Around and About in West Chicago - 08 May 2008

     Blooming Fest is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 17, in the historic downtown area on Main Street between Washington and Center Streets. In addition to the Garden Club’s plant sale, there are 80 vendors, lively entertainment and food booths to provide a day of fun for all ages.

     The plant sale takes place on Galena Street. The large tent, provided by NorthStar Credit Union, houses a myriad of plants, including annuals, vegetables, woodland flowers, perennials, some bushes and trees. Garden Club Plant Chairman Dick Darrah said, “This year is really an exciting sale for us as ninety percent of our perennials are from members’ gardens. This means they are well acclimated and mature plants.” He explained the digging squad of about four or five persons dug and potted the plants from the gardens. “We will have more ferns than we have in the past. Usually we have had about 25 and these were sold in the first 15 minutes.” Although much labor is involved in preparation for the sale, “we enjoy working the day of the sale, talking to new and experienced gardeners,” said Darrah.

     The Park District has fun games for children to play and the City Museum has craft projects for children to make. Games planned are Gnome Knockout (bowling), Tiger Lily Woods (golfing), Ring Around the Roses (ring toss), Blue Bird Pitch (beanbag toss) and Blooming Buckets (Bozo buckets). The craft projects are the creation of a paper flower and a collage of flowers.

     SCARCE members demonstrate recycling methods. Master gardeners from the University of Illinois Extension answer questions on plants and insects. Persons from Cantigny and Morton Arboretum are participating this year. Hungry appetites are nourished with cuisine specialties from Domino’s Pizza, Din Hua, Texas Barbeque and Wheaton Academy. Entertainment includes comedy, magic acts, vocalists, instrumentalists and folk dancing.

AROUND AND ABOUT

     Wheaton Academy is holding a groundbreaking ceremony for the Heritage Field House at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7. Speakers are Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice, former Chicago Bear, former Academy coach and parent; Tayrne Lee, a 2006 Academy graduate and 2007 women’s soccer Player of the Year; and Leah Fortune, a junior at the Academy and member of the Brazilian women’s national U-20 soccer team, and West Chicago Mayor Michael Kwasman. Construction is set to begin this summer.

     An evening of laughter abounds at the library’s program at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 8. Improv Commandos perform short improvisational skits based on suggestions from the audience. The program is geared for preteens and up. To make a reservation, call adult services at (630) 231-1552, Ext. 4.

     The Sixth annual Dunkin’ Donuts Rooftop Stakeout is from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, May 9. Some members of our police department will be on the roofs of the Local Dunkin’ Donuts, 185 W. North Ave. and 330 S. Neltnor Blvd., to raise money and awareness for the athletes of Special Olympics Illinois. As you enjoy a beverage and a donut, make a donation to this worthy cause. This event supports the 23rd Annual Law Enforcement Torch Run. Make checks payable to Law Enforcement Torch Run. More details on the run will be in some of my future columns.

     The Park District’s “Junk in the Trunk” event is from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10, in the Turtle Splash parking lot at Red-Keppler Park. Thirty persons have rented spaces. What a great opportunity for garage sale enthusiasts to shop in one convenient location!

     The National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is Saturday, May 10. Place non-perishable foods, personal care products, cleaning products and/or paper products by your mailbox. These items will be donated to local area food pantries, such as the Northwest DuPage Walk-in Ministry.

     Three Fires Council annual Scout-O-Rama is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at Cantigny Park in Wheaton. This year’s theme is “Scouting through History—A Century of Service.” The ticket price is $4. The council serves scouts in six counties, including DuPage. For further information call (630) 584-9250 or on the Web site www.threefirescouncil.org.

     Sunday, May 11, is the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day. Check out the florists, garden centers, greenhouses and other shops in our town for the perfect gift for this special woman.

    The deadline to make donations to the Support Your Troops box at Dollar Tree, Routes 59 and 64, is Sunday, May 11. This allows enough time for the items to be shipped to the troops serving overseas.

     English as a Second Language and General Equivalency Development classes for adults are from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at the high school. Registration for the classes is from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 14. Use Entrance B. For further information, call the high school at (630) 876-6578.

