Indian Prairie Community Blog
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October 3, 2006
Chili on menu at South
Hinsdale South High School seniors and their parents will dish out bowls of chili during the Hinsdale South Post Prom Committee's 11th annual Chili Supper, beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, before the Hornets varsity football team plays the Pirates of Proviso East High School in a homecoming gridiron contest.The chili, which has been donated by Dan Kaminski, owner of Culver's restaurant in Darien, will be served starting at 5 p.m. that day at the school's concession stand. Proceeds will benefit the Post Prom Committee's planning of a safe, fun and affordable post-prom cruise.
For more information, call Sue Wolf of the Post Prom Committee at (630) 910-7988.
Posted by indianprairie at 12:56 PM
July 11, 2006
Banjoist to perform in Darien
Chicago musician Jim Gill will perform for the annual Music in the Park concert sponsored by the Friends of the Indian Prairie Library from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 14, at Darien Community Park, Plainfield and Clarendon Hills roads.Gill's recordings of banjo music and family-oriented songs have received Parents' Choice awards and have been honored by the American Library Association as Notable Children's Recordings. Read more...
This free concert is brought to the community by the Friends of the Indian Praire Library.
Jim Gill Music CDs available at the Indian Prairie Public library.
Posted by indianprairie at 9:50 AM
June 25, 2006
Grant awards aid local causes
The Rotary Club of Darien recently conducted its annual grant-in-aids award meeting. After careful consideration, the club awarded $15,896 to 23 grant applicants.The smallest grant awarded, $34, was to allow a first-grader at a Darien school to attend a summer camp. Several grants were funded at the maximum level of $1,500. Examples of grants funded include:
* After-school programs for grade school students;
* Landscape improvements at local junior high schools;
* Scholarship money;
* Food support for senior citizens; and
* Birthday and Christmas gifts for nine needy Darien children
Money for these grants-in-aid and other charitable work performed by the Rotary Club of Darien was raised during the club's annual charity auction. This auction, held the first Friday of March, is open to the public.
Posted by indianprairie at 10:07 AM
June 24, 2006
Bond issue approved to pay for new water tower
Darien will have much more Lake Michigan water available within the next 18 months, after the City Council approved a $3.9 million bond issue June 19 to build a new water tower.The 1.5-million-gallon tower will stand 160 feet tall and hold six times as much water as the 43-year-old tank it will replace behind the Brookhaven Shopping Center, at Plainfield Road and Cass Avenue. The project, which will cover about an acre, must be completed by Nov. 30, 2007, according to city documents. Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 10:03 AM
June 14, 2006
Darien Lions seek July 4 parade entries
Members of the Darien Lions Club are seeking entrants for their 35th annual Independence Day Parade Tuesday, July 4.Darien residents, businesses, churches, Scout troops, social groups and other civic organizations are invited to join the parade with a float, car or van, or simply as marchers.
Also, children are again invited to decorate their bicycles and enter. The theme of this year's parade is "Celebrating 230 Years of Independence."
The parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Hinsdale South High School parking lot, 7401 S. Clarendon Hills Road, and travel southwest along Plainfield Road, then west on 75th Street and end at Eisenhower Junior High School, 1410 W. 75th St. in Darien
Children who plan to entering their decorated bicycles in the Independence Day parade should be in the Hinsdale South parking lot by 8:30 a.m. that day.
For more information on joining the parade, call Lions Club member Mark Piccoli at (847) 489-9223 or send an e-mail to mpic3190@comcast.net.
Posted by indianprairie at 3:09 PM
May 23, 2006
Lions' golf tourney planned for June 1
The Darien Lions Club will host their annual golf tournament on Thursday, June 1, at Carriage Greens Country Club in Darien.The cost for the event is $100, which includes golf, cart, refreshments on the course, lunch at the turn and sit-down dinner with an open bar after golf.
