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Submitted by Plainfield School District 202:

Four students from Plainfield East and South high schools and Plainfield High School – Central Campus earned top honors at the 2013 Illinois High School Association’s state journalism competition.

The event was held April 26 at Eastern Illinois University. The students were among 10 District 202 students to qualify for the completion. 

• PEHS senior Nic Kosirog-Jones won first place in the “Advertising” category. This is the first time that PEHS has earned a “first” at the state journalism competition, and the first time any District 202 student has earned a first place at State since 2006.
• PEHS junior Taylor Joniak took fifth in the “Graphics” category
• PSHS senior Megan Deppe earned third place in the “Feature Writing” category
• PHSCC junior Trevor Bush also earned third place in the “Editorial Cartooning” category.

These students also qualified for State but did not place: 

• PEHS junior Annette Akuba in “Review Writing”
• PSHS seniors Chris Higgins in “Newswriting” and “Editorial Writing”, and Rachel Hinton in “Review Writing”
• PHSCC seniors Leah Breier in “Advertising” and Cass Mootrey in “Theme Development”; and juniors Megan Schuller in “Copy Writing” and Trevor Bush in “Theme Development.”

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Bolingbrook

May 4 Brian Vettori, 43, 1782 Red Bud Rd., was arrested at 5:06 a.m. and charged with DUI, following a traffic stop at Boughton Road and Lindsey Lane, police said. 

May 3 Vanessa Pillow, 35, 202 Pinecrest Rd., was arrested at 1:28 a.m. and charged with speeding and two counts of DUI following a traffic stop at Janes Avenue and Falconridge Way, police said. 

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May 2 Omar Guzman, 22, 6480 Woodward Ave., Downers Grove, was arrested at 2:13 a.m. and charged with speeding, a traffic sign violation and two counts of DUI following a traffic stop at Ashbury Road and Hadleigh Drive, police said. 

April 27 Nicole Spagnola, 22, 90 Country Club Dr., Countryside, was arrested at 12:54 a.m. and charged with speeding and DUI following a traffic stop at King Arthur Way and Falconbridge Way, police said.  

April 26 Eliegey Frasier, 51, 1440 Auburn Ave., Naperville, was arrested at 1:22 a.m. and charged with improper lane usage, no insurance, DUI and resisting a peace officer following a traffic stop at Boughton Road and Naperville Road, police said. 

April 26 Todd Jenke, 27, 10 Beaver Creek Ct., was arresetd at 11:06 p.m. and charged with DUI following a traffic stop, police said.

Joliet 

May 16 Willie C. Alexander, 32, 556 Ward, ?Joliet , arrested by the Frankfort Police Department and booked into the ?Will County jail  on May 16 on charges of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of alcohol, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, speeding, improper traffic lane usage and changing lanes without signal.

May 13 Carol T. Simpson, 55, 263 Nicholson, Joliet, arrested by the Will County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the ?Will County jail  on May 13 on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, blood alcohol content over .08 and speeding.

May 11 Roy C. Garcia, 31, 614 Virginia, Joliet, arrested by the Will County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Will County jail on May 11 on charges of aggravated driving under the influence, driving under the influence, driving on a revoked/suspended license, display play attachment and improper turn signal.

May 11 Enrique Olmos-Salomon, 64, 414 Krakar Ave., Joliet, arrested by the Will County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Will County jail on May 11 on charges of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and improper traffic lane usage.

May 11 Andrew J. Palomarez, 21, 330 Ruby St., Joliet, arrested by the Joliet Police Department and booked into the Will County jail on May 11 on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a license, driving the wrong way on a divided highway, improper traffic lane usage and no seat belt.

May 10 Linda R. Sanchez, 24, 4723 Baccarrat Court, Joliet, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department and booked into the Will County jail on May 10 on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, blood alcohol content over .08, driving without a license and failure to reduce speed.

