Plainfield police have taken a 76-year-old man into custody for allegedly shooting his wife and 25-year-old stepdaughter in their Liberty Grove home this morning.

The stepdaughter is in surgery at Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora for a gunshot wound to the head. The wife, 62, is being treated at Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet for gunshot wounds to the chest and right leg; her condition is not known.

The names of the suspect and the victims have not been released, but property records show the 14531 General Drive house where the shooting occurred belongs to Linda Jonas.

Plainfield Police Cmdr. Anthony Novak said he did not know what provoked the incident, which being described as a domestic situation.

A neighbor said the couple had a history of fighting, and according to Novak, police had been called to the home on two previous occasions — once in 2010, when senior services was asked to check on the welfare of the suspect, and again in 2008 for a domestic disturbance.

No arrests were made in either case, and no grounds were found to substantiate any problem with the husband’s condition or care, Novak said.

Neighbor Kim Vaughan said she was stunned to learn there had been a shooting at the home. When she saw the yellow police tape around the home, she said she assumed there had been some sort of physical altercation between the family members or that something might have happened to the suspect, who has a history of heart problems.

The couple, whom she knew as Linda and Al, had moved into the new home in 2005 and kept their two-story frame home in meticulous condition, Vaughan said.

And while they were friendly, waving hello when they saw family members outside, she said the wife could also become quite upset, Vaughan said. She could often be heard yelling at her husband and she frequently yelled at Vaughan’s children and others in the neighborhood for coming too close to her property.

“She was always sceaming at him,” Vaughan said. “He was very quite, passive.”

She also remembered one altercation her family had with the wife when the Vaughans had a backyard party that she thought had grown too loud.

“She would get upset if we had a lot of people over,” Vaughan said. “She knew exactly where the property line was, and she would come and scream at us (if they encroached on her side).”

Yet the wife could also be friendly and nice, she said. Vaughan’s daughter often stopped at the Romeoville Jewel Express gas station, where the wife worked, and the woman was always quite pleasant to her, she said.

Vaughan said she had little contact with the stepdaughter and did not know her name. However, she said she believes she might have been a recent college graduate because the family held a party for her earlier this summer.

Novak said police obtained a search warrant to go through the house and a handgun has been recovered. He didn’t know caliber of the gun, but confirmed that just three shots had been fired — one victim was shot in one bedroom and the other in a different bedroom.

Novak said it was the wife who called the police from inside the home. A police detective was at the hospital in the hopes that she would be able to provide an account of what happened, he said.

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The event will include a book fair and book exchange, sponsored by the Liberty PTA. There will also be a host of literacy-related activities and games along a “midway” of reading stations.

Parents and students will be able to move every 30 minutes from activities that test their reading skills; explore web sites; demonstrate how a Smart Board is used for interactive instruction; engage in readers’ theater or open mike poetry; and make a bookmark or play a reading game, among others.

New this year, families will be able to enjoy their new books under the “Big Top” in the Family Reading Room.

Attendees will also be able to trade in tickets for books at the PTA Book Exchange. For every gently used book a student turns in during the week of February 28, 2011, the student will receive a ticket, up to five tickets. The students can then redeem their tickets on Family Reading Night.

The Plainfield Public Library will also provide information about its programs and services.

Liberty Elementary School is located at 1401 Essington Road, Bolingbrook.

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A system of “credits” and “debits” replaced the former red, yellow, and green, “stoplight” system used to alert students when their behavior was unacceptable.

In class, each student has certain responsibilities ranging from passing out paper to being in charge of the lunch cart. Every two weeks the students earn a “paycheck” for accomplishing their tasks.

Money, however, can be deducted or added to their paychecks based on the class’s credits and debits system. Unacceptable behavior subtracts money, while good behavior adds money. The students keep track of their balances in the checkbooks Meyers made for them.

When the students receive their paycheck they take it to the class “banker” to receive class money. With their money the students can elect to save for larger ticket items like an extra recess or purchase smaller items right away like erasers and pencils in the class store.

The class “economist” watches over the class store. This student keeps track of the items that are purchased, makes suggestions for items that should be put on sale, and alerts Meyers when items are scarce.

“It’s really a lesson in supply and demand,” Meyers said. “I came up with the idea at the beginning of the school year because I was looking to incorporate third grade Social Studies lessons in a fun way.”

When the students are ready to make a purchase, they then take their items to the cashier. After the bi-weekly activity, the economist graphs the results and gives a report to the class.

The students are each responsible for holding onto their money from paycheck to paycheck or until they make their larger purchase.

“Students can roll into the negative, and then it is their responsibility to pay down their debt by earning credits through good behavior,” Meyers explained.

“This program hits so many skills,” Meyers added. “I am happy to get all of those lessons in that period of time.”

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“With 30 students it was impossible to ensure that every student understood the lesson and was confident about what they had learned,” Meyers said.

This past August she start using a teaching technique called “guided math” in her classroom and, as Meyers said, “the changes are drastic.”

With guided math, Meyers gives her students a pretest before each new topic. Based on how the students score on the pretest, they are placed into one of three small groups. The groups take turns rotating between workbook problems, games to reinforce the concept and one-on-one time with Meyers.

“The kids love the small groups because they are getting the attention they need,” Meyers said. “I feel the students are more confident in their learning and are more apt to ask questions.”

Meyers feels guided math has been more effective with her students than a more traditional teaching method.

“I know that my students that are having an easier time with a concept will be getting challenged and the students that need extra help understanding the material will be able to get that too,” she added.

The groups change with each new unit, because there are students who really grasp some concepts and struggle with others.

