Nancy Schmitz, a member of the Alliance, said the award was named in Conley’s honor because he embodies the spirit of caring and compassion that they would like to see in all who care for families experiencing this difficult type of loss.

“Conley was recognized for the great appreciation, and respectful, caring way he cares for babies and how parents can have the time that they want to be with their child, no matter his or her size,” Schmitz said at the ceremony. “The life stories (obituaries) that Conley writes come from the hearts of the parents as they talk to Conley about how much this little one meant to them. He has the gift of being able to put into words the heartfelt emotions of this baby’s family, and the result is a beautiful narrative that affirms the life and value of this child.”

Schmitz said when other children and siblings are present and parents are struggling to know how to help them understand this sadness, Conley and his son, Ben, always take the time to explain in a way that the child can understand what has happened, what this thing called death means, and what grief can feel like. Their questions are answered and they have a beginning at understanding this hard life lesson.

Schmitz said Conley’s caring also extends to families, in that he would meet with them in their homes as arrangements need to be made. He built on the legacy of his parents’ work as funeral directors, and developed the aftercare program at Conley Funeral Home and the Conley Outreach program to be a resource for families after their loss.

“It is truly evident that being a funeral director is not just a job for Conley, it is a calling to which he has faithfully and humbly given his best,” said Schmitz.

Conley accepted his award on behalf of his brother, Wayne, who passed away as an infant.

Conley described his brother’s short time with his family when accepting the award.

“Wayne’s brief life in this world has now changed and touched four generations of the Conley family, and the way we choose to care for infants and their families. Wayne was born in 1948 with spina bifida. My mother was kept from him so she would not ‘bond’ with Wayne, and it was believed her grief would thus be lessened. Of course, nothing could have been further from the truth. Both my parents suffered greatly at Wayne’s death a few months after he was born. That suffering wrought a deep conviction that no other infant, no other parents entrusted to our care would ever face the profoundly compounded grief that cultural and religious norms of the day had caused,” he said.

“In order that women like my mother could see and hold their children days after death when they left the hospital (remember this is 1948), my father literally invented ways of embalming and caring for newborns that were unheard of at the time. My mother hand sewed countless tiny infant outfits, complete with lace for the girls and trousers for the boys. The setting for parents’ viewing was, and still is, in a cozy room with a rocking chair and a fireplace and anything else that could make a parent feel ‘at home’ at the very hardest time in their lives,” Conley said. “My parents taught me all of these things, and I endeavored to improve upon them as I was called to meet the challenges of newborn death in my own career.”

Conley concluded by saying, “So as I receive this award in my infant brother’s honor, I say to all of you: for every family with whom you ‘endure weeping for the night,’ may these families and you, yourself find that ‘Joy cometh in the morning,’ for I believe with all of my heart, that there will come a day when you will see them again; and they shall be whole, and healthy and anxious to tell you how grateful they are for the care you gave when they passed through your hands and left footprints on your heart. God bless you all and thank you.”

In the future, The “Bruce Conley Excellence in Caring Award” will continue to be presented by The Alliance to funeral homes in the Chicago region which embody a spirit of caring and compassion as they work with families who experience perinatal loss.

Founded in 1987, The Alliance is an interdisciplinary professional organization of individuals from organizations including hospitals, social service organizations, churches, funeral homes and hospices in the Chicago area who provide education, support and resources for individuals who care for grieving families and their babies. The members are nurses, social workers, chaplains, therapists, funeral directors, photographers and physicians who have a leadership role in their organization’s support program. They work with families who have experienced a perinatal loss—miscarriage, fetal death, stillborn or newborn/infant death.

Photo: (From left) Judy Friedrichs, RN, and Nancy Schmitz, RN, award Bruce Conley the first-ever Bruce Conley Excellence in Caring Award from The Alliance of Perinatal Bereavement Support Facilitators—Chicago Region on July 22. In the future, the award will continue to be presented by The Alliance to funeral homes in the Chicago region which embody a spirit of caring and compassion as they work with families who experience perinatal loss. Photo courtesy of Todd Hochberg

Meagan was born with microcephaly, a rare neurological condition in which an infant’s head is significantly smaller than the heads of other children of the same age. Children with microcephaly often have developmental issues. She also has encephalocele, another rare disorder that prevents a baby’s skull from closing completely before birth. After Meagan was born, she had surgery to reinsert brain tissue and close the gap.

When Meagan was born, doctors also said the top part of her brain was missing. However, when Meagan had an MRI when she was 6 months old, the test showed that her upper brain was there.

“Her doctor believes she is a living miracle,” Luellen said.

Based on the conditions she does have, Meagan was not expected to be able to hold up her head or even drink from a bottle. But she surprised everyone when she could do both soon after her parents took her home.

Despite these miraculous milestones, Meagan is not able to sit up and faces many other developmental challenges in the future, her mother said.

“The doctors say she might get to a 2-year-old level,” Seals said. “They don’t think she will ever talk or walk.”

Earlier this summer, Meagan began experiencing up to five full seizures and 30 to 50 smaller spasms daily and had to be hospitalized. This month, she is receiving injections of a serum that costs $30,000 per vial. She still has the seizures but not every day.

Meagan’s parents’ goal is to provide her with whatever medication, medical equipment or therapy that will help her to develop as much as she possibly can.

Although their health insurance covered many of the hospital expenses for Meagan, the Seals still owe thousands of dollars in medical bills. In addition, they are concerned that insurance will not pay for equipment that will help Meagan in the future, such as a feeding chair that would support her in a sitting position, and water therapy.

Since Seals must care for Meagan full-time and the family has only her husband’s income, she is grateful that several of her friends are hosting a fundraiser Friday, Aug. 6, at Old Towne Pub and Eatery, to help with those expenses.

“It just shows that there are people in the world with good hearts,” she said. “It’s neighborly love.”

One of the fundraiser organizers is the Seals’ neighbor, Kim Cole. She wants to help raise awareness of Meagan’s condition and to raise money to help the Seals family.

“Meagan will have a life time of medical needs and expenses,” Cole said. “It’s more than the family is able to cover on their own. I am hoping the community will pull together and help them to help her.”

Fundraiser for Baby Meagan

Friday, Aug. 6 • 6 to 8 pm
Old Towne Pub & Eatery
201 W. State St., Geneva

Raffles and silent auctions
Tickets cost $25 per person

For reservations,
call Ali at (630) 605-1007 or
Jen at (630) 437-1985

Send donations to
“Praying for Baby Meagan”
Old Second Bank, P.O. Box 8018,
Elburn IL 60119-8018

This year’s winner, Beverly Holmes Hughes, fit that criterion.

“She’s an asset to the community; she knows everyone,” Graceffa said.

The annual Citizen of the Year award ceremony took place on Saturday during the Corn Boil and highlighted Hughes’ service to the community for the past 20 years.

“I’m quite honored by this,” Hughes said on Tuesday at the Sugar Grove Public Library, where she is the director.

“And truly, like the rest of my life, this wasn’t conventional,” Hughes said. “To do what I do, in a place that I love, has been just a wonderful adventure.”

Nearly 40 Sugar Grove residents nominated Hughes for the award.

Aside from being the library director, Hughes has given many hours of her time to the Sugar Grove Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Sugar Grove Library Friends, \Sugar Grove Corn Boil, Sugar Grove Historical Society and Sugar Grove Park District Garden Club, among other organizations.

“Being involved for the last 20 years and to be recognized is just amazing,” Hughes said. “To think all those times people said, ‘You should be that person (Citizen of the Year),’ and I’ve always discounted that and said ‘I’m just doing my job.’”

The Citizen of the Year Committee, which selected Hughes from among the nominees, issued a statement about their choice: “Beverly has enriched life in our village with her selfless and creative involvement in many areas that truly enhance Sugar Grove’s cultural opportunities.”

A prominent example of Hughes’ time and effort for the community was her role in the library’s move a year ago to a brand-new building on Municipal Drive in Sugar Grove.

“It’s about always moving forward and as a community and seeing what the next step is in order to help people in the community,” Hughes said. “It’s like the reference desk; people come to us with a question and we help them find the answer.”

Hughes, of North Aurora, follows previous winners Jim Wilhelm in 2009, Karen McCannon in 2008 and Joe Wolf in 2007.

Photo by Ben Draper

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The night will feature Butch Bradley, who has appeared numerous times on Comedy Central. Tickets are $25 per person, and the Fox Valley Wildlife Center will receive 100 percent of the ticket sales, which will benefit the animals in their care. A two-drink minimum is required, and all attendees must be 21 and older. Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling (630) 377-2847.

The Wildlife Center is in urgent need of monetary donations and volunteers age 18 and older. Animal handling volunteers help with all aspects of wildlife rehabilitation, from hand feeding baby mammals and birds to doing laundry and washing food dishes, and need to commit to at least one four-hour shift each week, April through September. Morning shifts are also available October through March. Support volunteers are also needed to help keep the center running. There is no specific time commitment for support volunteers.

Call the Wildlife Center at (630) 365-3800 or visit www.FoxValleyWildlife.com for more information.

The Fox Valley Wildlife Center is a private 501(c) 3 non-profit volunteer organization. The center is state and federally licensed to care for orphaned and injured wild birds and mammals and is privately funded, supported entirely by membership fees, donations, grants and fundraisers.

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“My sister knows I’m creative and like to bake and felt I could make these,” said Siebens, of Maple Park.

The next four days she worked around the clock on sizing and shaping the cakes and suddenly it all came together.

Siebens brought the cakes to her vacation Bible school, and after that, it snowballed–or perhaps a better word is cakeballed—into a home business that sometimes consumes 14 hours a day. Mothers who taste the cakes ask her if she would be willing to make some for birthday parties and other events.

“It’s an easy dessert that immediately impresses your guests,” Siebens said. “And men seem to like them the most. No slicing, no falling off a plate—just pick up the cake and eat it.”

News about Seiben’s creations soon spread by word-of-mouth and through Facebook. When she decided to have a contest on her Facebook page to create the most interesting advertisement for her cakes, one of her Facebook friends linked her to Fox News. The next thing she knew she was on the show, which aired July 12 in Chicago.

Lilly Siebens, 5, of Maple Park, enjoys a pink-bear specialty LillyCake that her mother, Kelly, made for a client’s baby shower. Kelly Siebens named her new business after her daughter. Courtesy Photo

Seibens said the secret to the cakes’ taste is mixing the frosting in with the batter and then dipping the cakes in chocolate. They are super-moist, but learning to shape them and make sure they’d stay on the stick took a great deal of practice. She will do any design people request, such as children’s characters and apples for teachers. One of the most popular requests is baseballs.

Seibens will ship or deliver the cakes, or you can pick them up at her home. When shipping LillyCakes, she insulates them with two ice packs and Styrofoam peanuts. One of her regular customers lives in West Virginia, and Seibens overnight-ships the cakes at 4 p.m. so they arrive by noon the next day.

Since Seibens’ kitchen has been turned upside down, she dreams of one day having her own shop. Her husband and stepdaughter both volunteered their time to assist; and her 5-year-old daughter Lilly, the namesake of the business, is her constant helper.

Siebens still cannot believe what has happened.

“Before April I had never heard of these cakes, and I had no idea that by July I’d have a thriving business,” she said.

Cupcakes on a stick
Visit www.facebook/lillycakes1
For pricing, flavors and styles, click ‘Info’ and then click ‘Photos’to view various cakes.

Contact information for LillyCakes
Kelly Seibens, owner
e-mail: lillysmom@mchsi.com
or call (815) 405-8342

For those unfamiliar with Lions lingo, current Maple Park Lions President Larry Stachura explained the purpose of these two official club positions.

“The Tail Twister promotes harmony, good fellowship and enthusiasm at meetings through the judicious imposition of fines on members,” Stachura said. “He himself may not be fined unless by unanimous vote. The Lion Tamer is the custodian of club property such as flags, banners and gavels and is the sergeant at arms during meetings.”

Ken Hinchy has been part of the Maple Park Lions Club longer than any of its other members—more than 40 years. He said what he likes most about the club is the camaraderie with his fellow Lions. Hinchy has participated in many of the club’s fundraisers over the years.

“One of my favorites is when we raise money by selling roses for Mother’s Day.”

The price for a dozen roses from the Maple Park Lions is $15. Stachura said that all funds that the Maple Park Lions Club raises at its events go back into the community for numerous charitable purposes.

“Although fighting blindness is the Lions main focus, the Lions contributions are far reaching,” he said.

Through the annual rose sale and dozens of other fundraisers each year, the Maple Park Lions have been able to pay for eye exams for the needy and vision testing for diabetes, paint the Legion Hall, and buy a computer for the Fire Department ambulance.

Every year, the club also gives scholarships to students from the Fox Valley Career Center in Maple Park. This year’s scholarship recipient was Stuart Hopkins, who will attend Waubonsee Community College.

The club also joined with the Rockford Lions, hosting events for the blind such as skiing, bowling and dances, and this fall, the club will offer a screening for retinal diabetes.

About the club
Source: Lions International
Maple Park Lions Club has a membership of 26 men and three women. To become a member, a person must be invited to join by someone currently in the club.

The Maple Park Lions Club is one of 45,000 charters in 190 countries that are part of the International Lions organization. In 1925, when Helen Keller challenged the Lions to become “Knights of the Blind,” she could not have possibly imagined the impact of Lions commitment to blindness prevention, a club brochure states.

Lions International has established eye banks worldwide, funded ground-breaking research on leading causes of blindness, organized eyeglass recycling and helped hundreds of thousands of visually impaired people develop productive skills. Through SightFirst, launched in 1990, the Lions have approved more than $280 million in grants for humanitarian services, disaster relief, immunizations, and vocational assistance.

Lions International was founded by Chicago businessman Melvin Jones in 1917.

ELBURN HERALD (EH): Mark, you came along and gave this year’s team whatever experience and wisdom that you could give them. How did your arrival to the team this year come about?

Mark Claypool (MC): I’ve been watching the teams over the years. Coach Drendel and Coach Baron have asked me to come in and speak to the team at different parts of the year, and I used to run against Logan’s dad,
Jay, and he ran for Batavia. So we got to know each other pretty well back then, and I’ve watched Logan since he was a freshman and seen how well he was doing at scoring varsity points. I was interested in Logan’s progress and saw how well the team was doing as a whole, and saw that this team could really do something down at county and State.

I wanted to be there somehow and support them and show them that Kaneland history lives on and that somebody from the past cares about it. So, I went to a couple of the meets, and initially nobody even knew I was going to be there except for Mickey Marin, a sophomore who actually found me on Facebook and asked how to run a 400, and so I gave him some pointers and went out to see how he and the team would do, and went to the Peterson Prep first. I had a chance to see some of the other guys run, and saw Logan come out of the starting blocks and thought he might need some pointers. So a couple of the guys and I struck up a friendship and to know I was there to support them.

I went to the County meet as well and thought they had a real shot to be the first team since ’75 to win. It’s real hard to compete against big schools like that and to have the kind of showing Kaneland had. They gave it their best.

Anyway, I was interested in the team as a whole and then in the individuals as I got to know them, just because they’re quality young men and they worked hard and the coaches all said it was a special group. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of team.

EH: Talking with Baron for the Preview article in March, he mentioned the team had a very high ceiling. He didn’t know how far they’d go, but that they were capable of great things.

Logan Markuson (LM): Definitely. Back in seventh or eighth grade we had like eight kids in track, I think it was 12 actually. But our coach called us “The Dirty Dozen.” I knew that as our group moved through high school, as a group like that moves through high school, you become friends. We hung out throughout the years and that was nice. It was nice to see how we worked out and how we progressed during those four or five years. I think just having that friendship and training, it just went hand in hand.

EH: Did your team have a senior core that you came up with, similar to Logan’s?

MC: Yeah, we had a pretty good cross-section. Back then we seemed to have sophomores, juniors and seniors all participting, but we had a pretty good core group of seniors, in the 4×880 relay and the 4×440. We had a good group of seniors for sure in ‘77. In ‘75, we had the Ackermans, the Bishops and Larry Will. A big thing for Bruce Pederson was senior leadership. He always talked about that as a key.

EH: With both of you being relay guys, you hear people often say the 4×400 is the biggest event of the meet. Describe what you go through in a very competitive event like that.

MC: Often times, it can decide who finishes first or second or third.

LM: We came down to a few of those this year.

MC: There’s always a lot riding on it. There’s a lot of pressure on those four guys to go out and perform and not drop the baton. It’s something where the teams all know that this is it. It’s often the last race, and you’re performing as a group. As you get to the end, you see your team colors and the team is jumping up and down. I never heard a whole lot. I never paid too much attention to the buzz but I could tell there was excitement. At State championships there was always the roar of the crowd, but you’re in such a zone you don’t even pay any attention. For us, that’s what it was like, and I saw it was like that downstate for you guys.

LM: Yeah, it was like that for us. In the 4×4, it’s definitely lots of pressure. I like to think of it as a “who’s got the most guts” kind of thing. It’s at the end of the meet, and some of these bigger schools like to run a fresh team. For a smaller school like us, we’re coming back after two or three races. It’s like “this is my last event of the night and I don’t have to run any more,” and lay it all down on the field.

EH: Can the finish dictate your mood for the week, or how you practice leading to the next meet?

LM: Yeah, it can a little. In indoor conference, I was supposed to run the 4×4, and was having some injuries, and ran on a different team. It was a two-point difference headed into that race, and our alternate team won it. That whole week, going into our first outdoor meet, we were stoked. We were like “that was amazing.” Training ahead, it just sets the mood for the whole week.

We just came off of that and see what we could do next week.

EH: Coaching has to be quite strong in a season like this. What did your coaches stress and what kind of personality did they show while coaching?

MC: Track and field is so diverse. You’ve got weight events and pole vault, hurdles, sprinting. Every one of these events has it’s own set of techniques. It’s a very difficult thing for a finite group of coaches to be real good jacks-of-all-trades. But Kaneland’s been very fortunate over the years. Back when I was there, Bruce Pederson was an icon, and everybody looked up to him. He’s still my greatest mentor, and I still talk to him a couple of times a year and he’s in St. Augustine, Fla. He would set the tone mentally.

LM: I’ve loved the coaching. It’s not just “go to practice and do your workout.” It’s “go to practice, and if you’re feeling bad, give them a call.” They’re not just your coaches, we really got to develop a friendship. Just the time and effort they put into it, you can tell they’re really dedicated. I would think it’s hard to do with a family and everything. I was fortunate to have such great coaches. I really don’t think I’m going to find something like this anywhere else.

EH: Mark, you competed in Big Ten track, what was the time like for you and what can Logan expect?

Knights track great Mark Claypool shares some mementos from his athletic career with KHS standout Logan Markuson at the Elburn Herald office. Photo by Ryan Wells

LM: I’m looking forward to it. I know, with the different ballgame, how busy it’s going to get. I’ve already kind of scheduled my classes, and I’ll probably have to work out in the mornings. Then class and then practice and maybe another class. They expect you to study two hours for every hour you’re in class.

EH: It’s only for four years, though.

LM: I’ll catch up on sleep when I’m older.

MC: Time management’s going to be key. It’s not just going to school, it’s school and athletics in there.

EH: In college sports, you’re not looking at a three-month season, especially nowadays. It’s almost a year-round profession.

MC: Absolutely, even in high school, you had to find something to keep yourself in shape. We were typically running three-lappers around the school. We would get heavy sweats and wrap towels underneath in the wintertime. We were outside in January and Feburary, below zero. I played basketball my freshman and sophomore years and that kept me in shape in the offseason. After sophomore year, I went to Purdue basketball camp and got hurt.

EH: Was Gene Keady not happy?

MC: Well, Bruce Pederson wasn’t happy. He said, “okay, that’s it. No more basketball for you.” I got my cast off in August and couldn’t run on it just yet, so I went out for the golf team.

EH: Mark, it obviously meant a lot to come back and be involved. Logan, can you see yourself coming back in 30 years if asked?

LM: If I was asked to come back and coach or do something else, I’d be happy to. My mom told me that she sat next to Mark Claypool at the Kane County Meet, and said he’d be willing to work with me on starts and I was just like, “Mark Claypool? That’s awesome.” I’d love to come back and help any way I could. Just because it’s really cool when others come back to share their memories.

The teenage students come from more than 30 countries and attend local high schools. The students have their own spending money and insurance.

Host families are responsible for meals, a place to sleep and a nurturing environment. STS Foundation has a local coordinator that will supervise the student and support the family throughout the school year.

For information, call or e-mail David Keating at 1-800-522-4678 or david@stsfoundation.org.

“(Sheriff) Pat Perez told me about it. He said it would be really cool,” Hill said.

And she found that to be true.

She liked the Citizen Police Academy so much, she was disappointed when the 10-week, weekly program ended this spring.

“I looked forward to it (class),” Hill said. “I hoped it was going longer.”

She learned a lot, including the reason for the fingerprint results delay.

“Now, I know,” Hill said. “It’s backlogged. The state is so backlogged with handling everything unless it is a violent crime. Mine was just vandalism.”

The academy gave Hill look into the life of a police officer. She learned how police officers train, as well as what constitutes their daily job duties. The academy also teaches about the different divisions in the Sheriff’s Department, including K-9, SWAT, 911, crime scene investigation, evidence, corrections, patrol and criminal.

“You get to see all the aspects of everything,” Hill said.

One of the highlights of the class for Hill was to ride along with a patrol deputy and see how the officer would handle different situations.

“When we went on patrol and had to pretend to stop people, I had to stop a guy who had a gun tucked away in the front seat and he flipped me off,” she said. “I had to pretend when he was pulling the gun and say, ‘Put your hands on the wheel’ and pretend to pull my fake gun out on him.”

Participants even had an opportunity to fire real guns.

