The Soapbox
A special homecoming queen, Part 1:
We can’t say enough about the seniors at Downers Grove North High School, especially Mary Doro, who nominated her friend Anne Wagner — who has Down syndrome and leukemia — for homecoming queen. Word of their grace and compassion prompted a visit this week from Gov. Pat Quinn, who declared it Downers Grove North Day in Illinois.
A special homecoming queen, Part 2:
The Downers North students stayed in touch with Anne as she underwent chemotherapy. Mary Doro explains: “She inspired us to do something special. ... We can continue to be inspired by Annie. Why not move forward from here and do good in other areas?”
A special homecoming queen, Part 3:
The perspective of Anne’s mom was achingly touching, as she noted such an honor for the parent of child with special needs “is quite honestly not in your realm of thinking.” It was a sentiment eloquently reinforced in a guest column Wednesday by Ellen Jennings, whose daughter, also named Anne, was Libertyville High homecoming queen in 2008.
The spirit of Thanksgiving:
We beg to differ with Pat Lawrence and the other critics of Thanksgiving night store openings. If football didn’t kill Thanksgiving, evening shopping isn’t going to kill it either. Thanksgiving, after all, is a matter of the heart.
A game of inches. Or feet. Or whatever:
Now that the 10-year anniversary has come and gone, can we finally move on from the compulsive references to a Cubs fan whose reach for a foul ball had no real impact on the team’s failure to reach the World Series?
What about giving it back?
Northwest Suburban High School District 214 is in the enviable position of having more money than is needed. So the board is assembling a committee to determine what to do. The board president says it’s too soon to discuss the possibility of a rebate. Maybe. But when the time comes, that option should get serious consideration.
Arrow dynamics:
The construction project on Golf Road west of Algonquin Road in Rolling Meadows can’t finish fast enough. With one lane open, motorists turning left onto westbound Golf ignore the arrow and fill the intersection. When the arrow turns red, it means stop, people.
Solar flair:
When Hawthorn Elementary District 73 installed small solar energy panels on five of its buildings, it wasn’t just thinking green. The project will be used as a tool to teach students how to collect and compare data and other skills. Since a grant provided the funding, the initiative sounds like a winner.
Slow and deliberate:
Arlington Heights sees the need for new, or at least improved, digs to house its police force. The force works out of a 35-year-old building lacking space and the latest infrastructure needs, officials say. Their response, wisely, is measured — a studious, six-year approach to the project. After all, it could cost taxpayers $40 million.
Punting peanuts for a day:
Did you know that five of every 1,000 people have peanut allergies? Contact with foods containing peanuts can be difficult to avoid, especially at sporting events. But that didn’t stop Northwestern University Athletics from stepping up, cleaning their stadium and creating a peanut-free day there today. Way to go, Wildcats!