All payments must be made by Friday May 19; after that, the cost will be $110. There are only 144 openings available. For more information call Lou Mallers of the Darien Lions Club at (630) 404-6365.
Posted by indianprairie at 1:31 PM
March 23, 2006
Darien's 'Miracle Man' receives top honor from mayor, aldermen
Jiskra's rehab peaked Feb. 25, when he climbed 1,632 stairs to the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center. Though he didn't exactly "hustle up the Hancock," as the annual stair-climb in the Michigan Avenue skyscraper is called, by finishing in one hour and 12 minutes, Jiskra said he finished last but happy."I had to stop every three or four floors," said Jiskra, 74. "We weren't interested in the time, we just wanted to do it." Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 4:52 PM
March 15, 2006
ComEd 'on right track' in Darien, consultant says
The city of Darien's utility consultant, Ken Seaton, gave a thumbs-up to Commonwealth Edison March 6, saying the power giant "is on the right track" in making upgrades and improving service.In a report to the City Council, Seaton said ComEd has repaired a substation where a fire triggered a multiday outage last August, and has made numerous repairs to an overhead line that stretches for more than 8 miles through the city.
"On the whole, everything they've said they were going to do, they've done," Seaton said. "I have not seen anything in the field that showed they were not doing what they said they were going to do." Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 10:45 AM
January 31, 2006
Darien Rotary auction includes Disney trip, games
The Rotary Club of Darien will kick off its annual auction and dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, March 3, at Ashton Place, 341 75th St., Willowbrook. This year's event, highlighting American culture, will feature a red, white and blue "Stars and Stripes Forever" theme and a raffle for a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., or $2,000 cash. The five-day trip includes airfare, hotel and park admission for four people. Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 1:35 PM
January 19, 2006
Courtney named top citizen in Darien
Darien's 2006 Citizen of the Year is Rosemarie Courtney, a 39-year resident with a long history of volunteer work in Scouting, community organizations and her church. Courtney was named the recipient of the city's top honor at the Jan. 16 City Council meeting. The Citizen of the Year Committee's citation said Courtney's "firm, yet gentle direction" has provided boys in her Cub Scout troop with lessons on citizenship and community service. Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 4:40 PM
January 16, 2006
Not so fast: Darien School District 61
Darien School District 61 officials have told parents at recent public meetings that the district needs to close at least one school and raise taxes because it faces a financial crisis, but some residents are not buying it. "I haven't heard a lot of talk about the advantages of doing nothing," said Alice Brennan, a member of the Darien Historical Society, who addressed the School Board Jan. 10. Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 3:57 PM
January 13, 2006
1st Lace, now Fairview floated for possible sale
One of the hottest issues in Darien over the past month has been the future of Lace School, but this week another Darien School District 61 property may be put up for sale: Fairview Elementary School. The Darien Park District, which longs for a new community center, has approached the School District about possibly buying Fairview, at 7301 Fairview Ave. and adjacent to Westview Park. Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 8:44 AM
January 5, 2006
More blackouts reported in Darien
By Lane Kelley 'Twas the night before Christmas -- and residents in Darien were breathing a sigh of relief that Commonwealth Edison had turned their lights back on, after a three-hour blackout Dec. 24. The outage Christmas Eve was caused by a faulty underground cable near the same ComEd substation that was the source of the massive outage last summer, said Scott Coren, assistant to the city administrator. Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 10:59 AM
December 15, 2005
Dist. 61 panel recommends selling Lace School
A citizens panel formed to give Darien School District 61 an outside opinion on its financial problems recommended a radical restructuring of the district's facilities to the School Board this week, calling for the sale of Lace School and forming grade centers at the two remaining elementary schools. Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 5:54 PM
December 14, 2005
Darien business aids Toys for Tots
Skyline Financial of Chicago, a new business in Darien, is sponsoring a coloring contest to benefit Toys for Tots. There will be three age groups for the contest including 4 to 6, 7 to 9 and 10 to 12, with each entry requiring a toy donation to a needy family. Winners from each age group will receive a $50 cash prize, and the winning drawings will be displayed at Darien City Hall. The drawing for the winners will be held Friday, Dec. 16. Read more...
