Helping the "Helper"

By James Middleton
The Boone County Journal
Of all the people in Belvidere and Boone County that claim every year they want to help little children in need, the man that delivers every year is Reverend Don Norek and his volunteers at His Glory Christian Outreach Mission in downtown Belvidere. In addition to the work of Reverend Norek and his group some local churches gather used coats and provide various other types of assistance to those in need, but if someone has the choice of spending the night in an alley or finding help, His Glory Christian Outreach Mission Center and Reverend Norek in downtown Belvidere is where people go.
People that need help for years have known of the Outreach Center and Reverend Don. He said in a recent meeting, “I’m getting calls this year from people and from places I have never gotten before.” He added, “Some of those that call are men and they sound as if they are embarrassed but they are calling because they need the help. They lost their jobs, their family is hungry and they can’t keep it together.”
Reverend Don said that this year is different from previous years serving people in the community. For more than 16 years the Outreach Center has held their annual Christmas event in downtown Belvidere but, for the Reverend and those that need the help, this, too, is a very different year.
This year the annual Christmas celebration begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 23 and runs until 8:30 p.m. People from all over the city and the county will be there and children in-need will be asked to fill out a form and have that ready when they stand in line to get their gift from Santa Claus. Santa as always, will make an early visit to downtown Belvidere because Reverend Norek heads up the effort.
Toys for the needy children in the area are divided by age and by gender. For example, the workers at the Outreach Center have dedicated the back portion of their building to setting aside collection areas for those gifts. One reason this year is so different from previous years is because the help from the community has not met the expanded need nor has it met the expectation.
Reverend Don said, “This year, we really need a lot of help. For example, toys for the needy kids from a few months old to two years old, we’re only down about 10 percent. But, it gets worse the older we go. For boys aged six to nine, we’re down on those gifts by about 40 percent. For the girls in the same age bracket, we’re down over 30 percent. But here’s the real deal, for girls 10 years and older, we’re down over 40 percent but for boys in the same age group, we’re down over 70 percent. That means seven out of 10 of those kids won’t get anything unless we get help.”
In the back area of the center, workers have constructed spaces where toys and gifts are collected according to the age and gender of the recipient. Cheri Durkee, the resource manager for the Outreach Center said, “We should have gifts stacked to where those boards are (about six feet off the floor). As you can see, we’re way down from where we need to be,” with some of the areas less than a third filled.
Reverend Don said the situation the Outreach Center is experiencing is easy to understand with a 13 percent unemployment rate in Belvidere and Boone County. “How could we expect anything different,” Reverend Don asked and added, “It’s up to me and to God to get the toys.”
But the Reverend has another problem besides diminished donations and gifts to the Outreach Center because he needs to find a few animals. Every year Reverend Don has a live Nativity Scene located in front of the Center. In that grouping he needs a couple of sheep and a cow but he also needs of a few riding horses to help with crowd control.
“We’re expecting that we could have maybe 3,000 kids this year, maybe 3,500 or more,” said Reverend Don. On Monday afternoon he had a meeting with Aldermen Ray Pendzinski (Ward 4) and Alderman Michael Chamberlain (Ward 3) from the Belvidere City Council and Belvidere Police Chief Jan Noble to make the final preparations for the event. Chief Noble was there to discuss routes and streets needed for the event on December 23 and to also discuss crowd control with the Reverend. Aldermen Pendzinski and Chamberlain were there because they are volunteering to help next Wednesday.
Reverend Don would appreciate anyone who could provide a couple of sheep and a cow for the live Nativity on Wednesday, December 23 to call the center at 815-547-8287. Scripture tells that those animals were present on the first Christmas.
Street parking is available throughout downtown Belvidere and also in the Sullivan’s Foods parking lot.
But before the event can even begin, Reverend Don and His Glory Christian Outreach Center need the help of the community. With only a few days left before December 23 at 6:30 p.m. when the Belvidere downtown Christmas event begins, there are a lot of toys that need to be obtained or there will be a lot of forgotten children this year.
Donations in the form of cash, check or money orders can be delivered up through the morning of December 23 to His Glory Christian Outreach Center at 209 South State Street in downtown Belvidere. Those that want to deliver toys can do so as well. But those that do want to deliver toys should contact the center at 815-547-8287 and speak to Reverend Don or to Ms. Durkee to find out where they have the greatest need.
If someone wants to donate cash or a check they can do so and specify what age and gender they want to help.
But in addition to toys, there are also benefactors in the community that donate food. Reverend Don said, “We have a local man, an anonymous donor, who is very generous every year. This year we’ll have 20 Christmas dinners that we will give out to the most-deserving families.” He said the dinners have all the trimmings with roast turkey and dressing, potatoes, yams, vegetables and pie for 20 families.
But the same donor has also provided enough food for those staying at the Belvidere House in downtown Belvidere to also have a joyous Christmas dinner, compliments of the anonymous donor and the Outreach Center. “We always go up there and pass out dinners to those at the Belvidere House, they need some good food and cheer on Christmas Day,” Reverend Don added. For Reverend Don and Cheri and his other volunteers, Christmas Day is their busiest work day of the year.
Reverend Don held up a handful of forms that had already been filled out by children and families that needed help to make this Christmas merry. “Look at all of these, what am I going to do?” he asked as he turned away.
Residents of Belvidere will help their families have a merry and joyous Christmas but in this week leading to Wednesday, December 23, residents of Belvidere and Boone County can do a lot more for those that need so much help. Many have fallen into dire straits due to the loss of a job or suffering a disabling injury or something else that occurred that was unexpected. This year residents can truly help by helping Reverend Don and the Outreach Center to continue the work they have sustained for 16 years straight to help make the Christmas of those in need a lot happier.
Cash, check and money order donations for toys will be accepted at His Glory Christian Outreach Center on December 23 until 5 p.m. Later that day, from 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., everyone in town and the county is invited to celebrate Christmas a couple days early in downtown Belvidere.
Click here for a list of toy barrel locations in Boone County.

