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Recovery Effort For Tornado-Stricken Areas Of Northern Illinois Enters Next Phase

Carl Nelson
/
WNIJ

Public Safety officials say they are confident that they have accounted for all residents of the devastated DeKalb County community of Fairdale and are preparing the next steps in the process.

Kirkland Fire Chief Chad Connell said Friday afternoon that search operations were winding down at the unincorporated town on Highway 72 west of Kirkland.  He said teams were going through the rubble one last time with dogs to make doubly sure nothing had been missed. 

DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said residents will be allowed to come back to inspect their property on Saturday.  Commonwealth Edison crews began replacing downed power poles and stringing lines Friday in an effort to restore electricity and other services to the town as quickly as possible.  Authorities will also continue efforts to clean up piles of debris and deal with structures heavily damaged but still standing.

Two Fairdale women have been confirmed dead as a result of Thursday night’s tornado.  DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller identified them as Jacklyn K. Klosa, 69, and Geraldine M. Schultz, 67.  Both were found in the hardest-hit area, where homes had been totally destroyed. Connell says another person suffered critical injuries, but was doing well.  Ten others had less severe injuries.

The tornado also destroyed a number of houses near Rochelle in Ogle County, but there were no reports of serious injuries.

A volunteer with the Red Cross said a few people stayed at a shelter set up at Rochelle-Flagg Township High School Thursday night, but officials say most tornado victims were finding housing with friends and relatives.

Food and other relief supplies were being stockpiled and distributed at several locations, including Rochelle High School and the Kirkland Fire Station.  Besides the Red Cross, a number of organizations and individuals around northern Illinois are organizing drives to collect needed supplies for the tornado victims.

Guy Stephens produces news stories for the station, and coordinates our online events calendar, PSAs and Arts Calendar announcements. In each of these ways, Guy helps keep our listening community informed about what's going on, whether on a national or local level. Guy's degrees are in music, and he spent a number of years as a classical host on WNIU. In fact, after nearly 20 years with Northern Public Radio, the best description of his job may be "other duties as required."
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