LOCAL NEWS – THURSDAY DECEMBER 5th 2019
Jim Leach
Services will be held Saturday for former Sycamore mayor Ken Mundy, who died Tuesday at age 73 from throat cancer. The service will begin at 4 p.m. at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church on Brickville Road in Sycamore, with visitation at the church from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. His cremated remains will be placed on his parents’ grave at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Dixon. Mundy began his service to Sycamore as treasurer for the Sycamore Library in 1972, and also served as city treasurer until 2005 when he was elected mayor. He served as mayor until his 2017 retirement.
The DeKalb school board approved a controversial welcoming resolution at its Tuesday night meeting. According to the Daily Chronicle, dozens of supporters of the measure packed the meeting, urging the board to adopt it. The resolution prohibits the district from sharing information about students’ citizenship status. It passed by a 4 to 1 vote, with two members abstaining. Several students and former students urged the board to approved the measure, saying it will create a stronger community.
The Sycamore school district was a victim of a ransomware attack earlier this week, but Superintendent Kathy Countryman said student email or information was not compromised. A statement on the district’s website Tuesday said that internal technology servers were attacked, and the district is working on determining the extent of compromised information. According to the Daily Chronicle, Ransomware is malicious software that can deny users access to a computer system or to data until a ransom is paid, and is often spread through phishing emails or by visiting an infected site.
Anyone interested in owning a Habitat for Humanity-built home should attend a mandatory orientation meeting at 7 tonight at the Habitat office on DeKalb Avenue in Sycamore, which is across the street from McDonald’s. According to the Daily Chronicle, those interested must need housing, be able to pay a mortgage and be willing to partner with Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County. The organization builds energy-efficient, low-maintenance homes of varying sizes. Prospective owners must be legal US residents and have lived in DeKalb County for at least 1 year prior to applying. Building is expected to begin this spring.