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A group of four neighbors met for a drink one afternoon two years ago, with no idea how significant the gathering would become. "Jodi, on a random Tuesday, it was sunny, all our husbands were away, said, 'Do you want to go to Fuller House?' " Nerida Thomas recalled. "We walked. That was the start one." A week later, the world had shut down due to COVID-19. Thomas, Jodi Brubaker and Marnie Joy, all of whom live on Grant Street, and Ali Guinta, whose house is around the corner...
On a rainy April Friday, students at Hinsdale Central High School were digging holes to plant seeds and perennials near the rain gardens along 55th Street. The hope is that this summer, the plants will help sustain monarch butterflies and other pollinators. The initiative is part of the Rotary Club of Hinsdale's Operation Pollination, and the planting was the inaugural event of the club's Executive Junior Board. They got some help from friends in the school's Ecology Club....
Little did I know when I was looking for a job in the spring of 1988 that one day I would write about an event that had thwarted those efforts. Thirty-four years ago last week, on May 8, 1988, the Illinois Bell switching station on Second and Lincoln streets caught fire, destroying phone lines to 35,000 homes in Hinsdale and nearby towns. The affected area included Willowbrook, where my parents had purchased a condo my senior year of college, eagerly anticipating the day I...
Seven years ago Pat Hughes worked with Top Tier to put together a travel baseball team to give his son and other young athletes in the area a chance to play with their friends and be coached by their dads in a high-level program. He said he knew even then that some of the boys had the potential to play baseball at the Division I level. Six of his players already have committed, including two sophomores. They are Hinsdale Central senior Luke Adams, Central junior Ben...
Around Mother’s Day, it seems reporters like to ask folks about the most important things they learned from their mothers. One day, maybe such a question will be posed to an adult Ainsley. And here’s what I hope she has to say. Read as much as you can. I will be delighted if Ainsley loves Shakespeare and Jane Austen. But I also hope she does a better job than I did of reading different authors in varied genres and discovering wonderful new voices and the amazing stories the...
Fifteen early release Wednesdays for the 2022-23 school year would be too many, according to Hinsdale High School District 86 Board members, who asked instead to see a plan with no more than 12. Administrators came to the board in March with a plan to have students released early almost every Wednesday, which was not well-received, and then cut that number to 15. The days would be used instead of late start days and some flex days to give teachers time to collaborate — especially across the district, said Chris Covino, a...
Summer road construction is underway in Hinsdale. Garfield Avenue on Monday was closed between Fourth and Seventh streets as part of a $2.1 million project to rebuild the street between First and 55th streets in concrete. The roadway will be rebuilt in four sections, said Al Diaz, assistant village engineer. The second phase will be just north of the first. "We actually stipulated that the section of Garfield from First to Fourth streets should be addressed when the middle...
After almost a year of discussion, Hinsdale trustees are referring a proposal to create a Historic Overlay District to the village’s plan commission. Homes identified as historically significant in the district would be eligible for voluntary preservation incentives ranging from fee waivers to alternative bulk zoning regulations. “I think it’s important to note the properties within the Historic Overlay District will not automatically be included,” Trustee Luke Stifflear said. “Properties will be identified and owners will be...
Name: Annette Ciupek Year: senior Hometown: Willowbrook When did you first start playing lacrosse? I started playing in third grade. I did a program called IGLA for a few years before I moved on to club. What do you enjoy most about the sport? I developed a lot of good friendships with lacrosse and that helped me transition to high school. I love the idea of a team sport. I like the competitive aspect of it and also how creative I can be in lacrosse. There are different plays,...
May, the fifth month of the year, is named after Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility, spring and growth. Its attributes have been noted by a variety of poets over the years. Like Stephen Foster - "We roamed the fields and river sides, When we were young and gay; We chased the bees and plucked the flowers, In the merry, merry month of May." and John Burroughs - "When purple finches sing and soar ... With vernal gladness running o'er - When joys like these salute the sense ......
Making music, former Journey member Robert Fleischman said, is a lot like making art. "Music for me, I've said this before, it's like sculpting air," he said. "You're painting with frequencies." Co-author of "Wheel in the Sky," composer of music for television series like "That '70s Show" and a solo artist, Fleischman also has been creating visual art since he was 13 years old. Art and music aficionados will have a chance to see his collages and paintings and meet him in...
If all goes as planned, today will be opening day for the refurbished Irma Butler Tot Lot outside The Community House today. And students at Hinsdale Community Preschool, housed in The Community House, are ready to test it out, preschool director Ann Marie Berlino said. "We are delighted that it's ready to go," she said. "Looking at it with the doors locked is so hard." The $175,000 project initially was slated for completion two years ago, said Heather Bereckis,...
The first time I saw the film "Shakespeare in Love," I was fascinated by the inaugural performance of "Romeo and Juliet" at the fictional Rose Theatre. The audience knows Juliet has concocted a plan with the friar to fake her own death so she can avoid marrying Paris and reunite with Romeo. The friar will write to Romeo of the plan. The love story will have a happy ending. Instead, the message goes astray. Juliet wakes up to find Romeo has poisoned himself after finding her...