“I had never touched a gun before in my life; I had never shot a gun before in my life, and I got to in the simulator,” Hill said. “I got to do the assault rifle, the pistol and the tazer. They were so heavy. You would not believe how heavy a gun is.”

She also enjoyed the the K-9 unit class.

“They (the Sheriff’s Department) have these dogs from Hungary or Germany,” Hill said. “You have to speak to them in that language. They are trained that way.”

Participants also had a chance to drive a patrol car and wear a bulletproof vest.

In addition to all she learned by participating in the academy, the classes made Hill respect police officers more.

“I totally gained so much from it,” said Hill.

Through the academy, Hill gained insight into how risky a police officer’s role can be.

“I have a deeper appreciation for how dangerous their job is,” Hill said.

To participate in the Citizens Police Academy, a person must live or work in unincorporated Kane County, be 18 years or older, have no felony convictions or any misdemeanor arrests within a year of application.

“You have to, of course, be fingerprinted and your name is put through the database to make sure you are not wanted as a felon or anything like that,” said Hill.

The Citizens Police Academy is free and allows 20 students per session. All of the police officers who teach the classes donate their time for the program.

After graduating from the academy program, Hill decided to establish a Neighborhood Watch in Kaneville focusing on communication and education.

“We want to start (one) in the area because we had a rash of break-ins a couple months ago where locks were cut off garages and stuff stolen from sheds,” Hill said.

Next session starts Sept. 1
Wednesday nights
Sept. 1 through Nov. 3
6 to 9 p.m.
www.kanesheriff.com/citizensPoliceAcademy/default.aspx

Kane County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. John Grimes, Pat Hill, and Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez pose for a picture after Hill completed the Kane County Citizens Police Academy—A 10-week course offered by the Sheriff’s Department. Courtesy Photo

Photos by John DiDonna

We were informed at 8:30 a.m. that the delivery van broke down on its way to the Elburn Post office at 3:30 a.m., and is at a repair shop in Sugar Grove. We are working on getting the papers to the local post offices and newstands, but it looks like we will miss today’s mail.

Those that should get it tomorrow at the latest are Elburn, Sugar Grove, Maple Park, Kaneville, Geneva, Batavia, St.
Charles, North Aurora, Aurora, Sycamore, Dekalb, Wasco and LaFox. Others may take a little longer to be delivered.

-Elburn Herald staff

Howland, of Elburn, and the junior elite women led off the first of five races at the Flatland Kids Triathlon Festival. Howland and Tanelle Berard (Clive, Iowa) raced side-by-side through the 750-meter swim and six-lap, 20-kilometer bike. Howland managed to open up a 15-second lead on the run to claim first in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 7 seconds.

On the junior elite men’s side, Ben Kanute of Geneva made a solo swim-bike breakaway attempt over a chase pack of six. However, it was Verzbicas of Orland Hill, Ill., the reigning junior duathlon world champion, who took control of the race on first of two laps of the run and crossed the finish line in 55:14. Chris Wiatr, of Long Grove, Ill. enjoyed a breakthrough performance to edge Kanute for second place.

The day also featured competition in the 13-to-15-year-old Youth Elite Division. Tamara Gorman, of Rapid City, S.D., was the girls’ champion, besting Rachel Mann, of Homer Glen, Ill. Spencer Clark, of Clive, Iowa., took top honors in the Youth Elite boys’ race over Carter Dickson of Aurora.

Following the draft-legal elite races, approximately 175 youth triathletes between the ages of 6 to 15 took to the course.

Bank Iowa sponsored travel scholarships for being first out of the water in the youth and junior elite races in honor of Chandy Barr Clanton, a standout swimmer, triathlete and famed air show pilot from Iowa who lost her life in an accident one year prior to the day of the Flatland Kids Tri Festival. Winners of the “Spirit of Chandy” prize were Kanute, Berard, Gorman and Clark.

The event, originally slated to take place at Gray’s Lake Park in Des Moines, Iowa, was relocated to West Des Moines on Wednesday because of severe flooding around Gray’s Lake.

Visit flatlandkidstrifest.com for complete results.

USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon—one of the fastest growing sports in the world—as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 3,100 races and connects with more than 133,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches, and race directors on the grassroots level, USAT provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Championships, Pan American Games and the Summer Olympic Games.

Photo courtesy of www.usatriathlon.org

Look deeper, and you’ll see a young team working on its craft and even a great thing or two.

Case in point: a no-hitter thrown by KHS pitcher Bryan Van Bogaert on Tuesday in Maple Park against the Class 3A runner-ups DeKalb.

Van Bogaert threw a six-inning no-hitter against the visiting Barbs, winning 7-0, and would have a perfect game under his belt if not for two hit batsmen.

In game two of the doubleheader, Drew French went four innings in a 5-1 win.

On Monday in Yorkville, Kaneland tamed the Foxes and held off a late-inning rally in an 8-7 win in game one. The Knights were up 6-0 in the second inning of game two before the rains came.

Eric Eichelberger, Jordan Jones and Brian Maras pitched against the Foxes.

So far, it’s been a valuable chance for KHS coach Brian Aversa to see what lies ahead in the spring of 2011.

“We’ve played decent ball,” Aversa said. “We’re seeing which guys are on the radar and seeing how our pitching and defense is working out, and it’s going alright so far.”

On Monday, July 19, at Kaneland, the Knights will host West Aurora in the second round of the IHSBCA St. Charles East Regional. The winner will play either St. Charles East, Marengo or Woodstock North at a later date.

“We’ve got a lot of youth right now, and we’ll see how it unfolds,” Aversa said.

Photo: Kaneland pitcher Eric Eichelberger deals toward the plate during an 8-7 win at Yorkville during Summer League play on Monday evening. Photo by Ben Draper

The fair will take place from Wednesday, July 14, through Sunday, July 18, at the fairgrounds on Randall Road and Route 38 in St. Charles.

The family-oriented fair offers fun for all ages, starting every day at noon. General admission is $7 and children younger than 5 are admitted free. Wednesday offers seniors free admission, and a reduced general-admission of $2. In addition, eight carnival rides cost just $10 that day.

The fair’s grandstand shows are among its highlights. The admission for all grandstand events is $10. Opening night features the U.S. Freestyle Motorcross Championship at 7:30 p.m. On Thursday, fans can see the Motor Sports International Truck Pull at 7:30 p.m. with Megasaurus as a special feature.

On Friday at 7:30 p.m., cowboys will try to stay on the raging bull at the Championship Bull Riding event. The Big Hat Rodeo returns with more exciting events and two shows on Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. The final grandstand event is the Demolition Derby, offering a unique opportunity for visitors to see cars charge at each other at high speeds and crash in a controlled environment. Demolition Derby shows will take place at 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday.

Besides the grandstand events, the fair offers free, daily shows. The Swifty Swine Racing Pigs are a fair favorite to watch. A new show this year is the Great Bear Show, educational entertainment with live bears. Grandpa Cratchet provides comedic laughs this year, and features for children include the Sheer Magic Show, the Kid Buck$ Game Show and the petting zoo.

A perennial fair favorite, the 4-H displays, will be featured throughout the fairgrounds, with the sheep, horse, poultry and swine judging on Wednesday, and the dairy, rabbit and goat judging on Thursday. The beef cattle judging and Horse and Pony Fun Day will take place on Friday, and Saturday features include the horse and pony dressage judging in the horse arena and Milking Derby at 5:30 p.m.

In addition to all of these events, families may enjoy the carnival rides and games, and a wide variety of food booths.

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The fireworks had run continuously since 1997, but when there was not enough funding in 2009, the chamber could not hold Day in the Park.

This year, the chamber got the word out that the event would not return unless it could raise enough money for the fireworks. People responded generously, attending the chamber’s porkchop fundraisers and donating money in canisters at downtown Elburn businesses.

“The public was more aware that they wanted it (back) this year,” said Day in the Park Committee Chair Leslie Flint.

As a result, the chamber raised most of the $10,000 needed to stage the fireworks and will make up the balance through Day in the Park vendor-booth rentals and parking fees.

New at the event will be a health fair. In addition, a SummerFest sponsored by Dr. David Foss of Vital Chiropractic will feature water balloons, a bubble station, Baggos and corn toss, a magician and balloon artist, face painting, coloring, the Smoke House by the Elburn Fire Department and finger printing. By having a Fun Card stamped by each vendor, kids will receive free popcorn and snow cones and admission to the fun station with a moon jump.

Among the festival’s food vendors will be Suzie’s Fun Foods and Hill’s Country Store.

Flint said approximately 2,000 people attend the event each year, with people watching the fireworks at the park at dusk and lining the sidewalks to see the show with their neighbors.

Admission at the park is free, with a $5 parking charge.

Recently, the center has been inundated with baby birds because of the heavy rain in June. The birds include robins, cedar wax wings, sparrows, morning doves and starlings. Especially hard-hit have been mallards; the center has cared for 170 ducklings this summer.

“This year, because of all the storms, we do have lots of tiny baby birds because of the high winds,” said Andrea Krueger, FVWC vice president. “We have a huge (number) of mallards here. With the bad weather, the baby birds get separated from the mom.”

In addition to storms, another type of event brings baby mallards to the center in the summer—fireworks.

“On the Fourth of July with the fireworks on the river, the mom is there with her babies,” Krueger said. “She’ll fly away often and the babies are left there. She’ll come back, but maybe she won’t be able to find the babies. It’s a very sad thing.”

Once the baby birds are at the center, they need constant feeding. Some babies need to be fed water and formula with a syringe as often as every 10 minutes to keep them alive.

The center’s goal is to raise the babies until they are able to be released into the wild.

“(With) the birds, we do a gentle release. When they are able to fly and find their own food, we just open the door and they leave when they are comfortable,” Krueger said.

The center also must make sure that mallard ducklings have sufficient waterproofing before the center releases them into a river, which takes time.

“That could go into late summer or fall before they are all waterproof,” Krueger said. “Waterfowl have a gland at the base of their tail that secretes oil. You’ll see them rubbing their neck up against their glands and they rub it all around their whole body and that waterproofs them.”

Since opening its doors in 2001, the FVWC has helped heal and release thousands of animals back into the wild. The nonprofit organization relies entirely on fundraisers, donations, memberships and grants to cover the cost of its services.
FVWC is in great need of more funding this year because of so many animals in need.

“We do get a lot of donations, but we still have a lot of expenses,” Krueger said. “We were at Swedish Days (in Geneva) and we were expecting to do really good, and we didn’t, so we are in dire need now.”

For just one raccoon, the cost to rehabilitate it is $50. The center feeds the raccoon formula for five weeks, and vaccinates it against rabies, distemper and parvovirus. The animal stays at the center three to four months. For one duckling, the cost for care is $30. Each duckling is fed greens and waterfowl chow, and also stays at the center three to four months. To care for a fawn for three months costs about $40.

Aside from monetary donations, the center always needs more animal food and supplies. Its wish list includes fresh produce such as spinach, romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. The center can also use live bugs like meal worms and wax worms, and welcomes donations of office supplies, medical supplies, blankets, pet dishes and household goods.

In addition, volunteers for a variety of tasks are always in great demand.

“They can do animal handling. They can do laundry, dishes, preparing food and taking care of the educational animals,” said Krueger.

For more information about making donations, volunteering, membership or helping wild animals and birds, please contact the FVWC at Elburn Woods Forest Preserve, 45W061 Route 38, Elburn, IL 60119, (630) 365-3800 or www.FoxValleyWildlife.org.

Benefit Night
Zanies Comedy Club
at Pheasant Run Resort
in St. Charles

Thursday, Aug. 5.
8 p.m.
Comedy Central performer
Butch Bradley

Tickets cost $25 per person
and 100 percent of the ticket sales will benefit the
Fox Valley Wildlife Center

Photo: Fox Valley Wildlife Center volunteer Mike Beck feeds a rescued bird at the Elburn facility. Photo by Tammy Swanson

“The Music Man” will be the first summer-stock musical for the festival, which has presented adult and youth art shows and individual performers since 1998.

Performances will take place Friday through Sunday, July 16, 17, and 18, at the Kaneland High School auditorium.

The show’s director, Diane McFarlin, Kaneland High School assistant principal, has enjoyed live theater—acting and directing—locally and in New York for 30 years.

“I love to work with actors and character development,” she said.

Led by Kaneland alumnus Matt Scharlau as “The Music Man” character Harold Hill. The performance features actors aged 8 through 77.

The actors rehearsed last week for their “trouble” and “train” scenes, with McFarlin drumming her hand on the table to set the cadence for Harold Hill’s oration. Meanwhile, technicians tested backdrops, and choreographer Maggie McCord moved dancers through their paces for a library scene.

Linda Miller, who plays Mrs. Paroo in the show, sings a solo in the production. She became involved in theater when her son started acting at the community college level, she said.

Maria Dripps-Paulson, director of the Fine Arts Festival, has worked with McFarlin before, when they both taught in the Kaneland district.

“This is our first collaboration in several years,” Dripps-Paulson said, “and we’re really hoping it’ll be a success.”

McFarlin said she is grateful to the Kaneland School District for providing a venue for the production. She added that the sound system in the auditorium is top-notch.

For a list of cast and crew members (more volunteers are needed), visit www.kaneland-artsfestival.org.

Show times and tickets

Performances:
7 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, July 16 and 17;
and at 2 p.m.
Sunday, July 18.

Tickets:
$10 each, $8 for students
and senior citizens (age 65-plus),
$23 for a family ticket (household).
Reservations are required.
Purchase online at
www.kanelandartsfestival.org.

Photo: Cast members practice a song for the upcoming performance of “The Music Man,” set to premier Friday, July 16. Photo by Paula Coughlan

Extreme temperatures aren’t just uncomfortable—they are also responsible for more weather-related deaths than all other weather phenomena combined.

That’s why the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) will focus on heat safety throughout the month of July as part of its 12-Month Preparedness Campaign.

“It’s no secret that summers in Illinois are hot, but sometimes people fail to recognize how dangerous extreme heat can be,” said IEMA Interim Director Joe Klinger. “When temperatures creep up into the 90s and 100s, conditions can become hazardous, particularly for children, seniors, those with special needs and pets. During July, we’ll be working to remind people of the steps they can take to stay safe.”

According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Lincoln, Ill., more than 970 heat-related deaths have occurred in Illinois since 1995. That number is more than five times the combined number of deaths from tornadoes (25), lightning (15), floods (23), snow and ice storms (20) and extreme cold temperatures (95).

“When the effects of warm temperatures are combined with high levels of humidity, heat-related illnesses can develop even quicker,” said Chris Miller, Warning Coordinator Meteorologist with the NWS in Lincoln. “Keep in mind that temperatures are measured in the shade, so if you are in direct sunlight it can feel 15 degrees hotter.”

Heat-related illnesses range from heat cramps to the potentially life-threatening heat stroke. It’s important for people to recognize the symptoms of these maladies and know what actions to take if they or someone near them becomes ill. Symptoms and recommended treatment actions include:
• Heat cramps: Twitching or painful spasms, usually in muscles of legs or abdomen during or after heavy physical activity, as well as heavy sweating and thirst. Treatment includes stopping activity and resting in a cool place. Lightly stretch or gently massage muscles to relieve spasms, and give sips of cool water or electrolyte drink to sufferer.
• Heat exhaustion: Heavy sweating, with cool, pale and clammy skin. Pulse is fast and weak and breathing is fast and shallow. Victim will have normal temperature or a low-grade fever. Fainting, vomiting, dizziness, nausea and headache are common. Treatment includes having the victim lie down in a cool place. Apply cool, wet cloths and give sips of cool water or electrolyte drink. Contact doctor if symptoms worsen or do not improve within 30 minutes.
• Heat stroke: High body temperature of 103 to 106 degrees. Victim will have hot, red, dry skin, and sweating may be heavy or have stopped. Breathing is fast and shallow, and other symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness and confusion, with possible unconsciousness or seizure. Heat stroke is a life-threatening medical situation requiring emergency medical treatment.

Tips on how to protect yourself and others from heat-related illnesses are available on the state’s Ready Illinois website (www.Ready.Illinois.gov). Some of those tips include:
• Avoid overexertion and strenuous outdoor activities during extreme heat.
• Consume plenty of non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated fluids, even if you don’t feel thirsty.
• Exposure to air conditioning for even a few hours a day will reduce the risk for heat-related illness.
• Keep lights in your home low or off, keep shades drawn and avoid using the oven.
• Closely monitor children, the elderly and those who require special care during periods of intense summer heat.
• Do not leave children or pets in a closed vehicle, even for a few minutes. On a hot day, temperatures inside a closed vehicle can reach 140 degrees.

For other tips on staying cool and reducing cooling costs during the summer, visit the state of Illinois’ Keep Cool Illinois website at www.keepcool.illinois.gov.

However, there now exists an opportunity for the Colorado College graduate to make inroads to the National Hockey League another way: through Toronto.

The Blackhawks, in an ongoing attempt to navigate out of salary cap difficulties, included the 2007 second-round draft pick’s rights in a trade that sent playoff asset Kris Versteeg to the Maple Leafs for Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis.

Sweatt, who scored 15 goals and 33 points in 39 contests for the Tigers in his senior season, was an economics major.

Sweatt participated in the Blackhawks prospect camp in 2008 at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Ill. and in 2009 at Johnny’s Ice House in Chicago.

The 21-year old was selected 38th overall in 2007, just 37 picks behind Stanley Cup hero Patrick Kane.

In other Sweatt news, Bill’s older brother Lee will compete for a spot with the Vancouver Canucks after signing in May. Lee spent the 2009-10 season in Europe.

Bill Sweatt
Left wing
Born: Sept. 21, 1988
Selected 38th overall by Blackhawks in 2007

Photo: Elburn native Bill Sweatt, shown here at a previous Blackhawks prospect camp, was dealt June 30 to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Kris Versteeg in the continued restructuring of the Stanley Cup Champions’ roster. File Photo

From 1997 to 2008, the Day in the Park was a way for area residents and members of the community to gather and have fun during the day, culminating with a fireworks display at night.

Due to financial difficulties, the host of the event, the Elburn Chamber of Commerce, had to cancel the Day in the Park in 2009.

According to reporter Paula Coughlan, who spoke with Day in the Park Committee Chair Leslie Flint (who is also an employee of the Elburn Herald), the community has already raised most of the $10,000 needed to put on the one-day festival and fireworks display. The remaining funds needed will be obtained from festival-day fees and vendor-booth rentals.

The community should be proud of their collective efforts to bring the event back. Through their individual support of directly dropping off donations to the chamber, to their collective support of taking part in the various fundraisers held this year, to the businesses that offered their funds and efforts to help the Day in the Park return, everyone pulled together to help make sure the event continues.

The day begins at 11 a.m. and continues through the fireworks display that starts at 9:30 p.m. In between those two times, there is more than enough to occupy residents of all ages. See Coughlan’s story for a full line-up and schedule of events.

We hope to see you there.

An Elburn woman has been indicted in a March 2009 crash that killed a McHenry County man.

Linda L. Knotts, 45, of the 300 block of Dempsey Street, Elburn, was indicted June 29, 2010, by a Kane County grand jury, on one count of reckless homicide, a Class 3 felony, one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony, one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class 2 felony, and one count of driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor.

After the indictment, Associate Judge James C. Hallock signed a warrant for Knotts’ arrest and set her bail at $500,000.

Knotts surrendered at about 2 p.m. Friday at the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the indictment, on March 20, 2009, Knotts was driving south on Illinois Route 47 in Kane County with cocaine in her system and was in possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine. Knotts exceeded the posted maximum speed limit and failed to decrease speed to avoid an accident while maneuvering a curve and approaching a hill crest, attempted to pass vehicles in a no-passing zone, created a hazard for other drivers, passed vehicles in a no-passing zone and struck a vehicle driven by 54-year-old William McKenzie of Marengo, Ill., causing McKenzie’s death.

If convicted of the most serious charge, Knotts could be sentenced to probation or between three and seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The charges against Knotts are not proof of guilt. Knotts is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Related: Marengo man dies in 2-car crash near SG March 26, 2009

There are hundreds of colors beyond the basics found in every eight-count crayon box, any of which may serve as your wedding colors. For some brides, the decision is easy. They have a favorite color or have imagined their wedding being such and such color, and there is no other choice. For other brides, it’s a struggle. If you find yourself in this category, don’t despair. Here are some tips to help you get over the hump.

First, sit down and make a list of your favorite colors, keeping in mind that the more specific you are, the better. Don’t just write down “blue” when everyone knows that you love cornflower blue. Cornflower blue looks a whole lot different than baby blue, navy blue and royal blue. Be specific in your color favorites.

Review your list and cross off any that you know for certain will not work for your wedding. Neon green and yellow, for example, may not be the best choices for a wedding, unless of course, you are going for that glow-in-the-dark look. Even then, you will probably have trouble finding apparel and accessories for your wedding in those colors.

Once you have narrowed your color favorites, do some research and find out what kind of tones they set. Silver, for example, often invokes an air of sophistication, whereas pale pink invokes a sense of playfulness. Cross off any colors from your list that conflict with the tone you hope to set for your wedding.

Consider the time and venue of your wedding as well. An evening wedding at a swanky hotel during the winter may call for a different color palette than an afternoon wedding poolside in the dead of summer. You might choose darker, richer colors for the former, and brighter, lighter colors for the latter.

Theme, too, can dictate your color choices. Hot pink and lime green might work well for a tropical-inspired summer wedding, but not so much for a serene spring garden-themed wedding. For that, you might want to go with a paler shade of pink and green.

These are just some of the factors that might influence your color choices. Keep in mind that availability may have a bearing on your decision as well. You might have your heart set on a ruby-red and gray wedding until you discover that the style of bridesmaid dresses you want doesn’t come in either of those colors. Rather than search for new dresses, you might find it easier to change your color palette.

