Saturday Soapbox: Fox Valley
Grateful for their service
Much like former Harper College trustee Patrick Botterman, Huntley Village Manager Carl Tomaso's short life was chock full of service. Tomaso died unexpectedly on Wednesday at age 56. Botterman died in March at age 44. Village President Chuck Sass credits Tomaso's 11-year tenure with much of Huntley's growth. Botterman was a leader and mentor to young people interested in politics. We're thankful to both these men for making the suburbs a better place.
U-46 plan better late than never
Kudos to Elgin Area School District U-46 for catching up to its neighboring districts in offering a dual-credit program. The aim of the program, Executive Director of Secondary Education Tom Donausky said, is to create a stronger link between high school and college. In an era when so much time is necessarily dedicated to bringing so many students up to state standards, it's good to see that those kids who already exceed those standards aren't being left out.
Close to the heart
The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board must next week consider very carefully Delnor-Community Hospital's wish for an open-heart surgery program. While its staff report concluded the area served by Delnor doesn't need a new program, there might be other factors that need to be considered beyond the state's standards the report was based on. It would be problematic for area residents if the cardiology practice now doing the vast majority of catheterizations at the Geneva hospital were to stop because of a lack of a backup open-heart surgery facility on site.
We say pellet, you say airsoft
Debate raged this week over the story of a Marengo dad who was charged with domestic battery for allegedly shooting at his 10-year-old daughter and 9-year-old twin boys with an "airsoft" gun that fires tiny plastic pellets rather than metal BBs. We used "pellet" in our headline (and plastic pellet throughout the body of the story) for the majority of us who don't know what "airsoft" means, and some of you took that as us promoting a point of view in a gun control debate. What is more difficult to quibble over is the wisdom of shooting at one's young children with anything, even if police say the dad told them it was in "good fun."
Elgin's big green machine
The city of Elgin's efforts to greenify itself just keeps chugging along. The city this week inked a deal to lure a new Siemens factory that will produce the parts that make power-generating windmills go around. The city council also this week approved a popular bike lane plan. Bravo, Elgin.
A whole new (big) world
Ever wonder what a fish feels like after being moved from the small pet shop tank to one that's 55 gallons? Kids and staff members at the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin could probably relate after moving in to their 15,000-square-foot facility this week. The $2.4 million project replaced a cramped 2,000-square-foot home on Elgin's east side. The Boys and Girls Club certainly has grown, and we have no doubt the folks there will help others blossom as well.
Dreams do come true
The hundreds of volunteers who helped Elsa Leonardo's dream of owning her own home become a reality deserve a round of applause. Men and women from organizations such as the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington and executives from Zurich in Schaumburg built a 1,350- square-foot home in Carpentersville with help from Habitat for Humanity at breakneck speed. Leonardo will own her first home and share it with her daughter, Ivette.