St. Valentine's Day Murders at NIU

Not forgetting that horrible day, 16 years ago yesterday, February 14, 2008, when a gunman (whose name won't be mentioned) stormed into a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and killed five students and wounded many others before doing the right thing finally and killing himself.

This hit Liz and me especially hard since we are both graduates of that school.

Not Forgetting.

A Sad Day in NIU History: 12 Years Ago, the Murders

The murderer came into Cole Hall, a massive lecture hall at approximately 3:05 CST and began his killing and wounding.  There were 120 students in there and by the time he killed himself, five students were dead.

It is now 2:55 pm, so just about the correct time that long ago.

We were at K.C.'s Cabin in Spring Grove, Illinois, having dinner when we saw what looked like NIU's campus on TV.  The sound was down but eventually they had a caption at the bottom saying what had happened.

We saw it at the same time as another couple who really got worried because their daughter was there.  Fortunately she was okay as she called them soon after we saw it.  We also had a friend by the name of Gayle who was a grad student there, but we found out she was alright as well.

We'll be wearing our NIU clothes today with the black ribbons showing out support and memories.

A Horrible Event.

JSIS: Two NIU People Killed in Aurora-- Alabama Omits Lincoln-- Super Snow Moon

JSIS--  Just Some Interesting Stuff.

1.  TWO NIU PEOPLE KILLED IN AURORA--  As if Valentine's Day isn't bad enough fot Northern Illinois University, because of the five murders 11 years ago, but the day after it this year, two people with NIU connections were murdered by another gunman,  Trevor Wehner was starting his internship in preparation for his May graduation and alumnus Clayton Parker were both killed.

2.  ALABAMA OMITS LINCOLN--  Monday was Presidents' Day and Alabama did not include Abraham Lincoln.  Some called it racism, but it was actually a Yankee thing.  By the way, I didn't know Presidents' Day was a day to honor all presidents, not just Washington and Lincoln.

3.  SUPER SNOW MOON--  The last two nights were almost as bright as daylight because of it.  No sneaking through the blockade these last two nights.

Thinking About Millard Fillmore.  --RoadDog

We Have Our Blue Light On: Blue Lives Matter Too

Our driveway light has been blue since last September.  We do it in honor of our brave men and women in blue.  The police.  The ones that protect us from the undesirables who would do us harm given the chance.  Ladies and gentlemen, it is a very thin blue line.

We keep it on now to honor the five white police officers murdered in Dallas (as well as the several wounded) while protecting a Black Lives Matter parade directed against them.  They were murdered by a black man who was out to kill white policemen because of the incidents that occurred this past week where two black men were killed by white police.  I can understand why blacks are so upset about this, especially in the killing of the man in Minnesota. But the one in Louisiana was resisting arrest.

But police must learn to show more restraint whenever possible.  Do not shoot unless absolutely necessary.

Since then, police have been attacked, often by blacks, in other places.  It seems that some blacks have declared war on the police who are the internal protection of the United States.  And, even in their shame, blacks (and  some whites) still are marching for Black Lives Matter.

To my way of thinking, Blue Lives Matter.  Without them we would be at the mercy of the certain undesirable blacks.

A Truly Sad State of Affairs.  Shame On Black Lives Matter for Bringing This On..  --RoadDog

Local Policeman Killed in Fox Lake, Illinois-- Part 4: Blue Lives Matter, Too

SEPTEMBER 2ND, WEDNESDAY

This was the first thing I checked online when I got on the computer.  Sadly, by 10 a.m., the murderers had not been caught,  The police are still searching the big area south of Fox Lake from Sayton Road along US-12, Rollins Road and Ill. Highway 59.

Personally, I believe the killers must be a long way away from here.  I know if i had done what they did, my first thing to do would be to get as far away as possible.

The authorities are keeping pretty much mum on any evidence they have and rightfully so.  There is some question as to Joe Gliniewicz's gun.  yesterday we heard that they had taken it.  This morning the Tribune said the gun had been found.