Be flexible. You might start out with a silver and white palette and end up with a silvery-white and dark purple palette after spying the purplish flowers of your dreams at the florist’s.
by Tresa Erickson, MultiAd Builder

You have already made the first good green decision, keeping the wedding at home. The closer the wedding is to your guests, the shorter of a commute they will have to make and the less fuel they will consume. For guests that are willing, you can set up carpools to transport them to and from your wedding to save even more fuel. For guests that are out of town, try finding bus or train routes they can take and encourage them to use those modes of transportation to save fuel.

The next step is finding an eco-friendly venue. Obviously, having your wedding outdoors is the easiest way to save energy, but if you’re getting married in the early spring, late fall or winter, that option may not work for you. Eco-friendly venues are out there; you just have to find them. Many hotels and resorts now offer eco-friendly wedding packages. You might also go an alternative route and get married at an organic farm or orchard. If you can’t find an eco-friendly venue, don’t despair. You can go green in many other ways.

When shopping for apparel, keep the three Rs—reduce, reuse, recycle—in mind. Buy vintage gowns and tuxedos and turn them into something else afterward, or rent or borrow gowns and tuxedos. If you must have new apparel, look for pieces you can wear again or shop at eco-friendly suppliers. Many designers now make wedding dresses and other formalwear out of hemp and other sustainable materials.

You should use the same principles when shopping for wedding rings. Consider buying vintage or used rings and having a local jeweler turn them into pieces you’ll cherish forever. If you prefer new rings, look for ones made with recycled metals and stones.

Tree-free or 100 percent recycled paper is the way to go with invitations. Of course, if you really want to reduce waste, consider sending electronic invites. Mail tangible invitations to guests who rarely use the computer and electronic invites to those who use their computer for everything.

As for the food, flowers and favors, you can definitely make green choices in these areas. Local is the key word here. Find an eco-minded caterer and work with them to create a menu made from foods grown locally. Rent your linens and tableware, or look into biodegradable or recycled disposable options. Donate your leftover food afterward instead of throwing it out. Select an eco-minded florist to create arrangements using locally grown flowers or make the arrangements yourself using flowers from your own garden or a friend’s. Throw the flowers into the compost bin afterward. Finally, look for eco-friendly favors that will make your guests more aware of the environment and the importance of making good choices.

When selecting decorations for your ceremony and reception, again keep the three Rs in mind. Borrow or rent as many items as you can. Then look for items that you can reuse or recycle. Add bows to the pews and turn them into throw pillows afterward. Place your wedding cards in various places around the room and recycle them afterward. Strew flower petals on the tables and toss them into the compost pile afterward.

You can even go green with the music. Skip the band or DJ. Hire an instrumentalist or vocalist instead and ask them to leave all of their electronic equipment at home. Whether acoustic or sung a cappella, the music will be beautiful.

Continue your efforts to go green with your wedding gifts. Set up a registry of eco-friendly gifts. If you are combining houses and don’t really need anything, request your guests contribute to one of your favorite environmental causes in lieu of buying you a wedding gift.

Contrary to popular belief, going green at your wedding doesn’t mean you have to settle for less. You can still have the wedding of your dreams; you just have to be willing to take the time to explore your options. If it seems overwhelming, consider hiring an eco-minded wedding planner. They will know all of the ins and outs of having a green wedding and have access to people and places that you don’t.

by Tresa Erickson, MultiAd Builder

The camp will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, July 26-30, at Faith Assembly Church on Keslinger Road in Elburn, one-half mile west of Route 47.

Camp leader Adam Hammond has held similar programs at the Crossroads Christian Youth Center for eight years, with up to 150 children in attendance. This is the first year the day camp will take place in Elburn.

“We felt it was time to offer day camp to the Kaneland area,” he said.

The deadline for registration is Monday, July 5. Attendance is capped at 80 children.

The nondenominational, faith-based camp will feature creek-walking, cook-outs, skits, water wars, craft, games, playground, sports, Bible stories, competitions with prizes, and swimming at both the Crossroads Christian Youth Center on Route 30 in Big Rock and at Splash Country in Aurora.

Photo: Camp leader Adam Hammond tries to catch up to Jordan Boyd during a flag football game. Courtesy photo

With the Fourth of July weekend approaching, the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois State Police, as well as local law enforcement agencies, will conduct extensive anti-drinking-and-driving activities during the holiday weekend.

In addition to the impact alcohol plays in accidents during late-night hours, the situation is compounded by the research that shows motorists use seatbelts less frequently late at night.

“July 4th is a great time of celebration for our country, but too often, those celebrations can turn deadly because of impaired driving and a failure to buckle up,” said IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig in a statement released this week. “That is why IDOT is working with Illinois law enforcement to remind motorists to designate a sober driver before celebrating. If you don’t and you choose to drink and drive, you will be arrested.”

For those who plan to celebrate on the water, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) said that alcohol is one of the leading factors in fatal boating accidents throughout the nation.

“Our Conservation Police Officers work very hard to make sure Illinois public waters are safe for everyone to enjoy,” said IDNR Director Marc Miller. “We certainly want people to have a good time on the water, but we have zero tolerance for anyone found operating a boat under the influence.”

IDOT recommends that motorists should always designate a sober driver and should also restrict friends and family members from driving impaired. These two recommendations are just two of several simple steps to avoid a tragic crash or an impaired driving arrest this July 4th.

Other important tips include:
• Plan ahead. Designate a sober driver before going out and give that person your keys.
• If you are impaired, call a taxi, use mass transit or call a sober friend or family member to get you home safely.
• Promptly report impaired drivers you see on the roadways to law enforcement by pulling over and dialing 911.
• Make sure everyone in your vehicle wears their safety belt. It is your best defense against an impaired driver.

The You Drink & Drive. You Lose crackdown began June 18 and runs through July 4. It is supported by nearly $1 million in federal safety funds being made available by IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety. For more information about impaired driving in Illinois, please visit www.drivesoberillinois.org.

The Mad Hatter Cafe offers customers a place to sip an espresso and connect with WiFi service on their laptops at the colorfully painted tables in front of the shop, and it even provides deluxe coffee service to your car.

The cafe originally opened as part of the Party Animals themed party store in 2008, but many people did not realize it was there.

“People knew us for the parties and supplies we offered, but didn’t realize that we also have a coffee cafe at the front of the store,” said Cindy Thul, shop owner. “So we’re giving the cafe its own identity.”

Besides expresso, the newly named Mad Hatter Cafe offers several flavors of Italian coffee, fruit smoothies made with fresh ingredients, teas, muffins, cakes, biscotti and cupcakes. Customers with a sweet tooth also may enjoy Thul’s homemade chocolates and fudge, or pick from the 1950s-style penny candies farther back in the store. In addition, Thul is adding donuts to the menu. All of her desserts are made fresh, using recipes passed down from her grandmother and great-grandmother.

Realizing that many people want coffee and dessert on their way to work or the Elburn Metra station, Thul will take orders out to customers’ cars if they call ahead. Besides on-street parking, there is a large lot behind the store where patrons can enter through the cafe’s back door, or pull up in their cars to pick up their orders.

Also in the Mad Hatter Cafe are coffee cups to purchase along with tea pots and other serving dishes. Patrons may buy placemats for restless children to color. While there, families can browse through Party Animal’s large selection of merchandise—dolls and accessories, puppets, games, puzzles, pinatas, stuffed animals and helium balloons.

Party Animals offers 19 different themed parties in a colorfully decorated room with a velvet-lined throne for the person of honor.

Mad Hatter Cafe
inside Party Animals
118 N. Main St., Elburn
Parking available on Main Street or
in the lot in back of the café.

(630) 365-2898
(call ahead for car deliveries)

Tuesday-Friday 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.;
Saturday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.;
closed Mondays

photo by Ben Draper

“I’ve always loved bad weather, and I spent a lot of time in my youth following the rain,” he said.

Hruza’s fondness for stormy weather eventually led him to his ultimate labor of love—storm chasing, which he has done for the last 15 years. While most people will try to find shelter below ground during a severe storm, Hruza prefers to get dangerously close to storm clouds and tornadoes to take pictures of them.

Hruza also became a National Weather Service-certified storm spotter last spring.

Not everyone understands his unusual hobby.

“People ask why I (chase storms) and what the point is,” Hruza said. “My only response is, if I can save just one life by helping to get a 10-second-earlier warning to them, then that makes every second I have ever chased worth it. I do it to help save lives and property.”

One thing Hruza doesn’t chase storms for is money. He volunteers, without pay, to get up close and personal with disastrous weather for the Skywarn Spotter Network. And he currently has plenty of time to spot and chase storms, having a disability since January 2009 when a 616-pound entertainment center fell on his foot while he was helping a friend move.

Hruza originally wanted to become a meteorologist but managed to sit through only one class at Northern Illinois University before deciding meteorology wasn’t going to work out for him. Hruza wanted to see storms and twisters in-person, not just on radar.

Hruza, now 34, moved to Elburn in 2005. Living in the area has given him the opportunity to chase some formidable storms, one of which was a tornado that swept through Dwight and Streator, Ill. two weeks ago.

“I traveled down there to see the devastation. I actually walked around taking photos right in the middle of the destruction,” he said. “It was heartbreaking. People just didn’t know what to do.”

“My first thought in Dwight was that their situation was horrible,” Hruza said. “Not only did (the tornado) hit a populated area, but it was dark out. No one could see it coming. Thankfully, no one died.”

Hruza also found a particular memento in Dwight that perfectly embodied how a dangerous storm can change everything in a few moments.

“I looked down at my feet and there was a ripped-in-half picture of a newborn baby. My first thought was how people always say there are things that can never be replaced, and this is what they meant by that,” he said. “I took the picture, telling myself that this is one memory someone lost that I could not let be lost forever.”

While there is plenty of goodwill in Hruza’s storm-chasing motives, he admits he really enjoys the scary, thrilling aspect of the work, too.

“It’s a definite rush, and it’s really hard for me to explain exactly what it feels like,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing, though.”

Visitors to the winery, which opened to the public in May, become part of the family and are virtually transported to the Italian town of Aquaviva dela fonti, located at the heel of the boot-shaped Italy, where Brandonicios’ grandfather had vineyards.

The winery features a bistro, a wine-tasting bar, and a delicatessan and gift shop with a variety of sausages, cheeses, olive oil, Italian brands of flour and noodles, sauces, canned tomatoes, wine glasses and utensils, plus a selection of eight family wines and gift baskets.

In the bistro, the casually elegant atmosphere encourages the Italian tradition of lingering to enjoy friends, food and family. Small meals, called assaggini in Italian, are tied directly to the taste of a certain wine.

Wines are listed on the menu with the meals that go best with them. Selections include thin Italian pizzas with fresh ingredients, antipastos, pastas, chicken, filets and shrimp, along with salads, breads and dipping sauce. Among the desserts, made on site, are tiramisu, cannolis, lemon ices and spumoni. Additional seating is available on the patio.

Wine is available by the glass or bottle. At the wine-tasting bar, patrons may sample different varieties.

Vito Brandonicios arrived in Chicago from Italy at age nine. As an adult, he moved his family to Maple Park in 1984 where he began recreating his beloved grandfather’s vineyards. When they constructed the winery building, at first the family was not sure how they wanted to use it.

“We began to design it bit by bit, starting with the ceilings,” Vito’s son, Joey said. “Then we put in the deli, and decided to have a wine tasting bar.”

Then they hired Russian artist Andre Zabella to create a vast domed ceiling of Italian winery paintings at the entrance, a work which took four months to complete.

“We couldn’t do any other construction while the artist was working because the dust would have gotten into the paint,” Joey said.

Acquaviva Winery began posting “open” signs along Route 38 in mid May and the response from the public was immediately positive, the Brandonicios said. As a result, the business will add more parking.

Future plans for the winery also include a downstairs meeting room and possibly a cigar room and space for special events such as weddings. The family also hopes to expand the outside seating area, and offer entertainment and winery tours.

From the vine
Acquaviva Winery produces several different varietals of wine in its Maple Park vineyards, which it must maintain on a daily basis, especially when a lot of rain has fallen, said Joey Brandonicio, of the family-owned business.

“Our vines do well in the Midwest region, but grapes will start to absorb too much water and if they do they can start to split open,” he said. “That is when pests and disease will find them. We inspect the vines regularly as lack of vigilance could loose an entire crop.”

The family was pleased when their first entry into wine competitions at Fingerlakes, New York, resulted in all of their wines winning silver and bronze medals. They have also won gold medals in Illinois competitions.

The winery
11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday;
11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday;
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday;
noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.
47W614 Rt. 38, Meredith Road, Maple Park
(630) 365-0333

Photo: A tasting bar at Acquaviva is just one of the features at the winery, which opened to the public in May. The winery also features a bistro, delicatessen, gift shop, outdoor patio and its own vineyard. Courtesy Photo

But, if you’ve shown up at any of these events you know from the empty seats how often it doesn’t happen. There are so many great and worthwhile excuses like having work to get done or at least sending your spouse or maybe even a nice day and 18 holes. The average person would nod their head in agreement with each one of them and say, well, you tried.

However, parenting is not about you.

Most people get that in a general sense because, particularly when the child is small, they obviously need us to focus. At first, everything about being a new parent is exhausting and makes the head spin because it’s all so new, it’s necessary and there’s really no choice if the job is to be done even halfway right.

I remember when my son, Louie, was brand-new and I drove by a restaurant where my friends were sitting outside, laughing and chatting. I wanted to stop and join them but Louie needed my attention and that came first. That was the moment I knew things had changed forever and I just needed to give in and do it.

But here’s an added twist.

In order to achieve greatness we have to be willing to show up and believe it’ll all work out. We get that belief in doses every time a parent shows up for us. That goes double when we know they had to put something else aside in order to be there, in that seat.

All of us want our children to reach beyond what seems possible or easy and go for what challenges them, what brings out their talents and then tests the boundaries at least a little. We’ve learned by now that that’s where the real rewards are waiting but if you can’t risk it and show up, your chances of finding it go way down.

That’s the exact spot where it comes in handy if you had a dad who went beyond what seemed easy or convenient and just showed up without wondering what was in it for them. They were there fitting in to the small desk or at the dinner table or standing on the sidelines and they were cheering for your success.

We may not know what rewards await us for trying every day, but we’ve been given this wonderful example that going first is a big part of the process. It’s like going to the gym every day in the early morning hours because being fit matters and then waiting months to see the results.

You wade out again into the choices and believe in the possibilities of what might be there because you have a great dad who showed up and believed in you even though you were blowing the wrong note during the flute concert or were distracted by fireflies during the soccer game.

Dads are great at being open to the idea that your greatness is still evolving and chasing fireflies might be a part of the bigger picture.

When our children are grown it’s even about showing up to say nothing at all and encouraging our children to need us less because we know they now have all the tools that they need to build their own dreams. To all of us, like me, whose great dad has passed away, may we live our lives in a way that honors their humor, their passion and their beliefs in us. Happy Father’s Day.

Take flowers, for instance. Many brides today are opting for fewer, but more daring, floral designs in their weddings.

When it comes to wedding flowers, brides have a number of choices. Roses remain popular, as do gerbera daisies and tulips. Tropical flowers are also hot.

One of the biggest changes in wedding floral design is color. Lighter, more muted shades are now being replaced with brighter, bolder hues. Brides today are not afraid of mixing reds and yellows, oranges and purples, and greens and blues.

Along with stronger colors, many wedding floral designs feature herbs, fruits, vegetables and other striking pieces. These help create interest and add dimension.

To create even more drama and interest, many brides are varying the contents of their centerpieces. Gone are the identical baskets of flowers on each table. In their place are various kinds of flowers in various sized containers. You might find a large wicker basket of tulips on one table and a slender crystal vase of lilies on another.

As for the bouquets, brides are going for a simpler, sleeker look, with many choosing hand-tied or posy bouquets. Small, compact, tasteful bouquets with exquisite flowers and gorgeous accents are ideal. Flowers may be embellished with beads, crystals, faux jewels, feathers or pearls. These may be glued inside petals, strung on wires over petals, threaded onto thin strands of glass within petals or left to dangle. Ribbon has also made a comeback, but instead of being used in bows, it may be wrapped around the flower stems.

For brides that choose not to wear a veil, flowers may be the answer. They may use flowers from their bouquet in their hair, attaching them with pins or securing them to barrettes or a headband.

These days, brides are being more daring with the flowers for their wedding. Bold is in!

by Tresa Erickson, MultiAd Builder

There are two basic approaches to wedding photography: portrait and photojournalistic. In the former, subjects pose for the pictures; in the latter, they don’t; the shots are more candid. Many brides and grooms opt for a combination of the two, often hiring a photographer familiar with both styles or separate photographers for each style.

Photojournalism has become quite popular in weddings in recent years. Couples want to see the story of their wedding unfold from what goes on behind the scenes in the dressing rooms to the connections made at the reception. Photographers work to capture all of the little moments—the flower girls’ mischievous grins as they chase each other in the dressing room, the look on the father’s face when he sees the bride for the first time, the mothers’ intensity as they light the unity candle.

In spite of the popularity of photojournalism, portrait wedding photography is not going away any time soon. The majority of couples still want the standard posed portraits. These days, however, many are choosing to have their wedding portraits taken with a high-end fashion approach.

A throwback to fashion magazine shoots, in-vogue wedding photography maximizes the glamour of the moment and makes the couple look their best, almost like celebrities, through digital image editing and manipulation. Shots are very artistic, and the editing is very skilled.

When it comes to the style of your wedding photos, it is your choice. You can stick to formal portraits or go for more candid shots. To ensure you get what you want, select a photographer with care. Interview each of the candidates on your list, find out what their interests are and review their portfolios. If they seem more familiar with portrait photography and you are interested in having portraits and candid shots, you may want to look for someone else.

For the best results, find a photographer who is comfortable with both styles and has some experience with the in-vogue trend if that’s what you’re after.

by Tresa Erickson, MultiAD Builder

by Keith Beebe
MAPLE PARK—It’s unlikely that any young boy hoping to someday become a soldier is also dreaming of someday appearing in a U.S. Department of Defense video, but that’s exactly what happened to former Maple Park resident Shaun Kramer.

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Kramer was one of several soldiers to appear in the video about how the U.S. Air Force and Army work with Iraqi civilians to safely and efficiently run the Contingency Operating Base Speicher Arrival and Departure Airfield Control Group (ADAG) Air Terminal in Tikrit, Iraq.

Kramer is an air traffic controller and training supervisor assigned to Company F, 3-25 General Support Aviation Battalion, Task Force Hammerhead, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade. Military officials selected him early in his deployment to appear in the film, in which he gave his perspective on the Contingency Operating Base Speicher functioning as a gateway to Northern Iraq.

“I attempted to clearly illustrate the fact that Speicher Tower helps to orchestrate and move much-needed personnel and equipment all throughout Iraq,” he said. “For me, the mission the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade does here (is) directly contributes to success throughout Iraq.”

As an air traffic controller, Kramer, along with his fellow controllers, are responsible for more than 500 aircraft movements during each 12-hour shift. He likes his work, although it is demanding.

“What I like best about my job is the amount of responsibility, as well as the number of lives that we are responsible for safely moving each day,” he said. “I think the hardest part of my job is staying focused all the time. Being on top of things 99 out of 100 times isn’t good enough.”

Kramer’s desire to travel and see the world inspired him to join the Army Reserves in August 1999. His older brother, Clint, recruited him to join the Army. Clint is a Sergeant First Class who is currently deployed in Afghanistan. Military service has offered both of them a chance not only to serve their country, but to pursue their personal interests.

“My brother always wanted to be a police officer, and I always liked aviation,” Kramer said. “The Army is allowing both of us to do what we like.”

Kramer joined active duty in 2006 and is currently on his second combat tour of Iraq.

Soldier remembers
coach’s influence
U.S. Army Sgt. Shaun Kramer grew up in Maple Park and was named All-State in track and field four times while attending Kaneland High School. His track coach, Ralph Drendel, was a superb role model who pushed Kramer to achieve great things, he said.

“(Drendel) was one of the biggest influences to my success as a teenager,” Kramer said. “In many ways, he got me ready for the Army. He showed me that hard work and determination will lead to good things in life, and that’s one of the reasons I was so prepared for Army life.”

See the video:

“He’d make things from what he rummaged from our recycling bin,” she said. “He created string set ups in his room to slide things on and open doors.”

One such creation—a castle made from egg cartons—is among Adam’s art that is on display at Sugar Grove Public Library through Friday, June 25, along with works by other students of The Art Room.

Because of her son’s talent and interest in art, Adam’s mom enrolled him in classes at The Art Room, in the instructor Jeaneatte Rehmel’s Elburm home.

An acrylic painting of a lion is one of Adam’s creations in The Art Room display at the library this month. He said his teacher helped him with the details.

“I was supposed to draw it inside a cage, but I wanted him outside,” he said. “So Miss Jeannette had me look at pictures to see what it was like where lions live.”

Adam’s parents display more of his art in the family’s house. Moving his hands over a colorful painting of a pirate ship shooting at a boat, Adam told how Rehmel helped him create this piece.

“Miss Jeannette explained that I needed to make the boat being fired on smaller, so that it would seem far away,” Adam said. “My hardest part was drawing the cannon so it would look like it had turned sideways so it could aim at the boat.”

Adam is particularly proud of the ladder he had drawn up to the crow’s nest. He said it was “one of the harder things to get the way I wanted it.”

His ship painting will be on display at another art show at the Sugar Grove Public Library in late fall.

Another painting he did at The Art Room, of a lighthouse, features beams of light glowing at the top, on a dark sky-blue background, showing Adam’s love for color.