Reverend Don Norek of His Glory Mission in Belvidere, Ill. shows how high a pile of donated toys was in previous years of his annual toy drive on Monday, December 14, 2009. Donations to the toy drive this year are approximately 35% lower than they were last year at this time and there is a sharp increase in the number of families who are requesting toys.
Photo by Curtis Clegg

Explosion at NDK Plant Kills Trucker

By James Middleton
The Boone County Journal
At approximately 2:30 p.m. on December 8, the NDK Plant in Belvidere did just what it was designed to do if an explosion occurred, the building broke apart. The problem that resulted was that one man, a truck driver at the Belvidere Oasis located about a quarter mile from the NDK site, was killed by the flying debris and one other person was treated for her minor injuries at another location.
Belvidere authorities identified the man as Ronald Greenfield 63, of Chesterton, Ind., who had stopped at the Belvidere Oasis for a rest stop. He was walking through the parking lot when the explosion occurred. The Belvidere Oasis is on I-90 at the south edge of Belvidere and the NDK Plant is located immediately adjacent to the Oasis on Crystal Parkway, south of US Route 20.
Sources have indicated that because of the force of the explosion and the unexpected result, likely there was a gas leak that was the root cause. However, that element remains under investigation.
After the explosion occurred the westbound entrance ramp to the Interstate was closed for more than two hours. Sources also indicated that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene but he was transported to St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford where additional lifesaving measures were unsuccessfully employed.
Belvidere Fire Chief David Worrell also reported that a woman at a nearby manufacturing facility, Grupo Antolin Illinois Inc. was injured; however, she was treated and released.
The building where the explosion occurred encompasses more than 55,000 square feet of working space and houses NDK Crystal and NDK America, Inc. The site serves as the North American headquarters for Nihon Dempa Kogyo Co., Ltd.
The company’s website describes their work as: “NDK manufactures and supplies highly accurate, highly reliable crystal products using advanced technology and thorough quality control.” Their website also features a variety of products shown that include clock oscillators, voltage-controlled crystal oscillators and synthetic quartz crystal optical components. The website further identifies the NDK product line has practical application in the mobile communications, automotive and short-range wireless industries.
For the time being, as a result of the explosion all manufacturing operations have ceased at the plant as a number of investigation are underway, led by state and federal officials. Local authorities are standing by to provide security assistance to the investigators as the process moves forward.
The time needed to conduct the investigation into the incident, according to some sources, could take many months. Belvidere Mayor Frederic Brereton confirmed he was told the many investigations could take months to complete. It was expected that preliminary investigators would begin arriving as early as Wednesday, December 9, with more to follow.
Soon after the incident occurred on Monday, representatives of the regional office of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) were on the site evaluating the situation. The purpose of their investigation was to determine if safety and health requirements had been met and were being employed at the plant.
It was further confirmed that members of other federal investigative offices will also soon travel to Belvidere. Members of the U.S. Chemical and Hazard Investigation Board are also expected to arrive by Wednesday, December 9 to begin their review. It is also expected that representatives of the Department of Homeland Security will arrive to conduct their review of the site and the facility.
The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office is also expected to send their representatives to conduct an investigation from their point of view.
The location of the explosion was found on Monday, according to Belvidere Fire Chief David Worrell. He indicated to media outlets on Monday that the pressurized container where synthetic quartz crystals are grown at the west side of the building was where the explosion occurred. It was further reported that a gas explosion was the most logical explanation of what occurred.
Some from the plant who are familiar with the area commented they have often smelled a strong scent of gas at the site. However, it was also reported by other officials from preliminary investigation, that the smell of gas was relatively common at or around the site near the Belvidere Oasis.
As a sidebar to the story, the website, www.justicenewsflash.com a website dedicated to alerting lawyers of incidents that have occurred around the world that could be of interest, produced a news release on the Belvidere explosion. The news release begins, “Legal news for Illinois personal injury attorneys. An explosion fatally injured a trucker who was hundreds of feet away. Illinois personal injury attorney’s alert, an explosion at a NDK America plant killed a trucker hundreds of feet away.”
It appears that in addition to federal and state investigators spending time at the site of the explosion, others might also come by for their investigation.