A big fathering is planned for late afternoon at the Fox Lake Lake Front Park on Nippersink Lake.  Several thousand are expected.  We at first planned on going until we heard how many people were going to be there until we heard how many were expected.  Lake Front Park can only hold so many cars, so parking would be a huge problem not to mention sitting and standing.

We went to Donovan's and watched the ceremony.  At first, there did not appear to be many people there and we thought that we should have gone, but by the time it started, it was standing room only.  We watched it at Donovan's.  Everybody in the place was also watching and conversation mostly ceased.  One of out buddies there is Jerry who is a retired Chicago policeman.  He was livid over the whole thing and understandably so.  All you hear nowadays is cop brutality to blacks, but they have a really dangerous job.  I'd hate to think what would happen to good people if the cops weren't there.

Not only did Joe Gliniewicz, "G.I. Joe" as he was called, have Fox Lake connections, but also he grew up in nearby Antioch, Illinois, and graduated from that high school.  This is also where he lives with his wife and four sons, two of whom are active duty military.

Two Villages Mourn Their Own.

Local Policeman Killed in Fox Lake-- Part 3: Joe Gliniewicz

SEPTEMBER 1ST, TUESDAY

As I drove north on US-12 (Rand Road) the short distance, about two miles, to Fox lake, I began seeing lot of police and emergency vehicles.  The area starting where Ill-59 breaks off of US-12 had cop cars about every 150 feet, all facing he heavy undergrowth where they thought the three murderers were hiding.

By the time I got to South Sayton it was wall-to-wall police with several tents.  Evidently this was the headquarters of the manhunt.

Needless to say, Liz was watching all the breaking news on TV and following it on Face Book  Not only were there many policemen from the local area, but FBI and ATF.  It was the main topic of conversation at several places we went to afterwards. Later we met our friends Sue and Paul at Half-Times in Johnsburg.  This morning they had been in northern part of the Lower Michigan Peninsula at their cabin and had heard about it within an hour after 8 a.m. when the murder took place.

Sue bicycles with a woman from near the where the murder took place and when she had gone out for a ride, a policeman said this would not be a good day to do it and told her why.  She went on Face Book and told Sue.  Like I said, we didn't know anything until after 1 p.m..  They listened to the events unfolding on their drive home.

Sadly, at the end of the day, the murderers had not been caught.

Local Policeman Killed in Fox Lake-- Part 2: Joe Gliniewicz

September 1, 2015

Murders are a rare thing in this area of northeast Illinois and this one, of a policeman, was particularly unnerving.  After I found out what had happened on Tuesday, I went to several businesses in Round Lake and overheard clerks and patrons talking about it.  I drove Il-134 to US-12 south of where the police were searching for the three men who killed "GI Joe" as he was called.

I went to the Menard's and the people there told me that there were a lot of heavily armed law enforcement people behind the store.  The clerk out in the nursery section said today was her birthday and she was worried about being outside all by herself.  She said she would now be like her mother, whose birthday is on September 11th.

About this time, we started hearing all sorts of emergency vehicle sirens and looked out to the road and saw lots of them driving very fast and heading in our general area.  I figured this would be a good time to get out of there and left.

I went to Bay Road and had to wait a real long time to turn onto US-12 heading north toward Fox Lake.  It seemed that every time our turn light would go green, another cop car would come roaring through, causing us to miss several lights.

Local Policeman Killed in Fox Lake, Illinois: How I Found Out About It

Today will certainly be a day to remember in this area of Illinois.  At around 8 a.m., a Fox Lake police lieutenant, Joe Gliniewicz,  was killed by three culprits when he broke up what appears to be a robbery.

I didn't know anything about it when I left home here in nearby Spring Grove, right up US Highway 12 about four miles from Fox Lake.  This was at about 12:40 p.m..  The first idea that I had that something was going on was when I took Sayton Drive by the Walgreens on US-12 and could not go east on Rollins Road as it was blocked by police.  I then saw a helicopter, but with all the road construction going on in the area, figured that was yet another closed road.