In a follow-up to his lion painting, Adam is currently working on a painting of a gazelle.

“I’m going to keep drawing animals that live in the same place,” he said.

Art show
thru Friday, June 25
Sugar Grove Public Library,
125 S. Municipal Drive
Featuring works by students
of The Art Room
The public may view the display
during regular library hours:
Tue.–Thu., 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Fri. and Sat., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Photo: An acrylic painting of a lion is among Elburn 6-year-old Adam Wold’s creations on display at the Sugar Grove Public Library this month. A student of The Art Room in Elburn, Adam plans to produce a series of wild-animal paintings. Courtesy Photo

“I wouldn’t have believed a year ago that I would own a jewelry business,” said Crisci, who owns Steeple Stones Jewelry in Sugar Grove.

For a long time, Crisci had wanted to “wear her faith” through stylish and contemporary religious jewelry to complement her business attire. However, she found pieces like that were nearly non-existent. So, she began sketching hundreds of images of jewelry that she had pictured in her mind over the years.

Her jewelry designs became reality when she took her sketches to the owner of a jewelry store and casting business in Chicago and Steeple Stones Jewelry came into being.

“It seems like just yesterday that I started drawing jewelry designs in my notebook,” Crisci said. “I knew that I wanted to create pieces with a scriptural, symbolic or inspirational meaning.”

One of her customers, Donna Weiss, said Crisci’s jewelry struck her immediately as being unique.

“When I first saw Melissa’s pieces, I knew they were special,” Weiss said. “I’ve been able to give my family and friends gifts that are eye-catching and truly represent their faith. There is nothing similar to Crisci’s designs.”

Steeple Stones Jewelry has a showroom at 6 S. Main St., Sugar Grove, plus offers in-home parties and art shows. To see Crisci’s jewelry designs, visit www.steeplestonesjewelry.com.

Fashion show
Melissa Crisci, owner of Steeple Stones Jewelry,
is hosting a fashion show Thursday, June 24, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
at the Fireside Grill in Sugar Grove. The event will feature
appetizers, beverages, special offers and prizes.
Fifteen percent of the proceeds will be donated to the
Sugar Grove Food Pantry. Call (630) 688-8524 for reservations.

Photo: Melissa Crisci owns Steeple Stones Jewelry in Sugar Grove, where she displays many of the unique pieces she designed. Courtesy Photo

“We wanted to put this together because our area has a tremendous amount of things to offer for dog and cat owners,” co- organizer Lore Thuestad said. “Some people are not aware of how many services are offered here, This whole event has been geared towards the health of the animals—healthy food, regular grooming and training. Really, it’s just a celebration of dogs, cats, their abilities and the people that love them.”

Thuestad and the other organizers, Linda Nash, Joan and Amy DeGroot, Audrey Ritchey and Diana Holtz—all work in pet-related fields. Thuestad has an in-home pet care business; the DeGroot’s own the pet grooming salon Amy’s Wild Hairs in Maple Park; Holtz is a pet groomer; and Nash and Ritchey work as representatives for a holistic dog food company.

Photo by Ben Draper

The event in Lions Park was an opportunity for Ratcliffe to let people know about Great Dane Rescue Midwest. Ratcliff represented the organization, which found Smokey in a Chicago animal shelter after he had spent a life of forced dog fighting, bearing scars on his face and neck from the cruel treatment he experienced.

“These Great Danes come to us for a variety of reasons—divorce, lost jobs, house foreclosure, relocation and other situations where the owner can no longer provide shelter,” Ratcliffe said.

Another booth at Paws All Day in Elburn was for The Leader Dogs for the Blind, whose representative, Carroll Jackson, drove to Elburn from Jacksonville, Ill. to participate. Jackson said the organization has been in existence for 71 years.

“We just graduated our 14,000th dog in March,” he said.

Other booths at Paws All Day in Elburn offered information from pet-adoption organizations and pet groomers.

The event’s organizers plan to bring back the event annually. They hope it will grow every year and that future vendors will include more pet-rescue groups and low-cost spay and neuter organizations.

Photo: Smokey the Great Dane. Photo by Ben Draper

That is the name of the library’s summer reading program this year at the Elburn Library. Through fun events and incentives, the program encourages children, teenagers and adults to read more from June through August.

Last year’s summer reading program, Read on the Wild Side, had approximately 1,000 youths and 400 adults participating, and coordinator Dwayne Nelson expects similar participation this year.

Nelson said the free program is so popular because it offers a different theme each year and prizes for those who complete their reading—10 hours for children, four books for teens and three books for adults.

Participants may read whatever books they want, but they also may choose titles from the Scare Up a Good Book program list, such as murder mysteries for adults, graphic novels for teens and monster stories for children, which are not too scary, Nelson said.

“I have a bibliography of scary titles,” Nelson said.

Participants who finish by the last day of the program, Aug. 14, receive a $10 gift card from Barnes & Noble book store and are eligible for raffle prizes including a Raging Waves water park season pass, an annual family pass to Brookfield Zoo, tickets for a party of 15 to Randall 15 theater and two Chicago Sky tickets.

Those who read even more than what the program requires are eligible for other prizes, such as pizzas from Paisano’s and ice cream cones from Alice’s Place.

Among the other businesses who donated the prizes are Paisano’s, Raging Waves, Alice’s Place, Sugar Grove Family Fun Center and Kuipers Family Farm.

In addition to the prizes, the program offers special events throughout the summer, from concerts to magic shows (see events list).

Nelson uses the theme that the Committee of Illinois Librarians suggests each year for public library summer reading programs.

“I follow it because the programs are well-thought-out and fun for kids,” Nelson said.

Elburn residents may sign up for the program anytime this summer.

Scare Up A Good Book
Following are some of the special events scheduled for this summer at Town & Country Public Library, 320 E. North St., Elburn.
• Tom Lichtenheld (bestselling author)
Drawing & Writing Workshop
Thursday, June 24, 1 p.m.
• Dave Herzog’s Marionettes
Monday, June 28, 6:30 p.m.
• Young Rembrandts (8th-12th grades)
Thursdays, July 15-Aug. 12, 11:15 a.m.
• Mr. E. & Maggie Magic Show
Friday, July 30, 11 a.m.
• Reid Miller presents “Bump In the Night!”
Monday, Aug.9, 6:30 p.m.

The cake was provided by Hogan-Walker John Deere dealership in Elburn, which celebrated Bagg’s three decades with the company this week.

Bagg, the store’s longtime mechanic, is surprised that he has stayed in the same job since he was 19.

“I would have never guessed back then that I’d still be here, doing what I love,” Bagg said. “I sure never thought I’d end up being the longest-time employee.”

For Bagg, working on tractors is not just a job. His interest in machinery continues after work hours when he goes home to work on farm equipment for the fun of it, he said. He has a passion for antique gas engines and old tractors and has restored a rare 1915 Challenge upright and his dad’s 1957 John Deere 720 diesel.

Bagg learned how to fix tractors from two mentors. One was his father George, a grain and cattle farmer, known for being able to make anything out of anything, and who once rebuilt a farm tractor to have a road speed of 80 mph. When Bagg went to work at the Elburn store as a teenager, he learned more from master mechanic Marty Straussberger.

Bagg has been a mentor, too, teaching new employees at the Elburn dealership. He also belongs to the North Eastern 2 Cylinder Club and the Northern Illinois Steam Engine Club, sometimes serving as director of both.

Bagg has managed the shop from time to time, but when the position was offered to him permanently he declined, opting to stay in the shop to work on machinery.

“I really like people but am happiest when I’m working with them one-on-one, versus trying to be a boss over all of them,” Steve said.

As the business grew, changing hands and changing focus from farm equipment to commercial and consumer equipment, Bagg attended many John Deere classes, always scoring at the top of his class. In a time when electronics are replacing diagnosticians, Bagg can sometimes tell you what is wrong and how to fix equipment faster than a computer.

“A lot of our John Deere training is now done on computer, right here at the store,” Steve said. “I don’t mind doing work on the computer, but use it only as much as I have to, such as ordering parts. I prefer to just be out there working on the equipment.”

Store manager Noel Phillips complimented his lead technician.

“Steve is a soft-spoken, hard-working man who gives 100 percent all day,” Phillips said. “He has given back what was shared with him and applied his knowledge to the benefit of a grateful employer and community. Please stop by to congratulate Steve.”

Photo: Steve Bagg, longtime mechanic at Hogan-Walker John Deere in Elburn, specializes in fixing tractors, a skill he has honed since he was a teenager. Photo by Martha Quetsch

David Hejtmanek, Donald Lee Watson, Sally (Toma) Kempton, Sharon Metzger and Steve Smerz were chosen to form the fourth class of the Waubonsee Athletic Hall of Fame for their involvement in sports, dedication to Waubonsee, athletic successes, and contributions to the community or career accomplishments earned after leaving Waubonsee. The Hall of Fame was formed in 2007 in conjunction with the school’s 40th anniversary celebration.

“We are proud to recognize the success of our student-athletes, as well as the coaches, administrators and community supporters who helped to foster that success,” Waubonsee Athletic Manager Dave Randall said. “Waubonsee athletics has a rich history in contributing to the total development of our students and to the campus community as a whole.”

David Hejtmanek led Waubonsee’s wrestling program for eight years, beginning in 1987. Under his tutelage, 22 grapplers qualified for Nationals, with eight Chiefs earning All-American status. Waubonsee captured the Skyway Conference wrestling crown in 1990 and went on to place 19th at the NJCAA Finals. In 1993 Hejtmanek’s squad finished 13th in the nation as he was tabbed the NJCAA Region IV Coach of the Year.

Hejtmanek describes his former athlete and fellow inductee Steve Smerz as someone who was “dependable, a great teammate, and someone who represented Waubonsee with the highest degree of character and integrity.” Smerz has displayed those traits wherever he has gone, and consequently, success has followed. While at Waubonsee, the 134-pound Smerz won 60 matches, qualifying for Nationals in both 1990 and 1991. After earning All-American status his sophomore season, he received a wrestling scholarship to Eastern Illinois University, where he was a starter for the Panthers his senior year. Smerz has been the head varsity wrestling coach at St. Charles East High School since 1997, guiding the team to three regional championships during his tenure.

Donald Lee Watson helped lay the foundation of women’s sports at Waubonsee, establishing the volleyball program in 1977 and serving as its head coach for the next 14 years. In more than half of those seasons, his squad finished in the Skyway Conference’s top three. In 1979 Watson helped build the softball program, spending two seasons in the dugout and leading the team to a Skyway Conference title in 1980. Recently, at the age of 50, Watson began playing on an Illinois volleyball team that went on to compete in nine straight Senior Nationals, and played in the USA Volleyball National Championships in Phoenix, Ariz.

Like Coach Watson, Sally (Toma) Kempton specialized in volleyball but dabbled in softball as well. On the volleyball court, she earned All-Skyway honors in both 1985 and 1986, and All-Region IV status as a sophomore. Kempton was the Lady Chiefs’ MVP in 1985, achieving a 95 percent serving efficiency rate and establishing a Waubonsee career record with 465 spikes. In the spring she helped out the softball team by playing first base. Kempton was subsequently named Waubonsee’s Female Athlete of the Year for 1985-1986.

Inductee Sharon Metzger was the first and only two-time NJCAA All-American cross country runner for Waubonsee. As a freshman in 2002, she led the Lady Chiefs to their first-ever Skyway Conference title, earning Runner of the Year honors in the process. Metzger also garnered All-Region status before placing 14th at the National Meet that year. As a sophomore she again achieved All-Skyway and All-Region honors before finishing 12th at the National Meet. The squad she anchored placed third in the nation academically among cross country teams with a cumulative 3.33 grade point average. Metzger made the Dean’s List twice and earned Academic All-Skyway honors as well. Not surprisingly, she was named Waubonsee’s Female Athlete of the Year for 2002-2003. Metzger is currently training for the 2010 Chicago Marathon.

The Waubonsee Athletic Hall of Fame honors former Waubonsee administrators, faculty and staff; athletes; coaches; community supporters; and specific teams who are five years removed from their involvement with Waubonsee athletics.

Illinois has the perfect climate for not only flower gardens, but for vegetable gardens too. This is because the area gets enough precipitation throughout the year to moisten the soil, which is perfect for the growth and development of plants, Laura Widhalm, Kaneland High School horticulture teacher, said.

Selecting the right spot, and the plants that will thrive there, is key.

“You need to know how much sunlight your plants need so you can pick a spot on your land to start your garden,” Tim Norris, of Spring Bluff Nursery in Sugar Grove, said. “You will need to till the spot and fertilize it before you plant, as well as after.” Make sure water is accessible.

Norris and Widhalm offered the following tips for beginning gardeners:
1. Begin by finding an open piece of land to start your garden.
2. Till the soil with a shovel making sure every chunk of dirt is broken up evenly, giving your plants ability to breath.
3. Both vegetable and flower gardens need fertilizer to enhance the quality and growth. Lightly sprinkle fertilizer over the tilled soil, and mix it together with a shovel.
4. For a vegetable garden, the soil must be moistened, so gently sprinkle water on top with a hose until a layer of water is formed. Once all of the standing water has absorbed into the soil, begin planting seeds.

How much maintenance the garden will require varies, depending on the type of garden.

“The type of garden will determine the amount of care needed every day. The basic tools you will need to take care of your garden will be a hoe shovel and a hose,” Andie Strang, a Kaneland High School junior whose family owns Strang Inc., said.

Strang said growing vegetables and flowers is a fairly easy task, but that beginning gardeners need to understand that gardening takes time.

“If they research and take time, it’s easy,” Strang said. “But they have to put in more than one day’s effort. Gardening is a daily job.”

Norris advised regular care as well.

“Weed on a daily basis, keeping the garden neat and clean,” Norris advised.

“You will need to water it every day to keep them growing.”

Vegetable gardens need water twice a day in order to grow healthy and develop to their full potential, Strang said.

“Every specific plant needs specific care. Knowing the needs of each plant is extremely important,” Strang said.

In Knights boys track and field, Logan Markuson was named the Track MVP, while Nick Sinon, state champ in high jump, was named Field MVP. Edgar Valle, also a state champ as part of the 4×400 relay , was named recipient of the Drendel Award. Markuson, Derek Bus, Joe Levita, Brett Ketza, Justin Choate and Sinon were recognized as captains. Andrew Essex was named winner of the Ron Probst Award. Sinon, Markuson, Taylor Andrews, Valle, Bus, Matt Reusche, Matt Spitzzeri, Sean Paulick, Tommy Whittaker, Dominic Furco, Trevor Holm and Levita were recognized as the final Kaneland representatives for the all-Western Sun Conference team.

Brandon Cottier, Essex, Curtis Secrest, Whittaker, Spitzzeri, Valle, Bus, Taylor Andrews, Markuson, Levita, Holm and Sinon were all lauded for their trip to the Class 2A State Finals in Charleston, Ill.

For girls track, Lisa Roberson and Andie Strang, both State-goers, were named co-Track MVP’s, while Brooke Patterson, fresh off a trip to Charleston, was named field MVP.

Mel Mazuc and Nicole Ketza were part of a group of three named most improved field athletes, along with Briana Stark in long jump. Hurdler Hillary Luse took the most improved track athlete award.

Roberson and Sydney Bilotta were recognized as captains, while Patterson, Ashley Castellanos and Gabby Aguirre were honored for their All-Western Sun Conference performances.

Strang (800 meter run, 4x800m relay), Roberson and Kris Bowen (4x800m), Sara Wallace (pole vault), Jessica Stouffer (4x800m), Patterson (pole vault, triple jump) and Castellanos (long jump) were lauded for their State trip.

For the 20-win softball team, first-year coach Brian Willis gave most outstanding defensive player to Jordan Hester and most outstanding offensive player to Andrea Dimmig-Potts. Samantha Hansen took home the most improved player award, Kristen Stralka and Brittany Davis got in on the Lady Knight Award, while 13-win pitcher Delani Vest was given the most outstanding player award.

In the freshman softball ranks, Elizabeth Eckert and Sarah Grams took the co-MVP honors, while Danielle McCormack won the Kaneland Knight award.

For baseball, Dave Dudzinski and Bobby Thorson were named recipients of the Mr. Kaneland Baseball award.

Jake Tickle, he of the 19-game hit streak during the season, was named offensive MVP, and Steve Colombe was crowned defensive MVP.

The 41 Award, in honor or Jeff Malewig, was given to Tickle and Jake Fiedler.

Thorson, Fiedler, Colombe and Tickle were all recognized for their All-Western Sun Conference honors.

For the 15-win girls soccer team’s history- making season, Megan Gil, Haley Johnson, Shelby Koester, Colleen Gebauer and Emily Heimerdinger were lauded for their captain-ship.

Amy Fabrizius was given the most improved player honor, and freshman goalkeeper Jordan Ginther was named Rookie of the Year.

Sophie Blank, Andie Bruce and Natalie Swieca won the coach’s award. Gebauer and Katie Taylor were co-winners of the Lady Knights Award, while Heimerdinger and Gil took the MVP honors.

For the final awards of the night, the female Birkette award was given to Roberson. Markuson and Bus took home the male Birkette award.

Markuson was honored with the Male Athlete of the Year award, while Roberson was given the Female Athlete of the Year award.

Levita, for his time in cross country, wrestling and track, was honored for his three-sport commitment.

Photo: Lisa Roberson, shown here in relay action in Charleston, Ill., two weeks ago, was awarded Female Athlete of the Year and Female Birkette Award winner at last week’s 2010 Senior Athletic Banquet Awards. File Photo

Alison Daeschler, Nick Grimes, Thomas Huff, Madison Jordan and Daniel Stotler are all fifth-graders whom their teachers chose to coordinate the event because of their leadership skills.

After consulting with food pantry manager Melisa Taylor, the students named their effort “Wipe Out Week” to show that anything that could “wipe,” such as paper towels, baby wipes, Kleenex and toilet paper, was desirable.

Between Friends receives many food donations especially during peak times, but the pantry was in dire need of paper products. Taylor told the students, “If you can’t eat it, we need it.”

To get the word out about the collection, the students sent flyers home asking families to, “Help us ‘wipe-out’ the current needs at the food pantry.” A poster the class created for John Shields hallways said, “Don’t Blow It,” requested Kleenex donations.

Stotler gave a Powerpoint presentation in the school lobby to remind students to bring in their donations. Stotler, Jordan, Daeschler, Grimes and Huff created and put up posters outside of classroom doors, helped with clean up afterward and participated in a Wipe Out Week skit prepared for the morning announcements.

Pryor said that through these types of projects, students learn about helping people and working together.

All of the students said they learned that there are always people who need the basic necessities of life, especially in our worsening economy. They were amazed when Taylor told them that sometimes the food pantry is so short on paper items that they can only give out one roll of toilet paper to an entire family.

Their collective effort resulted in “lots” of donations, the students said.

Between Friends
The Between Friends Food Pantry that the local students helped
recently is located to the rear of the Engineering Enterprises, Inc.
building at 52 Wheeler Road,
Sugar Grove. For information about donating or obtaining pantry items,
call (630) 466-0345.

Photo: John Shields Elementary students who conducted the Wipe Out Week collection for Between Friends Food Pantry in Sugar Grove were (from top left) Allison Daeschler, Madison Jordan, Daniel Stotler and Thomas Huff. Photo by Paula Coughlin

The youth drop-in center, located on the second floor of the Civic Center, is equipped with a pool table, a foosball table, an air hockey game and a movie screening room.

Creating the youth drop-in center was Police Chief Mike Acosta’s idea. He wanted the village to have a safe place for youths to spend their leisure time that also would promote goodwill between them and police, whose offices are adjacent to the youth drop-in center.

Village officials have supported Acosta in this effort.

“This is what our community needs, another place to go do something,” Village President Kathy Curtis said during Monday’s Village Board meeting.

For the space, trustee Terry Borg donated a couch and trustee Suzanne Fahnestock contributed a desk. Village resident Russ Trainor donated the pool table.

Acosta said his goal is to have the youth drop-in center be open daily from 5 to 10 p.m.

“We hope to open it in the next couple of weeks,” Acosta said Monday. “It just needs volunteers.”

Parent volunteers do not need to supervise an entire shift, but may sign up to help for one or two hours, Acosta said.

To volunteer as a parent supervisor for the youth drop-in center, call Acosta at (815) 827-3286.

The center will be open for certain age groups at specific hours, so that the youths there are close in age.

Photo: Samantha and Sky Martin try out the new air hockey table at the youth drop-in center, set to open soon in the Civic
Center in Maple Park. Courtesy Photo

Andrew J. Price offered reflections on the university at the 2:30 p.m. undergraduate ceremony.

Price was a senior organizational management major. He received the Spartan Award, AU’s top award to a student, at an annual spring honors convocation in Crimi Auditorium April 24.

Price was among 581 undergraduate students who received bachelor’s degrees.

The following is the text of Price’s speech:

“There are over 500 chairs here today, filled with educated minds eager to graduate and make the most of themselves in their own unique way. You have dealt with a mix of countless papers, tests, nervous presentations, long athletic practices, a full-time job, and even caring for your loved ones.

You have all earned this day to celebrate with those that make you laugh, make you live, and today maybe even make you cry. But before we get into all that mushy stuff, there is an idea I would like to share with you today.

An idea that took me an entire four years to realize. An idea that connects every chair (and those standing) to every achievement honored at graduation. This simple idea is practiced by all of us whether we know it or not. It is called servant leadership.

This often confusing term simply means that to lead, one must serve others. That is to say, as one’s responsibility grows, the responsibility to serve others increases, not the other way around. This type of leader can create numerous material results for just a glimpse of spiritual reward.

Parents, also known as the ultimate servant leader, you have served your son or daughter their entire life. You gave us repetitive lectures about going to college, asked us, … “Got a job yet?” and reminded us to stop asking for gas money every time we happened to run into you.

