Back to school in the Southland
Students started arriving back at schools throughout the Southland last week as the new year began.
At Richards High School in Oak Lawn, freshmen from the class of 2028 were off to a fast, relaxed start. Whatever nerves freshmen felt as they walked into their new school on their first day, they most likely dissipated quickly, according to a news release from School District 218.
With the marching band drumline playing, new students received Richards shirts and a warm welcome from first-year principal MaLinda Majoch.vThey met their teachers, and started to learn all that high school will offer.
Freshman Day offers discovery at Richards. Students receive iPads, which they keep as long as they’re enrolled. They learn to work lockers, tour school, complete an abbreviated form of their academic schedules, and participate in an athletics and activities fair.
A huge crowd of nearly 300 also participated in the Back to School Bash, a night of fun, games and entertainment, last Friday.
Hazel Crest police chief elected to national post
Hazel Crest police Chief Mitchell R. Davis III was elected 2nd national vice president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and was sworn Aug. 13 in during the group’s 48th Annual Training Conference in New Orleans.
Davis won the election with 56% of the vote over candidates from New York and Louisiana. He will ascend to 1st vice president in 2025 and to president of the organization in 2026.
Now in his 15th year as police chief, including the last nine in Hazel Crest, Davis is a past president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and is on the board of directors for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He also is a member of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board and the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes.
$1 million lottery ticket sold in Monee
An Illinois Lottery player and her entire family were shocked and in disbelief to discover her $25 scratch-off lottery ticket revealed the top prize of $1 million.
The winning player, who has requested to remain anonymous, said her husband actually picked up the winning ticket as a gift for her.
The $1 million winning scratch-off ticket was purchased at Monee Tobacco, 5701 West Monee Manhattan Road, in Monee.
“The only people we’ve told so far are our kids,” the winner said. “Each of us had the same shocked reaction and didn’t believe we’d really won a million dollars.”
As for what the lucky winner will do with her top prize? “I’ve always dreamed of buying a house. It would be fabulous to finally say ‘We own this home.’ After taking care of a few other necessary purchases, choosing the perfect house for our family will be the top priority.”
It also was a big win for Monee Tobacco, as the store will receive a selling bonus of one percent of the prize amount, or $10,000.
Will County preserve expanding
McKinley Woods, one of the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s oldest preserves, is about to get bigger after the Forest Preserve’s Board of Commissioners approved a 57-acre acquisition Aug. 8 that will enlarge the Channahon preserve. The parcel, known as McDonald’s farm, cost $1,037,400 and will be paid for with proceeds from a $25 million bond issue approved by the Board in 2019.
The land is the east side of McKinley Woods Road, west of the Des Plaines River and south of the ComEd utility corridor. The preserve’s Frederick’s Grove access area is located south of the new parcel where McKinley Woods Road dead ends.
“This acquisition will better allow us to access and maintain existing portions of McKinley Woods that were almost physically impossible to reach in the past,” said Colleen Novander, the Forest Preserve’s director of planning and land preservation. “This property will allow for better management of the entire preserve.”
A series of ravines in this area made access problematic in the past. But the new acquisition will make restoration efforts and other land management activities easier to accomplish, said Andrew Hawkins, the Forest Preserve’s director of conservation.
An adjacent 10-acre parcel with a home on it is not part of the acquisition, which will be finalized at a real estate closing later this year.
Neighbors who live across the street from the parcel are happy to hear it will be preserved as open space, said Mike Dauzvardis, who attended the board meeting.
Traffic on McKinley Woods Road is already busy and if the land had been developed for homes that would have made the situation worse, said Dauzvardis, a retired anatomy professor at Loyola School of Medicine who said he loves nature and biking.
“We’re so excited,” he said. “I love walking through McKinley Woods. I love the prairie … and this is going to be wonderful. It’s fantastic.”
Named after President William McKinley, the 533-acre McKinley Woods, which is part of the Des Plaines River preservation system, was acquired between 1931 and 2004. The preserve is popular for birding and wildlife viewing activities. And it sits along the I&M Canal and near where the DuPage, Kankakee and Des Plaines rivers merge to form the Illinois River.
McKinley Woods is home to Four Rivers Environmental Education Center, which is located at the Kerry Sheridan Grove access area.
Prior to the District’s acquisition of the land, it was a private resort and was commonly called “Moose Island.” The Frederick’s Grove Shelter is a remnant of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp that was built on the site in the 1930s and it also briefly served as a German prisoner of war camp during World War II.
Road work set in Palos, Crestwood areas
Getting around will continue to be trickier with road work projects starting along Kean Avenue and 127th Street.
Illinois Department of Transportation officials said a resurfacing of Kean Avenue, from 111th Street in Palos Hills to 95th Street in Hickory Hills will require daytime intermittent lane closures beginning Aug. 20.
The $1.5 million project, which consists of resurfacing the 2-mile stretch of Kean Avenue and constructing new ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps, is anticipated to be completed in November. Access to residences and businesses within the work zone will be maintained throughout construction.
A project to repair the bridge carrying 127th Street over the Cal Sag Channel in Crestwood and Alsip is planned to begin Aug. 21.
The project is scheduled to be completed in several stages. Starting Wednesday, daytime lane closures will take place on 127th Street approaching the bridge to remove the existing raised medians and establish the work zone. Starting Aug. 23, 127th Street between Laramie Avenue and Cal Sag Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction. Various lane shifts are planned on both sides of 127th Street approaching the bridge.
In early 2025, a full closure with detours is scheduled to take place on 127th Street approaching the bridge to complete the work.
The $14.4 million project consists of replacing the bridge deck and concrete approaches, repairing structural steel and replacing steel beams, installing new lighting and painting. The existing multi-use path on the south side of the bridge will be widened and a new guardrail will be installed. The project is anticipated to be completed in spring 2026.
In both areas, motorists can expect delays, IDOT said.
Hidden Gem race returns to Flossmoor
Winner of Chicago Area Runners Association Race of the Year for two years in a row, the 5th Annual 2024 Hidden Gem Half Marathon returns to Flossmoor at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 7 for a 13.1-mile run through the town’s tree lined streets. This destination race offers lots of free parking, great runner swag and medals, one of Illinois’ largest cash prize pools and free beer at the end of the race, according to organizers.
The 2024 Hidden Gem Half Marathon is part of this summer’s festivities celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the village of Flossmoor.
New and returning runners from over 25 states and multiple countries, those training for the Chicago Marathon and casual runners alike will line up at 7:30 a.m. along Douglas Avenue in Flossmoor for the start of the race. The course will weave through stunning subdivisions and pass staple landmarks of the town including Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Coyote Run Golf Course, a variety of 100+ year-old historic homes and Flossmoor’s world class sculpture park before finishing in the heart of downtown Flossmoor. Along the way, runners will be cheered on by musical groups, cheerleaders, steppers, dance teams, DJs, choirs and residents hosting themed cheer parties.
More information is at www.hiddengemhalf.com.
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