deputy Ken McCabe said. It directly relates to the economy and the price of copper. The price is the highest its been in a number of years, said Belson Steel Center Scrap Inc. Vice President Kevin Kennell, and that has emboldened thieves to go on the hunt. Its basic economics, McCabe said. If they can get more money for the copper, theyre going to try to steal more of it. Copper has reportedly risen about 10 percent this year, spurred by signs of an economic recovery. Its often used an economic gauge because it is used in products ranging from building materials to consumer electronics.

Copper for March delivery finished at $3.79 per pound; scrapyards can pay anywhere from 50 cents to $3 per pound this week depending on the quality. McCabe said the sheriff s police have dealt with at least four dozen incidents of copper theft in the last six months, resulting in roughly a dozen arrests. The Stealing Kankakee Police Department copper no is seeing a surge in residential copper theft, which typieasy task cally involves a burglar strip A3 ping a vacant house of its copper piping. In one threeday stretch in October, five such incidents were reported to Kankakee police, including one in which the basement became filled with 5 feet of water. For a bigger haul, more ambitious criminals take to rural areas and swipe large sections of telephone cable. Hopkins Park is the most affected area, with AT&T reporting 11 incidents in the month of August alone. In October, a quarter-mile of aerial cable was stolen. A company employee told the police $6,400 worth of materials was taken in that heist, according to the police report. Its a significant problem not just for us, but for our customers who rely on phone service, AT&T spokesman Jim Kimberly said. For many people, this is their connection to 911. Its a public safety issue. Kimberly noted that the incidents surrounding Hopkins Park are of great concern, and the company has offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction of a person responsible for the thefts.

Kankakee police investigate an attempted robbery at the Kankakee Terminal Belt Credit Union on West Court Street this morning.

Caseys robbed
Two men at least one with a gun robbed the Caseys General Store at 205 East Brookmont Blvd. in Kankakee early Thursday morning. Employees told police that two men between the ages of 35 and 40 entered the store at 2 a.m. and demanded money out of the cash register. One of the men pointed a gun at one of the employees. The two men then ran away. Visit www.daily-journal.com for the latest on these stories. Dennis Yohnka and Rob Laird

JOLIET

Trial set for father accused in familys deaths

The Will County States Attorneys Office said a judge has set an August trial date for an Oswego man accused of shooting to death his wife and three children in Channahon. Spokesman Chuck Pelkie said Judge Daniel Rozak on Thursday set an Aug. 13 trial date for Christopher Vaughn, who is charged with first-degree murder. He said the trial is expected to last four to six weeks. Vaughn is accused of killing his wife and children on June 14, 2007. Authorities said he was driving his family in their SUV when he pulled onto a frontage road near Interstate 55 and shot them. Police later found the bodies of Kimberly Vaughn, 12-year-old Abigayle, 11-yearold Cassandra and 8-year-old Blake. The Associated Press

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Obituaries
A5
Donald Bell...........Cissna Park Florence Diefenbach..Bonfield Ward Harwood ..Crescent City Robert Lagesse ........Kankakee Timothy Moss ....Hopkins Park Berdella Natschke......Watseka Martha Patchin ........Momence Veronica Radke .......Kankakee Harry Roe ..............Braidwood Arthur Shorkey ....Wilmington Thomas Shrimplin .....Sheldon David Steen ....................Joliet

Prosecutors push for Piper conviction

5th trial likely in 1997 triple murder
By Rob Laird
rlaird@daily-journal.com 815-929-5408

Index
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Prosecutors will likely head to court for a fifth time in an effort to convict Aureliuse Buddy Piper of a triple murder in Kankakee in 1997. Previous trials have resulted in mistrials and reversals in the 15-year-old case. The 3rd Judicial Circuit Court of Ottawa last week ruled Piper did not receive a fair trial in 2009 when he was convicted for the murders. The court remanded the case for a new trial, adding another chapter in one of the most complicated and longest-lasting cases ever in Kankakee County. Prosecutors have vowed to fight the ruling. Kankakee County States Attorney Jamie Boyd has until Feb. 29 to either file a petition for leave of appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court or let the appellate courts opinion stand and

Aureliuse Piper

move the case directly back for its fifth trial. If a leave of appeal is filed and granted, the state Supreme Court will decide whe ther Piper received a fair trial in 2009, when a jury convicted him of the murders of Patricia Easter, M.T. Hawkins and 9-year-old M.T. Hawkins Jr. That trial was Pipers fourth for the crimes; the first two resulted in mistrials due to hung juries, and the third was reversed on appeal for the improper admission of hearsay evidence. A leave of appeal was filed in that incident, but the state Supreme Court upheld the reversal. At the fourth trial, prosecutors again used hearsay evidence

from two of the victims, which was ruled admissible during the trial by Chief Judge Kathy Bradshaw-Elliott because it showed the state of mind of the victims. On Jan. 24, the appellate court disagreed. It did not, however, reverse the conviction outright because the evidence that was properly presented was sufficient to sustain [the] defendants conviction, according to the order. Even with that caveat, Office of the State Appellate Defender Mark Fisher had no complaints about the courts order. Im pleased with the decision; they determined he had not received fair trial, Fisher said. I think they made the right decision. For prosecutors, it means going back to court for a fifth time in an attempt to finally end a case theyve been making for 15 years. Im ready to try it again, said Ed Parkinson, with the Special Prosecution Unit of the States Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, who has been with the case since the second trial. Its an important case. We will retry it again. Well call it the Piper Five. The 2009 convictions carry a mandatory sentence of natural life in prison.

LABOR

Surge in job market pleasant surprise

In the most impressive surge for the job market since the middle of last decade, the United States added 243,000 jobs in January, far more than economists expected. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years. The news was met with enthusiasm on Wall Street. Todays report from the Labor Department sent money pouring into the stock market and out of more conservative investments in bonds. Dow Jones industrial average futures, virtually flat before the report was released at 7:30 a.m. CST, jumped 100 points. Hiring accelerated across the economy and up and down the pay scale. The highsalary professional services industry added 70,000 jobs, the most in 10 months. Manufacturing added 50,000, the most in a year. The stock market is already off to its fastest start in 15 years as more investors start to believe the economic recovery is finally for real and will only get stronger. The Dow has gained 4 percent in 2012. The unemployment rate was down two ticks from last month and the lowest since an 8.3 percent reading in February 2009. It was also the fifth consecutive month that the rate has fallen, the first time that has happened since late 1994. The Associated Press

DID YOU KNOW?

Bats are the worlds only flying mammals.

Source: www.batconservation.org

White nose syndrome kills millions of bats B1