In a series of 4-3 votes, the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board elected a new president, vice president and secretary at its April 14 meeting. Eric Held will serve as president, Kathleen Hirsman as vice president and Terri Walker as secretary. All received support from Held, Hirsman, Walker and Cynthia Hanson. Jeff Waters nominated Peggy James for all three offices. She received three votes for each office from herself, Waters and Debbie Levinthal. Levinthal spoke up after the first two votes were complete and...
Equity work is definitely needed in Hinsdale High School District 86, Patrice Payne told board members at their April 14 meeting. Payne, who has served as director of instructional equity in the district since July 1, pointed to data and conversations with students as evidence. Research shows the powerful impact implicit bias has on students’ ability to learn, she said. It can affect special education placements, disciplinary referrals, teacher mindsets and beliefs, tracking and the dominant discourse. “What you will see is...
Name: Sydney Turnbull Year: senior Hometown: Burr Ridge When did you first start playing soccer? I started playing when I was in kindergarten. I was actually a forward up until my freshman year of high school, when I changed to being a center back. What do you enjoy most about the sport? I really like the sense of competition and also the ability to meet new people on different teams over the years. What is the most challenging part of playing center back? I think for me it...
Some 71 years after "The King and I" opened on Broadway, the is launching the 2022-23 season at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. How well does this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic - originally starring Yul Brynner and Gertrude Lawrence - stand up to the test of time? Surprisingly well. Director Alan Paul in his Playbill note to audiences said he believes that with the current clash of cultures in 2022 America, the musical continues to resonate. "Revisiting the musical,...
The alarm went off at 4 a.m. I hadn’t slept all that well in the AC Marriott in Fort Lauderdale, but I woke up quickly. We needed to get the 4:30 a.m. shuttle to the airport for our flight. But even before I had the chance to get out of bed, Dan delivered the bad news. “Our flight’s canceled,” he said. We were stunned. A day earlier it had seemed like a good idea to change our Saturday flight — originally scheduled for 4:30 p.m. but delayed to 8:30 p.m. — to a Sunday morn...
Almost four years ago I wrote a column detailing how a trip about Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas - at that time the largest cruise ship ever built - was not my cup of tea. "The thought of spending my vacation on a floating skyscraper (OK, OK, it's only 18 decks) with 6,679 other passengers and a 2,200-person crew leaves me feeling a little jittery," I wrote. What an idiot. Last week over spring break I spent six nights on a cruise to Mexico and Honduras aboard Royal Ca...
Two Hinsdale ministers have said claims that District 86 Superintendent Tammy Prentiss contacted clergy to rally their support are inaccurate. The Zoom conference call Prentiss had with several clergy members Feb. 8 were initiated by clergy, according to Mike Solberg, senior minister of Union Church of Hinsdale, and Pamela Rumancik, minister of the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale. Both said they are interested in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the community as a whole. “The topic was not about the criticism of t...
Jessica Lahey began her talk as part of The Community Speaker Series Monday night sharing some details about her own journey to sobriety. She quit drinking in June 2013, prompted to seek help after she drank so much at her mom's birthday party that she blacked out. The next day her dad confronted her with a truth she already knew. She was an alcoholic. With addiction on her husband's side of the family as well, and as the mom of two kids, one question arose during her...
Thirty-one years ago on a Thursday afternoon in late March, I finished my English senior seminar essay (with about 30 seconds to spare before the 4 p.m. deadline), walked back to my sorority house and was greeted with four words: “Get in the car.” Seven of us were driving to Florida for spring break. My suitcase was already in the trunk, and I barely had time for a bathroom stop before we left. Some 18 hours of driving later, we reached our destination, Bonita Springs. The...
Crews have been working to prepare for the removal of the over-the-road Hinsdale Oasis building this spring as part of the Illinois Tollway's Central Tri-State Tollway Project. "There's a lot of it that has to be unhooked and re-hooked up," said Brad Bloom, assistant village manager. "The water that feeds the east side of the oasis actually goes in pipes under the oasis. That needs to be rerouted under the actual tollway." Crews have installed temporary fencing and added...
I celebrated my 55th birthday on Monday. I remember distinctly when my mom turned 55. At that time, drivers were not allowed to travel 65 mph on the highway, and we joked how she was turning the speed limit. That year — 1996 — I was a college graduate who had been working for eight years and married for three. This year, my daughter is in seventh grade and won’t graduate from college for another nine years. In some ways, having a kid late in life allows you to remain in denia...
After a strange spring season last year due to COVID-19, athletes and coaches at Hinsdale Central High School are looking forward to a traditional regular season and postseason. Some new coaches and new contests are keeping things interesting for teams as the season begins. This is the third in a series of four spring sports previews. Girls badminton First match: March 15 @ HC Quad (V won all matches) Last year: sixth at state Head coach: Serge Penksik Seasons as head coach:...
