Russian hitchhikers invade Paddleboat Quarry
An invasive aquatic species has hitched its way to Naperville.
For many months, during Riverwalk Commission meetings, Chuck Papanos, Operations Manager for the Riverwalk, has reported on findings of nonnative zebra mussels in the deep pond known as the “Paddleboat Quarry.”
In late May, PN observed a team under the leadership of Jessi DeMartini, Research Center Coordinator, fondly known as “Mother Earth,” as they visited the quarry, venturing out on a paddleboat to collect samples.
Simply put, a mussel, also known as a bivalve mollusk, is a water animal with a soft body inside a hard, protective shell. Ranging in a variety of sizes, mussels live in oceans, estuaries and brackish to fresh water. Their two-piece shell is joined by a hinge so it can open and close.
Driven for Fun: 20 years of the Naperville Trolley
For decades during downtown merchant meetings, the faithful voice of Dorcas Pearcy, savvy owner of Toenniges Jewelers, resounded a request to bring a trolley to downtown Naperville.
Whether serving the Downtown Retail Council, Downtown Naperville Merchants Association or CANDO (Central Area Naperville Development Organization), Pearcy envisioned a charming people-mover that would attract more shoppers and diners to the heart of downtown where she’d been running a successful business since December 1948.
Back in the mid-1990s, today’s popular destination for shopping and dining with its CANDO plan and a new Riverwalk Park was bustling, welcoming more visitors every week.
50! Years of Last Fling
Consider that none of the youngsters who will enjoy the 2015 Jaycees Last Fling the most was born when the idea for the first family festival was conceived by Rick Motta back in 1966.
Then imagine the long list of to-dos that 2015 Co-Executive Directors Mark Moulsong and John Trojanowski and their executive committee must complete before they receive clearance from public safety officers that all systems are go at 6PM Fri., Sept. 4, to begin this year’s four-day Last Fling.
And fast forward to Monday morning when hundreds, if not thousands, of parade revelers will line up to participate in the Labor Day Parade. Picture tens of thousands of spectators lining the parade route that begins at Mill Street near Naperville North High School before it meanders through downtown to end at Naperville Central High School.
To help the Naperville Jaycees celebrate the first 50 Last Flings, Rick Motta, Naperville resident and creator of the event, will serve as Grand Marshal of the parade when it steps off at 10AM on Mon., Sept. 7, 2015.
The DuPage Valley Conference: Past and Present
Robin Renner took a couple seconds to collect his thoughts.
For the well respected Neuqua Valley baseball coach, the impending confluence of the three District 204 schools into the DuPage Valley Conference borders on personal.
After graduating from East Aurora in 1976, Renner has enjoyed tremendous success in guiding the Wildcat baseball program from its inception into an Upstate Eight Conference power.
So how does he feel about the trio of 204 schools joining Naperville Central and Naperville North, among others, in a nine-team DVC?
“That’s a very good question,” Renner said. “I’ve been an Upstate Eight guy my whole life, in education anyway. It’s certainly sad not to wear a shirt that says Upstate Eight any more. However, with that said, I think the right thing to do was move into the DVC given our location and the size of the school and quality of programs from up and down from badminton to swimming to soccer to baseball and basketball. Everything.
As a baseball player at East Aurora, Renner recalls winning the first of two consecutive Upstate Eight baseball titles in 1976. The Tomcats would repeat as conference champs in 1977, the last year the program won a conference championship in baseball.
“I think it was the right move for us,” he said. “However, I certainly will miss the Upstate Eight and the St. Charleses and those schools. I don’t know if the word bittersweet is the right word, but I’ll miss that. I’ll miss the Upstate Eight. I won’t miss the bus rides to Elgin, to Larkin, to St. Charles North, to Streamwood. I won’t miss that. Like I said, it was the right move, I believe, for us to make.”
Renner’s first boss at Neuqua Valley, Kathy Birkett, agrees wholeheartedly with the change the three 204 schools are making.
Today we’re remembering our friend and trolleymeister Don Wehrli
Naperville’s Trolley Meister and community advocate who 63-years ago married his childhood sweetheart, Jean Knoch, died on Sunday, May 17, 2015, at his home in Naperville. He was 87. Just last summer he did a perfect back flip off the low board at Centennial Beach.
Donald E. Wehrli was born on February 28, 1928, the seventh of 13 children. He grew up in the original Pre-Emption House on Chicago Avenue in downtown Naperville. He attended Saints Peter & Paul Grade School and Naperville High School (Class of 1946). He served as U.S. Army Records Specialist followed by a career in sales.
Don managed the Dickenson Jam & Jelly Shop in Disneyland in the 1950s where Walt Disney told him, “Don, there is great satisfaction in making other people happy.” He never forgot that.
He was elected to the Naperville City Council 1983-1987. He played in and later refereed the annual Turkey Bowl football game. He was fond of sayings and pleased to be published in Bits & Pieces: “Live a Life of Awareness.”
Benet officially announces plans to retire Frank Kaminsky’s No. 44
Ten days after helping lead Wisconsin to its first national championship game since 1941, Frank Kaminsky came home to receive one last honor.