But when I saw two WGN sound vans parked in the shopping plaza, I knew something was going on. I would have called Liz to tell her to check the news, but I was driving and it is against the law to talk on cell phones in Illinois.

 I took Grand Avenue to Il-59 and then Wilson Road back to Rollins and into Round Lake Beach to see "Man From Uncle" at the Regal Theater on Rollins.  When I got to the door of it, I saw a sign that they were temporarily closed due to a problem in the area.  Since the attempted shooting last week, Regal Theaters have instituted a search policy for anyone bringing bags into their theaters.  They are being very careful about the crazies.

A woman came out and told me that a cop had been shot in Fox Lake and that there were several suspects on the loose.  The theater would be closed until this was over.

--RoadDog

Eighth Anniversary of the NIU Murders on Saturday

Five students at Northern Illinois University (my alma mater) were shot to death on February 14, 2008, in shootings that began at 3:05 p.m..  Liz and I first learned of it while at K.C.'s Cabin in Spring Grove when we saw film from DeKalb and thought it was neat to get some publicity for a change until we found out what had happened.  (The sound was off at K.C.'s.)

Killed that day:

Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero
Juliana Gehant, 32, of Mendota
Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville
Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Elmhurst
Gayle Dubowski, 20, of Carol Stream

Twenty others were wounded.

The murderer was decent enough to kill himself.  Law enforcement officials collected 48 shell casings and 6 shotgun shells.

I do not know why media continues to identify the murderer.  As far as I am concerned, he had no name or family.

Should Remain Nameless.

Did Anyone Die In Your House? Here's How to Find Out

From the Nov. 12, 2013, Yahoo! News. "Website Tells Who Died At Your House" by Alan Farnham, Good Morning America.

Check it out at DiedInHouse.com. If you move into an older home, find out if there were any murders, suicides or natural deaths in your house. I bet the folks who moved into the "Amityville Horror" or "Conjuring" would have liked to know.

This is the idea of Roger Condrey, but it will cost you $11.99 for a report.

A Small Price to Pay for Peace of Mind. --RoadDog

BOO!!

JSIS: Sandy Hook Coming Down-- 19 Elements-- $250,000

JSIS-- Just Some Interesting Stuff.

From Oct. 14, 2013, Time Magazine.

1. SANDY HOOK COMING DOWN-- Real sorry to hear that Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown is being torn down. I hate having that sick person inflicting one more injury like that.

2. 19 ELEMENTS-- Nineteen elements were assigned new atomic weights as a result of more accurate measurement technology. Darn!! Thanks to my watching "Breaking Bad" I had just figured out all those elements. Now, I have to start all over again.

3. $250,000-- Cost of a 30-second ad during the "Breaking Bad" finale, up from about $75,000 for the rest of the season. I'll miss this show.

Just Some Interesting Stuff. --RoadDog

Sad News From Northern Illinois University

With all the hoopla over our school's appearance in the Orange Bowl, there are still some stories out of campus that aren't good at all.

The most recent is the death of the Pi Kappa Alpha pledge, Pikes, David Bogenberger, from alcohol.  He was 19 and from my old high school, Palatine.  We went to school with his aunt and father.

Rightfully so, the fraternity is now off campus and its leaders and members on trial for his death.  Hey, I know fraternities drink, I was a Delta Sig there.  But what he drank was really above and beyond, but not surprising in this day and age of everything "EXTREME."

Then, there was the murder of Toni Keller on October 21, 2010.  Her killer was found and now will be standing trial.

Worst of all were the St. Valentine's murders on Feb. 14, 2008, when five students were slain in Cole Hall.  At least there is now a fitting memorial to them on campus.  I just went to the Wikipedia article.  Too bad they chose to use the murderers name.  It is my belief that when someone does the unthinkable as mass murderers, theirs should become a name that must not be mentioned.