Plainfield

May 10 Ernesto Gonzalez, 39, of the 14000 block of Capital Drive in Plainfield was arrested by Plainfield police booked into the Will County jail after police said he crashed into the railroad crossing on Route 126 while driving drunk. Sgt. Mike Fisher said Gonzalez’ vehicle smashed into the railroad gate mechanism around 1 a.m. Friday. “He demolished the whole arm assembly and pole,” Fisher said, adding Canadian National had to send out a repair crew the following day. Gonzalez is charged with aggravated DUI, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to carry/display license or permit, illegal transportation of alcohol and operating an uninsured vehicle, according to jail records.

May 3 Jason Pham, 31, of the 22000 block of Marritton Road, Frankfort, was arrested by Plainfield police at 2:43 a.m. at Lockport Street and Wallin Drive and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, operating an uninsured vehicle and violating a traffic signal, police said.

Romeoville

May 12 David Abrego, 19, of the 1-100 block of Pine Lane in Hodgkins, Illinois, was arrested by  Romeoville police  and charged with aggravated DUI, driving without a valid license and driving 31-29 mph over the limit, police said.

May 10 Alfredo Casas, 26, of the 900 block of Savannah, Romeoville, was arrested by Will County Sheriff’s police and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.

May 10 Linda Sanchez, 24, of the 4700 block of Baccarrat, Joliet, was arrested by Romeoville police and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and driving without a license, according to jail records.

Shorewood

May 5 Dandre M. Kelly, Crest Hill, was arrested by Shorewood police on a DUI warrant out of Chicago after his vehicle was stopped for expired registration on May 5, 2013. Kelly was unable to post bond and was transported to the Will County Adult Detention Facility.

Police report information is provided by local police departments. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.

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Submitted by Plainfield School District 202:

Plainfield Academy Assistant Principal Tim Albores will take a new position next school year as the Student Services department’s new assistant director.

The District 202 Board of Education approved naming Albores to the post at its regular meeting on May 13, 2013. Albores will replace current assistant director Joe Schimmel, who is resigning after a year in the role.

“We are very excited to be bringing Tim to the district office,” said Mina Griffith, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services.

“He has really proven his leadership abilities in his time at Plainfield Academy and we are confident he is going to do an excellent job serving all 30 of our schools,” she said.

Albores has served the last year as assistant principal at Plainfield Academy, District 202’s alternative school for middle and high school students. 

He started his professional career in District 202 working as a social worker at Heritage Grove Middle School from 2002-2003.

He also served as a social worker from 2003-2006 at the Joliet Alternate High School in Joliet, Illinois, and from 2006-10 at Komarek School in North Riverside, Illinois.

Albores then worked as a student services case manager for two years at Wrightwood Charter School in Chicago and then came back to District 202 last year.

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Ricardo Gutierrez was convicted of gunning down a man who supposedly threatened his girlfriend and her baby.

Court papers field this week claim that same girlfriend wanted to testify at Gutierrez’s trial but her lawyer threatened to walk out on her if she did.

Gutierrez’s attorney, Jeff Tomczak, presented the allegation to Will County Judge Paula Alessio Policandriotes during a Friday morning hearing. Gutierrez was scheduled to be sentenced to prison Friday but that was pushed back by Tomczak’s motion.

Gutierrez, 24, was found guilty in March of murdering Javier Barrios in October 2007. Barrios was 18 when he was killed.

Gutierrez’s girlfriend, 24-year-old Gabriela Escutia, was arrested and charged with Barrios’ murder along with him. She remains in the county jail awaiting her trial.

Escutia actually shot Barrios first, Plainfield police said. She allegedly set up a rendezvous with Barrios in a field on Route 59 near a Meijer service station. Gutierrez reportedly joined her for the meeting.

Barrios, a Romeoville resident, ran away after Escutia shot him, police said. Gutierrez chased after him and shot him in the back, then shot him again while he was lying face-down on the ground, prosecutors said.

Tomczak’s filing said he learned that Escutia told her mother at some point in the last week “that but for her attorneys threatening to withdraw from her case, she would have testified as requested by the defendant.”

The filing mentions the conversation may have been recorded “as a consequence of (Escutia) being incarcerated in Will County jail.”

Tomczak said he will subpoena the recording of the telephone conversation between Escutia and her mother. The attorney representing Escutia, Neil Patel, told Judge Alessio-Policandriotes he wants her taken from jail to court when the matter is further argued next month.

