The Doings Hinsdale

Enriching summer in Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills District 181

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:44:02 -0500

CLARENDON HILLS — Music is returning to District 181 summer school after a one-year hiatus. “There’s definitely an interest for this, and it’s a great opportunity for those students to get some outstanding private instruction,” said Eric Chisausky, co-director of the summer school program in Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Elementary District 181.

Several road projects on tap for Oak Brook

Fri, 24 May 2013 19:09:31 -0500

OAK BROOK — Spring and summer mean the start of local road improvement and other infrastructure projects. In Oak Brook, West Shore Pipe Line Company will be completing maintenance construction activities on the east leg of 22nd Street at Illinois 83. The work was scheduled to start the evening of May 28 and is anticipated to last about three weeks between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. The north westbound through lane along 22nd Street will be closed for the duration of the project. The middle westbound lane will be closed at night during construction hours. Other scheduled 2013 Oak Brook …

Hinsdale Pool opening Saturday is questionable

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:28:00 -0500

HINSDALE — The Hinsdale Community Pool is scheduled to open Saturday at noon, but the weather may change that. “Right now, it doesn’t look good,” Gina Hassett, director of Hinsdale’s Parks and Recreation Department, said Friday afternoon. The outside temperature has to be at least 68 degrees for the pool to open. “If it’s 69 degrees in your car, that doesn’t count,” Hassett said. If the weather is questionable, before coming, people should verify the pool is open by calling the pool hotline at (630) 789-7098 or look at the department’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HinsdaleParksandRecreation. The pool is ready and …

June starts summer activities in Hinsdale

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:21:30 -0500

HINSDALE — Hinsdale rolls out its summer fun next week with the farmers market starting on Monday and the outdoor concert series Uniquely Thursdays beginning June 6. The farmers market, with 19 vendors selling on Chicago Avenue between Garfield and Washington streets, will run from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday from June 3 to October. The street will be closed to vehicle traffic. New to the market this summer will be produce from Hasselmann Family Farm in Marengo, Italian truffles and balsamic vinegar from ImPex Nature, and handmade soap and balms from Soap of the Earth. Uniquely Thursdays …

Party with your pet in Hinsdale

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:28:38 -0500

HINSDALE — With or without a pet, the Pet Walk in Katherine Legge Memorial Park on Sunday, June 2 should be a lot of fun. The event, which is the largest fundraiser for the Hinsdale Humane Society, starts at 9 a.m. and goes until 1 p.m. with dog demonstrations, games, music and food. For children, there will be pony rides, a petting zoo and face painting. For pet-owners, a veterinarian and a pet trainer will be there to answer questions. For dogs, there will be a doggy-cake eating contest and a Frisbee demonstration. For people who like that sort of …

Donoroo talent show at Clarendon Hills Middle School raises $6,000 for charities

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:37:19 -0500

CLARENDON HILLS — Clarendon Hills Middle School’s sixth annual Donoroo talent show was its most successful. About $6,000 was raised through ticket sales and an auction, money that will go to four charities: Children’s Memorial Hospital, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; Engineers Without Borders; and the CHMS Gives Back Fund, which provides funds for CHMS students in need. Two of the other charities hit close to home at the school. Student Jake Youngman, who was one of four emcees for the show along with Frankie Barreda, Lily Chrones and Eileen Horton, is a diabetic. And Engineers Without Borders is a …

Fullersburg Woods hikes are for the birds

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:53:47 -0500

OAK BROOK — Chris Wolek was very glad he decided to join his fiancé Friday. Both Wolek and his fiancé, Gosia Lukasik, were at Fullersburg Woods by 7:15 a.m. to participate in one of the 10 FullersBird Fridays spring sessions. The hikes, led by Keriann Dubina, a naturalist who works for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, offer opportunities to see how the diversity of birds changes in the forest preserve. Each of the hikes for FullersBird Fridays lasts about two hours and is preceded by a brief informational session. The spring events continue through June 14. Dubina said …

Hinsdale Central students take chemistry field (& stream) trip

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:58:56 -0500

HINSDALE — Students from Hinsdale Central High School pulled bluegill, minnows and bass out of Salt Creek May 20. They weren’t fishing, they were on a chemistry field trip. The students were studying the health of the Salt Creek watershed at the Graue Mill in Oak Brook, part of a unit on water in a chemistry themes course taught by James Paige, Tom Ludovice and Julie Baker. The students collect a wide variety of data, including the depth, flow and temperature of the water, the variety of insects, fish and vegetation, and the amount of dissolved oxygen, nitrates and phosphates …