Sad Times at NIU. 

When the Unspeakable Happens

First Off.  No matter how many precautions you take, you can't completely stop things like this from happening.

Some say allowing people to carry handguns would help.  Yes, in a way and at the moment.  If someone could shoot back, that might help.  But, I for one would have to worry when someone gets road rage or mad at someone else.

I would favor classifying people who do stuff like Friday as terrorists and being tried on charges by military courts with a mandatory death sentence.  Let the psychology people find out what they need to know, then end it.  At least many of the killers do the right thing and kill themselves.

Also, I believe some do this just to leave their mark and get their name in the news.  After their identification is known, then it should be they whose name cannot be mentioned.  The murderer at Northern Illinois is treated in this way.  This morning I was listening to the news on WXRT and Mary Dixon referred to the culprit as killer and not by name.

A Sad Time.

The Unspeakable Happens in Connecticut

Evil came to Newtown.

Just horrible news from that town on Friday.  I first heard about it while on the internet and then that twenty had been killed in a store before I went to a movie.

Horrifying.  It especially hit home to us because Liz and I were both teachers.  When we started teaching in 1973, this was something that would be inconceivable.  Yeah, you might have a junior high kid smoking in the bathroom or maybe drinking alcohol...but never something like this.

In my last years of teaching we had lock down practices.  I had to turn out the lights, make sure the door was locked and get my students huddle into a corner of the room that could not be seen by someone looking in through the door window. 

I always got in trouble because there was just no way I could squeeze 29 kids into a corner of the room where some of them wouldn't be seen by someone looking real hard into the room.  Maybe if I had some on others' shoulders.  And, they always picked the practice to be held during my worst class of the day.  I could keep them under control fro 15 minutes, but after 45 minutes if would be like a volcano getting ready to blow.

Er have a lot of friends still teaching and that was a big topic of conversation over the weekend.

Just Something I Could Never Imagine.

A Shock at Virginia Tech

Sitting in Donovan's Reef yesterday, I was shocked to see news of shootings at Virginia Tech again. Four years ago they had the 30+ murders. And now, again, deaths at the college.

Not much was known at the time, but now, apparently, a university cop made a traffic stop. Someone else ran up and killed him then killed themselves. It was not another mass-slaying.

This hits home for me especially because of the Valentine's Day murders at my old school, Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, where five students were killed.

Murders on campus were something that never entered my mind when I was at college. And, I went through the Kent State Riots and anti-war movement.

Northern has since had a shooting and two murders on different occasions.

Not the Same World. --RoadDog

Sad Mystery in Johnsburg, Illinois

Johnsburg is just south of Spring Grove, where I live. I do the majority of my grocery shopping at Val's Grocery store, so this story hits home.

Five years ago, Dec. 20, 2007, 17 year-old store employee Brian Carrick disappeared. To this day, no knows for sure what happened, but foul play is suspected by Johnsburg police.

Brian was one of 14 brothers and sisters and a junior at the time of his disappearance. He left his home and walked across Johnsburg Road to Val's to pick up a $150 paycheck. He bought a pizza and was going to walk over to a nearby video store and rent a movie.

He never arrived at the video store or returned home.

The next morning, his parents found out he did not report to his job which alarmed them because he never missed work. His mother went to the Johnsburg police department and urged them to start looking for Brian.

The next day, police found blood inside Val's produce-storage space and on a trash compactor. It was later determined to be Brian's blood. An extensive search did not turn him up.

This past June, Mario A. Casciaro, 24, who worked with Brian, was arrested on nine counts of perjury for lying 9 times to a grand jury about the disappearance. He is out on $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 24, 2008.

Dec. 21st Chicago Tribune "Another Christmas without answers" by Amanda Marazzo.

Let's hope that something comes of this. You just don't expect stuff like this to happen out here. I usually even leave my garage doors open when I'm working out in the yard.

A Real Mystery Out Here in Eastern McHenry County. --RoadDog