The Doings La Grange

Park students bowled over learning the French version of bocce ball

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:24:00 -0500

Afterschool activities are going continental at Park Junior High in LaGrange Park with a taste of bocce from Italy and petanque, the French version. Standing inside small hoops on the ground, students took turns throwing colorful balls toward a small squishy ball serving as the target, also known as the piglet or cochonnet. “Petanque means ‘feet together,’” explained Brian Ernst of Westchester, who filmed a documentary in France about the popular pastime in 2010. Ernst was invited May 4 to share his knowledge of the game. Students noted elements of bags or horseshoes and a touch of croquet without mallets …

Entertainers perform at zoo

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:14:53 -0500

PBS entertainers perform at Brookfield Zoo …

Zoo earns 2012 diversity honor

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:00:47 -0500

Brookfield Zoo earns diversity honor …

Group to restore graves, memory of Lyonsville’s Civil War vets

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:29:10 -0500

Dave Bailey had a mystery on his hands: Where was the body of Civil War veteran James Henry Nash? The missing veteran was an early resident of the area — and records from the 1920s showed that Nash was buried in Indian Head Park’s Lyonsville Cemetery. “However ... we went all over the cemetery and couldn’t find his name on any markers and that was sort of driving us crazy,” Bailey said. Bailey belongs to Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, which is planning a September ceremony to honor Civil War veterans buried in the cemetery at …

La Grange Park ambulance fees to increase

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:52:00 -0500

An ambulance ride will cost more in La Grange Park after village trustees agreed to raise rates for the first time since 2003. The board voted unanimously to increase fees for a basic life support response from $400 to $500 for residents and from $500 to $800 for nonresidents. Advanced life support measures will boost the response fee from $500 to $800 for residents and from $600 to $1,200 for nonresidents. The board approved the increases May 22 to help offset a budget shortfall of $189,150, resulting from expenses of $635,622 and revenue of $446,805 for ambulance service. The Fire …

La Grange looks forward to Pet Parade

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:01:52 -0500

The 66th annual La Grange Pet Parade on June 2 features the Medinah Black Horse Troop, the Jesse White Tumblers, marching bands, drill teams and plenty of pooches and kitties and their proud owners. Marchers step off at 9:30 a.m. from Cossitt Avenue and head north on La Grange Road, west on Burlington Avenue and then south on Brainard Avenue to Lyons Township High School at Cossitt. TV anchor Rob Johnson from CBS Channel 2 will serve as grand marshal. Johnson, a Hinsdale resident, serves as an honorary board member of the H Foundation, a La Grange-based nonprofit group funding …

1.5 million people to use Midway, O’Hare this holiday weekend

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:24:01 -0500

About 1.5 million people are expected to pass through Chicago’s two airports this Memorial Day weekend, city aviation officials say.

School leaders react over treasurer’s office

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:37:03 -0500

Superintendent Tim Kilrea of Lyons Township High School District 204 said he is monitoring the situation at the Lyons Township School Treasurer’s Office and has no concerns with how the office has handled the high school’s payroll or investments. “I think it’s an internal issue and a transparency issue that has been raised,” Kilrea said. Superintendent Warren Shillingburg of La Grange Elementary District 102 said Treasurer Robert Healy’s pay-out is a policy matter for the Lyons Township Trustees of Schools Board to work out. “It’s a policy issue they need to really look at, either to fix or clarify,” Shillingburg …

Lyons Township school trustees president resigns

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:33:49 -0500

The president of the board overseeing the Lyons Township School Treasurer’s Office has resigned to allow for an independent investigation of a $100,000 cash-out of benefits by Treasurer Robert Healy. Edward Maloney of La Grange said he wanted to step aside after serving as president of the Lyons Township Trustees of Schools Board since 2004. The board oversees Healy’s office, which invests funds and manages payroll for 13 school districts and educational cooperatives in La Grange, Western Springs and Burr Ridge as well as other towns. “I didn’t want to be involved in the hiring process,” said Maloney, a Democratic …

Chicago Sun-Times owner Wrapports buys the Reader

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:08:36 -0500

The owners of the Chicago Sun-Times said Wednesday that they have acquired the Chicago Reader, bringing an enduring part of the alternative press under the same corporate umbrella as daily and weekly papers that span the Chicago region.

LaGrange Park post office gets reprieve

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:25:56 -0500

LaGrange Park postal customers got good news May 22 when village officials said no definite decision was reached to close the branch office on 31st Street at Barnsdale Road or limit hours to save money. “The village has been in contact with Sen. Dick Durbin, and for the time being, there are no plans to close the LaGrange Park post office branch and no plans to shorten hours,” Trustee Susan Storcel said. “Postal representatives have cautioned us that as long as the U.S. Postal Service is working through its financial issues, closing offices could be considered, but not in the …

First cases of 2012 West Nile reported in the area

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:45:57 -0500

The West Nile virus has been detected in birds and mosquitoes in several western suburbs for the first time this year, state health officials announced Tuesday. The virus was found in towns including Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, and Norridge.

Man killed in four-car crash on Tri-State Tollway

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:50:55 -0500

A man was killed in a four-vehicle crash on the Tri-State Tollway near west suburban Oak Brook Tuesday morning.

Study says Chicago traffic congestion actually got better

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:50:34 -0500

Drivers in the Chicago area were stuck in traffic an average of 36 hours in 2011, 12 fewer than the 48 wasted in traffic in 2010, according to INRIX, a company that studies traffic patterns.

La Grange Park gets rosy race results

Thu, 24 May 2012 03:26:59 -0500

Great weather greeted 357 participants Saturday in the Run for the Roses sponsored by the Park District of La Grange Park. First-place honors went to 14-year-old Carlos Molinas of Chicago with a time of 18:25 for the 5K race. La Grange Park’s fastest male finisher was Geof Brown, 47, who posted a time of 19:10. The top female runner was Liz Driscoll, 25, of LaGrange Park, with a time of 18:57. Among those who walked the course, the oldest participant was Bud Kane, 82, of St. Louis, with a time of 42:46, followed by Judy Gianelli, 77, of La Grange, …

Seventh-grader plays peaceful blues for NATO

Thu, 24 May 2012 03:36:57 -0500

As protesters in Chicago stomped and chanted anti-NATO slogans Monday, a La Grange teenager sang a different tune at one of the summit’s venues. August Domanchuk, a seventh-grader at Park Junior High School in LaGrange Park, was invited to perform some blues selections with 13-year-old Alex Lund of Chicago’s North Side. The two met for the first time just days before entertaining at the Art Institute of Chicago during a luncheon for spouses of NATO senior leaders. The new blues duo scrambled to get in two rehearsals for trading guitar solos and polishing vocals before the big gig. “It was …