Remember the numerous memories during the holidays when we were little. You dedicated hours upon hours of time scurrying about for the right gifts, wrapping them, hiding them somewhere where we couldn’t find them, having to unwrap one and rushing all the way back to Walmart because you got the wrong size, hurry home, rewrap them, and place them under the tree.

However, in the morning when our faces light up … some big guy in the red suit takes all the credit. But you made all those sacrifices just to witness this day, even if it is a few brief seconds of hearing your child’s name as they receive their degree … and also to hear them say, mom, dad, I did it.

Professors, you have molded our minds with your knowledge and experience. We now have the skills to fulfill our objective in the career world. You inspired us to do something we see as a passion and not work. And you also understood why we hated night classes and how we sometimes got you to make that final into a take-home.

AU staff, you are the behind-the-scenes crew that we often take for granted. All of your dedication and hard work has set each student up for success. Students will probably not be lining up outside your office to praise your role on campus. But you do it anyways. You do all of these things just to see us have a great college experience.

Seniors, even we are servant leaders on campus. I have seen you help tutor, volunteer at numerous events, lead Spartan cheers at AU/BU games and contribute your own ideas to this university. There is not much credit given to these tasks, but it continues to happen every year.

All of these servant-leader roles together have helped us get to this point. For once, this day is to give credit where it is deserved.

So today, I want to say thank you, on behalf of the 500 chairs here today, to you for being servant leaders, for being an example to us.

And congratulations class of 2010 … you’ve earned it. Thank you.”

Garland will replace Brian Graber, who announced early last week that he accepted a job as principal of Highlands Elementary School in LaGrange Highlands School District 106 in LaGrange, Ill. Graber announced his decision early last week.

Garland, of Sugar Grove, has worked for Kaneland since 2003, as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher and a reading specialist at John Shields Elementary School in Sugar Grove, and most recently as the assistant principal for two schools simultaneously, John Shields and John Stewart.

Garland’s goal when she begins in her new position is to continue the positive development Graber was responsible for while at the school’s helm, she said. Garland cited his initiatives, including reaching out to the community with resident coffees and a school newsletter, and focusing on learning through efforts such as tracking student-progress data.

“I will continue to move forward in this positive way,” Garland said.

Her predecessor, Graber, accepted the position in LaGrange Highlands in part because the school is close to his home in Western Springs, Ill. He and his family had hoped to move to the Kaneland area from Western Springs, but the housing market did not make it feasible, he said.

“It’s been a bit of a commute (to Elburn),” Graber said.

The main reason he took the job was because of his family.

“I have a 3- and 1-year-old at home, and sometimes when I leave in the morning they are still asleep and when I get home at night they are already in bed,” Graber said.

Graber is looking forward to working closer to home, but said he will miss John Stewart and the Kaneland area.

“It was a phenomenal year out here,” Graber said.

Graber became John Stewart’s principal in 2009. Previously, he was an assistant principal in Elmhurst District 205.

Until his last day at John Stewart in late June, Graber will work closely with Garland to help her acclimate to the principal position. He feels comfortable leaving the school’s leadership in her hands.

“We (he and Garland) have been very much on the same page all year long, so I feel it will be a good transition,” Graber said.

Making it official
Kaneland Associate Superintendent Jeff Schuler proposed Laura Garland for the John Steward Elementary School principal job during a special School Board meeting on Tuesday.

“I can recommend her to you without hesitation-she is the right person,” Schuler said. “She has an extensive background in reading (education) and administration,” Schuler said.

The Kaneland District 302 School Board decided in a 4-0 vote to accept his recommendation to hire Garland to replace Brian Graber, who accepted a position in another district. Present at the meeting were the board’s new president, Cheryl Krauspe, and board members Ken Carter, Elmer Gramley and Robert Myers.

Garland will receive an annual salary of $78,000.

Schuler said the district will advertise the assistant principal position she is vacating.

“We have time to make sure we get the right person in place for that position,” Schuler said.

Actually, judging by the second-place team finish at Friday and Saturday’s Class 2A Boys Track State Finals at Eastern Illinois University, there’s no “may” about it.

The Knights, with 53 points, finished second in the state only to Hillcrest High School with 61. It marked the Knights’ highest team finish since 1999. Cahokia tied for second with 53, Oak Forest was fourth with 39 and Crete-Monee was fifth with 35 points.

An impressive showing for Kaneland featured six events with All-State honors and two State champions.

Coach Eric Baron holds the second-place State trophy for 2010. The team was escorted back into town by two fire trucks and a police car. Courtesy Photo

At the conclusion of the season, the Knights now have five State champs on the roster, with Markuson winning the 300m low hurdles a year ago.

Sinon and the relay crew now mark the 15th and 16th first-place nods at the State finals in Knights history.

Sinon beat out Burlington Central’s Cameron Ostrowski by two inches for State glory and was helped by a 6-03 jump in the preliminaries.

The relay squad broke the all-time record by 1.31 seconds, set in 1980.

Markuson knew something big could happen based on the initial performance on Friday.

“After prelims, I knew we were sitting pretty, and we were going to see how it all played out,” Markuson said. “It’s cool to have won that event; there was definitely a lot of emotion.”

Valle continued the good times in Charleston with a second-place finish in the 800m run with a time of 1:58.03 in the finals. The senior was followed closely by teammate Derek Bus, who finished fifth at 1:58.29.

To add to the All-State party, Taylor Andrews cinched up fifth overall in the 110 meter low hurdles with a time of 14.81 in the finals.

Markuson also earned All-State honors in the 300 meter low hurdles with a time of 38.43 seconds, good for fourth.

Markuson also highlighted a productive day for other finals, finishing seventh in the pole vault at 13-03, and seventh in the 110m hurdles at 15.09.

A standout at pole vault and hurdles throughout his Knights tenure, Markuson was thoughtful about his performance in the 2010 season.

“It’s kind of weird when you get down to State and see all this competition. It’s a cool experience but I don’t really consider myself to be in the elite group in my events, Markuson said.

The 4x800m relay team of Dominic Furco, Sean Paulick, Joe Levita and Trevor Holm made it to the finals and finished seventh at 8:01.44.

Also making the trip down to State was Matt Spitzzeri, who jumped a 43-01.5 in the triple jump prelims. Andrews raced a 42.08 in the 300m intermediate hurdles.

Whittaker raced 11.32 in the 100m dash prelims. The Knights also saw additional prelim action for the 4×100 and 4×200. Andrews, Whittaker, Andrew Essex and Brandon Cottier ran a 43.80 in the 100, while Whittaker, Cottier, Essex and Curtis Secrest raced the 200 in 1:32.00.

With the conclusion of the season, the Knights say goodbye to 19 seniors including seven State-goers.

Top photo: Knight boys track cornerstone Edgar Valle closed out his high school career with a second place in the 800m run, and a first in the 4x400m relay on Saturday at Class 2A State in Charleston. Photo by Ben Draper

After slaughtering the Lady Spartans in their first meeting, Kaneland Lady Knights softball dealt with 16 innings of action in a tight 2-1 win three weeks ago. It all led up to the Class 2A Sycamore Regional final on Saturday morning, where the third-seeded hosts beat the top-seeded KHS roster 6-3 to claim the regional.

Kaneland finishes the first year of the Brian Willis era at 20-11.

“It was kind of the same game, but they had a few more extra walks. You have to put runs on the board. The difference with the last game is that we were able to get out of that jam,” Willis said.

Sycamore, coached by Jill Carpenter, improved to 20-15, was set to face St. Viator on Wednesday in the DeKalb Sectional.

Ending her sophomore season, Delani Vest was tagged with the loss (13-7) and gave up six runs (four earned) on 10 hits while fanning three.

At the plate, third baseman Andrea Dimmig-Potts went 2-for-3, while second baseman Brittany Davis went 2-for-3.

The scoring gates opened in the top of the second, when Anna Buzzard of Sycamore knocked home two runs with a single to increase Sycamore’s lead to 3-0.

Sycamore put up two in the fourth for a 5-0 lead and added one more with an RBI single to go up 6-0 headed to the bottom of the fifth.

Katy Dudzinski led the fifth off with a double and was sacrificed to third by Jordan Hester. Kristen Stralka singled Dudzinski home for the first run. After a fielders choice, Vest doubled and made it third on an error in the outfield and Sam Hansen scored.

The final run of the season scored when Davis came home after a three-base error on a fielders choice hit by Dudzinski.

Stralka, Sarah Kitz and Vest were retired in order to end the affair.

Davis, Stralka and Hester now say goodbye due to graduation.

“They meant a lot to our team. Leadership-wise, offense, defense, they’ll be missed, “Willis said.

Wrestler Omi Acosta was named the Male Athlete of the Year after becoming the college’s second National Champion when he won the 133-pound title. The graduate of South Dade High School in Homestead, Fla., helped lead the Chiefs’ wrestling team to a fourth-place finish among non-scholarship programs at the NJCAA Wrestling Championships. Acosta defeated four returning All-Americans en route to winning the title, including a 4-2 victory in the championship match over Rend Lake’s Eric Ellington who had beaten Acosta once last year and twice this season. Acosta also earned All-Region IV Second Team honors this season. He achieved NJCAA All-American status as a freshman finishing fifth in his weight class. Acosta has accepted a wrestling scholarship to Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he will also be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Sarah O’Leary was chosen the Female Athlete of the Year, after leading the Lady Chiefs’ basketball team the last two seasons. A 5’8 guard was named to the All-Region IV First Team and the All-Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) First Team for the second consecutive year after averaging 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest. The sophomore led Waubonsee in points (505), offensive rebounds (118), total rebounds (267), assists (102) and made free throws (155).

The left-hander also averaged 2.4 steals and 3.3 assists a game, while pacing the Lady Chiefs in scoring 18 out of their last 19 games, including 17 consecutively and all 14 ISCC contests. For the season the Yorkville High School graduate booked 9 double-doubles in points and rebounds. A physical education major, O’Leary will be attending Aurora University this fall.

Men’s basketball player Alex Cannon was named Waubonsee’s Most Improved Male Athlete. A 6’1” forward from Bolingbrook High School, he saw very limited action as a freshman before earning All-ISCC Second Team honors this past season. Cannon was the Chiefs’ defensive specialist, often giving up several inches in height as he typically guarded the opponent’s top scorer. On occasion the sophomore was an offensive threat as well, as he managed to average 6.1 points, 1.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.8 rebounds per contest. Cannon also tallied a season-high 21 points and grabbed eight boards in Waubonsee’s 58-55 conference win over Prairie State College late in the season.

Kaneland High School graduate Erin Cinto was chosen as the Most Improved Female Athlete. A Cross Country runner, Cinto was often the Lady Chiefs’ third and sometimes fourth runner as a freshman before emerging as the leader this past season. She placed fourth at the ISCC Meet to earn All-ISCC status, and then came in eighth at the Region IV Meet to qualify for the NJCAA Division I Nationals. Cinto also finished 12th at the Waubonsee Invitational and 14th at the Harper Invitational to earn individual medallions during the fall.

Bridget Kennedy, an education major from Aurora Christian High School, was the recipient of both the Vermilion and Gold Award and the S.T.A.R. Award. The Vermilion and Gold Award is given annually to the Waubonsee student/athlete who best exemplifies the true ‘heart and soul’ of Chiefs’ athletics. “Essentially someone who helps others and gets involved on campus,” describes Athletic Manager Dave Randall. The S.T.A.R. award is given to the student/athlete that displayed a good work ethic, a dedication to academics and achieved perfect attendance in Waubonsee’s athletic monitoring program. Kennedy demonstrated these attributes and more while batting leadoff and playing outfield for the Lady Chiefs’ Softball team, and also performing as a member of the Waubonsee cheerleading squad. The left-handed hitter finished with a .318 batting average and 30 stolen bases in 32 attempts on the diamond.

One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the ISCC All-Sports Award trophy which Waubonsee won for the first time since 1990. Several team accomplishments were also recognized including the Men’s Cross Country team for capturing the ISCC title and the Region IV crown to advance to the NJCAA Division I National Meet for the third consecutive year. The women’s soccer team was also recognized for advancing to the Region IV Division II title game for the second straight year.

Individuals achieving All-Conference, All-Region, All-American and Academic honors during the school year were recognized throughout the evening. Long-time head baseball coach Dave Randall was also recognized for being named the ISCC Baseball Coach of the Year after leading the Chiefs to the league title for the first time since 1998. John Bell, head Cross Country and Men’s Tennis coach, was recognized as the ISCC and Region IV Coach of the Year after guiding both programs to dual titles. In addition, men’s basketball coach Dave Heiss was recognized for his recent induction into the Aurora West High School Hall of Fame, for being named the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Division II Junior College Coach of the Year, and for his upcoming induction into the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference Hall of Fame. The festivities were capped off with a standing ovation for long-time athletic secretary Jan Zahnzinger, who is retiring at the end of June.
file photo

Leslie Flint, the chamber’s vice president of committees, said it looks like the chamber could meet its goal of raising the $10,000 needed to present the fireworks.

“So far we’ve raised $5,500,” she said. “If donations continue at the current rate, we should have enough to hold the event.”

Last year, due to a shortage of funds, the chamber cancelled the sidewalk-vibrating event known as one of the finest fireworks shows in the area. A recent pork-chop dinner that the chamber held helped to bring in some of the needed funds for the event this year and another pork chop fundraiser will take place on Wednesday, June 23.

“We’re also looking at what other towns are doing to raise money,” said Flint. “Proceeds from a town-wide garage sale in Batavia helps them pay for their fireworks each year as does an event called 5-5-5—take five minutes to donate $5 and tell five friends.”

With Elburn having a population of more than 4,700, a donation of $2 per resident would just about cover the cost of the event. Donations can be mailed or dropped off at the Elburn Chamber of Commerce, 525 N. Main St., (in the Elburn Community Center) or the Elburn Herald at 123 N. Main St., in downtown Elburn.

Since its first graduating class in 1968, Waubonsee has conferred 15,858 degrees to local students.

Photo: Waubonsee Community College graduate Maybelle Harshey of Sugar Grove has her diploma in hand as she exits the college’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 20. At 76, Harshey is the oldest member of Waubonsee’s 2010 graduating class. She earned an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Criminal Justice.
Courtesy Photo

With a 10-foot vault in the pole vault event on Saturday at Eastern Illinois University, the first-year track participant finished 10th overall in the Class 2A State girls track finals in Charleston, Ill.

Patterson, who came on the scene from a gymnastics background for coach Doug Ecker’s Lady Knights roster, finished with 10 feet, three inches in the prelims to launch herself into the finals.

Pontiac’s Emily Grove was crowned champion with a 12-06 final effort. Normal University High’s Emily Clay was second with 12 feet. Belvidere North’s Baily Murphy took third with 11-09 and fellow Western Sun Conference competitor Sam Elliott took fourth at 11-09.

Springfield Southeast won the team standings with 57 points.

Patterson turned out to be the only Lady Knight in six events to make it to Saturday’s final.

Patterson’s teammate Sara Wallace, in her final KHS event, made it to nine feet in the prelims of pole vault.

Freshman Ashley Castellanos finished tenth in her long jump flight with a mark of 15-6.25.

Patterson also competed in the triple jump and finished tenth in her flight at 34-11.25.

The 4×800 meter relay foursome of Lisa Roberson, Jessica Stouffer, Kris Bowen and Andie Strang finished eighth in their prelims with a time of 10 minutes, 6.18 seconds.

Strang also finished just .08 off the final qualifying mark in the 800m run with a time of 2:23.36.

With the 2010 campaign now complete, the Lady Knights track program says goodbye to a couple of State qualifiers in Roberson and Wallace, and additional seniors Elicia DiBella, Tara Groen, Hillary Luse, Mel Mazuc, Megan Mendoza and Lexie Pniewski.

Photo: Junior Brooke Patterson vaults over the nine-foot mark in the preliminaries at the Class 2A State Girls Track Finals in Charleston, Ill. Patterson, who also competed in the triple jump, was the only Kaneland finalist in six events.
Photo by Ben Draper

The Whip-purs put up four runs in the first inning and four runs in the seventh to clinch a 10-6 win, ending the Knights season at 23-13 (14-7 Western Sun Conference) in hot late-spring conditions. KHS committed five errors in the loss. Hampshire improved to 16-17.

The final win total did tie last year’s all-time mark for season wins, however.

Meanwhile, Hampshire was set to take on top-seeded Burlington Central on Wednesday, with the winner facing either Prairie Ridge or Crystal Lake Central in the Hampshire Regional title game on Saturday, May 29, at 1 p.m.

The Whip-purs jumped on starting pitcher Ty Hamer for four runs in the top of the first, but the Knights came back with two in the bottom of the inning, thanks to RBI singles by Dave Dudzinski and Jake Tickle.

Hampshire put up one in the top of the second for a 5-2 lead and chased Hamer after 1.1 innings (7 H, 5 R).

Dudzinski launched a longball to right field in the bottom of the third to close within 5-3, but Hampshire added one in the sixth and four in the seventh off of Tickle to go up 10-3.

In a last-ditch effort, KHS had runners at first and third with three runs already in. Catcher Aaron Hayman, who subbed for an injured Tyler Callaghan, grounded to short to end the game.

“I think these guys had our number today,” Kaneland coach Brian Aversa said. “Hat’s off to them, and it’s too bad we can’t play two out of three.”

In the final regular season contest of the year, the Knights tied the school record for wins with their 23rd in a 4-3 win at Bartlett High School.

Sam Komel earned the win on the mound against his Upstate Eight Conference opponents with a solid 5.2-inning outing. Komel gave up three runs on three hits, while Dudzinski earned the save with 1.1 innings. Dudzinski struck out three of the five batters he faced in relief.

Komel also helped his cause at the plate with an RBI double.

Under consistently rainy skies and trying for a share of the last-ever Western Sun Conference, the Knights, who trailed DeKalb by one win, got a clutch three-run triple in the top of the seventh to buoy an 8-2 win.

Winning pitcher Steve Colombe went 5.1 innings and allowed two runs on four hits in a winning effort, while Jake Tickle struck out three in 1.2 innings of work for his first save of the year.

Dudzinski singled home Joe Camaliere for the first run of the game, while a pitcher’s throwing error allowed Callaghan to reach base and score Dudzinski and Bobby Thorson for a 3-0 edge.

Camaliere doubled home Jake Fiedler to go up 4-1 in the top of the second. The score remained that way until the bottom of the sixth, when the host Barbs scored once.

After the bases were loaded in the top of the seventh on two walks and a hit batsmen, Landers laced a triple that cleared the bases and gave KHS breathing room.

On May 19, at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva, Kaneland surrendered four runs to the Barbs in a less-than-stellar fifth inning enroute to a 5-2 loss under the lights. Colombe went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, while Hamer was tagged with the loss.

With the conclusion of the season, Kaneland varsity baseball says goodbye to seniors Hamer, Hayman, Tickle, Dudzinski, Colombe and Fiedler.

“Dudzinski came in from basketball again, and we loved his contributions all year. Tickle had the 19-game hit streak; all the seniors had a really good season stepping up,” Aversa said.

Photo: Jake Tickle fires toward the plate in the fourth inning of Kaneland’s 10-6 regional opener loss to Hampshire on Monday. Photo by Mike Slodki

It is embarrassingly easy to forget about the countless drops of blood, sweat and tears that have been shed through the generations by the very best of us, on behalf of the rest of us.

It is embarrassingly easy to look at Memorial Day as simply a day off work; a time to have a picnic or barbecue with family and friends; a day to spend relaxing.

A day of remembrance was first officially proclaimed in May 1868 by General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. It was first observed on May 30, 1868.

“The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit,” the beginning of the order states.

After World War I, Memorial Day was expanded to remember Americans who had fought and died in any war. When Congress passed the National Holiday Act of 1971, Memorial Day was officially set as the last Monday in May.
We urge all local residents to take part in their local Memorial Day observance, and furthermore, to never take for granted what has been bought and paid for with the ultimate sacrifice.

“All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation’s gratitude, the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.”

—General John Logan,
National Commander
Grand Army of the Republic
General Order No. 11

Elburn
In Elburn, Memorial Day observances Monday, May 31, will begin with a parade at 9:15 a.m. It will start at Elburn Lions Park and end at the Blackberry Cemetery.
There, members of the Elburn American Legion, local Boy and Girl Scouts, and members of the community will take part in a ceremony, including guest speaker Bill Foster, congressman representing the 14th Congressional District.
Following the ceremony, the Legion will offer coffee and refreshments at the Legion Hall.

Sugar Grove
Sugar Grove’s Memorial Day services will begin at 9:15 a.m. at Jericho Cemetery on Mighell Road. Participants will then proceed to the Sugar Grove cemetery on Merrill Road at 10 a.m., where a ceremony will take place.

Maple Park
The village of Maple Park’s Memorial Day program will begin with a parade that will be at the following locations at the following times:
• 9:10 a.m. Pierce Cemetery—Owen Road and Pritchard Road, Troxel
• 9:30 a.m. St Mary’s Cemetery—County Line Road South of Route 38
• 9:45 a.m. Gardner Cemetery—Route 38 East of County Line Road
• 10 a.m. Van Vlack Cemetery—Thatcher Road east of Maple Park
• 10:15 a.m. Sts. Peter & Paul Cemetery—Meredith Road South of Virgil
• 10:30 am South Burlington Cemetery—Ramm and Snyder roads, west of Peplow Road
• 11:15 am Ceremony at Post Home—Main Street, Maple Park

Kaneville
The Kaneville Township 115th Annual Memorial Day Program will be held at 10 a.m. in Kaneville at the Dave Werdin Community Center.
Guest speaker will be former resident Evan Mahan, a veteran from the Iraq War. Guest musician will be local folk singer, Lee Murdock. There will be a special seating section for veterans, who will be recognized during the program.
Following the program, there will be a parade to the cemetery for a rifle salute and decoration of the graves. Refreshments will be served at the Community Center upon return from the cemetery. Old flags, to be retired, will be collected for disposal by the American Legion.

