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In 2017, Joliet West was gifted a star-studded athlete that changed their football program for the future. Historically, West has not been known to have a dominant football program. The Tigers made their first playoff appearance in 2016 after a 47-year drought since 1969. With the departure of then coach, Jason Aubry following their first playoff appearance, Athletic Director Steve Millsaps hired Bill Lech to commandeer the program in 2018. What followed a new coaching change,...
Three men have been caught on camera stealing a French bulldog puppy at the Furry Babies Joliet pet store in the Louis Joliet Mall. The incident occurred around 3:53 p.m. on Feb. 10. “I wasn’t here at the time, but after reviewing the video they all definitely looked really suspicious,” said a manger who did not want to be identified. Out of the three men who were together, the one who actually stole the puppy was identified as wearing a big green winter coat. The other two s...
Ron Wilke has been in policing for 27 years, now, his hard work has paid off even more. Lisle Mayor Chris Pecak announced that Wilke, who is a 24-year employee of the Lisle Police Department, has been appointed to the new Chief of Police. "Ron offers a high level of professionalism, experience and leadership skills that will enable him to excel as Lisle's next Chief of Police," Pecak said. "He has been part of the fabric of our community and shown an authentic commitment to en...
For the second year in a row, the Plainfield Township Community Center will be hosting the Sham-Rockin’ Fun event. This event will be from 6:30 through 8 p.m. on March 6 at 15014 S Des Plaines St. in Plainfield. “It’s a St. Patrick’s themed event for families with young kids,” said marketing manager Brock Stein. In last year’s first-time event, 11 families participated in the Sham-Rockin’ Fun day, but the Plainfield Township Community Center hopes for even more participants...
Recently, a 10-month-old puppy by the name of Maverick had the fight of his life. The German Shepherd had to be rescued by the Plainfield Fire Protection District after he wondered to a pond and fell through ice. Ironically, a call was made to the owners of Maverick, saying that his brother was hit by a car the day before Maverick had to be rescued. "He's never gotten out of our house, ever," said owner Kaila Skrzypiec. "I was heartbroken that day, I think I was more...
A win has been a difficult thing for the Plainfield East girls basketball team to come by this season. The Bengals last win came on Jan. 20, with the team losing six straight games after that, making 50-43 win over Romeoville in the opening round of the Class 4A Plainfield North Regional that much sweeter. "It's been awhile for us since we had a win so this was huge for us especially going forward with our confidence," East coach Anthony Waznonis said. With the win, Plainfield...
From 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27 in the Downers Grove South High School cafeteria, the District 99 Education Foundation will host its seventh annual Pizza Wars fundraiser event. "Every year for the last seven years we bring together a variety of pizzerias from the local community," said Pizza Wars Sponsor Chair Maura Bates. At last year's event, the winners were Best Crust- Lou Malnati's; Best Sauce- Papa's Pizza Place; and Best Overall – Tortorice's Pizza. "We're r...
For the majority of his life, Tom Hernandez has been fascinated about the idea of storytelling. Born and raised in Joliet, Hernandez has been writing personally and professionally since his childhood. He was a reporter for 10 years at several suburban daily and weekly newspapers, and wrote a "Slice of Life" column for another 11 years. Now, Hernandez serves as the Director of Community Relations for the Plainfield School District 202, but that doesn't mean that he's done...
It's not every day a high school student with dreams of becoming a doctor gets to watch a live open-heart surgery. For 73 Plainfield Central High School students, they had that very opportunity. The surgery was held on Wednesday, Feb. 5 from the Heart program at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Students from Debbie Pohlmann's human anatomy and physiology class have participated in this event for the last six years, and she added that there's nothing quite like the...
Romeoville's season ended with a 50-43 back-and-forth loss to Plainfield East in the opening round of the Class 4A Plainfield North Regional. The Spartans (8-21, 3-13) went into halftime with a one-point deficit, but couldn't muster up enough offense in the final minutes of play to come out on top. "The last few minutes of the game were tough because we started to get out of our offense," said coach Julio Carrasco. "Defensively I thought we do a good job and fought, but I thin...
The Joliet Catholic Academy varsity girls dance team received a third-place finish in their quest to repeat as IHSA Class 1A state champions at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloominton, IL. The competition began on Jan. 31 in the preliminary round and scores were determined in Saturday's final round on Feb.1. To honor the Angels, an all-school assembly took place on Feb. 4 to showcase the dancers talent and hard work that came to fruition once again. As a coaching staff, this...
As the season winds down for the Plainfield co-op swim team, the group has its sights set on high goals. The first of those were fulfilled last weekend when Plainfield won the Southwest Prairie Conference title at Oswego with 307 points, bettering the hosts by 24 points. Leading the way for the champions were Marc Avery and Alex Dvorak, who each won a pair of individual conference titles. Avery won the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 20.95 seconds and the 100-yard free in 46.95...
