An elite Navy SEAL who threw himself on top of a grenade in Iraq to save his comrades will be posthumously awarded the nation’s highest military tribute, a White House spokeswoman said Monday.
A sex offender recently released from prison brazenly invaded a home, shot two women meeting for morning coffee and abducted one of them, whose body was found about 10 miles away, police said
Officials say the Illinois Prisoner Review Board has denied parole for a man convicted of five rapes and two murders. (more…)
A photograph of Paul Schore will soon be joining the collection of mayors’ portraits that line a wall inside Bourbonnais’ Village Board room. The board Monday appointed Schore, a village trustee for 11 years, to the village’s top elected post.
The state of Illinois plans a series of nearly 60 town hall meetings to discuss underage alcohol consumption. (more…)
James R. Bowers, 97, of Kankakee, died Monday (March 31, 2008).
Patricia “Pat” Rich, 72, of Saunemin, died Saturday (March 29, 2008).
LaVerne E. “Vern” Olmstead Jr., 79, father of a Kankakee resident, died Saturday (March 29, 2008).
• Everybody’s doing it. At least that’s the excuse parents use to allow their teenagers to drink alcohol.
What these parents likely do not know, is they are fueling the continuous problem of underage drinking that high schoolers — locally and nationally — have been suffering the consequences from for decades.
“Every youth is not doing it,” said Sara Moscato Howe, CEO of the Illinois Alcohol and Drug Dependence Association. “By and large, the majority of kids do not drink.”
In the second of a three-part series, The Daily Journal examines why parents are condoning underage drinking and where the blame lies. Underaged drinking is not just the product of teenage debauchery, but also of the society that has endorsed it.
• What do card games and bible study have in common?
The answer is PJ’s Ice Cream and Coffee shop in Manteno.
For seven years, owner Paula Shelton has survived franchised competition and a battered economy to keep alive a traditional hometown ice cream shop. They’ll mark the anniversary during the first week in April.
Her secret: “When people come in, we try to make them feel just like they are at home. It’s been home for us now seven days a week.”
• A new “fish ladder” went into operation last week at Yorkville that will allow fish to move freely past the dam along 41 miles of the Fox River.
The structure is part of safety improvements at the Glen D. Palmer dam where 17 people have drown due to the deadly “roller” effect produced below the low-head dam.
Safety work includes four stepped terraces behind the dam that will eliminate the “roller” effect downstream. Work should be finished by December of 2009 according to Loren Wobig of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Water Resources.
Yorkville was among 25 dams cited in a safety report last year. The report included dams on the Kankakee River at Wilmington, Kankakee and Momence. The Momence dam is owned by the state and was the only one in the area to be included in a list of possible removal sites.
• A popular destination for many locals, Branson, Mo., brought its unique blend of “down home” music, vaudeville-style comedy and flashy costumes to the newly renovated and opened Iroquois Performing Arts Theater in Watseka on Saturday. Judging by the standing room only crowd and their enthusiastic response, the Sweethearts of Branson and Friends were a big hit with the community.
Jim Regnier, 56, of Donovan, died Saturday (March 29, 2008).