Kane County Sheriff’s detectives executed a search warrant on May 7 at 49W972 Peterson Road, Maple Park, where Dennis P. Walsh resided. They arrested Walsh on May 21 at his home, and he was charged with the following offenses:

• 3 counts of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle a class 2 felony

• 3 counts of unlawful defacement of a vehicle ID number, a class 2 felony

• 4 counts of theft, a class 3 felony

• 3 counts of theft, a class A misdemeanor

• 1 count of criminal damage to property, a class A misdemeanor

Walsh is being held at the Kane County Adult Justice Center with a $75,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Department is continuing its investigation into the rash of burglaries in Kaneville. Sheriff’s detectives have been assisted in the investigation by all areas of the agency including patrol, special operation unit, community policing, school resource officers and a county crime analyst. Members of the Sheriff’s Citizens police academy also assisted with providing information in this case.

The charges against Walsh are not a proof of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Kane County Sheriff’s Detectives along with Detectives from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and members of the Kane County Auto Theft Task Force are continuing the investigation. Anyone with information relating to this incident is encouraged to call Kane County Sheriff’s Detective Ken Johnson at (630) 208-2028.

“I have tried to think ahead, always anticipating several years in advance what things could be so that we don’t paint ourselves into a corner and so that we give ourselves some flexibility for the future,” McCormick said.

McCormick, who is retiring in June, came to the district in 1994, and since then the number of students and staff has more than doubled. Sixteen years ago, the district had 147 teachers and administrators, and now has 382.

At the beginning of 1994 school year, the district had 2,149 students, compared to the estimated 2010-11 enrollment of 4,674.

Intergovernmental agreement
One of the first tasks he tackled to prepare for additional expected growth was pursuing intergovernmental agreements with district municipalities to ensure developer impact fees for the schools.

“When I became superintendent (in 1998) I sort of took that on and really, what I thought what had to happen was that it’s not just the municipalities talking to us—they need to be talking to one another.”

Now, when a municipality wants to attract a developer, everything is open to negotiation except school fees.

“Those are not negotiable,’ McCormick said. “They can’t be traded off.”

Establishing the intergovernmental agreement was not easy, he said.

“It took a lot of meetings with municipalities,” McCormick said.

At two or three of those meetings, all of the trustees from all the villages were all in one room, the high school library.

Citizen advisory committees
Trying to get the word out about district issues over 142 square miles and nine communities was among McCormick’s challenges over the years, especially when referendums were at stake, he said. The district made great strides in that communication effort by establishing the citizen advisory committees, he said.

McCormick proposed the citizen advisory committees to the School Board about 10 years ago.

“I said, as long as we’re going to keep growing here, you really are going to need to have ongoing communications with the community in some form, some way,” he said.

The district created a citizens advisory committee, a facilities planning committee and finance advisory committee, all composed mostly of citizens appointed by the School Board.

“I think that structure has served the board well, because it has provided for them an ongoing entity that when we start seeing a need in a change for a facility, or a new facility, we start right there with the citizens, early,” McCormick said.

Some CAC members have served for nearly 10 years, bringing district information to the community and bringing residents’ feedback to district officials.

The advisory committees have helped inform district residents about the need for several school referendums for new buildings, McCormick said.

District growth
McCormick, of Sycamore, started as Kaneland’s assistant superintendent for business 16 years ago and became superintendent four years later in place of Dennis Dunton.

Kaneland Assistant Superintendent Jeff Schuler will take the superintendent seat this summer.

When McCormick came to Kaneland, the district had just two schools, at Meredith and Keslinger roads in Maple Park. Others throughout the district had been closed over the years as enrollment tapered off and old buildings needed costly asbestos removal.

However, by 1994, enrollment had increased at the seventh through 12 grades, housed in what is now the high school, and K-sixth at the other building.

“That’s what I walked into … growth was now happening,” McCormick said. “The district was getting bigger and bigger, swelling up against the walls.

“Part of what happens with growth, is that everything has to grow. You have to have more buildings, more lights, more teachers, more administrators, more buses-the whole thing just grows.”

School Board member Cheryl Krauspe said McCormick was a deft leader who was invaluable in a time of great change in the district.

“Charlie provided important direction in our times of managing rapid growth and due diligence in our times of economic distress,” Krauspe said. “He led with respectfulness, thoughtfulness, finesse, and the wisdom that comes from valuable experience. Kaneland is a better, much improved, more solid place because of his dedication and his distinguished career of service and leadership with us.”

The 5-foot 3-inch singer is known for her strong voice and energetic stage presence.

“She’s a real performer,” H.D. Rockers owner Wally Elliott said.

Elliott met Lawler through friends, and while they visited with her in December in Nashville, she promised to perform at H.D. Rockers, which opened recently in the American Legion Hall in Maple Park.

Lawler is making the Maple Park stop during a trip north to Minnesota for another engagement on Saturday.

Admission to Lawler’s H.D. Rockers event is free, Elliott said. A local band, Field Day, will open the concert at 6:30 p.m., and Lawler will take the stage at 8:30.

She will perform several sets until 1:30 a.m., mingling with the crowd before the show and during breaks, Elliott said.

Elliott expects a large crowd at H.D. Rockers on Friday night, but said that all in attendance would be able to enjoy Lawler’s show.

“We’ll keep rolling people through so everyone has a chance to see her,” he said.

Lawler has musical roots in country, gospel and Broadway styles. Born in Oklahoma and raised in Dallas, she attended University of Oklahoma, where she was music chairman in her sorority and lead singer for a rock band.

After college she moved to Los Angeles and fronted another rock band, performing at the Viper Room, Whisky A Go-Go and The Roxy. Lawler was then discovered in LA by producers Marshall and London Jones, for whom she recorded several songs that received airplay across the country.

Lawler decided to return to her country roots, and moved to Nashville, where she performs regularly at the famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge in downtown Nashville. Among her most popular songs are “Truckers and Rodeo Crowds,” “Cowgirl Fairytale” and ”High-Tech Redneck.”

Think of it as Facebook for politics.

“We want PeepGov to be in the forefront of the political discussion by merely presenting what people are saying so everyone can see it,” PeepGov President and Elburn resident Nick Secrest said. “We want to help facilitate the discussion.”

PeepGov is a political database that provides streaming Congress-related information in real time, essentially bundling up the data available on any Congressperson, and providing that information in an easy-to-understand format. The website is so user-friendly that people can access the PeepGov database without even knowing who represents them in Washington D.C.

“Just (enter) your zip code and you can be brought up to speed on what your voice in Washington is saying,” Secrest said. “Everyone has busy lives, and with the technology in this day and age, it shouldn’t be hard to keep track of what is going on, but it is. PeepGov makes it simple.”

Secrest, a 2004 Kaneland High School graduate, first became interested in building a political website during the 2008 presidential election. He then enlisted the help of his two long-time friends, Brian Signorella and Nic Borg, to start building the site in March 2009. Both Signorella and Borg, who also are 2004 Kaneland graduates, have computer science degrees from Northern Illinois University.

PeepGov’s creation required more than a few personal sacrifices, as the three creators spent an entire year balancing the design of the website with their day jobs, Secrest said.

“Juggling work and my schedule has been the hardest part for me,” he said.

So far, the hard work and sacrifices have been more than worth it, as PeepGov has accumulated thousands of hits during the last two months and continues to garner attention from bloggers looking to post their material on the site. Secrest even plans to soon have candidates be an actual part of the PeepGov community.

The new website has offered Secrest, himself, a chance to keep tabs on his Congressional leaders’ activities.

“I think the main thing (PeepGov) has done for me is allow me to just keep up with what (they) are doing and saying, as well as what people are saying about them,” Secrest said. “Now I get to see what they are doing from all angles, which, up until this point, has never really been done before.”

Secrest believes streaming information is the wave of the future and was inspired by the community interaction featured on websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

“Most political websites present too much information, which makes the information hard to find within the site,” Secrest said. “Our site brings you information in a simple and real-time way. PeepGov also rates congressional leaders and shows you who the most talked about person is and why they are important.”

Through the filters, PeepGov.com visitors can even search by state, gender, party or most-active, and the site shows who is being talked about the most at that very moment.

Every Congressperson’s page on the PeepGov website also has a peepscore, which shows the amount of activity each page is receiving from website visitors.

“No (other) site does that,” Secrest said.

What’s next for the website looking to revolutionize the way people view and interact with their local government? Secrest believes the sky’s the limit.

“We want PeepGov to be a household name for real-time information about the people who represent you—from the federal level to the state and local level,” he said.

They were among 28 moms who were nominated for the award, through essays their Kaneland middle- and high-school students wrote. The contest was sponsored by Audrey Ritchey of Tastefully Simple home parties, the Sugar Grove Public Library and the Elburn Herald.

Winner Veronica Price was nominated by her daughter Kailah. Kailah wrote that her mother is very involved with home-schooling and church activities, as well as Kailah’s soccer games and violin lessons.

“My mom gives a hug even when the person has done something bad. She gives up so many things for me,” she said.

Veronica said she felt humbled when she heard she had won.

“You never really feel you’re the best mother,” she said. “You always feel you could do better.”

The second winning mom, Pattie Pattermann, a Kaneland teacher for eighth-grade language arts, was nominated by her daughter Kylen. Kylen wrote that her mom always finds time to listen to her problems and said, “My mother’s wisdom always shines through. When I don’t want to ‘hear about it’ because I think I’m smarter than her, I get hugs. I know my mom loves me. What more can I ask for?”

Pattie said she was pleased and surprised when she won, especially since she didn’t know her daughter had submitted an essay. Besides Kylen, she has two sons, one a junior in college and one graduating this month. She said she appreciates the sponsors and their gifts and the middle school for announcing the contest every morning.

“I’m hoping that more students will participate in next year’s contest,” Pattie said.

The third winning mom, Sherri Gura of Montgomery, was nominated by her daughter Starla. Starla expressed admiration for her mother’s strength during a divorce, and the loss of her own mother, brother and her five-year-old son from cancer. Starla said that when so many other people would have fallen apart, her mother was a source of strength that kept everyone else going.

In addition to Starla, she has two college-age sons.

“I knew that they were feeling what I was feeling,” Sherri said.

The day Sherri found out she’d won a Best Mom award, she was feeling down and then got the phone call.

“I don’t feel strong, but I’m glad my daughter sees me that way,” she said.

Each winner received a beach bag worth $350 with prizes that included oil change coupons, massages, olive oil, movie tickets, chocolate, coffee, automatic toothbrushes and other gifts from local businesses, the Elburn Herald, Tastefully Simple, Longaburger Baskets and Mary Kay cosmetics. The Friends of the Sugar Grove Library chose the winners.

“It was so difficult for them to choose,” Ritchey said. “Each one of the essays brought tears to our eyes for how thoughtful and heart-warming they were. They showed that these students really appreciated their mothers.”

Beverly Holmes Hughes, library director, said, “All three of the students (of the winning moms) said they wanted to be like their mothers—that they knew being a mom was a sacrifice.”

Other nominees

In addition to winners Veronica Price, Pattie Patermann and Sherri Gura, the other mothers whose children nominated them for the Best Mom in Town were Lisa Albrechs-Legorreoa, Julie Crabb, Margarette Darst, Laura Long, Annmarie Martons, Laura McPhee, Mrs. Packard, Marybridget Prince, Laura Remes, Jenny Reuland, Juanita Singh, Becky Staley, Kim Emmanouil, Tina Goodacre, Michelle Jurcenko, Cindy Prost, Judy Van Bogaert, Kim Wendling, Sally Alef, Kelly Rosenwinke, Cindi Strobel, Terry Lamb, Lynn McHenry and Angela Orr.

Photo: Veronica Price, Pattie Patermann and Sheri Gura. Courtesy photos

At 21-11 (13-6 WSC), the Knights split a doubleheader with Sycamore on Saturday afternoon in Maple Park and beat Sycamore on Friday by a 5-2 final.

They followed the weekend’s action with a convincing 9-1 win in DeKalb on Tuesday afternoon.

Kaneland is now in a first-place tie with Geneva in conference play.

In game one of the doubleheader, an 8-7 win, Jake Tickle improved to 8-0, pitching 2.2 innings of relief, and Bobby Thorson nabbed the save.

Thorson also produced at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Jake Fiedler doubled and drove in three runs for the Knights.

Up 4-2 after three innings, Sycamore took a 5-4 lead in the fourth, before KHS scord two in the bottom of the inning. Kaneland led 7-5 in the sixth when the Spartans scored twice to tie matters, before the Knights put up one in the bottom of the sixth.

In the 6-4 game two loss, Sam Komel, in 5.1 innings, gave up six runs and struck out seven.

Joe Camaliere went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI while Thorson went 3-for-4 with a double and run driven in.

On Friday, Kaneland scored two in the first, two in the second and one in the third, before allowing two Spartan runs in the bottom of the third. Illini-bound Ty Hamer went the distance and improved to 5-2.

Fiedler went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored.

Against the Barbs, Thorson improved to 4-2 with a complete game two-hitter, while Thorson, Tickle and Tyler Callaghan all went 3-for-4.

The Knights travel to DeKalb on Thursday, May 20.

A scoreless first half for Kaneland soccer in the semifinal of the Class 2A Rosary Regional had the 15-2-5 Lady Knights flummoxed against the fourth-seeded Aurora Central Catholic Lady Chargers.

But a Sophie Blank goal just 13 seconds into the second half gave Kaneland a lead, and an Emily Heimerdinger goal with 32:19 left provided the final 2-0 margin.

Kaneland now increases its season record for wins and also a team goal with 15 wins.

The Lady Knights will now await the winner of (2) Rosary and (3) IMSA, which were set to battle on Wednesday, in the regional title game on Saturday, May 22, at noon.

This now marks the second consecutive season that Kaneland finds itself in the regional championship.

Coach Scott Parillo feels that Kaneland will need to pick up the performance.

“It wasn’t a good display at times. We didn’t pass well and we didn’t shoot well. The good thing is we won and we’re in the regional championship,” he said.

Blank’s goal got the team off to as good a start as possible for the final 40 minutes of action.

“We just needed to be aggressive, and Andie (Bruce) had a good pass,” Blank said.

Heimerdinger’s goal occurred after weaving through waves of ACC defenders and hitting the left corner.

With the Lady Knights surrendering just 15 goals thus far, and goalkeeper Jordan Ginther pitching another shutout, captain and defender Megan Gil knows the defense’s task is magnified in this “second season.”

“You just have to keep your head in the game,” Gil said. “The defense has to be strong and help the offense. We work together as a team. We’ve played a long time and we’ve come from winning only three games our freshman year. We like playing with each other.”

Photo: Kaneland goalkeeper Jordan Ginther makes a stop against Aurora Central Catholic during Tuesday’s 2-0 regional-opening shutout. Photo by Mike Slodki

The Skip Mennerick Memorial Concert will be headlined by August, a local band known for its horn-driven rock, soul and R&B music and which includes many personal friends of the Mennerick family. August will be joined by very special guest Greg Boerner, a guitarist/singer/songwriter who performs a Southern-style mix of blues, folk, country and roots rock and roll.

General admission tickets cost $25 and may be purchased in advance on the Arcada website, www.thearcada.com, or at Rejoice Lutheran Church, 0N377 N. Mill Creek Drive, Geneva, (630) 262-0596. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. concert.

Jeff VerCautren, course superintendent, led the effort to obtain sanctuary status on this course and is being recognized for Environmental Stewardship by Audubon International. Rich Harvest Farms is the 47th course in Illinois and the 753rd in the world to receive the honor.

“Rich Harvest Farms has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program. They are to be commended for their efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course property,” said Jim Sluiter, Staff Ecologist for the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary programs.

To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in a number of areas, Sluiter said.

These categories include: Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management.

VerCautren and his staff dedicated a significant amount of time and resources to these areas.

“The knowledge gained by obtaining certification was a great experience,” VerCautren said. “It opened my eyes on how to properly manage a golf course and to meet high expectations to be environmentally sound. I would advocate every course go through this process to educate themselves on how to manage their golf course while being environmentally sound.”

Part of the certification process includes outreach and education. Fortunately for Rich Harvest Farms, housed on their property is one of the largest junior golf organizations in the state. The Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois, established in 1998 by course owner and architect Jerry Rich, makes its administrative home at the course.

“Our foundation is fortunate to have benefitted from some of the outreach and education efforts that are part of this certification process,” said Holly Alcala, Foundation Director. “Jeff and his staff have helped to facilitate a number of events and provided resources that have been beneficial to our junior golfers and program sites.”

That outreach effort included a group of local Girl Scouts who received a tour and educational session from VerCautren, which focused on the importance that nature plays and the environmental stewardship involved in golf. VerCautren also served as a guest speaker at a caddie training session held by the foundation, where he addressed the importance of recycling, taking care of the course and more.

Awards and accolades continue to pile up for Rich Harvest Farms and Jerry Rich. In 2009, the course was thrust into the limelight while hosting the LPGA’s 2009 Solheim Cup. After hosting a major event, one might think to take a step back or slow down. Not for Rich Harvest Farms, the facility and staff are continually moving forward.

“Our commitment to the environment and community are a priority at Rich Harvest Farms,” said Jerry Rich. “Through the golf course and the Kids Golf Foundation, we are playing our part to ensure the future.”

Romack has been a fourth-grade teacher at John Stewart Elementary School in Elburn for more than 10 years, and is one of 12 district teachers who are retiring in June.

Through the Young Authors program, Romack encouraged hundreds of Kaneland students to write their own books.

“At one time, she had all of the sixth grade writing,” said Barb Landis, who teaches sixth grade at Harter Middle School.

Romack read every one of the books students wrote, choosing the winning works each year and awarding ribbons to all participants.

“I look for original, quality work,” said Romack.

Romack said she was pleased that one student actually wrote a book each year from kindergarten through eighth grade. She added another past participant now is a published author, and many others have continued to write.

Reading is Romack’s passion, and she plans to spend more time doing it after retiring from teaching.

“I have a lot to catch up on,” Romack said.

She also will spend some time visiting her grandsons in Utah, and will continue working for the Education Department at Fermilab, where she co-teaches a class in particle physics for middle school teachers each summer.

Romack began work in Kaneland in 1973, teaching third grade at Kaneville Elementary School. About 10 years later she became gifted-program teacher and coordinator for K-12. Seven years later, she returned to the regular classroom, teaching fourth grade for the next two decades.

What she expects to miss most about her teaching years with Kaneland are the “Oh, I get it now” or “Oh, yeah” moments from students, as well as the time with her former colleagues.

“I’m sure there will be a period of adjustment since I won’t be planning everything else in my life around teaching,” Romack said. “I think I’m ready to begin a new phase in my life-who knows where it will lead.”

More than 30 years at Kaneland
Following are the employees who have been with the Kaneland the longest from among this year’s 12 retiring district teachers:
Barb Romack 4th grade John Stewart 37 yrs.
Patrick Sheetz 7th grade science 35 yrs.
Suzanne Girsch 4th grade John Stewart 34 yrs.
Rick Dalton middle school P.E. 33 yrs.

Photo: Retiring John Stewart Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Barb Romack has served in many roles during her more than three decades with the Kaneland School District. Those included coordinating the Young Authors program, after-school science programs and Starlab presentations. Photo by Martha Quetsch

CeCe Rocha, bank manager, said the 17-by-21-inch, hollow, ceramic piglets were adopted by 36 area businesses on March 18 at an adoption party at National Bank and Trust. Each business has decorated its piglet with a different theme and will have it “on parade” at their business through the end of August.

The adoption fee for each piglet was $125, and the bank will give the proceeds to Kaneland High School for use in its arts program.

In 2009, the bank sponsored Baseballs on Parade, which were decorated by area businesses and displayed for several months, then auctioned off during Elburn Days.

“This year the bank chose piglets because of their agricultural aspect in our farm community,” Rocha said. “The piglets, which are real piggy banks, will be kept by their adoptive parents, who can use them to collect funds for a charity of their choice.”

If you visit the bank at the corner of Route 38 and Main Street, you can see what a piglet looked like before adoption and view two that have been decorated. Or, drop by Paisano’s Pizza & Grill in downtown Elburn and meet piglet Chef Suey, with his red bandana and red apron. The money dropped in Suey will go to the Kane County 4-H Foundation and Kaneland High School Art Scholarships.

If you like jazz, visit Dizzy the Piglet in the window of the Elburn Market downtown. He is decorated in purple with paintings of jazz musicians, sporting a reed in his mouth, a black beret and sunglasses. Dizzy was painted by artist Megan Cline.

For more information on Piglets on Parade, contact Rocha at (630) 365-3336.

Photo: Jazzy
Dizzy the Piglet is on display at Ream’s Elburn Market as part of National Bank and Trust’s fundraiser for the Kaneland High School Arts Program and Kane County 4-H. Photo by Ben Draper

For the disorder of fibromyalsia syndrome, there are no blood tests, x-rays or scans to confirm or deny a diagnosis. And while most of the sufferers are women between the ages of 20 and 50, there is no specific age or ethnic indicators that typify those at risk. To complicate things even further, not everyone experiences the same symptoms or has them all the time. Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS), is called a syndrome because it is not one specific illness or disease, but rather a condition entangling several symptoms that occur coincidentally. The disorder causes widespread and chronic body pain that originates in the muscles.

One of the hardest things to accept may be that there is no cure for fibromyalgia pain; however, there are lifestyle changes and medications that can lessen the severity of fibromyalgia pain or fatigue.