Benet Academy in Lisle held an assembly Thursday afternoon to honor Kaminsky, his alma mater. He was welcomed with a red carpet, pep band and a cheerful student body in the gym he once played high school hoops in.
Sweeping the various Player of the Year awards, including taking home the Wooden and Naismith Awards, Benet officially announced it would be retiring the No. 44 Kaminsky wore both at Benet and Wisconsin.
“It’s pretty cool, if you ask me,” Kaminsky said. “It’s hard to put into words what’s happening. It’s been a crazy year. It’s been a crazy couple years and it’s nice to be able to come back to your roots and get honored like this.”
50 years of healing
This story started nearly a year ago when Naperville resident Marty Walker mentioned that a group was getting together to organize another Healing Field of flags, timed to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War.
Soon after, news was released that the National Healing Field Foundation had joined forces with Operation Support Our Troops-America and the Naperville Park District to present the 2015 Naperville Healing Field of Honor at Rotary Hill along the Riverwalk.
Now after months of organization, the third Healing Field since 2009 will return to downtown Naperville November 6-12, the week leading up to Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
American flags once again will be displayed proudly on Rotary Hill as organizers aim to unite the community in recognition of the honorable men and women of the U.S. Military.
Pat Pradel dies after long battle with illness
Mayor Emeritus A. George Pradel’s statement on the passing of his wife Pat Pradel, Aug. 29, 2015 / Today I lost the great love of my life. For 55 years my strong, kind, compassionate, and lovely wife Pat stood by my side through thick and thin. She was my steadfast rock and the constant in the Pradel family’s world. She was the silent champion of Naperville, supporting me and caring for our family when my duties as Mayor kept me away from home and out in the community. Her love for this community was strong and genuine, if not always front and center in the public eye.
Pat and I shared a deep faith, and that faith gives me comfort and hope as my family and I walk a new path in these coming days and years. I ask all of you to pray for Pat and my family. Cherish your loved ones and tell them often that you love them, because time together goes all too quickly. While I’m profoundly sad and heartbroken today, I smile in thanks and gratitude knowing I am beyond blessed and lucky. Blessed to have been graced by a love that I can hardly put words behind and lucky to have had the joy of loving Pat. Her memory is my guiding light and her legacy now a finished chapter in our City’s story.
Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and sympathy, both throughout Pat’s illness and now. Your words are a comfort and a testament to Naperville’s character of coming together during the tough times. My family and I appreciate your support and wishes and wish all of you the same kind of happiness Pat brought to our lives.
Friends aim to fund research for little-known Batten Disease
During their Naperville visit, Gray and her two daughters have been visiting with longtime friends and friends of friends while making contacts with local leaders to help spread awareness about the little-known Batten disease and the urgency to raise major funding to begin trials that could lead to a cure for Batten and possibly other rare diseases.
Thursday evening friends and former neighbors stopped by the home of Casey and Corbett McCormick with good cheer for the Grays. The McCormicks and their three children, Lily, Gavin, and Ryder, welcomed Whitney Robbins with Blythe, Bianca Morin, Erin Rains, Colette Chapman, Kristen Breese, Julie Chirico, Kim Perona, Becky Humbert, Deb Callaway, Jennifer San Jose with Olivia and Jini Clare.
Stories have appeared in local media. Thanks for becoming informed. Watch for details about upcoming fundraising and educational opportunities.
“Just getting the information out will make a difference,” said Casey McCormick.
Dick Tracy will return, soon
In the interest of safekeeping, the iconic Dick Tracy Century Walk sculpture was successfully removed by Lend Lease Construction from the Naperville Township Plaza near the Riverwalk Moser Bridge on the morning of September 17.
The 9-ft bronze sculpture depicting the world’s favorite crime stopper was secured, then lifted by a back hoe from the location where it has stood since April 2010. Then, in a move that has been anticipated for nearly nine months, the image of the internationally-known gum shoe with connections to Naperville via artist Dick Locher was boxed and carted to the Naperville Township Highway facility where it will remain until its new upper location adjacent to the Riverwalk is completed during the Water Street District construction.
According the Century Walk Corporation President Brand Bobosky, every one of the 46 pieces of public art in the collection going back nearly 20 years comes with a unique story and history of ownership. Certainly the story of Dick Tracy is one for the detectives, considering some of the inquiries in recent weeks.
“We help create public art; not own it,” said Bobosky, when he explained that the Dick Tracy sculpture, the 35th piece of Century Walk, was a gift to Naperville Township.
Election Results: Steve Chirico is Naperville’s next mayor
| Mayor | DuPage County | Will County | Total | Percent |
| Douglas P. ‘Doug’ Krause | 4076 | 1096 | 5172 | 29.34% |
| Martin R. Walker | 1083 | 261 | 1344 | 7.63% |
| Jim Haselhorst | 310 | 128 | 438 | 2.49% |
| Steve Chirico | 8174 | 2,497 | 10671 | 60.54% |
| Total | 13643 | 3,982 | 17625 | 100.00% |
Unofficial totals, 100 percent reporting