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By a vote of 35-21, the Illinois Senate approved legislation on Friday for doctors in the state to prescribe marijuana as pain relief for severe medical conditions, sending the bill to Gov. Pat Quinn for final signing.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the bill covers 33 specific conditions—including multiple sclerosis, cancer and HIV infection—and includes several controls, with a four-year trial program, dosage limits, fingerprinting, background checks and licensed dispensing centers.

“This bill is filled with walls to keep this limited,” the paper quoted sponsoring Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton) saying, urging lawmakers to pass the legislation as a compassionate measure for those suffering with extreme pain.

In opposition, Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon) said there should be more concern for parents “who will never be relieved from the pain of losing a child due to addiction which in many cases started with [this] very illegal, FDA-unapproved addiction-forming drug,” the paper reports.

The bill passed the House in March. Gov. Quinn has not yet indicated whether or not he intends to sign the bill.

What’s your take? Should Gov. Quinn sign the bill? Tell us in the comments.

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Two baby goats, just one week and three weeks old and abandoned behind a construction site, have found a new home at Siegel’s Cottonwood Farm.

Manager Kaity Siegel said the tiny animals were brought to her Tuesday afternoon after someone saw a van dropping them off behind the new Crest Hill Public Library, being built on Weber Road almost directly across from Siegel’s, and called the police.

“If they didn’t pick them up that day, they would have been coyote snacks that night,” she said.

The animals are far too young to be weaned from their mother, she said, and while the older one  — whom they’ve named Oreo from suggestions made by their Facebook page fans — seems to be adapting well, Pepper is proving more difficult.

“You have to actually bottle feed it, and she’s a very stubborn little goat,” Siegel said. “She doesn’t want to take the bottle very often. And if she does, she just sucks on it for two seconds and doesn’t want to do it anymore. … (But) she’s taking a little bit more every day. We hope it continues.”

Both are being cared for in a protected part of the farm, but she said she hopes that when they get older, they’ll join the herd of 20 she has in a fenced-in area along Weber Road (Larkin Avenue in Joliet) that occasionally go up on a rooftop stand to eat grass.

The farm also has sheep, llamas, alpacas and chickens, which make up their fall petting zoo and can be viewed by school children who take field trips to the farm in the spring.

Siegel said she thinks the people who ditched the goats may have hoped they’d end up at Siegel’s, but they took a maddening and unnecessary risk.

“I just don’t understand why they would abandon them back there in a deserted area where many people aren’t driving,” said Siegel, who guessed the animals were taken from their mother given how clean they were when she received them. She would have been feeding them so their care would have been fairly minimal for the owners at this point.

Beyond that, though, is how endearingly cute they are, which makes it hard to understand how someone could be as cold-hearted as to leave them fend for themselves at such a young age, she said.

“They’re very sweet goats,” Siegel said. “They’re like dogs. Pepper, when I go to see her, she’ll come up and jump on your leg. So will Oreo. They’ll rub up against you. When you hold them, they’ll cuddle up against your shoulder. They’re very friendly.”

These aren’t the first abandoned animals Siegel has taken, and while she’s not advertising that she’ll provide a home for all strays, neither will she turn them away, she said.

“We’ve had baby chicks dropped off at our mailbox,” she said. “I actually have a produce stand in the summertime in Shorewood and people bring me chickens and turkeys, because obviously I’m a farmer and they give them to me because I’ll be able to take care of them. I’ll be sitting there all day with a little friend with me until I go home.”

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The Will County Health Department is asking residents to help minimize the public’s risk of West Nile Virus (WNV) by reporting dead bird sightings. Reported sightings can help health officials identify the potential for human infections.

Residents can call the county’s WNV information line 24/7 to report sightings at 815-740-7631.

WNV is a mosquito-borne disease capable of producing encephalitis and meningitis, potentially fatal inflammations of the brain and spinal chord. 

“WNV poses potential health risks for everyone,” said Will County Environmental Health Director Elizabeth Bilotta. ”We are interested in the location of dead birds because that information is one way we are able to assess the potential for local virus activity. Dead bird monitoring and testing is a critical part of the statewide WNV surveillance initiative.”