Additional Toys for Tots information:
College of DuPage, now through Friday, Dec. 16. -drop-off barrels will be located throughout the college's Glen Ellyn campus, 425 Fawell Blvd., including in the Open Campus Center, Student Resource Center, the library and bookstore and the public safety office.
Chicagoland 2005 Toys for Tots
Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motocycle Parade Dec. 16th.
Posted by indianprairie at 5:33 PM
December 13, 2005
New Darien water tower would boost capacity
Darien city officials are reviewing plans for a new $3.5 million water tower that they hope will go up next year, replacing the existing one at the same location. Previewed at the Dec. 5 City Council meeting by Dan Gombeck, the director of public works, the new tower will hold 1.5 million gallons, or six times as much water as the existing tower behind the Brookhaven Shopping Center at Plainfield Road and Cass Avenue. Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 2:59 PM
December 7, 2005
Suit settled; City to hire watchdog for ComEd
Commonwealth Edison and Darien have settled a lawsuit the city filed over a marathon late-summer power outage, with the utility agreeing to let the city hire a consultant to oversee its plan for improving service. The settlement, announced at a Dec. 5 City Council meeting, requires ComEd to pay for the consultant's fees, up to $20,000. Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 4:22 PM
November 28, 2005
Darien will light tree at Old Lace
The Darien Historical Society's annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Old Lace Schoolhouse & Museum at the corner of Cass Avenue and 75th Street. Carolers from Eisenhower Junior High School, under the direction of Carrie Vaccaro, will sing holiday songs from the museum steps. Free cookies and hot chocolate will be served inside, in the lower 1859 Room, and Santa Claus is expected to stop by to hear individual wish lists.
Posted by indianprairie at 1:18 PM
November 11, 2005
Holiday Wreaths offered at Hinsdale South
Hinsdale South High School's post-prom committee is selling holiday wreaths, swags, baskets and more until Saturday, Nov. 12, to defray the cost of providing students a safe, drug and alcohol-free post-prom event. Pickup of items will be held from 3:30 until 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, at Hinsdale South, 7401 S. Clarendon Hills Road, Darien. To order, call Val Staley before Saturday, Nov. 12, at (630) 323-9247.Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 9:10 AM
October 27, 2005
Darien seeks Citizen of the Year
Darien's Citizen of the Year Committee is looking for nominations of Darien residents who have made the city "a nice place to live," from which to choose the 2005 Citizen of the Year. The nomination deadline is Saturday, Jan. 7. Nominations can be submitted online at www.darien.il.us, by writing a letter or by completing a nomination form.Read more...
Posted by indianprairie at 4:01 PM
October 12, 2005
Darien Womans Club will host clothing resale
The Darien Woman's Club will hold its annual Fall Children's Clothing Resale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at Eisenhower Junior High School, 1410 75th St. Gently used fall and winter clothing will be offered at reduced prices. Read more...
The Darien Woman's Website is hosted by the Indian Prairie Public Library. For more information on hosting your community organization or business contact Ann Stovall at the Library. 630-887-8760 x257.
Posted by indianprairie at 10:20 AM
October 11, 2005
ComEd Announcement for Darien Residents
ComEd announces checks are in the mail
Nearly 750 Darien residents can expect an American Express gift check from Commonwealth Edison in their mail this week to compensate for damages stemming from a lengthy power outage two months ago. Read More...
ComEd Damage Claim information and form.
Posted by indianprairie at 12:27 PM
October 5, 2005
Local efforts continue to aid hurricane victims
Here's a look at what local groups, businesses and individuals are doing to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and now Hurricane Rita, along the Gulf Coast.
Find out more from the Suburban Life.
Posted by indianprairie at 6:17 PM