Hinsdale director takes on Agatha Christie at Theatre of Western Springs

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:09:03 -0500

HINSDALE — Ed Wavak of Hinsdale has been a member of the Theatre of Western Springs for more than 20 years, as an actor, stage manager, treasurer and director. For the first time, he will direct a production on the theater’s main stage: Agatha Christie’s “The Unexpected Guest.” Q: What prompted you to get involved with the theater back in 1992?A: I had been a subscriber for about four years and saw an ad in the playbill for their studio class. It happened to fit right in my schedule. (All actors are required to take two studio classes before they …

Hinsdale man arrested twice in a year for drugs

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:59:52 -0500

HINSDALE — A Hinsdale man arrested last month was charged for the second time this year for possessing illegal drugs and narcotics in his downtown apartment. The DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group arrested Sean M. O’Malley, 58, of 108 S. Washington on April 25 and charged him with eight felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, Police Chief Bradley Bloom said, Mark Piccoli, the director of the regional enforcement group, reported more than 1,000 assorted prescription pills were found in O’Malley’s apartment. The medications included narcotic painkillers and …

Hinsdale South graduation orators to speak in words and song

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:27:43 -0500

DARIEN — When the Hinsdale South Class of 2013 gathers for commencement May 31, the voices of classmates Maura Carr and Nicole Blumenstein will be heard, in more ways than one. Carr and Blumenstein were chosen to speak at the ceremony — Carr as the evening’s emcee and Blumenstein as the student orator. The two friends, both members of the Madrigal Singers, also teamed up to arrange the song that the group will perform as part of the program. As the fifth member of her family to graduate from Hinsdale South, Carr has attended her share of graduations in Hornet …

Garfield Crossing plan wins Hinsdale backing

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:31:17 -0500

HINSDALE — Garfield Crossing, the retail and office development proposed for the southwest corner of Garfield and First streets in Hinsdale, was unanimously approved Tuesday, but with one loose end. Late in the game, village officials discussed the possibility of extending the narrow alley that runs behind the stores and restaurants on the south side of First Street. It connects with Washington, but dead ends at the existing building on the southwest corner of First and Garfield. The village sought a license agreement by which they would have a limited period of time to negotiate with the to extend the …

County officials seek new approach in the fight against mosquitos

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:34:34 -0500

One DuPage County township will soon be a test case in the fight against mosquitos. The Mosquito Abatement Task Force has agreed on several priorities in its effort to both combat the West Nile virus that claimed five lives last year, and also streamline and coordinate anti-mosquito efforts at the county level. “The first step is that the task force wants a unified approach,” Linda Kurzawa, president of the DuPage County Board of Health, said. The other priorities agreed upon were that the Board of Health will reach out to DuPage Forest Preserve District and DuPage Mayors and Managers to …

Hinsdale board extends liquor hours to allow Fuller’s bar and grill

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:23:06 -0500

HINSDALE —Doug Fuller and his partners got the later hours they wanted from the Hinsdale Village Board and plan to have a family restaurant open by the fall. Fuller plans to convert the southern portion of Fuller’s Home & Hardware store, on Garfield and First streets, into a two-story restaurant and bar that will serve less expensive meals than some other restaurants in town. For the business to successfully compete with similar-style places in nearby towns, Fuller and Jim Carlstrom argued they need to serve liquor later than the current Hinsdale limits of 10:30 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on …

Kesman and Paulsen return to Hinsdale Central as interim principals

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:59:53 -0500

HINSDALE — Two retired principals are returning to Hinsdale Central High School as interim leaders. The Hinsdale High School District 86 Board approved hiring Tom Paulsen and Frank Kesman as interim principals for next school year. They will be paid $80,000 each for 100 days of work. Principal Michael McGrory announced last month he has accepted a position as a high school principal in Iowa, his home state. A national search for a permanent replacement for McGrory will start in the fall, Superintendent Nicholas Wahl said. Kesman and Paulsen previously shared the principal duties at Central in the 2009-10 school …

Hinsdale crime briefs for MAY 21, 2013

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:35:14 -0500

The following incidents were listed among the official reports of the Hinsdale Police Department. IDENTITY THEFT A resident received an email May 16 informing him someone had contacted an investment company and tried to get the resident’s personal information. THEFT Someone took a bicycle and bicycle helmet, with a combined value of just under $500, from a patio in a back yard on the 300 block of Forest Road between 7:30 p.m. May 14 and 8:20 a.m. May 15. PROPERTY DAMAGE Someone damaged the driver’s side doors of a vehicle in the Walgreens parking lot, at 15 Grant Square, between …