A free informational session, Fibromyalgia and the Diet Connection, on Thursday, May 13, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Delnor Hospital, 300 Randall Road in Geneva, Medical Office Building 351, Room 4. Please call (630) 208-3999 to register.

Kaneland softball broke out the bats vs. DeKalb on Thursday in an 11-1, five-inning rout of the Lady Barbs.

Eight runs in the third, two in the fourth and an additional one in the fifth solved things for KHS. Delani Vest allowed just one hit and struck out eight in the pitcher’s circle. Katy Dudzinski went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, while Brittany Davis went 4-for-4 with two driven in, and teammate Allyson O’Herron went 3-for-3 with an RBI.

Following the WSC battle, the Lady Knights headed up Route 20 to take part in the Marengo Tournament on Saturday.

The first contest had KHS fall to Tinley Park’s Andrew HS by a 7-5 final after Vest surrendered four runs in the top of the sixth. The sophomore did have five strikeouts to her name. Sister Rilee Vest had a double, triple and three RBI.

Kaneland recovered to vanquish the Freeport Pretzels in a 10-4 encounter. Dudzinski took the hill and struck out six in the win, while also slamming a homer. Jordan Hester added a homer and four RBI.

To end the weekend, Kaneland brought out the slaughter bats against Rockton’s Hononegah HS in a 13-3 win. The Lady Knights, with winning pitcher Alexis Villarreal on the hill (8 K’s), saw a triple and three RBI by Rilee Vest and a 3-for-4 game from Beth Smith.

Kaneland handled Oswego East on Monday by a final of 8-2, on the strength of Vest’s six innings. Vest scattered only two runs and five hits while fanning four.

At the plate, Andrea Dimmig-Potts smacked three doubles and drove in three.

Upcoming for KHS softball is a home contest with Sycamore on Thursday, May 13, at 4:30 p.m.

Photo: KHS softball outfielder Rilee Vest was among those with a prolific Marengo Tourney, smacking a triple and
3-RBI game in a 13-3 win against Hononegah on Saturday. File Photo

On Thursday, Kaneland defeated visiting Sycamore 1-0, marking the first time in school history that either the boys or girls outfit has defeated Sycamore.

On Friday and Saturday, KHS then hosted the inaugural Kaneland Klassic, and came away with the first-place nod after a scoreless tie vs. the visiting Burlington Central Rockets.

The regular season came to an end with a 5-0 loss at Batavia on Tuesday.

However, KHS has now eclipsed it’s record for season victories, and sits at 14-2-5 (3-2-2 WSC) on the campaign, ready for regional action.

Against the Spartans, the lone goal was scored by Sophie Blank, assisted by Emily Heimerdinger.

With Sycamore desperate to score a goal, Lady Knight captain Haley Johnson was among those trying to put a stop to the Spartans.

“You’re definitely focusing on the defensive aspect and trying to stop goals, and that becomes the important part,” Johnson said.

Coach Scott Parillo was pleased as to how things went down.

“We’ve never, ever, ever beat Sycamore before and we finally did,” Parillo said. “It’s a conference win and that’s huge, that gives us three for the season, and this is huge for the seniors.”

The Lady Knights, at No.1 seed, will play the fourth-seeded Aurora Central Catholic Lady Chargers on Tuesday, May 18 at 4 p.m. at Rosary High School in Aurora. The winner of that encounter faces off against the winner of No. 2 Rosary and No. 3 Illinois Math & Science Academy who duke it out on Wednesday, May 19, in the Class 2A regional championship set for Saturday, May 22.

The winner of the Rosary Regional heads off to the Hampshire Sectional against potentially Hampshire or Marian Central Catholic.

Photo: Lady Knight Emily Heimerdinger will be looked on for a big match if Kaneland is to have Rosary Regional success on Tuesday, May 18, against Aurora Central Catholic File Photo

With an attractive new background and layout, the new website allows for straightforward navigation and comprehensive data pertaining to the Elburn area.

The community can now utilize its entire calendar of events, which is available in a scrolling pane to allow for a sneak peek of upcoming festivities.

Access to the full directory of chamber members and their businesses are just one click away at www.elburn.com.

The Elburn Chamber of Commerce is a volunteer driven organization committed to serving local businesses and helping to foster a spirit of community in the Elburn area.

For more information on the website or the Elburn Chamber of Commerce, call (630) 365-2295 or e-mail info@elburn.com.

Many at the Bridge Walk will be cancer survivors and their family and friends. Others will be those left behind by a loved one who lost their battle with cancer. And still others will be people who simply want to rally behind the cause of Living Well Cancer Resource Center to provide programs and services free of charge.

Every team preparing for the Bridge Walk has a story.

For the Breast Cancer Boot Camp participants, entering a team in the Living Well Bridge Walk is a natural extension of the program they participate in at Living Well. The Breast Cancer Boot Camp program is all about not just surviving breast cancer but thriving through treatment and in life. The program is an example of the Chicago Bears Football Club giving back to their community. It was made possible through a grant by Bears Care, the charitable beneficiary of the Chicago Bears Football Club, and the efforts of the “Real Bears Fans Wear Pink” T-shirt campaign.

In a light-hearted take on the challenges the Breast Cancer Boot Camp team takes on, team captain Renee Ayer created an inspirational chant for the troop in traditional military cadence: “We don’t care what we’ve been told; this cancer stuff is getting old! We walk today ‘cause we’ve got feet, and Living Well just can’t be beat!”

Ayer, a resident of Campton Hills, was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago and understands firsthand the difficulties of the journey.

“When you’re dealing with cancer, so much is happening to you that you don’t feel in control of. The Breast Cancer Boot Camp gives us the opportunity to take charge of our health and lives amongst a community of people that have a shared experience,” Ayer said.

Breast Cancer Boot Camp group members include a diverse collection of women in terms of age, careers, interests and stage in the cancer journey, but all of whom share the experience of being cancer survivors or caregivers.

“The community of participants in the Breast Cancer Boot Camp are all at different stages of treatment, recovery and getting on with life, but we inspire each other to thrive—not just survive—and we use our individual strengths to mentor and support each other,” Ayer said.

For more information on the Breast Cancer Boot Camp, to join the Bridge Walk or to donate, visit www.livingwellcrc.org or call (630) 262-1111.

Photo: Breast Cancer Boot Camp team captain Renee Ayer laces up her boots as she
prepares for the LivingWell 5th Annual Bridge Walk, May 15. The Breast
Cancer Boot Camp program is underwritten by Bears Care, the charitable beneficiary of the Chicago Bears Football Club. Courtesy Photo

The annual event between the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the U.S. Postal Service is the largest one-day food drive in the nation. This joint effort will help feed families in all 50 states. But closer to home, employees at more than 217 post offices throughout the Northern Illinois District will be getting ready to help break last year’s national record of 73.4 million pounds of food collected.

“With the commitment of our employees and the community, we fully expect this be the most successful food drive ever,” said district spokesperson Sean Hargadon. “We are amazed by the consistent generosity from the public every year.”

Donations across the country from this year’s event are expected to increase the total amount of food collected throughout the years to over 1 billion pounds. The total currently is 982.7 million pounds. Last year, throughout Northern Illinois, letter carriers collected more than 335,000 pounds of food.

NALC President Fredric Rolando said that as successful as the food drive has been in the past, it must be better this year due to the struggling economy.

“Millions and millions of families are suffering—struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table,” said Rolando. “Food banks, pantries and shelters need our help more than ever this year. As families count on them for support, they’re counting on us and we will not back off on our commitment.”

The Krier, which competes in Division 4 against schools ranging from Deerfield High School to Glenbard South to Rockford Lutheran, took top honors. The Golden Eagle is the highest award given by the association, which awards gold, silver, and bronze certificates as well. To earn a gold certificate and be in the running for the Golden Eagle, a paper must earn at least 360 out of 400 points, scored by the quality and design of the high school’s newspaper. The Krier earned 380 points, including perfect scores for its news coverage, in-depth coverage, special page design and advertising.

“The Northern Illinois region is very competitive because of the large number of schools, and so I was very pleased with the Krier’s performance this year,” Cheryl Borrowdale, journalism teacher and Krier adviser, said. “I think the judges identified a number of our strengths in news coverage and feature writing in particular. The judges also gave us several ideas as to what our goals for future improvement might be.”

In the final critique, NISPA judges commented that “The Krier is rich in content, and it’s presented very attractively. A great variety of topics and issues receive coverage.”

Other judges’ comments included that the Krier includes “ample evidence of reporting,” “fair and balanced” stories and contains “layered information.” Judges suggested that the Krier continue to work on writing more varied headlines, including more information in captions, using more white space and writing more concise editorials.

The Krier most recently won the Golden Eagle in 2008 and historically has performed very well at NISPA.

“All the hard work and stress definitely paid off after we got to hoist that trophy,” sophomore Anthony Sperando, sports editor, said.

Individual staff members also won eight blue ribbons and two honorable mentions for writing, photography, cartooning, graphics and ad design.

Blue ribbons were awarded to junior Maria Kernychny, centerspread editor, for feature writing and photography; senior Melanie Mazuc, editorial editor, for column writing and an individual in-depth piece; freshman Julia Angelotti, reporter, for sports writing; sophomore Zach Brown, opinion editor, for review writing; junior Megan Nauert, advertising manager, for ad design; and sophomore Demi Schlehofer, artist, for editorial cartooning. Honorable mentions went to Mazuc for graphics and to Kernychny and senior Jessica Raines, business manager, for a team in-depth piece.

The NISPA conference also included a keynote speech from Joe Mahr, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter from the Chicago Tribune, and two breakout sessions on a variety of journalistic topics.

“Because a lot of the instructors were high school newspaper advisors, or reporters from the Chicago Tribune, they gave us a lot of real life tips, ideas and strategies that we’re going to put to good use with next year’s Krier staff,” Kernychny said.

Photo: Several Krier editors celebrate taking home the Golden Eagle at NISPA. ‘Winning a blue ribbon for ad design felt amazing because doing ads is so time consuming each issue,’ junior Megan Nauert, advertising manager and executive editor, said. ‘Winning an award made all that time feel worthwhile.’ Junior Jessica Corbett, feature and lifestyle editor (left to right); senior Jessica Raines, executive editor; Erin Rodway, executive editor; Ali Boan, executive editor; Anthony Sperando, sports editor; and Megan Nauert, executive editor. Courtesy Photo

Despite concern that with the state of the economy there might not be much of a response, Jurcenko met with parents in February this year, and within five days, 43 students had filled the trip to capacity, with more on a waiting list.

Pre-trip meetings took place once a month so that the students could learn the ways of the cultures they would be visiting. For example, Jurcenko told them that although Americans are used to taking large slices of bread and buttering them, in European cultures people take small pieces and often there is no butter present on the table at all. The students also were taught how to navigate the European metro transportation system and were told what they would see.

Three weeks before the trip, Jurcenko met with the parents to give them the final details. They were told there would be a phone message system on which she would leave daily updates about the trip. A few of the students obtained international service on their cell phones so they could call home.

Each student had a laminated card with Jurcenko’s cell phone number and their hotel and tour-guide information; and they were told if they were separated from the group to get in a cab and go back to their hotel. On the back of the card was the exchange rate for American money and Euros so students could refer to it when buying something. Prior to the trip, the students were told to have $50 converted into Euros and to bring a debit or credit card that had the Visa or MasterCard logo.

Leaving on March 25, the first leg of the nine-day journey for the students and six school staff members was an eight-hour flight to Zurich, then a two-hour flight to Madrid. Most of the students had flown before, and a few had taken long overseas flights, although many were glad to get off of the last plane after a bumpy ride.

A typical day involved a tour in the morning, then two hours for lunch and free time, after which there might be another tour or time spent walking around the city. Students were always directed to meet at a certain spot after free time, and Jurcenko suggested that they take a picture of the meeting area including the street signs, so if they got lost they could show it to someone for directions.

In Madrid, Spain, the group visited cathedrals and the Prado Art Museum. Some students took an optional side trip to the medieval town of Segovia. There, they had a chance to see the Palm Sunday parade, which senior student Haley Johnson said was one of the most memorable parts of her trip. The students also met a visiting men’s Japanese indoor soccer team and had pictures taken with the team.

All the students visited Toledo, where they toured cathedrals and watched swordmaking.

In Madrid, the students stopped at a park called Retiro (parque de buen retiro). There, several of the girls from Kaneland’s soccer team saw some Spanish girls playing soccer and asked if they could play with them. The girls surprised their Kaneland coach, Scott Parillo, with a phone call to tell him they had just won a soccer game in Madrid: Maple Park 4, Madrid 1.

The next four days were spent in Paris after a 14-hour train trip during which they slept four to a small cabin. Half an hour outside of Paris, the students toured the famous Palace at Versailles. The palace has 2,000 rooms, so they were able to see only a few of them. They saw the famous gardens around the palace and visited the cathedral at Notre Dame and the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa.

At the Louvre, they saw the modern pyramid entrance to the museum, recognized by everyone who’d read “The DaVinci Code.”

Their guide had to cancel an outside tour on a rainy day in Paris, but found an indoor perfume-making demonstration instead. On a drier day, some students decided to take a cruise on the Seine River, embarking near the Eiffel Tower. They went to the top of the Eiffel Tower both during the day and on a 2-1/2 hour night trip which included a laser light show.

Breakfasts were at the hotels, but lunch and dinner were at local restaurants. The food in both Spain and France wasn’t a lot different from back home, they said. A common item at breakfast was croissants. Other meals in Spain featured egg and potato omelets and pasta. Some of the students decided to be adventuresome in France and ate snails and squid. There was also a medieval band at one of the Madrid restaurants, where the students danced the macarena.

Senior Megan Cline said it was difficult to understand some of the people in Spain because of how fast they spoke, but that she liked to challenge herself by speaking in complete sentences rather than just one-word responses. Haley Johnson said it was exciting for her to be immersed in the language that she has spent four years studying, adding that everyone she encountered was nice about letting her practice.

Junior Lindsay Jurcenko felt it was an awesome experience to use the language for the first time without textbooks or worksheets. She said she gained a much better understanding of the Spanish language. Johnson also said that through the trip, she gained the desire and knowledge she needed to go back to Europe on her own.

A favorite excursion for the students was the visit to the Eiffel Tower at night. All in all though, they seemed to enjoy Madrid most for its smaller, old-town quaintness.

Megan summed up the students’ feelings by saying that she realized after this trip that it is important to learn about the culture and languages of other countries.

“There is so much going on in the world outside of our small town, and it’s important to know what’s happening in the world, or you might miss out on something you’d love,” Megan said.

Future trips planned
Kaneland High School Spanish teacher Michelle Jurcenko hopes to lead a trip abroad every two years, varying the destinations each time. The first trip she coordinated at Kaneland
was to Europe this spring, through E. F. Educational Tours.

The company charges an average of $2,500 per person, which covers everything except lunch and gifts and a few of the side excursions. A 12-month payment plan is available. Sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible and do not have to be language students to go.
Parents or students who would like to inquire about the next trip may contact Jurcenko at Michelle.Jurcenko@kaneland.org.

Excited to ride his bike, Elio went out to the backyard shed on April 30 where it was stored, but it wasn’t there, and neither were his two brothers’ dirt bikes.

“He came running back and said, ‘It’s gone. They’re all gone,’” said his mom, Tracy Rizzi.

Someone had broken into the shed and taken the dirt bikes, as well as several tools, during the night. Rizzi said she knows that is when the burglary took place, because the boys had washed their bikes the previous afternoon.

The Rizzis, who live at 2S368 Harter Road, found out from neighbors and the Kane County Sheriff’s Department that many other sheds and garages in the area had been burglarized around the same time.

“We were just disgusted,” Rizzi said.

Sheriff’s Department Lt. Pat Gengler said that 11 incidents of burglaries to private property in a Kaneville neighborhood were reported on April 30, all of them occurring sometime in the early morning hours before daylight. Another burglary was reported to have occurred between April 24 and 29 in the same area.

In addition, on Wednesday morning, a resident reported that someone stole a four-wheeler and a lawn sprayer from his garage in the 2S300 block of Locust Street. Gengler said investigators were trying to determine when this burglary occurred.

Sheriff’s investigators believe all 13 burglaries may have been committed by the same perpetrators.

“They are in the exact same geographical area, so we are definitely looking into them as possibly related,” Gengler said.

Four Kane County Sheriff’s Department officers responded to the residents reports on April 30, and officers have been interviewing each victim since then. Gengler said the officers who patrol that area of the county were alerted about the incidents and will step up their patrolling there as much as possible.

Following are the burglaries for which Gengler had reports as of the Elburn Herald’s press time on Wednesday.
• Two tires were stolen from a trailer parked in a driveway in the 46W600 block of Elm Street sometime between April 24 and 27.
• Someone broke the lock on the door of a shed in the 46W600 block of Elm Street sometime between 9 p.m. April 29 and 4 p.m. April 30. Nothing was taken.
• Someone broke into a home in the 2S200 block of Locust Court, an officer discovered when in Kaneville investigating the other burglaries on April 30. A resident told the officer that he saw a light on in the home, which was a foreclosed, vacant home. The officer went to the house and found a door open.
• A Moped was stolen from a shed in the 46W500 block of Locust Street, sometime between 10 p.m. April 29 and 8 a.m. April 30. Officers found no sign of forced entry.
• A Honda lawnmower and a go-cart were stolen from an unlocked shed in the 46W600 block of Locust Street sometime betweem 8 p.m. April 29 and 8 a.m. April 30.
• A Honda dirt bike was stolen from an unlocked shed in the 2S200 block of Elm Court sometime between 3 and 5 a.m. April 30. The burglary was reported on May 1.

Other burglaries were to sheds and garages at the following addresses: One incident each in the 46W800 block of Elm St., the 2S300 block of Elm Court, the 46W600 block of Harter Road, and the 2S300 block of Dauberman Road; and two incidents in the 2S200 block of Elm Court. Tools, machinery and other items were stolen.

Lt. Gengler said sheriff’s officers are investigating the burglaries but have made no arrests. He asked that anyone with information they believe is related to the burglaries call the Sheriff’s Department investigations office at (630) 208-2024 or the crime hotline in the evening at (630) 232-6840.

“Anything can be useful in these types of situations, even if you noticed something in the neighborhood a week ago that didn’t seem right,” Gengler said.

Photo: Elio (left) and Otto Rizzi no longer have dirt bikes, since someone stole them April 30 from their shed. Their dad, Brett, had this sign made for the family’s front yard on Harter Road, announcing a cash reward for information on who burglarized his and 12 other properties in Kaneville. Courtesy Photo

With the annual Kane County Meet taking place on Friday, May 7, and the Western Sun Conference meet the next week, coach Eric Baron’s crew invaded Sycamore on Tuesday and scored 76 points, compared to the Spartans’ 55 and Yorkville’s 44.

The first places numbered nine for the Knights under sun-drenched skies.

The 4x400m relay team ran the track in 3 minutes, 31.73 seconds, while the 4x200m foursome won in 1:35.56. Fellow relay event 4x800m took the event in 8:29.02.

Logan Markuson won the 300m intermediate hurdles with a time of 41.57 seconds, and also outlasted the 110m high hurdles field at 14.55 seconds.

In the 400m dash event, Derek Bus won in 53.33, beating Yorkville’s Zach Cooper by 1.51 seconds.

Nick Sinon did well in the high jump, winning first with an effort of 6-02.

Matt Spitzzeri took the triple jump with a mark of 40-10, and Sean Paulick won the long jump at 18-6.5.

Also encouraging was a frosh-soph win by Kaneland against Yorkville and Sycamore. The Knights had 72 points while Yorkville had 61 and Sycamore had 33.

The Knights gather in West Aurora on Friday for the Kane County Meet at 4:30 p.m., and finish the regular season with the final version of the WSC meet in Geneva in eight days.

Photo: Kaneland representatives (from left) Sean Paulick, Edgar Valle and Trevor Holm strive to finish the 800m run on Tuesday in Sycamore. Photo by Ben Draper

At the Kane County Meet in Batavia, the Lady Knights managed a ninth-place finish in a wind-marred gathering that caused difficulty in field events like pole vault.

Kaneland’s 15 points just edged Dundee-Crown’s 14 points. West Aurora (127.5), Geneva (108) and St. Charles East (83) rounded out the top three.

Additionally on Tuesday, KHS took it to Sycamore and Yorkville in a home meet with 79 points compared to the Spartans’ 55 and the Foxes’ 46.

The Lady Knights’ standout performances on Friday afternoon began with the triple jump finals, as Brooke Patterson’s 35 foot, 9.25 foot final effort earned her fourth place in the county. Teammate Ashley Castellanos took sixth with an effort of 34-06. West Aurora’s Shanice Andrews’ 38-.075 was good for first.

Patterson jumped into the finals with a 35-01, and Castellanos made her way in with a 34-03.

In the discus final, Lady Knight Nicole Ketza finished third with a distance of 104-11, behind West Aurora’s Chastity Smith by one foot.

Blackhawk teammate Mariah Smith torched the field with a 126-06 throw in the finals. Ketza finished second in prelims with a throw of 104-11.

Relay action had the Lady Knight unit of Lisa Roberson, Jessica Stouffer, Kris Bowen and Andie Strang finish fourth in the 4x800m relay with a time of 10 minutes, 16.10 seconds.

For Strang, the Kane County Meet served as a benchmark for how recovery from a right leg stress fracture is progressing.”

“Times aren’t exactly where I want them to be,” Strang said. “I’m just working on getting back, my leg feels great. It’s frustrating, but you have to keep going.”

Relay-mate Bowen noted the odd elements surrounding the relay event, with wind whipping about.

“You definitely have to run through it, your strategy kind of changes,” Bowen said. “You look to see if there’s draft and I try to get a distance from the next runner, but here you have to run through it.”

