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A dream came true Feb. 18 in Peoria for Hinsdale Central senior Tess McArdle. "I've been on the speech team since my freshman year. I've always dreamed of winning state, and so it was really a surreal moment for me." McArdle and her partner, junior Jackie Vogel, were the state champions in humorous duet acting at the state meet Feb. 17-18 at the IHSA state tournament in Peoria. The pair helped the team earn a fourth-place finish with 22 points. Wheaton-Warrenville South came...
Mehlum Anjarwala senior Hinsdale When did you first start running? I started running in seventh grade. Basically, when I was a lot younger, like fifth or sixth grade, I was playing baseball and basketball. It was apparent I was pretty fast. Everyone said, 'You should try out for track.' I went down and took a shot at it. What do you enjoy most about the sport? I really enjoy competing. I love, whether it's a meet or practice, showing up every day and going at it against my tea...
Hinsdale Central wrestlers Cody Tavoso and Marko Ivanisevic had their sights set high when they headed to the IHSA Class 3A individual state meet Feb. 16-18 in Champaign. "Some people get happy just to be a state qualifier," varsity wrestling coach Jason Hayes said. "They had expectations to get on the podium and earn All-State, which they did." Tavoso, a senior wrestling at 138 pounds, came in fourth. Junior Marko Ivanisevic placed fifth in the 220-pound weight class. "I...
I spent many years confused by Lent. I’d watch my Catholic friends and acquaintances give up something they either wanted to give up, like chocolate, or thought they needed to give up, like alcohol, only to indulge/over-indulge on Easter Sunday. Or I’d attend a fish fry scheduled on a Friday night during Lent, with platters of food and dessert tables that said anything but “abstinence.” It made no sense to me. I don’t know if I am older and wiser or the thinking around Le...
Do you know how streets in the village acquired their names? If you said they're named after U.S. presidents, you'd be right 16 times. But village founder William Robbins intended for the street named after the country's 20th president to have a different name, according to Timothy Bakken's 1976 book, "Hinsdale." "The north-south streets of the new village were named for some national heroes: the recently martyred Abraham Lincoln, the victorious General Ulysses S. Grant, and, of course, George Washington," he writes. "Robbins...
"Big Mike" Sirin already has the wet ingredients working in the mixer when I arrive Monday afternoon to learn how to make Page's famous apple cider doughnuts. I'm invited to take a large scoop of doughnut flour out of the 50-pound bag and drop it in the mixer. Then I'm banished from the kitchen. "I'll finish," he says, noting the mix still needs more flour. "I've got to do that by eye," he explains. Sirin is one of four people at Page's who make these popular treats, owner...
When my dad died almost 21 years ago, I had only a handful of friends who had lost a parent. My husband joined what I've heard described as "the club no one wants to be in" when his mom died in February 2017. We lost my mom in November 2020. And last week we said goodbye to my father-in-law, John. At 93, he outlived his wife and my parents by decades (my dad died at 67 and my mom and mother-in-law each lived to 79). We credit John's longevity to all the walking he did during...
A year after implementing a new set of grading practices, teachers in Hinsdale High School District 86 have made some adjustments. The most significant change this school year has been the elimination of a 50 percent floor for all assignments in an “equal interval” grading scale, Chris Covino, assistant superintendent for academics, told board members at their Feb. 9 meeting. The goal of the new framework, he said, was to make grades more accurate, actionable and accountable. “To be honest, last year it was not doing all t...
When a meeting is called to order, school board members are serving in their most visible role. But the hours they put in at Hinsdale High School District 86 regular and committee of the whole meetings are only part of the job. Just getting ready to participate in the board meetings can be time-consuming, especially for new members. “In the beginning, you read as much as you possibly could just to get fully immersed into what was going one — and even then you’re not quite sure what’s going on,” said Jennifer Planson,...
The Hinsdalean typically begins its election coverage looking at the various topics that have been discussed at the board table over the past few years, with the goal of giving voters a sense of what new board members will face after the election. The superintendent and a sitting board member usually are interviewed for the story, and special attention is paid to any topics that have been divisive. In Hinsdale High School District 86, it would almost be easier to list topics that have not split the board than those that...
Parents who coach in the Jodie Harrison basketball program say they are amazed to see how much the players develop over the course of the season. "It's such a great program, because the kids grow so much from the first game to the last game," said Virginia Malinas, assistant coach for her son Carson's fourth-grade team and her daughter Sofia's seventh-grade team. "They look like a different team, and it's so wonderful to see them all develop and grow." The parents are also...
I've been thinking a lot about love lately - and not because Valentine's Day is only a few days away. I've been thinking about love because Dan Harris keeps bringing it up on 10 Percent Happier, one of my favorite apps. He's not a mushy guy, and he's not talking about sappy romantic love - or even sappy self-love, although self-love is an important part of his message. Here's what he has to say about it: "Self-love, properly understood, not as narcissism, but as having your ow...
Amelia McLaughlin Senior Hinsdale When did you first start playing basketball? I played basketball first and foremost at Hinsdale Inferno and actually met a lot of my current friends there. What do you enjoy most about the sport? I love team sports in general. Just growing up in a family that has been kind of built around sports and the communities that come with them, I feel like it's something that I'm just not able to give up. Do you enjoy playing multiple positions? I...