Adult crows and blue jays have long been testing priorities, but the Illinois Department of Public Health will accept multiple bird species for laboratory analysis. The Health Department will collect a limited number of reported dead birds and submit them to the state for analysis. You can view pictures of bird testing priorities by visiting the Environmental Health page at www.willcountyhealth.org.

The health department offers the following tips to reduce your risk of WNV:

• Wear light-colored clothing and long sleeves
• Eliminate potential mosquito breeding sites on your property
• Use insect repellent contaning DEET
• Avoid outdoor activities at dusk and near dawn, when mosquitoes are most active

2012: ‘Largest outbreak ever’

Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control called the outbreak of WNV the largest ever. Nationwide, there were more than 5,600 human cases reported and 286 deaths.

The Will County Health Department reported eight confirmed cases of WNV in 2012, including patients in Plainfield, Romeoville, Crest Hill and Bolingbrook.

While there were no reported fatalities in Will County last year, there were two confirmed WNV-related deaths in nearby DuPage County. Statewide, there were 12 deaths, according to the CDC. 

Will County Health Department spokesman Vic Reato said there have been a total of 66 cases and two fatalities since WNV first arrived in Will County in 2002. Statewide, there have been 120 fatalities since 2002.

For more information about WNV, visit www.idph.state.il.us or www.cdc.gov.

Read:

• Health Department Confirms Second West Nile Death in DuPage County
• Plainfield Woman Among Confirmed West Nile Cases
• More West Nile Virus Cases Pop Up in Will County
• Bolingbrook Woman Diagnosed with West Nile Virus
• Will County’s First Human Case of West Nile Reported in Romeoville
• Map: Cases of West Nile Virus in Chicago’s Suburbs

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Dear Garrett,

Do the right thing. DON’T do this. The appearances of wrong-doing with your taking the executive director position at the Plainfield Park District are far reaching. The first issue being that you put your friends in harm’s way. Peter, Pete and Jan were all elected to their positions with your help. Each of them also received help from the Plainfield Township Republican Committee. You have no, I mean “0,” qualification to be hired in a park district let alone run the park district. This is about Garrett and does not move the Plainfield Community Forward. Lastly, this just confirms what lots of people have been saying about you all along. Garrett is in it for Garrett.

This move by you would discredit park doards all over Illinois. It would discredit your three friends’ reputations. It discredits the Republican party of Plainfield Township. All of those consequences outweigh any and all gain you might receive. Back away while there is still time.

Michael Kelly

Plainfield Park District Taxpayer

Editor’s note: Kelly is a former member of the District 202 Board of Education.

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It was a game seperated only by a single point throughout, but the Oswego Panthers girls soccer team will be advancing onto regionals after defeating the Oswego Wolves 2-1.

The Oswego High School Panthers (now 13-6-1) took on the Oswego East High School Wolves (6-8) Wednesday afternoon at Oswego High School in the first regional game and the second crosstown game of the season.

The game remained scoreless until only 2:20 left in the first half when Oswego midfielder Kelsey Kraft (#12) scored the first goal. 

The game went into half after 40 minutes with the Wolves trailing by one.

Head coach of the Wolves, Lauren Anderson, gave her team a pep talk during their huddle, telling them not to care about the score. “Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s going to go your way,” she said. “You guys are doing a great job.”

With 27:41 remaining in the second half, the Wolves senior midfielder, Brittany Brewer (#11) scored a goal to tie the game 1-1.

The Panthers retaliated when Kraft scored her second goal of the game with 18:21 remaining.

The rest of the game remained scoreless with good defense by both sides, with the Panthers winning the game 2-0.

“It was a great game,” said Panthers Head Coach Jaime Bartkowiak. “All the girls played a great game.”

“You guys want to know what team effort was all about? That’s what that was,” said Bartkowiak to her team. ”You came out and fought as a team. I’m very proud of you.”

Oswego High School will take on Plainfield North High School in the next regional game set for Friday, March 17 at Oswego High School.

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