News

Charity ride to pedal through town

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 7:07pm

    This year’s 325-mile Cycle Across Illinois charity bicycle ride is personal for Wilmington Police Department Officer Matt Kiebles.
    The ride raises money and awareness for the Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), Illinois Chapter. It honors law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty, and organizers try to route it through or near the homes, communities and departments of the officers being recognized.
    This year, it’s been routed down historic Route 66, and will travel through Braidwood and Wilmington.

Coalers to offer one day youth sports camps

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 7:05pm

    The Coalers with Character Athletic Leadership program will offer a one-day sports camp for students entering grades 1-4.
    The camp will be divided into three, 40-minute sessions. Campers will select the three sessions they attend  and each will be run by Coal City High School athletes participating in the Coalers with Character program.
    Campers can select sessions focused on  football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, soccer, cheerleading, softball and baseball. Students selecting baseball or softball should bring a glove and bat to camp.

Council creates new supervisory position

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 7:04pm

    There’s a new boss in town, and the City Council intends for him to be the go-to guy for all things public works.
    Darin Fowler, the superintendent of the wastewater system, was named to the position of director of public works that the City Council created during it’s June 19 meeting. He will be responsible for the administration of the public works (streets, alleys and infrastructure), water and wastewater departments, and will be the person to address citizens’ concerns.

Quarry Living

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 7:02pm

     Gary Brieser saw potential in some land along the Des Plaines River, and he turned his vision for the overgrown acreage into a marina community where residents can live their best life on the water.
    The Quarry, a 35-lot residential subdivision, was developed by Brieser and his son, Steve on a historic 35-acre site along the west bank of the river.
    Growing up in the area, Brieser was familiar with the land that was once the site of a gravel pit. When the quarry shut down, vegetation took over, to the point that the river was no longer visible from the road.

Park Board approves $835,000 budget

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 6:59pm

    The Island Park District Board of Commissioners last week approved its combined budget and appropriations for Fiscal Year 2019, which began  May 1, and expects to spend almost $835,000 this year on operations, almost $70,000 more than it will receive.
    The district started the fiscal year with  $67,096 in reserve, which did not include the first installment of 2017 real estate taxes. It began last fiscal year with almost $104,000 in reserve.

High school gym to get a cool down

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 6:22pm

The high school graduation ceremony at Reed-Custer High School is usually a warm affair for the 100 or so graduates and their families.

But starting next year, the discomfort of the heat won’t be a problem for the celebrants and those who come to see them make their final walk.

On June 20, Superintendent Mark Mitchell told members of the Board of Education that after more than two decades, the high school gym would finally get air conditioning.

The district will pay Precision Controls $250,000 for the new unit, a price well below what the district planned.

BAHCC receives grant for drug disposal solution

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 6:16pm

Braidwood’s organization that works to fight the drug epidemic has a new tool in its toolbox to fight substance abuse.

The Braidwood Area Health Communities Coalition (BAHCC) has been awarded a grant from the Amerisource Bergen Foundation to assist with the coalition’s mission to fight illegal drug use and abuse.

The initiative helps provide communities with safe solutions to dispose of opioids and other drugs, via deactivation bags to make medicine safe to discard.

Mayor: Be safe this summer

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 6:14pm

Mayor Jim Vehrs is again imploring the public to keep their eyes on the road – and keep an eye out for kids – now that summer is fully in swing.

The mayor made a public plea for safety during the June 26 regular meeting of the City Council, in light of a near-miss accident he’d been told about involving a car and a child.

“As we’re going into this summertime, like I’ve said before, let’s give these little children some room there on the sidewalks and when they’re crossing the road,” Vehrs said. “We had a little incident today, nobody got hurt, thank God for that.”

History archived at BAHS museum

Published by admin on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 6:12pm

 

McElroy's Gas Station, seen here circa 1939, first opened up in Braidwood in 1929.

The gas station sat at the current spot where Routes 53 and 113 meet.

It pays to go fishing!

Published by admin on Fri, 06/29/2018 - 11:53am

For the next 10 days, it very well could pay to do a little fishing in the Kankakee River. That's because the 35th annual Kankakee River Valley Fishing Derby is underway, offering thousands of dollars in prizes to pre-registered anglers who land any  95 tagged fish that are worth $500 or more in cash and/or merchandise.