Couples hoping to enjoy a romantic gourmet meal to celebrate Valentine's Day need not look far. Vistro Prime Steakhouse, Il Poggiolo and Nabuki in downtown Hinsdale are offering special menus for a special day. Vistro, in addition to its full a la carte menu, will offer a four-course dinner for two on Feb. 14. The meal will begin with a choice of beet salad (roasted and pickled) with a smoked apple vinaigrette, goat cheese, arugula and sunflower seeds or carrot and ginger...
Next week we will begin our coverage of the Tuesday, April 4, election. Unlike most years, we have a single contested race to cover — the Hinsdale High School District 86 board, in which five candidates are running for three open seats. Election season is one of my favorite times of the year. I firmly believe that helping readers learn more about the individuals who want to represent them in local government is one of the most important things community newspapers can do. Y...
Commuters who aren't traveling into the city every day now have the option of paying for daily parking. Instead of having to purchase a six-month blue permit for $316.50, commuters now can pay by $3.50 a day, plus a small processing fee, to park in the village lot north of the tracks off Washington Street. Signs posted at the lot include a QR code for drivers to pay by text. Blue permits also will be sold by the week for $22.50 and by the month for $53.50. "I don't know if...
Parents who attended the Community Consolidated School District 181 meeting Monday were in full agreement — they want full-day kindergarten. Some 50 people, mostly moms, packed the room to hear a discussion about the possibility of implementing an extended or full-day kindergarten in the district. Eighteen spoke in favor of such a program, saying it will offer children an academic advantage and will give working parents an option other than attending private school or piecing together before- or after-school care. Lauren A...
Erin Navolio is in her first year as head coach of Hinsdale Central High School's varsity girls basketball team, but her history with the program goes back many years - all the way to her childhood. "I had been attending their little kids summer camp since I was in third grade," she said. "My father and I would got to a lot of their games throughout the season. My dream was to be on the Hinsdale Central basketball team." Her dream came true in 2006 when she earned a spot on th...
I had every intention of getting my COVID booster. Really, I did. But I couldn't seem to find space in my schedule for a day-long recovery period - as I needed after my previous inoculations. Plus, COVID now is just a mild cold, right? And so I never scheduled the appointment. Ahhh, hindsight. I felt some very minor cold symptoms Jan. 15 and thought I should take a home test just to be on the safe side. Within three minutes, I could see a clearly defined positive line. An...
The eight-bedroom, seven-bath home at 505 S. County Line Road is more than just an old house for sale, listing agent Dawn McKenna of Coldwell Banker said. It's an iconic 120-year-old home that sits on the largest property in Hinsdale. "Our first primary hope is to save this home," McKenna said. "I think my job as a broker is to do the best I can to do that." To accomplish her goal, she organized a Jan. 19 event at the home, offering tours, champagne and charcuterie and...
Do you know for whom the village of Hinsdale is named? If you don’t, you’re certainly not alone. Actually there is no definitive answer as to how the village got its name. “Now, before turning to the subject of how William Robbins was to actually create the village of Hinsdale, it would be wise to examine the one issue which, in this past century, has caused more argument and controversy than any other: the questions of how, why, by whom and for whom Hinsdale was named,” Timothy Bakken wrote in “Hinsdale,” published i...
Ham and cheddar scones. Egg and watercress sandwiches. Salmon spread on pumpernickel. Sticky toffee pudding. That's the menu for tonight's book club meeting, a perfect compliment to our discussion of Jane Austen's "Emma," led by yours truly. To be honest, we probably won't discuss the book that much because we'll be watching the 1996 film version starring Gwyneth Paltrow as we sip on Earl Grey and English breakfast tea. (I imagine some other beverages will find their way into...
What is the new law regarding smoke alarms? Homeowners might have more than one reason why a smoke alarm isn't working. "They go dead maybe when you're on vacation, so you don't hear the chirps," said Deputy Chief Jon Carlson of the Hinsdale Fire Department. "You don't test it, so you don't know it doesn't have a useful battery in it." Or a homeowner might take the battery out of a beeping detector, intending to replace it, and then forget. A law passed in 2017 addresses...
The doorbell rang shortly after dinner Tuesday night. As I flipped the deadbolt and opened the door, I expected to find someone trying to sell me more popcorn or more cookies (both of which I'm currently trying to avoid!). Instead I saw a woman and her young son, who was holding a package, standing on my front stoop. "Does Ainsley live here?" the woman asked. "She does," I answered, and they explained that a package for her had been delivered to their house, which has the...
In the final article in this annual two-part series, leaders of Hinsdale’s nonprofits take a look back at 2022 and share one wish for 2023. The Hinsdale Historical Society, Hinsdale Humane Society and Wellness House were featured in the first installment Jan. 5. Candor Health Education After offering more than 90 percent of its sex ed and drug eduction courses online in 2021, Candor Health Education is back to putting educators in front of students. “March picked up and April and May were just crazy,” Executive Direc...