     Post Everlasting service is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, at American Legion Post 300, 123 Main St. It is a memorial service for departed comrades.

     The deadline for submitting an application for the Lions Club $1,000 scholarship is Thursday, May 15. To qualify, the 2008 high school graduate must be a resident in the 60185 zip code area and pursuing higher education in the area of human services. Application forms are available in the high school counseling offices and on the Club’s Web site www.westchicagolions.org. Mail applications and supportive materials to Lori Chassee, 841 Lawrence, West Chicago, IL 60185.

     “Cook’s Night Off” is the fundraiser for the high school girls’ softball program. It takes place Thursday, May 15, at Gianorio’s Pizza, located in the Prairie Trail Center on the corner of Geneva and County Farm Roads in Winfield. Fifteen percent of the sales will be donated to the program. This includes frozen pizza, entrees and desserts.

     The high school presents “Grease,” a l950s Rock ‘N Roll musical, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 15, 16 and 17, in Weyrauch Memorial Auditorium. Ticket price is $5 for adults and $3 for students. There is a cast of 40. Acting in principal roles are Chelsea Ross as Sandy, David Hiltner as Danny Zuko, Kristen Frank as Rizzo and Kurt Shilka as Kenicka. Students in other featured parts are Megan Green, Jimmy Aramburu Suzy Nowicki, Phil Lenertz, Emma Roberts, Dave Lustro, Mike Dalton, Liz Showalter, Abby Contreras, Tony Wondolkowski, Austin Hall, Renee Cirone and Tom Harms. Director is Mary Hafertepe and musical director is Brian Fantozzi. Hit songs in the musical are “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightin,” “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” and “You’re the One I Want.” The musical is suitable for junior high age and above as the script includes one adult topic and some strong language. “Although the script contains some issues that some might question, the sheer exuberance of energetic youth is what the play is really about,” Hafertepe said. “The cast has been dancing their feet down to the bones. Not only have we been working hard, but we also have been having fun to put together a performance which the audience will enjoy.”

     Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6791 are having a Steak Fry from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 17. The $13 price includes individually cooked steak, baked potato, vegetables, salad and dessert. Hot dogs or a vegetarian plate are available for $4.

     The middle school is hosting its second Wine Tasting and Gift fundraiser from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, at Pal Joey’s, 440 E. Roosevelt Road. Gibby’s Wine Den in Geneva presents “wine tasting around the world.” The cost is $15 per person. For further information or to reserve a ticket, call Julie Pearson at (630) 933-8413 or e-mail racetime21@hotmail.com.

     Trinity Lutheran School is having a Golf Outing, Dinner and Auction fundraiser Friday, May 30, at St. Andrew Country Club, 3N441 Route 59. The price is $120 per person for golf and dinner, $80 for golf only and $40 for dinner only. The deadline for registering is Friday, May 16. To register or for more information, call Jackie Lesch at (630) 231-5849 or e-mail director@trinitywc.com.

     The golden tones of conversation and laughter filtered throughout the room as approximately 75 persons enjoyed the 80 and Over Party Sunday, May 4, at the American Legion. John Johnson, at the age of 96, was the oldest person attending. Mayor Michael Kwasman and Ward 1 Alderman Jim Beifuss also were on hand to honor these very special individuals. American Legion Post 300, the legion’s auxiliary, the park district and West Chicago Seniors sponsored the event.

     The high school’s LifeSmarts team, representing Illinois, won second place in the 2008 National LifeSmarts competition held Saturday, April 12, through Tuesday, April 15, in Minneapolis. This was the best placement for any team since the competition began 12 years ago. Team members are Paul Warkins, Joann Kaczmarczyk, Ian Letts, Doug Sills and Kara Wolfe. Business Teacher Don Zabelin is the coach. Teams from 29 states participated. LifeSmarts is a program that tests high school students’ knowledge of financial management, technology, the environment, health and safety, and consumer rights.