Since implementing guided math Meyers has noticed her students are more apt to ask questions and their test scores have risen because she is able to spend more time with each student on a daily basis. She plans to continue guided math with her new class of third graders next year.

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About 150 fourth grade students will participate in the fifth annual “Matter Day” on Tuesday, January 4, 2011. The students will rotate between various activities from 12:20-3:15 p.m., at the school, 1401 Essington Road, Bolingbrook.

The students have covered many topics in their classes that relate to matter, including its properties, the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas), how to measure it (mass, weight, density) physical and chemical changes, mixtures and compounds, what matter is made of and how heat affects matter.

Students will explore all of these topics through hands on activities.

“This day gets students excited about Science,” Liberty fourth grade teacher Jennifer Gomez said. “It allows students to take charge of their learning and act as real scientists by using the scientific method.”

The students will spend the day rotating between classrooms and activities. They will perform a density experiment to see how three different liquids stack together, with the densest material settling to the bottom. In this classroom the students will discuss the scientific method as well as the “whys” and “hows” of the experiment.

Another classroom will host a taste-testing so students can use their senses to describe the properties of matter.

In the third classroom, students will review mixtures and compounds as well as physical changes and chemical changes of matter. Students will complete a series of small experiments like mixing toy building blocks with water as a mixture, and vinegar and baking soda as a compound and chemical change. In this classroom, students will also use corn starch and water to make their own batch of oobleck, a substance that has properties of both a solid and a liquid.

The last classroom will feature the Matter Mobile. Students will construct the Matter Mobiles, a series of index cards that hang from a clothes hanger, and take them home at the end of the day. Each strand on the mobile describes one of the three different states of matter, gives an example, and describes how the particles are arranged in each state.

“At the end of the year, or when speaking with former fourth graders, they all remember Matter Day as one of the highlights of their year,” Gomez added.
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During his three presentations, Reynolds picked student volunteers to help him whip up a batch of fresh salsa in honor of his book, “Chicks and Salsa.”

The students joined Reynolds at the front of the multi-purpose center to learn the safe way to dice up tomatoes, onions, limes and cilantro to make salsa.

“Chicks and Salsa” is about a rooster who hatches a plan to literally spice up what the animals are forced to eat each night.

Reynolds is the author of 25 books, with his 26th book due out later this month. “Chicks and Salsa” won the 2010 Illinois Monarch award and his other books have been nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Mystery awards.

Reynolds told the students he writes only about the things he loves.

“I love bugs and mystery stories, so I wrote a series about a bug that solves goofy mysteries,” Reynolds said. “And I love food and I love to cook, so I came up with ‘Chicks and Salsa,’” he said.

“I mean when hasn’t salsa been the solution to a problem?” Reynolds joked.

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The Greater Joliet Area YMCA – Kidz Zone Before & After School Program

The YMCA partners with 7 school districts in the Will and Grundy County area to provide the Kidz Zone Before and After School Recreational program to busy working parents in 34 schools. YMCA Before and After School Programs ensure children develop friendships and are given a unique mix of activities that focus on developmental assets, the building blocks that teach children how to make positive decisions.

While in a YMCA Before and After School program, children participate in a balanced program of open play and structured activities while being supervised by well-trained and caring staff who teach, model, and reinforce the Christian character values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.  Additionally, nutritious snacks are provided and children can also receive care on school holidays and other days off of school.  YMCA Youth Programs ensure every child deepens positive values, their commitment to service, and their motivation to learn. In each program, children develop to their fullest potential in partnership with their families. Best of all, YMCA Before and After School Programs are AFFORDABLE.

This program serves Kindergarten-5th graders in the Plainfield, Troy, Joliet and Minooka School Districts. Children do arts & crafts, play games, develop friendships, and learn lessons that will last a lifetime. Morning program runs 7-start of school; afternoon is end of school-6pm.

A $45 non refundable registration fee*, fist of 10 installment payments, and YMCA membership fee is due at registration time. The remaining 9 payments are paid via automatic withdrawal from a checking account. All participants must have Full or Program Membership with the YMCA. Program participants may start attending 4 business days after the day the registration is completed. For more information contact our Welcome Center at (815) 267-8600. (*PLEASE NOTE: Due to high registration volumes prior to the start of school, the registration fee for those who register between 8/10/2009 and 9/5/2009 will be $70 per child instead of the usual fee.)

2009/2010 School Year Rates
Before & After:  $290/$310 mo. installment
Before Only:       $195/$215 mo. installment
After Only:          $240/$260 mo. installment

Plainfield On-Site* Schools
For more information contact Erin Williams at (815) 267-8900 x211 or visit the Avery branch.

• Central
• Charles Reed
• Creekside
• Crystal Lawns***
• Eagle Pointe
• Elizabeth Eichelberger
• Freedom
• Grand Prairie
• Lakewood Falls
• Liberty
• Lincoln
• Meadowview
• Ridge
• River View
• Thomas Jefferson
• Walkers Grove
• Wesmere

***bussed to and from Grand Prairie
* On-Site Kidz Zone: Children participate in activities at their school. A minimum of 15 participants is required by August 1st of the upcoming school year for programs to be held on-site. Sites that do not meet the minimum number of participants will be bussed to the closest feasible site.

The YMCA also offers the Kidz Zone Program for all Troy 30C schools, all Minooka schools and select Joliet District 86 schools. Contact Galowich Welcome Center at (815) 729-9622 for more information.

For more information visit the Greater Joliet Area YMCA, aka the Plainfield YMCA.

What do you do for your kids? Do you have experience with the YMCA program? Please share your experiences and comment below!

Originally posted here:
Liberty Elementary leader is new Plainfield North HS principal