Traffic on I-90 speeds past the remains of the NDK plant in Belvidere, Ill. on Thursday, December 10, 2009. The plant exploded earlier in the week killing one person.
Photo by Curtis Clegg

Why We Do It, Part 1

This blog posting by Joe McNally about Tom, who is battling Multiple Sclerosis, is a big part of why I finally decided to start a blog of my own.

Joe McNally is a giant in the world of photography and he certainly needs no introduction from me. But I wanted this blog entry of his to be the first in a series to profile other peoples' work that shows genuine empathy, humanity, and feeling; work that explains "why we (photographers) do it". My blog posts in this series will be labeled WWDI.

"Why we do it" is a reference to a quote in Peter Howe's foreword to Dirck Halstead's book Moments in Time:

The reason that most photojournalists put up with the low pay and difficult circumstances is that they are a amazed they are allowed to do what they do.

I was deeply moved by Joe McNally's three-word response to Tom's idea about a portrait in his back yard: "Let's do this."

I e-mailed Joe in August 2008 after I read that blog post and I asked him a question to which I already instinctively knew the answer, but I wanted confirmation nevertheless. I asked him if he got any payment whatsoever for photographing Tom. He replied:

"Curtis...no money changed hands...would not do that in those circumstances...Joe"

This morning I e-mailed Joe again to see how Tom was doing, and to see if he had kept in touch. Joe replied, "Yes, Tom and I are friends, and continue to correspond. Our studio just
donated some gear for him to use for a benefit dinner gala out in Jersey."

There are some photos that, through some cosmic necessity, just have to be made. Similarly, there are some stories that simply must be told. Joe McNally is a master of both. He is my hero.

This is why we do it.


Left: Tom, described by photographer Joe McNally as "Father, fighter, lover of photography."

Not a Dry Eye in the House

Holocaust survivor Marion Blumenthal Lazan displays the Star of David that she was required to wear on her clothing as a child in Nazi Germany as she addresses an assembly at Belvidere North High School on Wednesday, September 16, 2009. Lazan's family was imprisoned at several refugee and concentration camps in Holland and Germany during WWII; the members of her immediate survived their imprisonment but her father died of typhus shortly after his liberation. Lazan has told her inspirational story of survival to over one million people at such assemblies in the last 30 years. Her autobiography, "Four Perfect Pebbles", was published in 1996 and the hardback version of the book is currently in its 20th printing.

"Commit to Courage Day" in DeKalb County

The DeKalb County Board has designated today, September 15, 2009 as "Commit to Courage Day" in honor of Mr. Samuel J. Churchill, who, according to the proclamation, "is the recipient of the Medal of Honor. During the Civil War he served in the Army in Company G, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery. Samuel fought in the Battle of Nashville in Franklin, Tennessee on December 15, 1864..."

The proclamation goes on to say of Churchill that "it was during that battle that Churchill, was recognized for valor in combat because 'when the fire of the enemy's batteries compelled the men of his detachment for a short time to seek shelter, he stood manfully at his post and for some minutes worked his gun alone.'"

DeKalb County, Illinois, is listed as the home and place of enlistment of Mr. Samuel J. Churchill. Battery G was initially organized in DeKalb at the site of the old fairgrounds, at what is now Altgeld Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University. A plaque at the Northern Illinois Veterans Memorial in Kirkland proclaims that the majority of Battery G members were from the cities of DeKalb and Sycamore.

The unit went on to engage Conferderate forces at numerous battles and skirmishes before the battery was mustered out on September 4, 1865.

Two of the unit's members, Albert Sherburne and Samuel S. Garst, were captured at different times and held at the infamous Andersonville Prison in Macon county, Georgia. Shelburne was captured on January 15, 1865 at Eastport, Mississippi and Garst was captured near Holly Springs, Mississippi on August 28, 1864. Both men survived their terms at the notorious prison, unlike 12,913 Union troops who perished at the prison during its 14-month existence. My great-great-great grandfather, Mathew Simpson Clegg of Company M of the 15th Indiana Calvary also survived his time at Andersonville Prison. His son, Mathew Simpson Clegg, Jr. was also captured and held at Andersonville but the son did not survive the ordeal. He died of starvation at the prison.

Today about sixty dedicated volunteers work diligently to keep Battery G's rich history alive. The mission of these Civil War Re-Enactors is to "educate the public about the American Civil War, about the role that field artillery played in the war and about the people who fought and lived through those difficult times."

Much of DeKalb County woke today to learn that one of our own soldiers, Army Pfc. Matthew M. Martinek, 20, of Genoa had died on September 11 of injuries he sustained from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan one week earlier.

I hope we can all take a few minutes to remember, appreciate, and honor everyone who has served in our armed forces, in times of peace and war, from privates to generals, from long-forgotten grunts to Medal of Honor recipients. They all answered the call.


Left: Civil War re-enactors Larry Werline of Sycamore (left) as General Ulysses S. Grant and Jerry Hahn of Sun Prairie, Wis. as the unit's surgeon pose for a photograph at Battery G's encampment on September 13, 2009 at the new location of the Sycamore History Museum.