     At the Monday, May 5 meeting, City Council approved the appointment of Richard Vigsnes to the Historical Preservation Commission for a one-year term and the appointment of Mark Davis to the environmental Commission for a two-year term. James Smith was sworn in as the new alderman for Ward 2. He replaces Greg Kauth who resigned in February, due to his job relocation to Houston, Texas. He fulfills the vacancy of Kauth, which expires 2011. Smith has lived in West Chicago for 47 years and taught music in the St. Charles School District for 38 years. He received his bachelor’s and Master’ s degree from Northern Illinois University. He served as president of the teachers’ association in 1972 and 73. He also has a pilot’s license for small aircraft. “It is sort of interesting that persons arriving and departing at DuPage Airport can switch very quickly from being in Ward 5 to Ward 7,” he said. Smith is continuing his seasonal summer work (perfect for a teacher, he stated) at St. Andrews Country Club, where he oversees the pesticide application and upkeep on the greens. With many of the employees speaking only Spanish, “ this will help me brush up on this language and communicate better with my constituents.” Smith said, “Since I retired and had time, I wanted to do something to give back to the community. When Greg approached me about the city council position, I thought it would be a good fit.” Welcoming him to the council, Mayor Kwasman said, “We look forward to your input. You are joining a great team of fellow aldermen.” He and his wife, Peggy (Sproat) are the parents of three daughters. Peggy is the 4th Generation of the Sproat family in West Chicago. Her family owned West Chicago Hardware on Main Street, eventually selling to, which is now known as Murphy’s Ace Hardware located on Route 59.

     Seventeen members of the high school’s Future Business Leaders of America attended the 2008 State Leadership Conference Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, in Decatur. More than 950 members from 63 chapters competed in 60 events ranging from public speaking, team presentations, written tests and computer production. Our high school students won seven top ten individual and team awards including two state championships. Rebecca Cisowski joined the Battle of the Chapters team, which won a first place award for the Northern area. Mike Wall and Paul Warkins, 1st Place in Entrepreneurship; Caitlin MacDonald, 1st Place in Business Procedure; Douglas Selby, 2nd Place in Technology Concepts; John Kinsella, 2nd Place in Computer Applications; Diane Martinez 2nd Place in Business Communication; Ryan Crawford 4th Place in Economics; Hanna Colliander, Kristen Kotche, and Hannah Taylor, 5th Place in Emerging Business Issues and Erik Anderson 7th Place in Computer Problem Solving. First and second place students qualified for the National FBLA Conference June 26 through 29 in Atlanta, GA.

     Dynamic Physical Therapy has moved to 440 E. Roosevelt Road, Suite 401, which is in same building complex as Pal Joey’s. Owner April Oury said, “This really is an upscale location for our business, which has grown since we first opened our doors in West Chicago four years ago. Not only is it more spacious, but also is so much brighter with the large window areas.”

     The Best Christian Workplace Institute once again has named Wheaton Academy to the list of Best Christian Workplaces. This is the third time the Academy has been recognized. In the survey administered by BCWI, more than 7,834 employees were used to identify great workplaces with a Christian mission. BCWI is a research based organizational and human resources consulting firm based on Mercer Island, Washington.

     Mary Murphy, a sophomore at Community High School, is one of the 300 students chosen nationally to be a recipient of the Congress-Bundestag 2008 Scholarship. For a year, she will live with a German family and study at a German school as a guest of the German government. In the history of this program, Taylor is 16th student and first sophomore chosen from the high school. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of State. It was started in 1983 through a mutual agreement with the German Bundestag (Parliament) to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of German settlements in the U.S. Since that time both governments have renewed funding yearly. The program is designed to improve cultural understanding as well as to promote language acquisition.

     St. Mary’s School annual school-wide project April 10 and 11 was quite unique. Students were asked what peace means to them. Through brainstorming with teachers, peers and parents, reading stories and listening to speakers “helped them gain a better perspective on what peace included,” explained principal Nancy Coughlin. Under the direction of Gail West-Hooper, volunteer fine arts chair, and West Chicago artist Kathleen Santoro, all students, preschool through eighth grade, painted ceramic tiles with their artistic concept of the meaning of peace. The tiles were then placed together on three panels and to make it a moveable yet permanent “peace wall.” Coughlin said, “This enables us to use it year after year in a number of ways. This year the moveable wall will be placed at different locations in the community.