Every year, more than 4,000 Americans die because of some sort of fire related incident. Annually, U.S fire departments respond to an average of 52,050 fires that involve heating equipment. This year, the Plainfield Fire Protection District who has more than 115 men and women on their staff, is urging those to be more cautious when using services that might have the possibility to start a fire such a fireplace, space heater and in the kitchen when one is cooking. "Home...
Since 1901, fans of the automotive industry have had the pleasure of going to the Chicago Auto Show. The biggest auto show in North America was originally staged at the third Chicago Coliseum that was at 1513 S. Wabash Avenue. To give fans and aficionados more information about the show, Chicago Auto Show Historian and Archivist Mitch Franklin spoke to the Plainfield Public Library District. "The presentation covers the entire length of the show from 1901 until 2019,"...
Currently, an investigation is underway for a robbery that took place at 7:42 p.m. Jan. 23 at the T-Mobile store in Woodridge at 1001 75th street. The armed robbery that consisted of a man who was said to be in his 20s has been under investigation for the last couple weeks. "When he first walked in, we were just in the back room getting some inventory out," said a store manager who did not want to be identified. "We heard the door ring to see who it was, and by the time we cam...
A new restaurant and bar has been opened in the Downers Grove area this year for those that enjoy all types of Asian food. Wasabi Restaurant and Bar celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Jan.30. The ceremony was held at the location, which is 5130 Main St., and the ceremony was attended by Downers Grove Mayor Bob Barnett who also stuck around the restaurant to try the food for himself. "It covers pretty much all Asian foods and most of what other Asian...
During the State of the Village address issued to the city of Romeoville by Mayor John Noak at the Edward Hospital Athletic and Event Center, several key components were discussed to illustrate the success the city had last year. In what was the 30th annual State of the Village address, topics such as transportation, tourism and business were talked about. "We really wanted to discuss the strong financial place the village is currently in," Noak said. "Part of that is that we...
To say that the Gardiner twins mirror each other in almost every way would be a large understatement. The Maine South juniors have both eclipsed the 500-point mark, Niamh is 5-feet-11 and Nicole is 5-feet-10, they both average double-digit points per game, they were born one minute a part and not to mention, they are both incredibly competitive. "Both girls are both very special athletes," said coach Jeff Hamann. "They get it done in the classroom, they're both role models,...
In an effort to help build a better way to support local businesses that support Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South High Schools through donations, the District 99 Education Foundation has launched the use of KOHA. KOHA is a local mobile application program that is designed to help connect local businesses with school and nonprofits more frequently. "To date, we've primarily worked with the Downers Grove community and District 58 by starting off with the 13...
To celebrate the one-year anniversary for the Plainfield Prairie Activity and Recreation Center, a fun filled day of activities and a cheap entrance were provided for those who participated. "Overall it was a really fun day," said Recreation Manager of Facilities Beth Brannen. The Plainfield Prairie Activity and Recreation Center opened in Feb. of 2019, and since then, has hosted many events for the community to participate in. Events such as 'Party at the Park', 'Daddy...
In the last 40 years, there might not be a more iconic movie than "The Blue Brothers." "The Blues Brothers" was shot in 1980 wan is known throughout Will County for its opening scene that was shot at the Joliet Correctional Center on Collins Street. The prison, which was established in 1858, will host a two-day Blues Brothers festival that is set for Aug. 21 and 22 to mark the 40th anniversary of the film. "The prison has defined the city of Joliet," said Executive Director of...
Lisa V. McMullan has been confirmed as the suspect in the fatal shooting at the Humidor of Lisle on Jan. 24. The Humidor of Lisle, 1600 Ogden Avenue, had officers dispatched to the scene at approximately 10:13 p.m. for a report of a shooting that was in the process of taking place. At 10:14 p.m., officers secured the scene and provided medical aid to the parties involved that were injured. Out of the people who were injured, three were transported to local hospitals, and one...
A few weeks ago, on Jan. 23, Lewis University officially welcomed a retired American Airlines MD-80 to its fleet. A brief celebration was held with American Airlines representatives and community members at Lewis University, who has been a leader in aviation education since 1932. "We had a very generous donation of a 737 from United Airlines back in the [1990s]," said Department Chair of Aviation and Transportation Ryan Phillips. "The aircraft was at the end of its service car...
Fountaindale Library in Bolingbrook is celebrating its 50th anniversary and because of that is giving a special gift to its patrons. In order to commemorate its 50th anniversary, Fountaindale has revealed three new library card designs. "We've made an effort to grow with our community which is why I think we've been successful for the past 50 years," said Communications Manager Melissa Bradley. "Our goal as a staff is to just keep meeting the needs of our community." The...
Sustained excellence is hard to do in any sport. For Downers Grove North (21-5, 7-2) basketball coach Stephan Bolt, excellence has defined his career. In his eigh seasons as the head coach for Downers Grove North, he has just had one losing season in his tenure, which was his first year in 2012-13. "I give all of the credit to the kids because they buy into our system," Bolt said. "We tell them to leave it all on the floor on the defensive side of the ball." Not only are the...