On Tuesday, Sara Wallace took first in the 300m low hurdles at 54.17 seconds. Strang won the 800m run at 2:27.01. Hillary Luse was tops in the 100m high hurdles at 17.80 seconds. Gabby Aguirre won the high jump at 4-10. Wallace came back to win the pole vault at 8-6, while Patterson won the triple jump at 34-03.

The Lady Knights gear up for the final edition of the Western Sun Conference meet out at Glenbard South on Friday, May 7.

Photo: Kaneland’s Abby Dodis takes on the field at the Kane County Meet in Batavia on Friday during the 3200m run. Photo by Mike Slodki

“Haiti gets under your skin,” the pastor of the Sugar Grove Methodist Church said. “Your heart is connected to it in more than a temporary way.”

Since the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, Good said his heart has stirred once again with compassion, and he feels a strong pull to use what he has already learned of the Haitian people and their Creole language to be of service.

As a minister, Good has led other mission groups to serve in Haiti, the last of which was seven years ago. He has helped take care of babies and children in a hospital ward and an orphanage, and interacted with boys at St. Joseph’s Boy’s Home, where the young men learned skills, experienced self-worth and love, and were encouraged to contribute to society in a positive way.

He had to cancel a more recent trip several years ago, due to the level of street violence at the time.

This time, he will join an existing group, called The Haiti Partnership, a United Methodist organization out of New York and Pennsylvania. The Haiti Partnership is connected to the greater organization within the United Methodist Church, UMCOR, or United Methodist Committee on Relief.

He leaves for Haiti on May 19 and will travel to Melliee, a rural village 80 miles west of Port-au-Prince. While there, he will help with deconstruction, as well as with the group’s children’s ministry programs.

“I always tell my congregation that God has blessed you with different gifts and abilities, and that they should use them for God’s purposes,” he said. “I feel compelled to put myself in the midst of some recovery efforts.”

He said that it has been wonderful to see local support for the people of Haiti, and although the flow of aid has not been as strong as it was in the month following the earthquake, he is still receiving calls from churches and other organizations that continue to want to be involved.

Members of his church have donated health kits, as well as birthing and layette kits, and help continues to reach places such as Grace Children’s Hospital in Port-au-Prince.

Although most of the hospital buildings have been destroyed, the hospital uses military-supplied tents to continue to provide medical care for children and adults with tuberculosis, malnutrition and AIDS.

Since so many waterborne diseases lead to death in children, hospital employees work with other organizations to provide clean water, using methods and technology that will be sustainable for the local community.

“I’m very grateful that people want to contribute,” he said.

To assist with his fundraising, the Sugar Grove United Methodist Church held an all-you-can-eat chili supper at the Sugar Grove Community Center on April 24, where good-will donations were accepted. These funds will help to pay for his trip expenses, as well as for the supplies he will take with him.

Good said that he knows when people make a contribution, they feel more comfortable when there is a personal and local connection. He is happy to provide people with that connection, to allow them to say to themselves, “Here’s a way I can help.”

Donations are still being accepted for Good’s mission to Melliee, Haiti. For more information or to contribute, individuals may call the Sugar Grove United Methodist Church at (630) 466-4501. For more information about UMCOR, visit the website at www.umcor.org.

Want to help?
For more information, call the
Sugar Grove
United Methodist Church
(630) 466-4501
speak to Rev. Steven Good.
For more information about
UMCOR
and its work in Haiti and other
places, visit the website at
www.umcor.org

courtesy photos

The village last July placed a moratorium on windmills, wind turbines and other electricity-generating wind devices, to give staff time to research the issue. The moratorium, which was to last six months, was extended in December, to allow further study on how to properly regulate such devices.

The Sugar Grove Plan Commission is currently reviewing a draft zoning ordinance created by Sugar Grove Community Development Director Rich Young and other village staff that would regulate wind energy devices.

Although it has not submitted an official request, the township would like to install a 100-foot wind turbine unit on its south Main Street property, and has been exploring sources for a potential grant that would pay half of the $100,000 to install it.

The township not only uses electricity for its own buildings’ uses, but also powers the intersection lights throughout the township. According to Township Supervisor Dan Nagel, the township would receive credits on its electric bill for each kilowatt of electricity that the wind turbine would generate.

Nagel said the 100-foot tower would allow the township to gain the most efficiency from the wind turbine, generating a payback for its cost within seven to 12 years.

The draft ordinance would effectively prohibit such a tall tower, both within village limits, as well as anywhere within the village’s future planning area outlined in the comprehensive plan.

Village Board members, citing safety and aesthetics, said that they would not be in favor of the 100-foot towers, especially in the more residential areas. Safety concerns would dictate set-backs large enough so that if the wind turbine were to fall over, it would be completely contained on the lot on which it stands.

However, the 100-foot tower is the size that would most efficiently generate electricity.

“The lower the towers, the longer it takes to get the payback,” Nagel said.

Young said the intent of the ordinance is to encourage small-scale applications of renewable energy, allowing both businesses and residents the ability to generate their own electricity. He said he would eventually like to expand the ordinance to include guidelines for solar, geo-thermal and other sources of energy generation.

He likened resistance to the technology to the concerns that people raised when satellite dishes were initially introduced. The first dishes were large and unwieldy, but as technology improved, the size decreased and people’s comfort level with the technology went up.

“I’d like to see us come up with a reasonable solution for small applications,” he said.

According to Young, the extension on the moratorium will end on June 1, and he would like to have an ordinance in place by then. He said the Plan Commission will likely consider the specifics of the proposed ordinance at a special meeting set for May 6.

Elburn Village President Dave Anderson said that the census is important locally for several reasons. One is that the village head count could require changes in village operations. Under state law, if Elburn has more than 5,000 residents, it will have to have an elected village clerk and establish a police commission.

In the past, the village president has appointed the village clerk annually, with the advice and consent of the board. For the past several years, Diane McQuilkin has held the position.

The three-member police commission would be appointed by the village president, with the advice and consent of the Village Board. The police commission would be responsible for hiring, promoting, disciplining and dismissing police officers. Currently, the Village Board makes those decisions.

The number of residents also determines state and federal government representation, Anderson said.

“Legislative districts (both federal and state) are set up, basically, by population,” he said.

An accurate count of village residents also is important to the village financially. Income- and sales-tax revenue that the village receives from the state is determined through an equation that factors in population established by the U.S. Census, Anderson said.

Accurate data reflecting changes in municipalities’ populations are crucial in deciding how more than $400 billion per year is allocated by the federal government for community projects such as roads and schools, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The last time a head count took place in Elburn was in 2006, when a U.S. special census determined the village’s population was 4,696. Anderson believes the census may show that the village has grown to nearly 5,000.

“I think we will be very close,” Anderson said.

Maple Park had a special census done in 2007, showing that the village’s population was approximately 1,100, Village President Kathy Curtis said.

Curtis said each person counted represents approximately $100 in revenue per year for the village. She said it is crucial for Maple Park that its residents complete their census forms, because of the financial impact of a head count that is too low.

She said, for example, if Maple Park’s “population comes in at 1,000 with the 2010 census that is about $10,000 of lost revenue for the village.”

“We already know our population is marginally lower due to foreclosures in town,” Curtis said. “We can’t afford to forfeit revenue by not responding.”

On May 1, U.S. Census takers will begin going door-to-door to households that did not mail back their 2010 Census forms. They also will verify that housing units indicated as unoccupied by the postal service or other sources are indeed unoccupied and vacant.
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census every 10 years.
Source: www.2010census.gov

The twice-monthly program for fourth- and fifth-graders started in early November and concluded April 23.

About 50 children signed up initially, and gradually, the program has gained many additional participants.

“As the word got out, more kids would sign up. Kids found out they had a good time, so more kids would come the next time,” said coordinator Bill Brauer. “There have been a lot more new faces in the last few months.”

“It’s kind of a fun night and we’d like to make it bigger,” Brauer said. “We’ll bring it back in October.

Last fall, he distributed flyers through the two Elburn elementary schools, John Stewart and Blackberry Creek, announcing the program that would meet every other Friday for six months, from 6 to 8:50 p.m., in the community center gymnasium.

“This is three hours of fun, do what you want,” he said. “It is an opportunity for them to get out and just be kids.”

Brauer is on the Community Center’s board of directors. He started the Friday Knightlife program because it would be good for the kids and would benefit the community center.

“When we were looking at things to do to keep the community center going, I noticed Friday night was a night when the gym sat vacant,” Brauer said.

He noted that other communities offer similar programs, such as North Aurora, where he lives.

“So I kicked it around at one of our board meetings, and said what if we do kind of a (pre)teen night, and everybody loved the idea,” he said.

Brauer said the program gives children something to do during the months when often the weather outside isn’t good, and it’s dark in early evening.

From the beginning, he and other program organizers made sure to offer recreation that participants were interested in.

“We kind of tailored it to what they want,” he said. “In the beginning they wanted to play a lot of Nerf touch football in the gym, so we let them do that.”

He said that early on, he held a couple of “pow-wows” with participants and asked them, ‘What do you guys like doing? What do you not want to do, because I’m not going to tell you what to do-you’re the ones that will be playing for three hours.’”

He did steer clear of offering many video games, because children can play those at home.

“We wanted to offer them something different,” Brauer said.

The fee was $45, or about $3 per program, which helped pay for games and other recreation-related expenses. Program activities have included floor hockey, basketball, Frisbee tosses, obstacle courses, air hockey, and the Guitar Hero game.

Refreshments also are part of every evening, such as Paisano’s pizza for a dollar a slice, plus soda or water.

James Leyden, 10, was at the Community Center every night the program was offered. He likes the chance to eat pizza and to play air hockey, pool and Guitar Hero, but most of all, to socialize.

“My favorite part is hanging with my friends,” said James, who attends John Stewart Elementary.

On Friday night, Alina O’Connor was sitting at a table making bracelets with her friends, one of the crafts she has enjoyed on program nights. She does not have any siblings at home, so the program is a chance for her to be with other kids after school.

Alina, a John Stewart student, has had so much fun that she hopes to join the program again this fall.

“It’s just too cool,” Alina said.

He said a good friend at the department, Lt. Sherry Nielsen, told him she never thought he would leave, and he didn’t either.

“I never saw myself as retiring,” he said. “But there comes a time when you know it is time.”

In the last year, Stevens has undergone two major surgeries, having had both of his knees replaced.

“When I had the surgery, I thought, why the heck did I wait so long to do this, and I guess it is the same for retiring,” he said.

During his last week at the station, he is cleaning out his office, which he said is not a simple task after more than three decades of accumulating things. Next, he plans to clean out his basement, attic and garage at home. Other than that, he has no specific plans for the future, other than to ride his Honda cruiser motorcycle more, go on more camping trips with his wife, Mary Beth, and see more of his three grandchildren’s sporting events.

He also will continue teaching EMT classes occasionally, as he has done for years at Delnor Hospital.

Stevens became an EMT in the early 1970s, after spending four years in the U.S. Marines. He served in Vietnam for a year, in 1969, where he was responsible for setting up landing areas in combat zones for medic helicopters to pick up the wounded, whom he cared for until they arrived.

After completing his service, he and his new bride settled in Batavia, and he began taking business classes at Waubonsee Community College and working at a hardware store. Between school and work, he would stop at Community Hospital in Geneva after classes to have lunch with his wife, who worked there.

One day in the hospital cafeteria, a nurse approached him and asked, “You worked in Vietnam didn’t you, with helicopters taking care of wounded, right?” Then she told him that the hospital was starting a new EMT program and asked whether he would be interested. He was, and took the first EMT course ever held at Copley Hospital in downtown Aurora. Afterward, he was thrilled when Community Hospital hired him as one of its first EMTs for Tri-City Ambulance Service, which had taken over for the local funeral homes that previously provided patient transport.
“I wanted the job so bad, that when they asked me what shift I wanted, I said, ‘I’ll work anything,’” he said.

On the night shift for five years, he gained a lot of experience, he said.

“When we weren’t running calls, we would work on the hospital floor, taking care of male patients, and doing odd jobs like setting up traction or doing other forms of patient care,” he said.

In the mid-’70s, Stevens decided to apply for the ambulance service directorship in Elburn, formerly headed by his friend, Chuck Conley. Then, the ambulance service was a division of the Fire Department and was housed on the opposite corner of North and First streets.

The village hired Dick Renk for the position, but when Renk returned to a teaching career a year later, Stevens applied again and landed the job in 1978.

Although he was the director of the ambulance services, he still went out on ambulance calls as an EMT. Looking back on all of the ambulance calls he did, Stevens said he does not like to dwell on the worst cases he saw, which people often ask him to describe.

“I look at it more like, what were the best cases I ever had, like rescuing people in a car crash or delivering a baby,” which he once helped a woman do at her home in Elburn.

Another one of those “best” cases was after the daughter of an Elburn woman, who was having chest pains, called the village ambulance service.

“By the time we got there, she was in cardiac arrest. We shocked her and brought her back. Every Elburn Days I would bump into her daughter and she would say, ‘Thank you so much, that I have had my mom so many years.”

He also has rescued people from car accidents, extricating them from their vehicles.

“I’ve liked to think of those more than the worst cases, because if you think about the worst cases, it will drive you out of the business,” Stevens said. “You’ve got to put that behind you and move on, and think about success rather than times where you were put to the test and you weren’t able to do anything, either because of the severity of the injury or the amount of the disease. I like to think about the ones where we fought and we won.”

When Stevens started working in Elburn in 1978, the Fire Department had four full-time employees-two EMTs in its ambulance division, Stevens and Alan Isberg, and two firefighters, former Fire Chief Marv Ackerman and Assistant Chief Marty Strausberger (who later became fire chief). The department had 30 volunteer firefighters and 15 volunteer EMTs.

Stevens provided EMT training within the Fire Department for many years, as well as being an administrator in charge of a growing staff. As the department’s paid staff expanded, volunteers were more difficult to find, so Stevens suggested opening up the department to people from other communities and letting them sleep in the station after a call.

“It worked pretty well (to bring in more volunteers)” he said. “From there, we went to building Station 2 and went from being mostly volunteer to having more full- and part-time staff.”

Since Stevens started with the department, he has seen its employee roster grow to 21 full-time firefighters who are also EMTs, and 50 part-timers with various degrees of fire and EMT certification.

When the Fire Department built a second station on Hughes Road about seven years ago, it merged its ambulance division with the fire division. After the merger, Stevens became the assistant chief in charge of emergency medical services, a position he held since then.

Stevens takes pride in having been able to mentor so many department employees over the years.

“I’d like to think that there are very good paramedics that worked for me that are that way because I helped teach them,” he said.

Elburn Fire Chief Kelly Callaghan, who became chief after Marty Strausberger, has worked with Stevens since the 1980s. Callaghan said Stevens not only is the father of three grown children, including Elburn firefighter/EMT Rob Stevens, he also has been a father figure for countless people in the fire department over the years.

“If someone needed advice on anything, he always had something to say,” Callaghan said.

Stevens said he never set out to be in a leadership role.

“I remember when I started out as a paramedic,” Stevens said. “I was visiting an uncle and he asked me, ‘So are you going to become a lieutenant, or a captain or an assistant chief, what are you going to do?’ I said, well, I don’t want to do any of that, I just want to take care of people.”

Thanks to strong individual performances, the Kaneland High School boys track team was tops overall at the Ottawa Invite on Saturday afternoon, racking up 193 team points.

Moline was close by with 190 points, and Peoria Richwoods rounded out the top three with 134 points.

On Tuesday, the Knights took care of host Glenbard South by a 74-20 clip.

The exceptional finishes in Ottawa began with senior Jemmar Parrenas, who vaulted to 11 feet, six inches in pole vault grouping B for second place. Teammate Logan Markuson took the honors in pole vault A at 14 feet.

In the high jump event, sophomore Frankie Furco entered the mix with a second-place showing in the B group at 5-08, while Nick Sinon took first in the A group at 6-02.

For the long jump C category, Matt Spitzzeri finished second at 18-10.5.

In triple jump B, freshman Marshall Farthing finished second at 38-08.5.

In the 4x800m relay A race, the senior foursome of Derek Bus, Dominic Furco, Joe Levita and Edgar Valle beat out the competition at 8:15.53, beating Lincoln-Way East’s unit by 6.41 seconds.

In the 110m hurdles C group, freshman Chad Swieca finished second at 18.12, while Taylor Andrews took second with a time of 15.87 seconds in 110m hurdles B.

Dominic Furco finished second in the 800m run C with a time of 2:08.71. Teammate Clayton Brundige, with a run of 2:07.13, finished second in the 800m run C group.

Swieca won the 300m hurdles C race at 45.19 seconds, while Andrews finished second in 300m hurdles B.

Markuson won the 300m hurdles A race at 40.50. Matt Reusche was tops in the 1600m run C with a time of 4:47.86.

Kaneland’s foursome of Tommy Whittaker, Bus, Andrews and Markuson took the top spot in the 4x400m relay A with a time of 3:25.90.

Against the Raiders, Sinon won the long jump at 20-7.75, and the high jump at 6-4. Markuson took the pole vault at 13-6.

Kaneland’s 4×800 relay won at 9:21.1, and the 4×400 finished first at 3:29.3.

Dominic Furco took the 3200m run at 10:43.4.

Andrews finished first in the 110 hurdles at 15.4 seconds, and also first in the 300m hurdles at 40.7.

Trevor Holm won the 1600m run at 4:39.3, while Sean Paulick won the 800m run at 2:11.3.

The Knights host the annual Peterson Prep on Saturday, April 24 at 10 a.m.

Photo: Curtis Secrest and Andrew Essex participate in a sprint relay down at the Ottawa Invite on Saturday. Courtesy Photo

Kaneland’s annual hosting of Jenni’s ABC Meet in Maple Park led to a third-place nod with 250 points. Huntley High School was crowned queen of the meet with 418 points, and Rockford Boylan took second with 322 points. Kaneland outlasted Rosary by one point, while Rock Falls finished fifth at 245 in the seven-team outing.

On Tuesday, KHS lost by just one point to visiting Glenbard South, 71.5-70.5.

KHS snagged a number of first-places on Saturday, beginning with Lisa Roberson’s 2 minute, 28.46 time in the 800 meter A grouping.

Brooke Patterson continued her first-year rise through the ranks, securing first in the pole vault A category with an effort of nine feet, nine inches. The junior also took first in the long jump A category at 14-11.

Junior Andie Strang was first in the 800m run B group with a time of 2:32.88, and Roberson came back with a first in the 1600m run B at 5:55.33.

Teammate Brianna Stark, with a 15-foot effort in long jump B, took the crown in that event, while Sydney Luse won pole vault C at seven feet.

Strang also took second place in the 1600m run A with a time of 5:47.28.

Hillary Luse took second in the 100m hurdles A at 18.34, while Patterson added to her productive day with a second in the triple jump A group (34-03).

Sydney Luse finished second in the 100m hurdles B at 18.94. Hillary Luse took second in the pole vault B event with a seven-foot vault. Keara Palpant, with a 77-06 throw, took second in the discus throw B event, while Mel Mazuc finished second in discus C at 72-09.

Against the Lady Raiders, Patterson won first places in the long jump (15-5), triple jump (34-4) and pole vault (10-0).

Teammate Nicole Ketza won discus at 93-8. Roberson took the 800m run crown at 2:29.9, while teammate Arianna Espino won the 400m dash at 1:06.1. Amanda Lesak was first in the 300m hurdles at 54.68. Strang finished an impressive 5:35.99 in the 1600m run, while the Lady Knight foursome won the 4x400m relay at 4:31.5.

Laying ahead for Kaneland girls track is the annual Dixon Relays on Friday, April 23, at 4 p.m.

Photo: Freshman Amanda Lesak goes skyward for the high jump at Jenni’s ABC meet at KHS on Saturday. Photo by Ben Draper

At this juncture, the Lady Knights are 7-5 with a 2-3 WSC mark.

Pitching ace Delani Vest (3 K’s) allowed just two runs in the third vs. the Lady Foxes, but aside from Brittany Davis’ two hits, nothing came across the plate.

Vest came back against the Warriors on Saturday and fanned 11 in a complete game effort, allowing one run on five hits.

Vest also helped her cause with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate with a run scored, while sister Rilee went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

After allowing a first inning run, Kaneland had a prolific third inning with 10 batters at the plate that gave them four runs.

Designated player Katy Dudzinski singled, and two batters later, Delani Vest also singled. SS Allyson O’Herron hit a fly to the rightfielder that was carried by the wind over the rightfielder’s head for a game-tying double.

“I was like, ‘oh man, she’s going to catch it again’, but then I saw Delani going and Katy going, and then we just kept running,” O’Herron said.

Andrea Dimmig-Potts then hit a run-scoring single for the lead, followed by an RBI single by Davis and an RBI double by Rilee Vest.

‘We played well (in game one),” KHS coach Brian Willis said. “We executed defensively and hit the ball harder and didn’t get some runs across until that big inning.”

Maine West got some revenge in game two, scoring three in the top of the sixth to break a 5-all tie. Dudzinski went 2-for-4 with a run, three RBI and a homer. Alexis Villarreal was tagged with the loss, but fanned six.

Against the visiting Panthers in a makeup game from April 3, KHS scored in every inning but the fifth. Rilee Vest went deep on a 3-for-4 afternoon, and Kristen Stralka went 3-for-3 with three driven in. Dudzinski earned the win in relief, striking out six and allowing just one hit in four innings.

Delani Vest struck out 10 in the clash with the Spartans on Tuesday, scattering four hits, while Rilee Vest went 3-for-4 with a double, homer and 4 RBI.

Awaiting the Lady Knights is a home battle with Rochelle on Thursday, April 22.